Path Building in Emerging Entrepreneurial Firms: An Investigation of Networks in the Making

Underpinning economic growth is the emergence of entrepreneurial ventures with the potential to grow that boost job creation and provide new sources of products for mature companies. The critical role associated with new firms, underscores the importance of understanding how entrepreneurship unfolds. Network-based research, while leading the way to rich empirical studies provides a limited understanding of how entrepreneurial networks are built and their impact on the emergence of a new venture. Employing a multiple case study design and a perspective based on organizational path building, three young technology ventures were investigated in terms of the formation of networks around five key entrepreneurial activities defined by entrepreneurs. Rich insight into new venture emergence is presented in terms of the reciprocal relationship between specific activities enacted by entrepreneurs and the networks that form to execute those activities revealing the path building mechanisms that evolve to drive network development. The findings of this research not only contribute to theories of new venture emergence, but also offer an interesting opportunity for future research into factors that may influence the outcome of entrepreneurial ventures and provide practical insight for organizations seeking to sustain or develop an entrepreneurial path

Access to and allocation of ecosystem services in Malaysia's Pulau Kukup Ramsar Site

This paper explores how the Ramsar Convention, a key multilateral environmental agreement for the world's wetlands, influences the allocation and use of ecosystem goods and services. Focusing on the world's second largest uninhabited mangrove island, Pulau Kukup, this study illustrates the social and ecological risks and opportunities surrounding protected wetlands. Interviews with, and observations of, nearby communities reveal that Pulau Kukup has continued to render regulatory, cultural, provisioning and supporting ecosystem services under different governance regimes and institutional arrangements. Under the current governance regime, national conservation agencies focus largely on conservation and have struggled to implement the principles of wise use as specified by the Ramsar Convention. Nevertheless, such strict local (formal) conservation rules restricting public access have improved the ecological integrity of the mangrove island, with little negative impact on the locals. While restrictions in access may be seen as a trade-off for local communities wishing to pursue cultural activities, tourism linked to the island's Ramsar designation has boosted the local economy. Despite these benefits, changes in property rights and growing influxes of tourists visiting the protected wetland may affect the long-term ecological integrity and the balance between wetlands, communities, livelihood options, and sustainability. Such challenges demand governance that recognises and responds to these emerging issues