Classification as a Factor in the Scientific Evolution of Entrepreneurship

Taxonomy, or the establishment of meaningful classification schemes, is examined as a major stage in the development of disciplines. The role of classification in the advancement of entrepreneurship  is  established  Approaches  to  developing  classification  schemes,  and criteria for  assessing  them,  are  discussed.  Key  classification  schemes  in five  different   areas within entrepreneurship are evaluated Shortcomings are noted, and  priorities  are established for taxonomic development. A framework  is  proposed  for  developing  an integrative classification for  the discipline  of entrepreneurship

Developing transferable management skills through Action Learning

There has been increasing criticism of the relevance of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) in developing skills and competencies. Action learning, devised to address problem-solving in the workplace, offers a potential response to such criticism. This paper offers an insight into one university’s attempt to integrate action learning into the curriculum. Sixty-five part-time students were questioned at two points in their final year about their action learning experience and the enhancement of relevant skills and competencies. Results showed a mixed picture. Strong confirmation of the importance of selected skills and competencies contrasted with weaker agreement about the extent to which these were developed by action learning. There was, nonetheless, a firm belief in the positive impact on the learning process. The paper concludes that action learning is not a panacea but has an important role in a repertoire of educational approaches to develop relevant skills and competencies

Legitimate to whom? The challenge of audience diversity and new venture legitimacy

We examine how entrepreneurs manage new venture legitimacy judgments across diverse audiences, so as to appear legitimate to the different audience groups that provide much needed financial resources for venture survival and growth. To do so, we first identify and describe the different mechanisms by which entrepreneurs can establish new venture legitimacy across diverse audiences. We then account for the institutional logics that characterize different new venture audience groups, and use this as a basis for uncovering how and why the legitimacy criteria for a new technology venture may vary depending on the audience. We then consider how leaders of entrepreneurial ventures may use framing as a means to manage legitimacy judgments across various audiences, and thereby improve their chances of accessing critical financial resources for venture survival and growth

Overcoming the liability of poorness: disadvantage, fragility, and the poverty entrepreneur

All entrepreneurs must overcome the liabilities of newness and smallness as they attempt to launch and grow a new venture. However, those in poverty face an even greater challenge due to a concept we introduce, known as the liability of poorness, which centers on literacy gaps, a scarcity mindset, intense non-business pressures, and the lack of a safety net. Each of these components of the liability of poorness contributes to the disadvantage and fragility of the enterprises confronting the poor. Implications of this fragility for venture dynamics as well as how some poverty entrepreneurs overcome this liability are explored. Research priorities are discussed for ongoing work on the liability of poorness

HPT and small business: Gold mine or land mine?

Performance consulting is typically applied to large organizations. Almost all of the literature on the topic discusses the art and science of human performance technology in these types of organizations. In the United States, however, 99.7% of employer organizations are small businesses. This article addresses some of the opportunities and challenges of working with smaller organizations and presents ways that performance consultants can build a sustainable practice in this market.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58578/1/200_ftp.pd

The Ethical Dilemma of Information Asymmetry in Innovation: Reputation, Investors and Noise in the Innovation Channel.

A sufficient and steady stream of innovations is widely seen as a basis for healthy modern economies. Governments divert substantial resources from other purposes in society to increase innovation. Yet the failure rate among innovative SMEs is high, suggesting that resources are wasted. Avoiding such waste is a challenge for both governments and investors, but also raises a question for the innovative company, namely how to build and fund the\ud enterprise on an ethical basis. The dilemma of giving in to temptations to ‘cut corners’ clearly exists, for example to exploit the inevitable asymmetry of information arising in innovation and potentially deploy this in support of misleading claims about specific capabilities and/or the unjustified creation and exploitation of reputation. This is consistent with Olaf Fisscher’s finding that entrepreneurs starting new ventures tend to exhibit an inherent bias towards compromising their own values in order to succeed at any cost. When the innoSME’s aspirations are unrealistic or the proposed innovations are of marginal value, the ethical issues are broader and extend also to those who are potential financiers. Noting this as a gap in the ethics literature, we argue that the current situation fails to match economic and ethical ideals and that work is needed to develop tools which allow those who provide finance and support for innovation to target it more effectively at those who have a prospect of successfully launching genuine innovations and thus reduce the ‘noise’ in the innovation field

Internal Determinants Promoting Corporate Entrepreneurship in Established Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review

Due to the increasing dynamics and complexity in the corporate environment, the importance of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) for the development and long-term sustainability of established companies' competitive advantages is continuously increasing. However, the literature still lacks a CE framework that consolidates and integrates the different research findings illustrating the impact of particular CE drivers. We conduct a systematic literature review of the current CE research to ascertain which internal determinants promote CE in established organizations and how they nurture creativity and innovation. Building on a four-dimensional CE framework, we identify several central determinants of CE and provide practitioners in established organizations with guidelines for successful implementation of CE. By identifying several topical and outstanding issues, the paper encourages further debate and research activity. Implications for Central European audience: This paper advanced the current CE research by systematically consolidating and integrating top management literature invoking multiple research streams and discussing several directions for further research. The developed framework reflects the current state of CE research and hence can serve as a guide for successful implementation of CE in established organizations, as well as for further investigation of the CE concept. Thus, this paper makes an important contribution to solving the puzzle of successful implementation of CE in established corporations.O

The effects of entrepreneurship education

Entrepreneurship education ranks high on policy agendas in Europe and the US, but little research is available to assess its impact. To help close this gap we investigate whether entrepreneurship education a?ects intentions to be entrepreneurial uniformly or whether it leads to greater sorting of students. The latter can reduce the average intention to be entrepreneurial and yet be socially beneficial. This paper provides a model of learning in which entrepreneurship education generates signals to students. Drawing on the signals, students evaluate their aptitude for entrepreneurial tasks. The model is tested using data from a compulsory entrepreneurship course. Using ex ante and ex post survey responses from students, we find that intentions to found decline somewhat although the course has significant positive e?ects on students’ self-assessed entrepreneurial skills. The empirical analysis supports the hypothesis that students receive informative signals and learn about their entrepreneurial aptitude. We outline implications for educators and public policy