University students' assessment of entrepreneurial environments

Entrepreneurial intention is a primary step to create new venture in the entrepreneurial process. Environmental conditions are one of the main factors that are strengthening or weakening intention of prospective entrepreneur. Therefore, it is important to develop conducive environments for entrepreneurship to promote entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, the promoted entrepreneurial intention will raise the rate of new venture creation. This paper investigates the relationships between five key environments for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. The five entrepreneurial environments are: government policies and procedures, socioeconomic conditions, entrepreneurial and business skills, financial assistance, and non-financial assistance, respectively. Conjoint analysis was used to determine the significance of five environmental factors conducive to entrepreneurial intention. In this conjoint experiment, 1370 decisions were made by 137 university students. Significant relationships were found between all of these environmental factors and intention. Comparative importance of environmental factors was also calculated, along with sub-conjoint analyses based on characteristics of the sample.

The Role of CEO Statements of Aggressiveness and the Competitive Aggressiveness of Firms: What is the Impact on Performance?

This research examines the impact of a CEO’s statements of aggressiveness on his or her organization’s competitive moves and subsequent performance. Hypotheses were developed based on previous work in Upper Echelon Theory and competitive dynamics. Based on this prior literature, it was hypothesized aggressive statements by CEOs will be associated with more aggressive organizations. It was also hypothesized these more aggressive organizations would display better performance than less aggressive organizations. A content analysis of letters to shareholders and trade publications was performed. This data was analyzed using multiple regression in SPSS 17 to test the hypotheses that aggressive statements by CEOs are associated with aggressive organizations and higher performance. Aggression scores for the content analysis were generated using the software package DICTION. The sample for the study was the organizations with the most revenue in two industries, automobile manufacturing and retailing. Data collection covered a five-year time span from 2003-2007, with performance data lagged one year. Control variables employed included CEO tenure, CEO background, organization size, and organization age. The findings indicate that CEO statements of aggressiveness do not significantly impact the competitive aggressiveness or the performance of their organizations. The implications of these findings are discussed and potential avenues for future research in the area are outlined.