A longitudinal cross-country study of entrepreneurial orientation

As recent research documents, there has been an impressive effort of studying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and its nomological role. However, most research has been very context specific and based on the analyses of cross-sectional information. We study causal performance effects from entrepreneurial orientation and its key dimensions in two economic contexts–developed and emerging markets. Gathering data on a sample of 94 firms in developed market context and 108 in emerging market context at two time-points we explore our hypotheses. The results suggest that in a developed economy entrepreneurial orientation has a positive impact on firm performance, whereas in the emerging market context this effect is negative. Furthermore, we assess the contribution of each dimension to the aggregate construct and reveal the importance of risk-taking in both contexts. Finally, we highlight the role of environmental dynamism and explain its varying effect

Firm-level strategic orientation and performance: a synthesis and extension of the knowledge base on entrepreneurial, market and learning orientation

Should a firm stay focused or should it rather adopt a broader strategic perspective? This dissertation summarizes and extends the existing knowledge base on entrepreneurial, market, and learning orientation. Building on multiple theoretical perspectives, empirical evidence from prior studies, as well as on survey and archival data collected in two economic contexts, performance effects from individual orientations, their dimensions and combinations are explored. Results reveal that the three strategic orientations are highly interrelated and that their relationship to firm performance is more complex than previously assumed.

The Entrepreneurial Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the Entrepreneurial Firm

The entrepreneurial theory of the firm argues that entrepreneurship, properly understood, is a crucial but neglected element in explaining the nature and boundaries of the firm. By contrast, the theory of the entrepreneurial firm presumably seeks not to understand the nature and boundaries of "the firm" in general but rather to understand a particular type of firm: one that is entrepreneurial. This paper is an attempt to reconcile the two. After briefly delving for the concept of entrepreneurship in the work of Schumpeter, Kirzner, and (especially) Knight, the paper makes the case for the entrepreneurial theory of the firm. In such a theory, the firm exists as the solution to a coordination problem in a world of change and uncertainty, including Knightian or structural uncertainty. Taking a historical or developmental perspective, the paper then examines the changing nature of the entrepreneurial coordination problem over the life-cycle. In this formulation, "the entrepreneurial firm" is a nascent firm or proto-firm facing a problem of coordinating systemic change in economic capabilities. Lacking (by definition) adequate guidance from existing systems of rules of conduct embedded in markets or organizations, the entrepreneurial firm typically relies on a form of organization Max Weber called charismatic authority. In the end, although there is no such thing as a non-entrepreneurial firm, firms that must solve coordination problems in a world of novelty and systemic change ("entrepreneurial firms") are perhaps the purest case of the entrepreneurial theory of the firm.

A look at parent-adolescent processes and adolescent sexual intentions among urban, minority, middle school youth

Background. The United States continues to have the highest rates in teenage pregnancy among industrialized nations and approximately 46% of high school students engaged in sex by the time they graduated. Various family adolescent processes (family connectedness, perceived parental beliefs about sex, parent-child communication about sex) have been linked to adolescent sexual behavior. However, the association between family adolescent and adolescent sexual intentions has not often been studied in middle school minority youth.^ Methods. Research hypotheses were tested using a secondary data analysis from a HIV, STI, and pregnancy prevention program for urban middle school students.^ Results. At baseline, 77% of students reported low intentions to engage in vaginal or oral sex within a year and 87% reported they would use a condom if having sex within the next 3 months. After adjusting for gender, age, and race/ethnicity, family connectedness and perceived parental beliefs about sex were significantly associated with vaginal and oral sex intentions. Only perceived parental beliefs was associated with condom use intentions. ^ Conclusions. Family adolescent processes appear to be associated with adolescents’ intentions regarding sex and condom use. Early interventions are needed that take into account the importance of healthy, supportive parent-adolescent relationships and encourage parents to share their beliefs about sex to adolescents before the onset of sexual activity. ^

The statuary collection held at the baths of Zeuxippus (Ap 2) and the search for Constantine's museological intentions

Constantino pretendía enseñar al mundo su Constantinopla como la Nueva (la tercera) Troya, el más acabado retrato de la nueva paidea de inspiración griega y romana. Él mismo y su equipo dispusieron de no más que seis años para planear y reconstruir una ciudad entera, la antigua Bizancio; y las artes plásticas, en especial la escultura, ejercieron un rol determinante en todo ese proceso público. Volviendo una vez más la mirada hacia los restos arqueológicos y la descripción literaria de Cristodoro (Antología Griega, libro II) de la colección de estatuas de los Balnearios del Zeuxipo, el presente artículo desenvuelve una lectura museológica de estas estatuas, buscando encuadrarlas en el plan arquitectónico global de Constantino para su nueva capital del Imperio.

The statuary collection held at the baths of Zeuxippus (Ap 2) and the search for Constantine's museological intentions

Constantino pretendía enseñar al mundo su Constantinopla como la Nueva (la tercera) Troya, el más acabado retrato de la nueva paidea de inspiración griega y romana. Él mismo y su equipo dispusieron de no más que seis años para planear y reconstruir una ciudad entera, la antigua Bizancio; y las artes plásticas, en especial la escultura, ejercieron un rol determinante en todo ese proceso público. Volviendo una vez más la mirada hacia los restos arqueológicos y la descripción literaria de Cristodoro (Antología Griega, libro II) de la colección de estatuas de los Balnearios del Zeuxipo, el presente artículo desenvuelve una lectura museológica de estas estatuas, buscando encuadrarlas en el plan arquitectónico global de Constantino para su nueva capital del Imperio.