New business formation in a rapidly growing economy:the Irish experience

The extraordinary growth of the Irish economy since the mid-1990s—the ‘Celtic Tiger’—has attracted a great deal of interest, commentary and research. Indeed, many countries look to Ireland as an economic development role model, and it has been suggested that Ireland might provide key lessons for other EU members as they seek to achieve the objectives set out in the Lisbon Agenda. Much of the discussion of Ireland’s growth has focused on its possible triggers: the long-term consequences of the late 1980s fiscal stabilisation, EU structural funds, education, wage moderation and devaluation of the Irish punt. The industrial policy perspective has highlighted the importance of inflows of foreign direct investment, but a notable absence from the discourse on the ‘Celtic Tiger’ has been any mention of the role of new business venture creation and entrepreneurship. In this paper we use unpublished Irish VAT data for the years 1988–2004 to provide the first detailed look at national trends in business birth and death rates in Ireland over the ‘take-off’ period. We also use sub-national VAT data to shed light on spatial trends in new venture creation. Our overall conclusions are that new business formation made no detectable contribution to the acceleration of Ireland’s growth in the late 1990s, although we do find evidence of spatial convergence in per capita business stocks.

Understanding dynamics of strategic decision-making in venture creation:a process study of effectuation and causation

This study draws upon effectuation and causation as examples of planning-based and flexible decision-making logics, and investigates dynamics in the use of both logics. The study applies a longitudinal process research approach to investigate strategic decision-making in new venture creation over time. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, we analyze 385 decision events across nine technology-based ventures. Our observations suggest a hybrid perspective on strategic decision-making, demonstrating how effectuation and causation logics are combined, and how entrepreneurs’ emphasis on these logics shifts and re-shifts over time. We induce a dynamic model which extends the literature on strategic decision-making in venture creation.

Herman Chinery-Hesse:the Bill Gates of Ghana?

Herman Chinery-Hesse considers his plans for a new venture, a virtual mall that would enable African producers to sell their products worldwide through a new international payment system based on mobile phones and pre-paid scratch cards. In 2010, his operating company, Black Star Lines (BSL) Ghana Ltd is considering plans to launch shopAfrica53.com, and associated payment and distribution services in Ghana and the UK. This case teaches new approaches to poverty reduction through the realisation of entrepreneurial opportunities at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) and is suitable for courses on social enterprise, entrepreneurship in general, and development studies seeking to incorporate more private sector approaches. It can also be adapted for courses such as international strategy or technology business.

New product development proficiency and multi-country product rollout timeliness

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in the understanding of the indirect effects of marketing and technical factors on time efficiency in developing a new product and international new product launch. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts a contingency perspective in examining the relationships between antecedents and on-time completion (or timeliness) of new product development (NPD) and international new product rollout (INPR). A conceptual framework is tested based on data obtained on 232 NPD projects undertaken by Korean firms. Findings: The results show that NPD proficiencies mediate to a greater or lesser extent the effects of key antecedents (e.g. cross-functional linkages, project fit with available marketing resources, and effective coordination of headquarters-subsidiary/agents' activities) on timeliness in NPD and INPR. Research limitations/implications: Empirical research on the role of marketing and technical proficiencies in improving NPD timeliness and rollout timeliness in the context of international NPD affirms the importance of adopting a contingency perspective in examining the antecedents of NPD and multi-market entry timeliness. Practical implications: This paper lends insight into the role of overseas subsidiaries or agents in helping to build the technical proficiencies of emerging country companies. Originality/value: This is the first review focusing on the mediating influences on time dimensions (e.g. timeliness) in multi-country product launches. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

New Pradolongo Park

Design-media Cooperative Company

Entrepreneurship: a long way to go

Entrepreneurship education has emerged as one popular research domain in academic fields given its aim at enhancing and developing certain entrepreneurial qualities of undergraduates that change their state of behavior, even their entrepreneurial inclination and finally may result in the formation of new businesses as well as new job opportunities. This study attempts to investigate the Colombian student´s entrepreneurial qualities and the influence of entrepreneurial education during their studies.

La construcción de sentido (‘sensemaking’) de un entorno estratégico turbulento por parte de los altos directivos: un estudio en una multinacional automotriz

Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación realizada al interior de dos contextos. Por un lado, el teórico, en el marco de uno de los discursos más relevantes en los campos de la estrategia organizacional, de la managerial and organizational cognition (MOC) y, en general, de los estudios organizacionales (organization studies): la construcción de sentido (sensemaking). Por el otro, el empírico, en una de las grandes compañías multinacionales del sector automotriz con presencia global. Esta corporación enfrenta una permanente tensión entre lo que dicta la casa matriz, en relación con el cumplimiento de metas y estándares específicos, considerando el mundo entero, y los retos que, teniendo en cuenta lo regional y lo local, experimentan los altos directivos encargados de hacer prosperar la empresa en estos lugares. La aproximación implementada fue cualitativa. Esto en atención a la naturaleza de la problemática abordada y la tradición del campo. Los resultados permiten ampliar el actual nivel de comprensión acerca de los procesos de sensemaking de los altos directivos al enfrentar un entorno estratégico turbulento.

Explaining sleep duration in adolescents: the impact of socio-demographic and lifestyle factors and working status

Previous studies found students who both work and attend school undergo a partial sleep deprivation that accumulates across the week. The aim of the present study was to obtain information using a questionnaire on a number of variables (e.g., socio-demographics, lifestyle, work timing, and sleep-wake habits) considered to impact on sleep duration of working (n=51) and non-working (n=41) high-school students aged 14-21 yrs old attending evening classes (19:00-22:30 h) at a public school in the city of So Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected for working days and days off. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the factors associated with sleep duration on weekdays and weekends. Work, sex, age, smoking, consumption of alcohol and caffeine, and physical activity were considered control variables. Significant predictors of sleep duration were: work (p < 0.01), daily work duration (8-10 h/day; p < 0.01), sex (p=0.04), age 18-21 yrs (0.01), smoking (p=0.02) and drinking habits (p=0.03), irregular physical exercise (p < 0.01), ease of falling asleep (p=0.04), and the sleep-wake cycle variables of napping (p < 0.01), nocturnal awakenings (p < 0.01), and mid-sleep regularity (p < 0.01). The results confirm the hypotheses that young students who work and attend school showed a reduction in night-time sleep duration. Sleep deprivation across the week, particularly in students working 8-10 h/day, is manifested through a sleep rebound (i.e., extended sleep duration) on Saturdays. However, the different roles played by socio-demographic and lifestyle variables have proven to be factors that intervene with nocturnal sleep duration. ) The variables related to the sleep-wake cycle naps and night awakenings proved to be associated with a slight reduction in night-time sleep, while regularity in sleep and wake-up schedules was shown to be associated with more extended sleep duration, with a distinct expression along the week and the weekend. Having to attend school and work, coupled with other socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, creates an unfavorable scenario for satisfactory sleep duration

Return on entrepreneurial passion: A study of funding success and timely delivery in crowdfunding

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Financing exponential growth at H3

H3 is a fast-food chain that introduced the concept of gourmet hamburgers in the Portuguese market. This case-study illustrates its financing strategy that supported an exponential growth represented by opening 33 restaurants within approximately 3 years of its inception. H3 is now faced with the challenge of structuring its foreign ventures and change its financial approach. The main covered topics are the options an entrepreneur has for financing a new venture and how it evolves along the life cycle and different business approaches, namely franchising. It aims to be used as a learning tool in courses such as entrepreneurial finance.

The role of crowdfunding in promoting entrepreneurship

Crowdfunding is a collaborative initiative, usually via internet, where people network to collectively raise funds in order to invest in and support projects delivered by other people or organizations. Tools such as crowdfunding are born and thrive in a grassroots environment, with a strong potential to positively disrupt the entrepreneurial generation setting and grow to a position of significant relevance in society, namely at a time when alternatives to traditional forms of finance are welcome and the technology to deliver them is abundant. Entrepreneurship is the act of transforming ideas and projects into economic products or services. Entrepreneurship related to starting new businesses is better known as start‐up ventures. Entrepreneurs face a series of challenges, from idea conception and business plan design, to obtaining finance, promoting new products and services, generating revenues and profits and generally growing and sustaining a business for the long‐run. These challenges can be overwhelming, namely in the start‐up phase of a new venture, leaving several ideas on paper without them having a chance to “grow legs and walk”. This paper and its analysis offer important insights about the contribution of crowdfunding to facilitate the attainment of critical factors for successful entrepreneurship. With extensive use of real practical examples, leveraging previous analytical studies of other crowdfunding implications and reviewing expert literature, by interviewing entrepreneurs, crowdfunding platform owners and by benefitting from hands on experience of working in such an organization, we intend to clarify the impact of crowdfunding in what we considered to be 7 key entrepreneurial requirements detailed further in the introduction section and later in the body of the paper. The findings have implications for entrepreneurs, naturally, and for business generation theory, extending current entrepreneurial guidelines with innovative tools and methodologies capable of sustaining successful ventures in a newly highlighted cooperative world. We live in innovative times where the channels for the transfer of funds and resources suffer disruptive changes with the potential to significantly improve the ability to generate new initiatives for the well‐being of entrepreneurs and all related communities.

Tukiverkosto yrityksen perustamisessa. Case loviisalaiset yrittäjät

Tavoitteena tutkimuksessani oli saada selville, mistä pienen kaupungin uudet pienyrittäjät hakevat ja saavat neuvoja yrityksen perustamisvaiheissa. Olen myös kartoittanut yrittäjän perustamispäätöksen taustaa ja idean lähdettä. Tutkimukseni alkoi kyselylomakkeen lähettämisellä koko tutkimuksen kohdejoukolle. Tutkimusongelman hahmotuttua valitsin tutkimustavaksi teemahaastattelun. Haastattelin yhteensä yhdeksää uutta yrittäjää vuosilta 1998 ja 1999. Kohderyhmä koostui eri sukupuolta olevista ja eri ikäisistä henkilöistä. Yleisesti ottaen yrittäjien tukiverkostot olivat melko laajoja. Neuvoja haettiin ahkerimmin uusyrityskeskuksesta ja kirjanpitäjiltä. Perheellä ja tuttavilla on myös roolinsa tukiverkostossa. Näyttäisi siltä, että nuoremmat yrittäjät ovat ahkerampia neuvojen kyselijöitä kuin vanhemmat. Tutkimuksen tulosten valossa näyttäisi siltä, että uusi yrittäjä saa tarvitsemansa tuen ja avun

Luottamuksen rooli sidosryhmäyhteistyössä - Case: uuden teollisen yrityksen perustaminen

This study examines the role of trust in collaboration between stakeholders when establishing a new industrial company in Finland. Small and medium size company has been established about four years ago and nowadays it employs some tens of employees. Company is handled in this study as anonymous. Growth of the company has been fast, which means that stakeholder collaborations have been successful. The aim of the study is to examine what is the relation between trust and risk while establishing a new company. Secondly, the study examines what are the key expectations of the trust of new company. Third aim of this study is to examine how founders could build up trust among stakeholders The theoretical part of this qualitative research was done by using the theme interviews. The empirical material consisted of theme interviews of 8 persons, who are representing stakeholders of the new industrial company. The results of this study suggest that, when establishing an industrial company with aggressive growth plan, process is vulnerable and trust is having an important role. Stakeholders made some risk studies comparing to trust. Stakeholders were dependent of each others. Founder team consisted of trusted persons, which helped to have success in establishment process. Members of founder team have created all the elements of trust: honest, technical competence and attitude & behavior.

Alkavan yrityksen strategiset vaihtoehdot ja selviytyminen

Työn tavoitteena on soveltaa yrityksen perustamiseen, innovaation diffuusioon ja strategiseen suunnitteluun liittyvää teoriaa Delitaz Oy:n kehitykseen liiketoimintamahdollisuuden havaitsemisesta uudeksi yritykseksi. Työssä etsitään keinoja yrityksen kehittämän innovatiivisen tuotteen saamiseksi nopeammin markkinoille ja lähtökohtia tulevaa liiketoimintasuunnitelman päivitystä varten. Työssä kootaan yhteen uuden yrityksen perustamisen vaiheisiin, selviytymiseen ja menestymiseen liittyvää teoriaa liiketoimintamahdollisuuden havaitsemisesta uuden inno-vatiivisen tuotteen markkinoille tuomiseen ja yrityksen strategiseen suunnitteluun. Tapaus-osiossa perehdytään kohdeyrityksen perustamisen vaiheisiin, toimintaympäristöön, tuotteeseen ja liiketoimintaan. Työn menetelmänä on tapaus- kehittämis- ja toimintatutkimuksen yhdistelmä. Kehittämis- tai toimintatutkimuksen varsinainen käytännön testaamisvaihe jää työn ulkopuolelle, sillä haluttuja muutoksia lähdetään vasta toteuttamaan. Johtopäätöksinä kuvataan yhden liiketoimintamahdollisuuden kehittyminen ideasta tuotteeksi ja teknologiayritykseksi yrityksen perustamisen teoriaan verrattuna ja esitetään keinoja tuotteen markkinoille saamisen nopeuttamiseksi ja mahdollisia strategisia vaihtoehtoja liiketoimintasuunnitelman päivittämiseksi.