Entrepreneurs sometimes have several offers from venture capitalists ‘on the table’ and will often spend a significant amount of time evaluating potential financiers, but the factors that influence their ‘willingness to partner’ are under-researched. The majority of studies concentrate on the things that might make a new venture a ‘good bet’ for the investor; only […]
Read More… from Choosing a Venture Capitalist: The Ethical Dimension
In a popular article published by Harvard Business Review in 1999, the authors proposed that those who use stories as part of their management and strategy technique tend to become team leads, small business innovators, and CEOs. Whether the story is about the “two Steves” of Apple Computers who worked out of Steve Job’s parents’ […]
It is often assumed that customers are the best judges of whether or not they have a problem, but that is not always the case, especially when it comes to innovative complex products. As with almost any novel high-tech product, consumers are uncertain of their requirements, so producers engage in guesswork to try and identify […]
Read More… from Eureka! How to Get that Great Idea to Market
A growing body of literature demonstrates the positive impact of regional clusters and networks on innovation. Including links to government agencies and research institutes as well as to similar companies and their distributors and suppliers, intra-cluster ties (ICTs) are seen as a gateway to technical know-how, trade contacts and capital for small businesses. They encourage […]
Read More… from Innovation and External ‘Clusters’ in Emerging Markets
The importance of trust to individuals and organizational teams is widely acknowledged by scholars. Recent studies, however, have started to explore its darker side in relationships — especially in innovative and dynamic settings. Research by Maastricht University and Vlerick Business School contributes to this stream of inquiry by examining how perceptions of trust in entrepreneur-angel […]
Read More… from Angels, Entrepreneurs and the Dark Side of Trust
Crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly popular way to raise funding for a new venture or a new cause. Because it is relatively new, academic research on how crowdfunding works, and how well it works, is still in its early stages. Researchers Gordon Burtch of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Anindya Ghose from […]
Read More… from Crowdfunding: How a Slow Process Helps in the Long Run
Crowdfunding brings together the individuals or organizations that propose ideas with a ‘crowd’ of people who pool their money to support the projects. An online crowdfunding ‘platform’ links the project initiator and the crowd. In a business context, crowdfunding means the funding of a company through small amounts of debt or equity from many investors. […]
Scholars have identified different approaches to the management of uncertainty in the entrepreneurial process. The ‘classic’ model is ‘focused commitment’. The argument in this stream of research is that making commitments early may secure future opportunities and discourage rivals from investing, accelerate learning and enable economies of scale, and provide ‘first mover’ advantage. Put very […]
Read More… from Flexibility Vs Commitment in the Entrepreneurial Process
Business environments evolve quickly and constantly, and changes in technologies, demand or regulation often lead to the development of new products and services. But what determines the quality of these products and services — and the degree of innovation of companies? A study of data from 84 firms supplying the German car industry shows that […]
Read More… from Innovation and the Power of Positive Thinking
Many large companies have developed corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) initiatives. Examples include global management consultants Accenture, French cement, concrete and aggregates company Lafarge and Swiss pharmaceuticals multinational Novartis. Often referred to as ‘social businesses’, CSE initiatives are usually started by employees who want to help underprivileged people. Motivated partly by personal experience, these social intrapreneurs […]
