Some small business leaders lack strategies to develop effective teams. Lack of team development affects the ability of restaurant small business owners to remain profitable for longer than 5 years. The focus of this multiple case study was an exploration of the role team development plays in business profitability. The population for this study was 3 experienced owners of restaurants in New Jersey that remained open for longer than 5 years. The conceptual framework was based on the Tuckman model of team development to highlight the connection between the model and how small business owners use team development to remain profitable for longer than 5 years. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews and review of business documents provided by 2 of the participants. Through thematic analysis of the data, the following themes emerged: the number of years in business and the training program; well-developed, skillful teams are key to business success; committed teams lead to sustainability; and team development and sustainability. Studying the team development strategies used in small business restaurants may help other business owners stay profitable for longer than 5 years. The findings of the study may provide valuable information for individuals wanting to start a business or for owners of small businesses who want to learn how to make their businesses profitable. Profitable businesses can create positive social change in communities by providing jobs and an influx of capital to community neighborhoods.

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This paper describes a Master of Art and Design research project developing a social entrepreneurial design process in fashion. This is a multi method approach focussed upon a Participatory Action Research methodology, to develop creative practice and a relational business model for female refugee outworkers and myself a fashion designer resulting in long term rewarding employment. The project has two primary strands for discussion. Firstly, visual documentation and analysis of textile and garment development incorporating the refugees’ cultural references. Using drawing, embroidery, dyeing and construction skills of the participants in a collaborative design and production process with the researcher, has resulted in the development of a womenswear collection of T shirts. Secondly; the process findings and outcomes of the pilot study which often cross the boundaries of aesthetics, technology, craft, and ethics; drawing together western and developing world cultures in a creative dialogue will be presented. In conclusion, the aims, objectives, outcomes of and potential of this socially sustainable design model, which could be applicable to refugee agencies and New Zealand fashion designers, will be gauged and discussed.

<p>Date: 26 May 2008</p><p>Program: International Business and Entrepreneurship (IB&E)</p><p>Level: Master Thesis 10 Points (15 ETCS)</p><p>Title: Internationalization process from entrepreneurial perspectives – a case study of TOA Group</p><p>Authors: Thi Thanh Thuy Le - Email: tle07001@student.mdh.se</p><p>Theerata Thornjaroensri - Email: tti07001@student.mdh.se</p><p>Supervisor: Bengt Olsson</p><p>Research Problem: How do entrepreneurs play a vital role in the internationalization process of TOA Group?</p><p>Aim of the Thesis: The purpose of our research project is to present a perspective that includes the entrepreneurs in the analysis in order to have a comprehensive understanding about the internationalization process of TOA Group, a Thai-owned paint multinational company.</p><p>Method: The nature of the research is qualitative. The deductive and a single case study approaches have been applied. Both secondary data and primary data are used to conduct the research. The semi-structure interview is used to get the primary data.</p><p>Conclusion: The establishment chain pattern of the Uppsala Model is too deterministic and mainly on learning process at organizational level. This research project adopts three entrepreneurial perspectives with three entrepreneur types. The TOA case shows that entrepreneurial perspectives directly influence the firm’s internationalization.</p><p>Key Words: Internationalization, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial perspective</p>

Date: 26 May 2008 Program: International Business and Entrepreneurship (IB&amp;E) Level: Master Thesis 10 Points (15 ETCS) Title: Internationalization process from entrepreneurial perspectives – a case study of TOA Group Authors: Thi Thanh Thuy Le - Email: tle07001@student.mdh.se Theerata Thornjaroensri - Email: tti07001@student.mdh.se Supervisor: Bengt Olsson Research Problem: How do entrepreneurs play a vital role in the internationalization process of TOA Group? Aim of the Thesis: The purpose of our research project is to present a perspective that includes the entrepreneurs in the analysis in order to have a comprehensive understanding about the internationalization process of TOA Group, a Thai-owned paint multinational company. Method: The nature of the research is qualitative. The deductive and a single case study approaches have been applied. Both secondary data and primary data are used to conduct the research. The semi-structure interview is used to get the primary data. Conclusion: The establishment chain pattern of the Uppsala Model is too deterministic and mainly on learning process at organizational level. This research project adopts three entrepreneurial perspectives with three entrepreneur types. The TOA case shows that entrepreneurial perspectives directly influence the firm’s internationalization. Key Words: Internationalization, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial perspective

Executive summary In a world where the Internet and good communications accelerates the globalization, having connections across borders becomes a competitive advantage. The easy access to a constant stream of information is making the opportunities countless, adding to the equation that the Internet and supplementary techniques such as different types of software are still very young, the opportunities will keep on emerge. At the moment there are still great gaps in terms of technology between countries, which enables fast growing companies such as Lintner to fill a niche and gain new market shares due to their technological lead and managerial practices. But how should they enter the new markets and reach the new costumers? This research has put the emphasis on creating a guiding discussion on how an international expansion strategy could be formulated. We have found that organizations can lower the risk and increase their profit potential by combining several strategies, that they start by expanding with a low-risk strategy and then increase the investments on the market to enable higher profitability. The benefits with this approach is that a small computer software company can take advantage from the simplicity and low needs for capital and then gradually increase the investment as they get market knowledge and a solid customer base. They need to work around challenges such as cultural differences by allowing the due diligence to take time and the targeted company to become familiar with the intentions of the collaboration. It is important that the organization prepares itself for the internationalization; this is done by the creation of slack resources. The strategy they choose must be formulated and incorporated in the overall business strategy. To successfully describe the alternatives to expansion currently available to Lintner, an extensive literature review has been conducted. But to fully understand the surrounding environment and the challenges with international expansion, we have conducted several interviews within Lintner, but also with three organizations that have previously found themselves where Lintner is today. The findings from these interviews were interpreted and placed in context to Lintner’s and to companies in their specific situation. This has been done in order for us to create a meaningful contribution to Lintner’s future growth.

Background and Purpose: Governments and policy makers continue to look to entrepreneurship as a vehicle to economic development. This is informed by the perception shared by governments and policy makers that entrepreneurship is a good thing and we ought to have more of it. Thus a wave of policies has emerged in the UK and elsewhere which advocates for an increase in the level of enterprise activity. Our understanding of how and when governments intervene to assist entrepreneurs, and indeed which, if any, specific entrepreneurs should receive assistance in some shape or form, still has substantial knowledge gaps. The review aims to contribute to the building of this knowledge. Methodology: The systematic review methodology was followed to examine the entrepreneurship literature. Quantitatively, the data was examined using basic descriptive statistics and content analysis. Qualitatively, the data was analyzed based on an inductive approach in order to identify emerging, frequent, dominant or significant themes that dominate in understanding entrepreneurship. Findings: This review has identified factors which affect entrepreneurial performance, the market failure that result as well as the policy instruments defined in literature that aim to rectify the perceived market failure. Different typologies were identified which illustrate how the different policy instruments are categorised. Further, this review highlights the complex nature of public policy and entrepreneurship and raises the importance of adopting a more coherent “holistic” approach when advocating for intervention in entrepreneurship and public policy.

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The majority of the existing studies on the entrepreneurship tend to adopt the quantitative approaches to explore the effect of the preset variables and/or to examine the relationships between different variables. However, such an approach is too static and neglects the dynamics and complexity of the environment. Therefore this research tempts to analyze the entrepreneurship story by the narrative inquiry method in the hope to explain a different landscape of entrepreneurship researches and entrepreneurial organizations. The case of this research is a chain cram school. Based on the experiences and stories from the cram school¡¦s founder, managers and teachers, accompanying with the points of view adopted from ¡§Human Playful Entrepreneuning¡¨ as well as the explanation and introspection of the author, five features of an entrepreneurial organization are uncovered. That is, an entrepreneurial organization is an ever-changing organization; an organization playing with boundaries; a changing organization with regularity; a ¡§Gong-ho¡¨ organization; and an organization with a group of knowledge workers who are organizationally assimilated. An entrepreneurial organization could only survive and accommodate to a dynamic environment by attracting new employees with various knowledge, by accumulating and exploiting internal resources, and by continuous interaction with the external environment. An entrepreneurial organization is able to keep some principles despite of its continuous changes, and to keep its entrepreneurship from the faculty¡¦s partnership. When it assimilates the faculty it helps them attract each other but still maintain an innovative thinking and the ability of execution at the same time.