Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

No description available.

Within the stream of research on entrepreneurial opportunity there is a school of thought that affords entrepreneurs an agentic role in the creation of opportunities – with opportunities understood as a combination of both product and market innovation. Recently scholars working from this Creative Model have associated the opportunity shaping work of entrepreneurs with sensemaking – a social process in which teams gather information, ascribe meaning, and take action in the face of the uncertainties, which some have said define the context of entrepreneurship. Few, if any, scholars have studied the naturally occurring conversations between entrepreneurial team members as they discuss the information, meaning, and action relevant to their innovation efforts. This dissertation makes a contribution to current understanding of entrepreneurship by capturing the naturally occurring conversations of innovative entrepreneurial teams in action, analyzing these recorded conversations for use of sensemaking language, and comparing the language patterns between teams that achieve different levels of performance.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the growth performances of regions in Turkey and the role of human capital in this process within the framework of new growth theory. For this aim, it firstly attempts to investigate the evolution of regional income growth differences in Turkey in the period 1980-2000 and the tendency of provinces in Turkey towards income growth convergence. Secondly, by taking a detailed account of human capital, it aims to explore the contribution of human capital differences towards explaining income growth disparities among Turkey&rsquo / s provinces. In this framework, human capital is defined in terms of education, entrepreneurship and innovation.

For years now, the world has been going through constant changes leading organizations and societies to a progressive motion causing significant changes. Part of these changes has been caused by the entrepreneur whose roll is to identify profitable opportunities, join and find different sites of sources that are essential for the growth and development of countries. By this perspective, it is agued that the world economy is ruled by the power of a market which is uncontrollable and its main economic actors are companies and innovative entrepreneurs that are established on the basis of advantages offered. The global economic scenario implies the necessity for emerging economies such as Brazil, to synchronize to this global reality in a short term, because the inability of changing associated to technological evolution is a major cause of failure. The market competition is the result of an innovative capability, where technological changes have been strongly accelerated and are becoming more complex. Researches and the development of new technologies have shown the urge of nations to have a positive impact in the introduction of new paradigms by seeking self-sufficiency in forward technologies such as nanotechnology. The advances of researches in this area and the growing ingress of new products in the market suggest an obsolescence of former ones. The development of innovative businesses due to the technological development, emerges from this study the need of contributing to the inclusion of Brazil in the ranking of self-sustainability facing this new age, from P&D the progressive academic entrepreneurship in pharmaceutical nanotechnology. The opportunities of this new era will only be promising as the generation of knowledge, mastery of new technologies and the creation of innovative business is encouraged. To develop studies relating entrepreneurship, innovation and nanotechnology of drugs in Brazil, is as convenient as necessary since it is the alternative to create value and condition to the country's economic growth. This study deals with these issues by evaluating the innovative capacity of Brazil compared to the countries part of BRIC on nanotechnology, measuring their scientific production, patent deposits in order to elucidate a study of case on developing an academic nanotechnology product appropriate to the innovative entrepreneurship of drugs in the country. / Há anos o mundo passa pelo processo constante da transformação forçando organizações e sociedades a viver sob a égide das revoluções que produzem significativas mudanças. Em parte essas mudanças devem-se aos empreendedores, cujo papel consiste em identificar oportunidades rentáveis, reunir e realocar recursos necessários indispensáveis ao desenvolvimento e crescimento econômico das nações. Nesta perspectiva, sustenta-se que a economia mundial é dominada por forças de um mercado incontrolável, e seus principais atores econômicos são empresas e empreendedores inovadores que se estabelecem em função de vantagens oferecidas. O cenário econômico mundial implica na necessidade de economias emergentes como o Brasil, sincronizarem a essa global realidade em curto prazo, pois a incapacidade de mudar associada a evolução tecnológica é uma das principais causas do fracasso. A competitividade nos mercados é fruto da capacidade inovativa, onde mudanças tecnológicas têm se acelerado significativamente e são cada vez mais complexas. Pesquisas e desenvolvimentos de novas tecnologias têm evidenciado o anseio das nações em impactar positivamente na introdução de novos paradigmas ao buscarem auto-suficiência em tecnologias portadoras de futuro como a nanotecnologia. Os avanços das pesquisas nesta área e a crescente entrada de novos produtos no mercado sugerem uma obsolescência de antigos. Com o desenvolvimento tecnológico contribuindo para surgimento de empreendimentos inovadores, emerge com este estudo a importância de se contribuir para a inclusão do Brasil no ranking da auto-sustentabilidade frente aos novos tempos, a partir de P&D e do empreendedorismo inovador acadêmico em nanotecnologia farmacêutica. As oportunidades dessa nova era somente será promissora à medida que a geração do conhecimento, o domínio de novas tecnologias e a criação de empreendimentos inovadores seja incentivado. Desenvolver estudos relacionando empreendedorismo, inovação e nanotecnologia de fármacos no Brasil é tão oportuno quanto necessário, pois é a alternativa à criação de valor e condicionante ao crescimento econômico do país. Este estudo trata estas questões ao avaliar a capacidade inovadora do Brasil em comparação aos países do BRIC em nanotecnologia, mensurando sua produção científica, depósitos de patentes, a fim de elucidar um estudo de caso no desenvolvimento de um produto acadêmico nanotecnológico oportuno ao empreendedorismo inovador de medicamento no país.

Originating from Silicon Valley in the early 1990s, high-technology-oriented entrepreneurs-turned-philanthropists have applied venture capital principles to philanthropy in order to address intractable social problems, coining the term venture philanthropy (VP). Evolving from an emergent to a pervasive model in Europe in the last two decades, the VP approach has been considered as an innovative alternative to the traditional philanthropy (TP) type of benevolence and cheque-writing (Anheier and Leat 2006). With increasing expectations, in the context of governmental hollowing-out of social services, debate seems to have become polarised. VP is criticised for not being a solution to changes in the social landscape and for its business approaches failing to address fundamental social issues (Sievers 2001; Anheier and Leat 2006; Shiller 2012) and so remaining simply a myth. This research explores the nature of VP based on the organisational perspectives of four funders in Scotland, with a focus on the engagement process. The new empirical data regarding the funding distribution process are gathered with the aim of answering the core questions: 'why give', 'what to give' and 'how to give'. A new operational framework for analysing funders is developed and is used to analyse processual trajectories mapping the convergence and divergence amongst the four funders, citing new evidence from Scotland. Case studies from the years 2011 to 2014 present four grant-giving modes respectively: 1) pure grant-giving but emerging to a business approach applied to funding distribution; 2) grant-giving but applying venture capital approaches (VP); 3) mixed grants and repayable business loans; and 4) repayable business loans. To map the feature of emergent trajectory, a new operational framework is proposed and utilised for analysis. Research findings suggest that a pattern of resource heterogeneity is emerging in the four funding models in response to isomorphic forces. While dealing with inward (governance) and outward (market and political) legitimacy forces, hero-entrepreneurs are shown in the four cases as the key driver to identify the need for change and drive change forward. Meanwhile, hero-entrepreneurship behaviour is associated with the setting of goals, shaping the rationale of the funding scheme, marshalling resources and aligning with partners to demonstrate value adding through the engagement process. The contribution of this research to the philanthropic field is threefold. Firstly, with regard to its theoretical contribution, the findings support conventional isomorphic change theory by arguing: a) that the agent-conduit-roles of funders are not determined by structure, but rather individual agents (hero-entrepreneurs) play a cementing role in the change process of initiating, leading, diffusing influence and levering power for social change; and b) that in their agent-conduit-roles funders act as an active but reflective intermediary, change taking place in the process of legitimacy and resource distribution through the cycle of change-model shaping; convening and conducting; reflecting, dismantling and reshaping. This contribution enhances and complements the discovery by Mair and Hehenberger (2014), which suggests TP and VP create shared space for negotiation, shared objectives and a reflective isomorphic process (Nicholls 2010a). Arguably, funders should strategically consider complex and plural elements of funding and integrating a competitive market and a cooperative rationale with emotional motives into a decision-making. Realisation of social objectives will ultimately be achieved through reflective isomorphic processes, adjusting the funding structure to fit social contexts with convergent resources alignment. Secondly, with regard to its empirical contribution, this research proposes a new typology of funders. Different from the typology proposed by Ostrower (2006), the new typology proposal is based on what the funding is for. The elements of the new typology are synthesised from why, how and what in action, i.e. grant-giving mode, engagement approach and level of risks. Thirdly, practical contributions emerging from the implications of the proposed framework, which are discussed in the concluding chapter, may improve the quality of decision-making in funding behaviour and may also help to shape modes of governance for social problem-solving.

In the fourth industrial revolution, technological advancement and digital transformation are inevitable, which impact individuals, organizations, and governments tremendously and extensively. The current ongoing pandemic covid -19 has been a catalyst that accelerates the pace and scale of embracing digitalization, which leads to a dramatic shift in the business environment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) attracts increasing attention based on the business opportunities and values that can be created from both internal and external aspects alike. Grounding on the digital context, AI as an enabler from the external perspective; AI as a core resource from the internal perspective, the research attempts to identify 1) AI's implication on international entrepreneurs' possibilities to explore business opportunities;2) AI's significance for international entrepreneurs to enhance performance and generate value alike in the international market.  The research conducts qualitative research based on six case studies to examine and explore the aforementioned research area.  The research supports the theoretical framework that AI as an enabler provides international entrepreneurs with conducive conditions to testify and experiment with new business initiatives, which positively impacts spurring innovation and opening a new wide window of business opportunity across borders. In parallel, the research is consistent with the theories that AI is one of the valuable resources from the resource-based view, making contributions to SMEs’ enhanced performance, which paves the way for international entrepreneurs to stay in the business competition. In addition, the study proposes a combination of entrepreneurs' heuristic approaches in making strategic decisions with the assistance of AI in uncertain circumstances is crucial in conducting business in the digital environment. The research highlights the integration of innovation resources from external and internal aspects alike to stimulate and catalyse the growth of international entrepreneurship in the digital industry in the established markets. The research accentuates pandemic Covid-19 causes the changes in the digital environment, which affects international entrepreneurial activities. The article concludes with the above-mentioned circumstances' implications on international entrepreneurship, proposing a theoretical framework and providing an agenda for future research in the area.

If you have an idea about applying a proven technology to improve the processes in a new area of society, what does it take to implement it in a way that it has wide impact and endures? This is a relevant question particularly now, at the dawn of the age of 'big data', as information and communication technologies are adopted in many areas to harness the ability to collect, retrieve and analyse large amounts of information, and be made available at the level of individual users. Extraordinarily powerful devices developed in recent years offer much promise, but as many examples, such as Betamax, WAP-technology, HD DVD and netbooks, show that even potent technologies may fail to gain predominance and survive. The concept of institutional entrepreneurship is a useful framework to analyse these complex issues as it embodies a comprehensive analytical perspective, combining attention to the institutional environment as well as to the efforts by interested and re-sourced actors. I use this concept to I investigate the efforts to introduce mobile technology into health care in England and Finland. I employ a distinct research strategy that avoids a retrospective bias, through the collection and analysis of qualitative data before known outcomes, from a wide range of technology, care, regulatory and intermediary organisations. I uncover some of the difficulties to technology adoption and develop arguments about the types of efforts and the impact of context at the early moment stage that contribute to the further development of the concept of institutional entrepreneurship.

The challenge to obtain early-stage funding for small ventures is especially pronounced in Africa, where traditional funding sources are available only to a small extent. This lack, combined with the diffusion of mobile phones and internet access, enabled the unprecedented rise of mobile payments on a personal level in Africa in recent years. On a commercial level, ICT-enabled crowdfunding is given the potential to mitigate the early-stage funding gap for African entrepreneurs. Using exploratory research, the dissertation provides initial empirical evidence on crowdfunding in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, it is shown that African entrepreneurs across the continent can raise substantial amounts of money by tapping into the global funding community. Moreover, empirical evidence is provided, that the basic economic constructs, institutions and infrastructure appear to play a decisive role for African crowdfunding and that their effect size depends on the respective institutional setting.:1. Introduction 2. Prevailing Forms of Funding for African Entrepreneurs 2.1 Informal Funding 2.2 Government Funding 2.3 Business Angels 2.4 Venture Capital 2.5 Factoring and Leasing 2.6 Banking Loans 2.7 Mobile Money 2.8 Microfinance 2.9 Summary 3. Crowdfunding 3.1 Definition of Crowdfunding 3.2 Taxonomy of Crowdfunding 3.3 Donation-based Crowdfunding 3.3.1 Characteristics 3.3.2 Platforms 3.3.3 Empirical Research 3.4 Reward-based Crowdfunding 3.4.1 Characteristics 3.4.2 Platforms 3.4.3 Empirical Research 3.5 Debt-based Crowdfunding 3.5.1 Characteristics 3.5.2 Platforms 3.5.3 Empirical Research 3.6 Equity-based Crowdfunding 3.6.1 Characteristics 3.6.2 Platforms 3.6.3 Empirical Research 3.7 The Emergence of Crowdfunding 3.8 The Worldwide Crowdfunding Market 3.9 The African Crowdfunding Market 4. Evidence on the Use of Reward-based Crowdfunding in Africa 4.1 Research Objective 4.2 Research Design and Methodology 4.3 Data Sample 4.3.1 Data Set Construction 4.3.2 Variables 4.4 Results 4.4.1 Project and Platform Results 4.4.2 Category Results 4.4.3 Country Results 4.5 Summary and Critical Reflection 5. National Competitiveness 5.1 What is National Competitiveness? 5.2 The Global Competitiveness Report 5.3 The Global Competitiveness Index 6. Evidence on Enabling Economic Factors for the Usage of Reward-based Crowdfunding in Africa 6.1 Research Objective 6.2 Research Design and Methodology 6.3 Data Sample 6.3.1 Data Set Construction 6.3.2 Variables 6.4 Results 6.4.1 Total Sample 6.4.2 Low-Income Countries 6.4.3 Middle-Income Countries 6.4.4 Below-Median Crowdfunding Activity Countries 6.4.5 Above-Median Crowdfunding Activity Countries 6.5 The Role of Productivity and Basic Requirements 6.6 Discussion and Connection of the Results 6.7 Summary and Critical Reflection 7. Summary and Implications 7.1 Executive Summary 7.2 Theoretical Implications 7.3 Implications for Policymakers 7.4 Implications for African Entrepreneurs 7.5 Implications for Other Stakeholders 7.6 Limitations and Avenues for Future Research 7.7 Concluding Remarks References Appendices