Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 1999. / Also available online.

Project and Report (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. M.S. 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-102). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-88).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed May 9, 2007). PDF text: vi, 70 p. ; 0.69Mb UMI publication number: AAT 3237386. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Female entrepreneurs establishing new firms in Jordan mostly do not have adequate internal resources to help support the successful emergence and growth of their enterprise. Agreement has emerged among scholars that network ties are an effective source or route through which entrepreneurs are able to reach and obtain the resources necessary to assist their firm through its various stages development. Understanding more about how Jordanian female entrepreneurs engage in networking in order to establish and grow their firms, might help inform policy intervention as well as inform theory by identifying the model of network development in a field where there is a lack of studies and literature that explores the networking behaviour of female entrepreneurs, particularly in Eastern societies. Thus, this research investigates the development of networks for resource acquisition by exploring the experiences of female entrepreneurs in 14 technology-based firms in Jordan. It explores the structural characteristics and the content of their networks and how they have developed over time to deliver advantage in resource acquisition during the venture formation and early development stages. Rich qualitative data were collected utilising a two-stage, in-depth interview approach. Evidence is presented as to how changes in aspects of network structure, including diversity, reachability, density, centrality and the presence of strong and weak ties, yield different types of resources available to the entrepreneurs. The network structure of female entrepreneurs at start-up was characterised by business ties established within male-dominated networks. There was evidence of these women building new strong ties and reaching out through a small number of indirect ties. Typically there was a high degree of interconnectedness between different parts of the women’s networks, which were characterised by their density. These structural characteristics of the network enabled these women to reach and obtain human capital, financial resources and achieve legitimacy. As the female entrepreneurs grew their businesses there were changes in the network structure as it became characterised by a higher level of diversity in terms of types of tie. The prominence of male-dominated network ties continued, but there was a growing presence of weak ties; a decline in the level of network density; and the appearance of centrality, where women started to act as a broker between two other actors in their networks. These changes saw the women benefitting mainly in building network ties, including gaining access to new contacts of different types. The research revealed that professional business ties and access through these ties play an important role in venture creation and growth. These business ties are used to act as the gateway to resources rather than the personal ties identified in previous research. Further, in support of network-based research suggesting that the entrepreneurs’ network ties and their structural characteristics change overtime as the resource needs change, this research provides empirical evidence of the changing content (resources) that these structural characteristics provide through the start-up and early development stages. Therefore, the findings of this exploratory research on female technology entrepreneurs in Jordan contribute to theory development at the intersection of work on network processes, network development and entrepreneurship in Middle Eastern societies. The findings also have a number of implications for policy and practice, which are considered in the conclusions to the thesis.

This thesis seeks to develop insights into the nature of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that are effective in competing internationally, over the longer term. It therefore aims to provide a better understanding of the behaviour that engenders this capability. Its contributory value lies in the development of the new perspectives which emerged from inductive theory development grounded in longitudinal data collected between1996-1999. Traditionally explanations for the success of SMEs in export markets, it is suggested, have been sought in the marketing mix paradigm rooted in exchange theory. This thesis draws from a range of literature in seeking an understanding of the behaviours observed. In developing a substantive theory to explain the dynamic nature of firms that sustain their competitive effectiveness on international markets this thesis then seeks explanations from the organisational learning paradigm. This study follows the tradition of the naturalistic paradigm and as such the research was a phenomenological study of an exploratory and qualitative nature. The naturalistic paradigm recognises the importance of the subjective experiences of individuals and groups. In the verstehen tradition this study stresses the importance of the informant as the primary source of information. The aim of the inquiry was to develop an ideographic body of knowledge, the emphasis being on explanation and understanding rather than the identification of general and universal laws. The epistemological stance taken required an inductive approach to theory building. Examining the firms longitudinally was the means by which the author was able to take an holistic view of the international activities of the firms studied and focus on the change processes and challenges faced in the study period. The central proposition of this thesis is that the firms that compete effectively on international markets exhibit a positive marketing orientation, and have a strong core purpose on which is generated a clear internationally based strategic direction. It is further proposed that over a period of time, through an iterative process of strategy development, firms build a sustainable competitive advantage in their international markets and develop the ability to maintain this advantage, even when faced with hostile challenges in their international markets. Firms, it is suggested through their relationships, build a virtual structure to their international markets, which provide the means through which a knowledge of their markets is acquired, and an input is made to the strategy development process by external partners. However, it is through the dynamic processes of organisational learning that SMEs develop these capabilities and so enhance their ability to sustain a competitive advantage over a period of time.

No description available.

How do organizations build trust under varying degrees of uncertainty? In this article, we propose that different degrees of uncertainty require different bases of trust. We distinguish between three different forms of trust production (process-based, characteristics-based and institution-based) and develop hypotheses regarding their relative effectiveness under low versus high levels of product and performance uncertainty. Using survey data on 392 interorganizational buyer-seller relationships, we find support for our position that a high degree of uncertainty favours process-based trust production, whereas characteristics-based trust production is relatively more effective when uncertainty is low. The effectiveness of institution-based trust production is not significantly affected by uncertainty. We derive implications for organizational trust production under different degrees of uncertainty, which should encourage new research on trust.

D.Ing. / This study documents the process whereby a practical and relevant industry-wide strategic management information system (SMIS) was developed for the South African consulting engineering industry. The SMIS was designed to provide South African consulting engineers with an improved understanding of the business environment in which they operate and to provide some advance warning of new trends in order to extend the strategic planning horizons of management and owners of consulting engineering firms. This was done against a background of very limited availability of current industry statistics. A literature survey of available historical or secondary data relating to the South African consulting engineering, building and construction industries was conducted in order to determine the relevance and usefulness of such data for the purposes of developing the SMIS. This survey provided background information on the consulting engineering industry, relevant aspects of the South African business environment and the impact of changes in this environment on the local consulting engineering industry. The importance and principles of strategic planning and strategic management are discussed, with specific reference to the nature of environmental scanning. The use of management information systems in the business environment is reviewed with specific emphasis on the application of management information systems in consulting engineering enterprises. The quantitative secondary data collected in the literature survey was used as a benchmark or reference databank to calibrate and/ or evaluate the accuracy of the information collected through ten regular industry surveys that were conducted to collect statistically representative primary data. The secondary and primary data were used to construct a number of time series for each of three key indicators of the health of the South African consulting engineering industry, namely employment, salaries and fee income. The SMIS developed, consists of: • A system to identify new key issues in the business environment and to decide on issues that no longer require further monitoring, • a system of industry surveys at fixed intervals, using both quantitative and qualitative survey techniques, • a system to capture and interpret survey data, • updating time series for key business indicators with latest survey data, and • producing reports on the state of the industry, including limited short term forecasts for business conditions. The SMIS has proved itself useful and provides information to assist strategic management in the South African consulting engineering industry, especially in decision situations regarding large strategic management issues. The system also manages to address the needs of other current and potential users of the system, such as operational managers, industry lobbyists, media liaison and public relations managers, human resources managers, construction contractors etc. The SMIS furthermore complies with all the specific criteria that were set at the commencement of this study, such as confidential handling of source data, affordability and sustainability and, by improving general understanding of the business of consulting engineering in South Africa, contributes to the previously existing knowledge base.

Innovation and commercialization are crucial for the competitiveness and economic well-being of countries. Despite the importance of innovation, recent studies have showed that Canada is lagging behind other countries in terms of its innovation and commercialization performance. The claim is often made that Canada performs well in generating the knowledge needed for innovation; however, the problem lies in transforming this knowledge into commercial success. Thus, a major preoccupation is how to turnaround this weak commercialization performance. Despite the wide range of programs, policies and regulations implemented by the Canadian Government along with its provincial counterparts to engender a turnaround, little has changed in Canada’s commercialization performance. Therefore, the search for solutions continues. Given that commercialization takes place at the firm-level, this study will explore the relationship between firm-size and commercialization. Several existing studies have examined the link between innovation and firm size, but few have examined the link between commercialization and firm size. Despite the arguments supporting medium-sized firms’ ability to commercialize innovations, there is a weak empirical base that explores the position of Canadian medium-sized firms and their innovation and commercialization capabilities. This study will contribute to the existing knowledge by covering the gap in the literature concerning the role of medium-sized firms in commercialization, compared to small and large firms. This study provides evidence suggesting that small and medium-sized firms should be considered differently.