Received entrepreneurship research suggests that entrepreneurial action helps people and communities in the aftermath of disastrous events. To study this phenomenon, scholars focus on two central themes: 1) entrepreneurial actors (individuals, organizations, or firms in the community) with the right knowledge and motivation possess capabilities determine whether an identified opportunity represents an opportunity for them to exploit so as to alleviate others' sufferings, and 2) the feedback from an exploitation of an existing opportunity significantly influences the recognition and evaluation of subsequent opportunities of helping others. However, contemporary research has examined the first theme while largely ignoring the second one. Addressing this oversight, we develop three graph-theoretic models and operationlize them using the computational social science approach to investigate both the temporal dimension of entrepreneurial action as a process of opportunity identification, evaluation and exploitation over time, and the spatial dimension of entrepreneurial action as a feedback to identify subsequent opportunities among networked actors under disasters. The first model depicts a simple supply-chain structure where each actor's entrepreneurial action can feed back to his/her spatially interdependent upstream and downstream neighbors. Our model suggests that feedback mechanisms significantly influence actors' entrepreneurial action decisions to alleviate the negative impacts of unanticipated disasters on supply chain performance. Next, we extend the one-dimensional chain structure into a grid network setting in the second model. This model highlights the importance of reciprocal feedback between neighboring actors in facilitating recovery entrepreneurial actions in the aftermath of disasters. Finally, our last model examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of entrepreneurial action over additional network structures, such as small-world and scale-free, determining how information and knowledge feedback circulates in the system facing disastrous events. We show that a shift in the network structure at the spatial dimension changes the number of actors who act entrepreneurially over time. In sum, we consider entrepreneurial action emerging from the interactions among community members over not only time but also space in times of disasters. The modeling and analysis extends the action-based entrepreneurship framework into the context of disasters by explicitly specifying dynamic and interactive behavior among community members that are inputs to, and outcomes of, one another in the entrepreneurial process to alleviate the sufferings.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Today's organizations are operating in a continually changing business environment. To be a growing and profitable business, it is important that management have a vision of where and how they want to direct the company to the desired future business outcome. Management must be in touch with both the internal and external factors that may influence the outcome of the changing environment ...

M.Comm.

This thesis was carried out at Borggårds Bruk AB, a company which specializes in wire products and is located just northwest of Finspång, in Borggård, Sweden. The company’s business idea is to produce tailor-made products for Scandinavian customers with high requirements for product development, prototyping, quality and reliability. The purpose of this thesis is to look further into the raw material warehouse in the factory, to find any possible improvements that can be made. This is done by analysing both the material and the information flow in the warehouse. The analysis results in several problems being acknowledged, such as a complete lack of location labels, material stored between the racks and the placement of the most used materials being stored at random places in the warehouse. A new layout, where all locations can be seen is created to make it easier for anyone to find material in the warehouse. A new sorting system is implemented, creating fixed places for the top six most used materials (which equal 68% of the material used). These are moved as close as possible to the production to decrease any unnecessary transports.

This dissertation involves an exploratory investigation that examined the antecedents and consequences of personal reputation in organizations. Using existing scales, this examination inspected personality, social effectiveness, expertise, and time as antecedents of personal reputation, and analyzed power, autonomy, and career advancement as consequences. A structural equation model was used to analyze the data in order to further our understanding of personal reputation in organizations. A revised model, driven by theory and improved fit, supported the proposed antecedents and consequences, with personal reputation partially or fully mediating the two groups (i.e., antecedents and consequences). Furthermore, additional analysis furthered our understanding of the reputation construct as it related to self and other reports. Strengths and limitations of this dissertation, and directions for future research are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: March 30, 2007. / Political Skill, Personal Repation, Reputation / Includes bibliographical references. / Gerald R. Ferris, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michael K. Brady, Outside Committee Member; Pamela L. Perrewé, Committee Member; Stephen E. Humphrey, Committee Member; Angela T. Hall, Committee Member.

When creating a unique experience for consumers, and in response to consumer demand for personalized products, retailers increasingly offer products customized to meet the individual consumer's need. A developing technology emerging in the retail setting is body scanning, with which consumer body measurements can be taken and then used to create personalized apparel products. However, this relatively new technology has little research backing its usefulness and practicality in the eyes of consumers. In order to better gauge the adoption of the technology in terms of diffusion within a retail context, an analysis of the personal factors contributing to consumers' willingness to use body scanning was conducted. Using Roger's theory of diffusion (2003), which acknowledges the importance of innovators in paving the way for the diffusion of innovations in the marketplace, selected consumer characteristics were chosen for study in the current research on body scanning technology. The characteristics were, in part, taken from the Blackwell, Miniard, Engel (2001) model of consumer behavior and included personal values, involvement, susceptibility to interpersonal influence and innovativeness. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the factors contributing to consumer willingness to try body scanning by testing a model that incorporated the research variables. The variables were expected to contribute to innovativeness, and ultimately to the time frame of technology adoption. Correlations, factor analysis, and univariate analysis of variance results were reported for this exploratory test of variable relationships. Multinomial regression was used to build the final research model from the significant variables. Final model results showed that normative susceptibility to interpersonal influence decreased one's chances of being among the first to adopt an innovative product. Normative involvement has no significant effect on responses of later adopters. Increases in informational SII scores also increased chances of being the first to adopt, and later to adopt as well. As subjects' involvement scores became greater, they were more likely to fall into the early majority of innovative shoppers. Innovativeness was significant to those intending to adopt body scanning early, but not to later adopters. Multinomial regression showed the individual values of security and fun and enjoyment of life to be important to those earliest to adopt body scanning technology. The resulting findings can be applied in a broader text, with further testing of the research model recommended for other innovations. Future directions for research are mentioned following the discussion of conclusions. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Textiles and Consumer Sciences In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: August 24, 2007. / Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence, Consumer Values, Innovativness Involvment, Body Scanning, Marketing, Consumer Behavior / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeanne Heitmeyer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Leisa Flynn, Outside Committee Member; Young-A Lee, Committee Member; Susan Fiorito, Committee Member; Pauline Sullivan, Committee Member.

by Ho Kwok Tao. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaf 48.

The aim of the study was to better understand the business model change process at the firm level with specific reference to small firms, an area that remains under researched. Business model change drivers, constraints and facilitators were examined in the context of small, independent videogame development firms. The videogame industry is a fast-moving, global industry with entrepreneurial characteristics and a notable number of small and micro firms involved in games development. Such firms have traditionally operated using a contractor-based, ‘work-for-hire’ business model. This is characterised by project-based activities, little or no proprietary intellectual property, a weak financial model, and limited possibilities to build value into the firm. In recent years, new market and technology-related opportunities have emerged for such firms to change to a higher value model that incorporates proprietary intellectual property ownership, an ‘IP’ model. However despite the attraction of this model, and support from industry and policymakers, the successful change from work-for-hire has been limited thereby restricting both firm and industry development. Understanding the rationale for this can contribute to the business model change literature and inform videogame industry policy. This was an empirical study incorporating an exploratory, inductive approach with an embedded single case design that focused on independent videogame development firms and four business model change routes. Qualitative, longitudinal data were collected via 37 semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected entrepreneurs and industry experts; personal observations from interviews and 13 industry events in the UK and abroad; and documentation analysis of firm and industry data. The key findings indicated that: (i) business model change drivers were internal and external in nature with the entrepreneur’s preferences and the business model characteristics being dominant; (ii) certain business model change constraints influenced the composition, timing and success of business model change but were rarely preventative at business model adoption; (iii) the change process was opportunistic, ad hoc and facilitated by experimentation, finance, parallel models and a supportive firm and external environment; and (iv) parallel models were a critical part of business model change. For industry the study indicated that: (i) the IP model opportunity is questionable for many firms; (ii) the work-for-hire and combination models were prevalent but underrated; and (iii) innovation at the business model component may be a more appropriate way for videogame development firms to gain value.

My thesis examines how employees’ psychological contracts form and evolve over time conjointly with their social network ties. It comprises three separate papers, one conceptual and two empirical, written with the purpose of capturing the antecedents of psychological contracts through pre-entry expectations and social relationships of newcomers. Paper 1 is a conceptual piece that theorizes the concurrent formation of newcomers’ social relationships and psychological contracts from a sensemaking perspective. I develop propositions explaining how newcomers make sense of information they gather from pre-entry to post-socialization. The key contribution of this paper is the establishment of a testable two-way process model, which captures the dynamic nature of psychological contracts, and how and why social relationships are important building blocks of the psychological contract. Paper 2 is a qualitative empirical study that investigates the pre-entry expectations and content dimensions of millennial employees’ anticipatory psychological contracts. The key contribution of this paper is the conceptualization of pre-entry time in the psychological contract formation process. The importance of pre-entry expectations in shaping employees’ initial psychological contracts are conceptually acknowledged but widely overlooked in empirical studies. This qualitative study empirically investigates pre-entry expectations and role of these in shaping the content dimensions of anticipatory psychological contracts, which guide millennials’ behavior and sensemaking once they join the organization. Paper 3 is a quantitative empirical study that examines the mechanisms of homophily and assimilation driving the coevolution of newcomers’ psychological contract formation and social network ties. This study challenges earlier views of the unidirectional influence of social interactions on the psychological contract. As a key contribution, through introducing a novel simulation methodology (SIENA), this study shows psychological contracts are both the products and predictors of employees’ social network ties.

This thesis investigates the role of skills and universities in explaining differences in economic performance between firms and regions. The first chapter examines the relationship between university entry and GDP growth between 1950 and 2010 based on new data that combines university entry in 1,500 regions across 78 countries. It finds that a 10% increase in a region’s universities is associated with 0.4% higher GDP per capita in that region, with evidence of spillovers to neighbouring regions. Part of the university effect appears to be mediated through increases in human capital and innovation, and we also find evidence that universities shape views on democracy. Focusing on the UK, the second chapter studies how university growth impacts on local industry composition and productivity using panel data on firms and nearby university enrolments over the period 1997-2016. This spatial analysis reveals that university growth stimulates high-tech start-ups and the effects are stronger for higher quality, research intensive universities and areas of higher initial human capital. Employment effects are more muted, though smaller establishments appear to get larger as universities grow. On average, positive productivity impacts are found only in more high-tech intensive areas. The third chapter provides evidence for a complementarity between modern management practices and higher education using data on manufacturing firms, universities and labour markets across 19 countries. It finds that firms further from universities have lower management scores, even when controlling for a rich set of observables and region fixed effects. Analysis using estimates of regional skill premia suggests that variation in the price of skills drives these effects. The fourth chapter examines differences in economic performance across the UK using a variety of data sources and measures. Ten stylised facts are presented which are relevant for policymakers and researchers engaged in the development of industrial strategy in the UK.