At the dawn of a new presidential election, we are reminded that what separates the United States from the rest of the world are the immigrants who came here in the pursuit of the American Dream. These immigrants do not just come to the United States as workers, but also as consumers and entrepreneurs who contribute to the American economy, and use the profits created by their successful entrepreneurship(s) in a way that they become catalysts of change. None of the studies have managed to track the qualities and perceptions of these entrepreneurial immigrants turned philanthropists since the 1940’s. By focusing on their life experiences using an instrumental case study approach, we start to form the profile of the modern day immigrant entrepreneur and philanthropist by analyzing them through five lenses: immigration, adult education, entrepreneurship, leadership, and philanthropy. Using these five lenses, we can better understand the optative aspects of entrepreneurial immigrantship as a part of social impact on Florida’s Gold Coast. Their core family values of tithing and lending a helping hand to those in need transfer into social activism in terms of donations of wealth and donations of time. Although they do not consider themselves leaders in the communities they live and work in, the research findings are quite the opposite. They are socially involved through memberships and leadership positions on local, national, and international non- profit boards, they spearhead major fundraising events and initiatives, and they establish private or corporate foundations and even support candidates seeking political office, whether here or abroad. In essence, they became philanthropists and community activists, who by virtue of immigrating and opening their businesses here add value to Florida’s Gold Coast. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Professional service entrepreneurs (PSEs) paradoxically practice their profession in highly institutionalized contexts which require significant socialization, while at the same time enacting their role as an entrepreneur. Some activities consistent with entrepreneurship may be unnecessary for—and possibly even contradictory with— activities consistent with professional roles. In this dissertation, I addressed the questions of how two highly central role identities (professional and entrepreneurial) related to entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in professional service practices, and how EO influences performance in the context of professional practices. Using a sample of 139 physicians, I examined the relationships between the role identity centrality of two primary roles (professional and entrepreneurial) that PSEs occupy, the EO of their firms, and firm performance. This study utilized a mixed methods design, consisting of both a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews administered to a sample of professionals who own professional practice firms in the southeastern region of Florida. Findings suggest a significant and positive relationship between entrepreneurial role identity centrality and entrepreneurial orientation and a marginally significant and negative moderation of entrepreneurial role identity centrality upon the relationship between professional role identity centrality and EO. A qualitative study served to elaborate on the findings of the quantitative study, and revealed the potential of very unique understandings of the intersection of entrepreneurship and professional practice across a selection of physicians. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The research study investigates factors that influence entrepreneur’s ability to identify new venture opportunities. Entrepreneurial alertness has been widely argued as fundamental to the opportunity identification process, yet this relationship remains largely unverified by empirical evidence. This study provides an explicit investigation into the implications of entrepreneurial alertness for opportunity identification as well as how metacognitive factors moderate the proposed relationship. First, Chapter 1 provides an overview the purpose, research questions, the significance of the study, and the conceptual framework. Next, a comprehensive review of the existing literature on opportunity identification is provided which is followed by the development of theoretical arguments, associated hypotheses, and the conceptual model. Subsequently, and overview of the research methodology and sampling procedure is presented. Finally, the analyses and results presented followed by a discussion, future research, and conclusions. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

La thèse vise à expliquer la dynamique de l’évolution des projets de création d’entreprises de haute technologie à travers les différentes configurations empruntées par le développement technologique et organisationnel. La revue de littérature dans le domaine de l’entrepreneuriat technologique a montré une grande richesse de facteurs explicatifs de l’évolution des projets de création d’entreprises mais aussi des déficiences du rôle attribué à la technologie qui lui confèrent un statut d’artéfact et non celui de processus à part entière. Une approche conceptuelle de la création de l’entreprise de haute technologie fondée sur la théorie de l’acteur réseau permet de dépasser les approches déterministes afin de s’intéresser au développement conjoint de la technologie et de l’organisation. Le cas d’une innovation de hautes technologies de l’invention à son exploitation est analysé en profondeur selon une démarche de recherche-intervention. L’analyse conduit a l’élaboration d’un outil d’aide à la décision (le dispositif d’intervention) et d’un modèle dynamique de la création de l’entreprise de haute technologie différent de ceux présentés dans la littérature entrepreneuriale. Les principaux apports résident dans l’aide à la prise de décisions stratégiques et à celui de la construction de l’organisation. Cette aide, au départ fondée sur les pratiques de l’intervention, s’est transformée peu à peu en un processus d’apprentissage collectif basé sur une modélisation rationnelle de la construction de l’entreprise technologique en favorisant l’émergence de nouveaux savoirs partageables et durables dans le temps. / This research aims to explain the dynamics of the evolution of the projects of high-technology new business start-up through the various configurations derived from by the technological and organizational development. The review of literature in the field of the technological entrepreneurship shows a vast amount of explanatory factors of the evolution of the projects of new business start-up but also the lack of the role granted to the technology which confers it a status of artefact and not that of the full process. A conceptual approach on the high-technology company based on the theory of the network actor allows to overtake the determinist approaches to be interested in the joint development of the technology and the organization. The case of an innovation of high technologies of the invention in its exploitation is analyzed in deeply according to the research-intervention methodology. The analysis leads the elaboration of a decision-making tool (le dispositif d’intervention) and of a dynamic high-technology model of the creation of the company different from those presented in the entrepreneurial literature. The main contribution lives in the assistance to the strategic decision-making and to that of the construction of the organization. This assistance, at first established on the practices of the intervention, was transformed progressively into a process of collective learning built on a rational modeling of the construction of the technological company by favoring the emergence of new shared and long-lasting knowledge in the time.

Micro and small enterprise (MSE) owners in Kenya are faced with a myriad of constraints that affect their survival for longer than the first 5 years. Owners of MSEs who are unable to identify and implement strategies may not succeed in sustaining their businesses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies owners of MSEs in Nairobi, Kenya, used to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. The conceptual framework for the study was the theory of constraints. Data were collected from 4 purposefully selected MSE owners in Nairobi, Kenya, through face-to-face, semistructured interviews, and review of field notes and company documents. Using thematic data analysis, the major themes that emerged were customer service, access to capital, and nearness to market. The implications of this study for positive social change include strategies for MSE owners to generate stable income for employees, new employment opportunities for job seekers, improved standards of healthcare and education for the community, and a positive lifestyle for the residents of Kenya.

This research seeks to analyse the phenomenon of ethnic business creation amongst the ethnic community in Australia. The main emphasis is on finding the reasons for the process of ethnic business creation over time, focusing on the ethnic resources that the intending ethnic business operators bring to such activities through links to their country of origin. This is a resource-based study, which looks at ethnic resources as a means of sustained competitive advantage and as strategy for success in ethnic business operations in Australia. It attempts to gauge the extent of interactive processes between business operations and the relevant ethnic resources, some of which have a great influence in determining ethnic business people’s success. Policies aimed directly at facilitating, encouraging and strengthening these processes would be a valuable development. This research also examines the theories of small business development and identifies their applicability and relevance to the development of ethnic small business in Australia. The findings of this study enabled the development of a new theory and model for ethnic business creation that links the creation and success of ethnic small businesses to the use of productive diversity principles. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

During the past decade (1984-1994), Australia experienced its worst recession since the depression of the 30's, followed by a no-growth period and an unemployment rate hovering around nine per cent. The awareness of Commonwealth and State Governments of the need for specific policies to stimulate new ventures and support small and medium enterprises (SME's), was increased by a range of reviews which resulted in a variety of initiatives. However, two key national initiatives, licensed Management and Investment Companies (MIC's) and the Second Board Stock Market, which aimed at making access to funds easier for new ventures, failed to provide sustained financial support to new innovative firms. Small businesses in Australia account for some 80 per cent of all businesses and 50 per cent of employment in the private sector. While many factors contribute to the successful establishment and growth of new businesses, a key factor is the availability of and access to affordable finance. The major objective of this study was to identify key success/failure factors in new venture creation and to review in detail the rise and fall of the Second Board Stock Market (1984-1992) - arguably one of the most significant Government initiatives during the 80's to provide access to equity funds. A survey of Melbourne companies listed on the Second Board was to provide valuable information on the success/failure of the Second Board Stock Market and to illuminate desirable Government initiatives meeting SME's survival needs.

The paradigms that examine and describe the nature of the entrepreneurship process have generally been linear, following the lead of the more mature management and physical sciences. This emulation of linear methodologies has occurred despite indications from authors such as Bygrave, Shaver and Mitton of their being less appropriate at this relatively early stage of the social science of entrepreneurship. When examining the nature of a phenomenon such as entrepreneurship, statistical correlations and linear descriptions are limited to confirmation of existing hypotheses. The underlying assumption is that the correct questions are known. However this assumption becomes moot when seeking to include the many unpredictable, non-linear aspects that add the key human vitality of entrepreneurship. This research seeks to move toward a more complete description than linearity alone is able to capture. The research presents a non-linear paradigm, being a holistic combination of the rational evidence of entrepreneurship and what might be termed the spiritual or intangible aspects that together constitute the observed craft of entrepreneurship. The research highlights the dynamic skill-set used by entrepreneurs to balance key elements in the entrepreneurial process, in a way that achieves a relational coherence. The focus is on the high-tech industry which is especially prone to the use of linear descriptions of the entrepreneurship process which takes a new idea and leads it to become a successful product. Interviews with entrepreneurship practitioners involved in the creation of new ventures in the high-tech industry form the database against which this non-linear paradigm is investigated. The results confirm that the success of the entrepreneurial process depends on far more than the linear descriptions that are commonly used to describe the process. Once the basics are in place, entrepreneurs appear to shift their focus to achieving a multi-dimensional integration among what they identify as the key elements in the entrepreneurial process. This is achieved despite apparent disorder and chaos being evident in the process of new venture creation. Entrepreneurs appear to make sense of the confusing non-linearity by focussing on the relational attributes among elements in the new venture. The use of the non-linear relational paradigm (NLRP) developed from the results of this research, enables a more holistic understanding of the empirically observed process of entrepreneurship. This has some significant implications for the management and evaluation of nascent technology enterprises. The NLRP's additional fix on the entrepreneurship process, can be used to inform the venture capital industry when trying to predict the likelihood of success of prospective ventures vying for funds. The NLRP's alternative view could also translate into more appropriate new venture management once funded, and thus better success rates for nascent ventures. The NLRP's insights on the way in which entrepreneurs create and grow new ventures, can improve best-practice techniques for entrepreneurs and influence the way in which entrepreneurship education is approached. Describing innovation and entrepreneurship more holistically also has important implications for all facets of industry that include a process of design, or seek to create wealth.

This thesis details the business plan of CollegeMatchers, Inc, including a market overview. CollegeMatchers is a quick, easy, and free on-campus marketplace, that strives to create self sustaining communities on campuses everywhere.

BenQ was founded in1984,the business income was NTD 300 million during the initial period of years and her core business was merely to produce computer components. Her sales income has achieved to NTD 174.7 billion till 2004 after merging her subsidiary companies. Over the past 20 years, the employees increased to more than 13,000 as a global enterprise distributing more than 30 countries. In addition, the sales income has increased 582 times than she was founded. Therefore, the way of BenQ success was a model for the enterprise growth. In order to research the model and the experiences that the enterprise grows, this research uses BenQ as case study thoroughly studies in her nearly more than 20 years growth processes and how she used each strategy activity to achieve the enterprise growth goal. According to BenQ¡¦s success of new business development, this research constructs set of universalized new business development model, the flow, the process, and product life cycle backward vertical integration model. It was discovered that the corporate venture capital played an important role and function to provide the enterprises growth strategy when enterprise is growing.