<p> Small business owners often do not possess the financial literacy to implement invoice factoring to fund their business. Despite that lack of knowledge, an increasing number of small business owners are using invoice factoring as their primary source of funding. Guided by a systems thinking approach, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to understand the effect of invoice factoring of 5 small business owners, 5 small business finance managers, and 5 factoring program managers, all of whom managed factoring programs and technical services companies with less than $3 million in annual revenues. Participants were located in 6 states with data collected through semi-structured Skype and telephone interviews. Data were analyzed according to the Krippendorff method. Member checking and transcript review established trustworthiness and credibility of interpretations. Three themes emerged from interviews: owner eligibility for traditional capital sources, profit margins, and third-party relationships. The small business owners were not eligible for traditional funding options. Factoring administrators and small business owners cited that companies with better profit margins implemented invoice factoring successfully. Finance managers mentioned that factoring companies acted as a third-party to the invoicing and collection processes. Social implications include a contribution to the advancement of small business success rates and to an entrepreneur&rsquo;s preparation to launch a business venture properly. </p>

<p> This study is important for individuals to investigate the actions that entrepreneurs take to facilitate successful business results that meet its goals and objectives. This research identifies the importance of leadership skills on the effectiveness of business and society overall. The purpose of this study is to describe the actions effective leaders take to articulate a successful vision, establish an industry through financial support, understand different cultures, deal with global industries, and make employees more efficient. The research questions addressed in this study are focused on issues that entrepreneurs face while building an organization and the implications of the actions and decisions of leaders in entrepreneurial companies. Data were gathered through interviews with successful entrepreneurial leaders. The outcome of the study showed that there were several ways to build and improve a business and help entrepreneurs to obtain financial support through many resources. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine the key factors involved in operating a successful independent management consulting business. For those working in the independent management consulting industry or looking to begin, this study aimed to provide information to help define what success means and identify the most important contributors to achieving that success. The study gathered data via online survey and semi-structured interviews from people who have owned an independent management consulting business. Trends in the data were identified and compared with current research to determine the key factors in operating a successful independent management consulting business.</p>

<p>Previous research has indicated that social capital and social effectiveness may have positive influences on entrepreneurial venture success. While the concept of social capital has been a popular topic in research fields, including both social science and economics, few empirical studies have considered the effect of both social capital and social effectiveness in conjunction with the success of ventures created by entrepreneurs. The Young Presidents&rsquo; Organization (YPO) is a worldwide organization created in 1950 to provide education and support for executives who found themselves in leadership positions with few peers. Today that organization has grown to over 18,000 members. This study surveyed the members of YPO and examined their social capital structure and their social effectiveness utilizing the Political Skills Inventory instrument, and compared both variables with various levels of success metrics. The research first looked at demographic characteristics of these entrepreneurs and compared them to components of success. Next it examined the various components of the founders&rsquo; social capital for strength, mix, and density and any correlations with the metrics of success. Then it administered the Political Skills Inventory to determine the respondents&rsquo; social effectiveness, which was then analyzed for correlations with success metrics. Finally, the research compared demographics, respondents&rsquo; social capital, and their social effectiveness with the success metrics to seek out any statistically significant correlations. </p><p> This study does provide some additional empirical support for the idea that social effectiveness can help further an entrepreneur&rsquo;s success in his/her business venture. The statistical results indicated that higher levels of social effectiveness in 2 core components (<i>social astuteness </i> and <i>interpersonal influence</i>) are positively correlated to venture success. And even though no correlations were found between social capital, social effectiveness, and venture success, previous literature and common sense would indicate that they may still exist. </p>

<p> Entrepreneurial journalism is a new paradigm, one that challenges longstanding beliefs about journalists' self-identity and autonomy by teaching and encouraging graduate students and working journalists to start their own businesses, whether online or in print. This new paradigm also forces academe to reconsider traditional methods in how to prepare students for a career. These changes are happening at a time when the news industry is grappling with a seismic shift in how information is delivered and financially supported. On the surface, it seems the new way of thinking by, and about, journalists and academe represents a radical departure from norms that have guided both groups since the late 1800s. However, journalists need not sacrifice core values of independence, truth-telling and impartiality if they choose to become business owners. Entrepreneurial journalism also fits within the historical context of curriculum change and debate within academe over how to adapt to new technologies.</p>

<p> Entrepreneurship is an intentional process, where would-be entrepreneurs choose to start a business rather than out of a reflex. The exacerbating situation of structural unemployment of college graduates in China for the last decade necessitates an urgent need to study entrepreneurial intention as a career choice. To build Chinese college students' readiness for an entrepreneurial career, this paper was an investigation of entrepreneurial intention through an integrated cognitive, affective, social and developmental lens. A total sample of 1,707 senior college students from a university in China was taken and quantitative research method was utilized in this study. An empirical model for developing college students' entrepreneurial intention in China was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. The findings of the study indicated that human capital, social capital and psychological capital all play important roles in developing students' intentions to start an entrepreneurial career in China. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and emotional intelligence emerged as the biggest predictor of entrepreneurial intention. <i>Guanxi </i> moderated emotional intelligence and PsyCap approved to be a precursor to the more domain specific entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Therefore, to foster self-employment and entrepreneurship among college students, universities in China should combine formal entrepreneurship education programs that develop practical entrepreneurial skills required in different stages of entrepreneurial process with training interventions that enhance emotional intelligence skills and positive psychological capital.</p>

<p> Leaders of companies operating in the supply chain have faced enormous competition, thereby needing to develop alternatives for a competitive advantage within and outside the organization. In the field, researchers have suggested that one&rsquo;s dynamic capabilities may determine one&rsquo;s determining competitiveness. The dissertation is an applied research study of the existing dynamic capabilities in the supply chain of organizations to verify the models used and the changes that it brings to the supply chain. The theoretical framework covered the foundations of this study. To collect research data, the researcher shall use surveys to collect data. Quantitative analysis approach will be used to draw inferences to help in this new research. The position of this dissertation is that dynamic capabilities, employed in the procurement section of the supply chain, have a direct influence on the overall performance of an organization. The study revealed that the dynamic capabilities of supply base alignment, performance improvement, operational performance, supply side competence, and systems orientation was critical to organizational performance. Although individual capabilities held minimal sway, when the individuals combined to form the dynamic capability, the influence had the most power over organizational performance. The supply side and operational performance were both organizational competences, while performance improvement, supply base alignment, and systems orientation were managerial competences. This literature added to work in supply chain and procurement; it has shown successfully that dynamic capabilities used in the procurement section did have direct effect on organizational performance.</p><p>

<p> Over the past 15 years, privately held small businesses generated nearly two-thirds of the net job growth in the United States, yet much of what scholars know regarding the capitalization challenges faced by small businesses is limited to data from large corporations. In 2013 alone, business bankruptcies numbered 33,212, and each year approximately 10% to 12% of U.S. small businesses close. Ineffective capitalization strategies coupled with a limited understanding of funding options frequently results in unsustainable business practices. In this multiple case study, the capital budgeting theory was utilized to explore the capitalization strategies small business owners in the greater Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area employed to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years of business inception. Participants were purposefully selected based on their tenure in business, number of employees, and geographic location. Data were collected via in-person semistructured interviews with 4 small business owners, coupled with a review of financial archival documents. Data were analyzed using theme interpretation, data grouping, and word frequency tabulation. Three themes emerged: a preference for self-funded, personal capitalization; the leveraging of personal relationships as a primary educational strategy; and a general aversion to debt and high interest rates. Implementing sound capitalization strategies contributes to social change by improving the likelihood of long-term sustainability. Sustainable small businesses increase employment opportunities, wage growth, and community-based services while enhancing the overall quality of life for local families and the community.</p><p>

<p>The body of research on the economic activities of diaspora communities has developed over several decades by researchers in a variety of academic disciplines, including economics, sociology, and entrepreneurship. Although international business (IB) research is primarily concerned with the internationalization of large, mature corporations, the cross-border economic activities by individuals, particularly from those who have crossed borders themselves (diasporans) has been identified as a significant gap in the existing body of literature (Cano-Kollmann, Cantwell, Hannigan, Mudambi, & Song, 2016; Ramamurti, 2004, 2011). This dissertation helps to fill this research gap by exploring homeland investment interest (Gillespie, Riddle, Sayre, & Sturges, 1999) in the context of the US-based Ghanaian diaspora. My dissertation makes three specific contributions to the existing international business literature. Firstly, I test the theory of diaspora investment motivation (Nielsen & Riddle, 2010) in a novel environment. Secondly, I draw the distinction between interest in diaspora direct investment and diaspora portfolio investment, identifying key differences in their antecedents. Finally, I investigate how sub-national location affects country of origin investment interest.

<p> Entrepreneurship is undoubtedly a significant global activity that helps to transform our economies and inspires public policy. Over the past decades, entrepreneurship education has witnessed phenomenal growth, as many Universities around the world offer a diversified portfolio of entrepreneurship programs, including undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees, executive education certificates, workshops or seminars. More recently, and in response to the increasing global popularity of entrepreneurship, a large number of universities established entrepreneurship centers which coordinate a wide variety of activities, programs and resources under one roof. Nevertheless, the literature consistently expresses doubts about the success of entrepreneurship educational programs and identifies learning gaps between entrepreneurs&rsquo; needs and universities&rsquo; offerings. The rise of entrepreneurship centers gives us reason to believe that they play an important role in better addressing entrepreneurs&rsquo; learning needs, but relevant research is limited. By collecting data from directors of fourteen entrepreneurship centers in the USA and Europe through qualitative interviews, this study aimed at understanding how the centers address the learning needs of entrepreneurs, primarily with regards to educational goals, development of skills, curriculum and instruction. In addition, I have conducted interviews with fourteen entrepreneurs who were either alumni from the centers or alumni from other business schools, and I have learned first-hand details on their learning needs and educational experience. This study has found that the centers address entrepreneurs&rsquo; needs through a series of activities which include (a) setting goals and understanding audiences, (b) designing and implementing curriculum and instruction, (c) measuring success. In short, this study has found that entrepreneurial centers accommodate a plethora of activities with the aim to address entrepreneurs learning needs, but they have only superficially assessed entrepreneurs&rsquo; learning needs, their decisions about curriculum and instruction approaches are not driven by research or entrepreneurs&rsquo; feedback, and their measures of success are not targeted to knowledge, skills and attitudes needed by entrepreneurs; in short, entrepreneurship centers and universities may be meeting entrepreneurs&rsquo; learning needs, but it is more a matter of luck than design.</p><p>