For many business segments, true “out of the box” innovation occurs in entrepreneurial companies where the founders aren’t hindered with the research paradigms established by mainstream businesses. The founders of these companies, many times technologists and scientists, see the application of the technology long before potential customers develop an understanding of the capabilities that the new technology can bring to the marketplace. Many times these “new technology ideas” have been developed though modifying an existing dominant design (product or service) to meet an unforeseen market need or through the development of a new design that may become the new industry standard. The competitors of tomorrow may reside in radically different markets yet have the insight to envision the application or modification of an existing technology to a market segment that they are currently not involved in. Teaching engineering technology students techniques and visioning tactics related to the innovation process has been difficult. Several of the authors have experienced, both in the classroom and in industrial settings, that many engineering and engineering technology students see innovation as the application of engineering principals resulting in small incremental changes in a process. Although these changes may result in a more efficient process through increased productivity, reduced waste, faster cycle times, etcetera; continuous improvement projects many times do not generate the dramatic market changes seen with a new dominant design. In fact in many established industries, disruptive innovation is discouraged in favor of continuous innovation because of the uncertainty of the risk/reward quotient and the impact that failed experimentation (increased research and development costs) can have on Wall Street’s perception of a company. Our university recently merged the colleges of Business and Technology and Applied Sciences resulting in a cross-pollinated faculty and the establishment of courses in the graduate and undergraduate curriculum where business and engineering technology student’s work together on class projects, many of which involve an innovation component. It is interesting that many of the faculty who incorporate a discussion or exercise related to the innovation process in their classroom have had extensive experience in an industrial setting prior to joining the university faculty. Industry seasoned faculty bring their “real-world” experience to the classroom and challenge students to move beyond continuous improvement projects. In several cases, ideas generated in the classroom or through collaborative efforts between the business and technology faculty have resulted in prototypes being built in the laboratory for further testing of the prospective innovation. The presence of a technology-centered business incubator located within walking distance from campus provides students the opportunity to observe several high technology businesses that have developed new technology niches in established market segments. These businesses provide consulting opportunities for cross-disciplinary graduate student teams to observe the challenges of introducing a new technology to address previously met market needs through introduction of a superior product. The business incubator is further linked to a sister technology-centered business incubator in Europe providing students (graduate and undergraduate) the opportunity to evaluate if a new technology should be launched initially in the United States or Europe. The creation of these learning opportunities mimic the industrial setting where graduates will be required to operate in cross-disciplinary teams that may address global manufacturing and marketing decisions. This paper discusses the pedagogical approaches several faculty members have developed to introduce and cultivate a creative innovation process to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in technology engineering and business marketing and management classes. These approaches include identifying unmet market niche opportunities, identifying technologies utilized in alternative markets that could be utilized for different market segments, classroom exercises to compel students to search existing patent literature, ideation and brainstorming exercises and researching business entities to identify their technology strategy and implementation plans.

University managed technology-based business incubators evolved at major research institutions as a mechanism for university professors to pursue commercial applications of their research without having to resign their university positions. These incubators assisted the universities in retention of valuable faculty and also provided for the development of university intellectual property (IP) to a level where commercialization was probable. In addition to faculty retention and the potential for revenue from commercialization of IP, these incubators further developed the universities’ reputations in producing cutting edge research. The physical proximity of the incubators to the universities is crucial because this allows easy access to university intellectual capital, equipment and skilled technical labor that enable fledgling businesses to survive and flourish. Many regional universities are adding an emphasis on research and community economic development to their primary mission of teaching. As a result they are establishing business incubators. The goals for these incubators include creation of an environment and culture for the establishment of student driven companies, improvement of commercialization of university intellectual property, enhancement of the ability to attract technology-based businesses and provision of a living laboratory for student to work within the entrepreneurial environment. Just as is the case for the traditional research universities, business incubators at regional universities provide the supporting infrastructure that permits the university faculty to take advantage of SBIR and STTR programs to launch businesses and move university IP toward commercialization. In addition, the formation of a university-managed business incubator provides an excellent environment for non-university established technology businesses to benefit from the advantages of university faculty, personnel, students and graduates in both consulting and employee positions. Establishing a university managed technology-based business incubator at a regional university requires a strategic vision that integrates the universities core competencies, academic and research missions, senior administration concerns, capital and building campaigns and economic development concerns of the surrounding communities. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for building the strategic vision, developing the necessary infrastructure and mitigating risks when establishing the incubator. In addition, a discussion of lessons learned through the establishment of our university managed technology-based incubator at ETSU is presented through a mini-case study.

In the United States, microenterprises, critical segment of the small business population, accounts for 110 million small businesses that source new jobs. Despite the increase in the number of created businesses in the U.S., more than 70% of microenterprise business owners are unsuccessful after 2 years. The multiple case study included 6 participants living in Houston, Texas, and intended to explore business strategies microenterprise event management owners used to succeed in business beyond 2 years. The conceptual framework that grounded the study was the 5-stage small business growth model and the 5-stage of the evolution of entrepreneurship theory. The data collection process consisted of interviews resulting in transcripts, review of company documents, and interview observations notes. The data analysis process while triangulating the data consisted of creating thematic codes, and clustering keywords, and ideas from the data. Development of visual aids assisted with organizing information, synthesizing, and generating new ideas. Text, word, and matrix coding queries were conducted and summarized for a cross-case analysis as relating to the interview questions. Thematic analysis and cross-case analysis revealed 3 major themes: customer relationship management, education/work experience, and promotional activities. Implications for social change include encouraging entrepreneurial and small business development programs to develop innovative curriculums that microenterprise business owners may benefit from to increase more business opportunities. An increase in microenterprises may help provide more employment opportunities that meet the needs of local communities, and improve socioeconomic conditions.

Statement of the problem: This problem involves the following divisions: The laws, rules and regulations governing payrolls. Application of the law in payroll accounting. The accounting principles and procedure. A detailed practice set.

Less than 1% of minority women receive venture capital funding for technology enterprises. The purpose of the multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by Black female entrepreneurs to obtain venture capital funding for their technology businesses in the United States. The conceptual framework for the study was the social network theory of entrepreneurship. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 5 Black female entrepreneurs who founded technology ventures in the United States. Journaling before and after each interview aided the methodological triangulation, which ensured validation. Yin's data analysis process was used, and the data were reviewed, codes determined, emerging themes noted, and iterative explanation building undertaken. The main themes emerging from the analysis of the data were the participation in pitch competitions, the importance of networks, and communication. The findings may contribute to social change because other minority female, technology entrepreneurs can use the strategies of the participants as a model in their quest to receive venture capital funding. An increase in the number of minority women who receive venture capital funding and engage in high-growth entrepreneurship may result in an improved standard of living for the women and their families. Society could also benefit from a more diverse pool of technological innovations.

Mobile game application entrepreneurs can offer many benefits to the U.S. economy; however, 80% of the entrepreneurs in this study stated that marketing their mobile applications was a major business challenge. Successful strategies that entrepreneurs have used to overcome their mobile game application marketing challenges may be beneficial to other entrepreneurs. Based on Schumpeter's theory of economic development and new value creation of technological innovation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies that entrepreneurs have used to market their mobile game application development businesses successfully. Twenty mobile game application entrepreneurs from northern California, who successfully sustained their businesses for 3 or more years, completed semistructured interviews. The entrepreneurs responded to open-ended questions designed to determine how they successfully marketed their mobile game applications. Moustakas's modified van Kaam method was used and included coding and organizing data into 5 primary themes that emerged from the analysis. The primary themes that emerged from the analysis were marketing challenges, social network influences, financing opportunities, innovative marketing approaches, and marketing strategies. The findings suggest that social media and networks are essential for marketing success, and mobile games should be innovative to ensure competitive advantages. The knowledge generated from this study may help mobile game entrepreneurs successfully market their mobile game applications and sustain their business. An increased number of businesses may lead to social change by helping to create jobs, thus reducing unemployment.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 92% of all Ghana firms, providing 60% of citizens' employment and contributing about 70% of Ghana's income from gross domestic products. Within the first 5 years of operation, 40% of new businesses fail. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by Ghanaian SME manufacturing leaders in the fruit industry to sustain business for longer than 5 years of operation. The conceptual framework for this study was open systems theory and complexity theory. The population for this study was 5 Ghanaian SME manufacturing business leaders in the fruit industry who maintained their businesses longer than 5 years of operation. The data sources were semistructured face-to-face interviews, interview notes, and the organizations' manuals for standard operations. Data collected were transcribed, member checked, analytically coded, and analyzed using Yin's 5-stage method of qualitative data analysis. Four themes emerged: training and capacity building, the need for good equipment and good packaging, the availability of working capital, and the need for target marketing. The implications of this study for positive social change include lowering high unemployment, alleviating poverty, supporting community development, and enhancing economic growth in the country.

Small business owners encounter various difficulties in funding businesses. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that some small business owners used to acquire capital to sustain their businesses longer than the first 5 years of operation. The resource-based theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with a sample of 3 owners of small businesses in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States and review of company profit statements. Five themes emerged from data triangulation and analyses: start-up capital access, private lender networking, motivation, self-realization, and external perceptions. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to affect how owners of small businesses acquire capital resources. Results from this study could help inform owners of small businesses about strategies to acquire sustainable capital and mitigate the causes of some business failures.

Small business enterprises (SBEs) are significant contributors to business growth and employment in the United States, but despite governmental support, the failure rate of SBEs is high. Some small business leaders lack the critical management skills to detect or discover when underperformance in revenue-generation is due to gaps in organizational knowledge or business practices associated with managing knowledge assets. Guided by the knowledge-based view of the firm, the purpose of this multiple case study was to address that gap by exploring the skills needed by leaders to understand how deficiencies in their knowledge management practices contribute to underperformance. Semistructured interview data were collected from a sample of 10 small business leaders in the northeast and west. Data from publicly available documentation consisting of sales brochures, press releases, and participant company websites were also collected. Data analysis entailed using keyword frequency comparisons, coding techniques, and cluster analysis. The key themes indicate that the participants' document management practices and misaligned core business practices impeded value creation. The recommended change in business practices for small business leaders is to formalize social engagement with customers, use document management tools, and adopt process management techniques. The implications for social change include mitigating the harmful effects of business failure on society associated with job loss, stress-related disabilities, and reduced charitable donations to groups serving disadvantaged citizens. The beneficiaries of this research include small business leaders, business practitioners, and policy makers.

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's preparation to launch a business venture properly.