Yes / Purpose: Although start-ups have gained increasing scholarly attention, we lack sufficient understanding of their entrepreneurial strategic posture (ESP) in emerging economies. The purpose of this study is to examine the processes of ESP of new technology venture start-ups (NTVs) in an emerging market context. Design/methodology/approach: In line with grounded theory guidelines and the inductive research traditions, the authors adopted a qualitative approach involving 42 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Ghanaian NTV entrepreneurs to gain a comprehensive analysis at the micro-level on the entrepreneurs' strategic posturing. A systematic procedure for data analysis was adopted. Findings: From the authors' analysis of Ghanaian NTVs, the authors derived a three-stage model to elucidate the nature and process of ESP Phase 1 spotting and exploiting market opportunities, Phase II identifying initial advantages and Phase III ascertaining and responding to change. Originality/value: The study contributes to advancing research on ESP by explicating the process through which informal ties and networks are utilised by NTVs and NTVs' founders to overcome extreme resource constraints and information vacuums in contexts of institutional voids. The authors depart from past studies in demonstrating how such ties can be harnessed in spotting and exploiting market opportunities by NTVs. On this basis, the paper makes original contributions to ESP theory and practice.

Longtemps appelée la « cité de la toile », Armentières a vu sa prospérité reposer, un siècle durant, sur la fabrication et la commercialisation des tissus majoritairement en lin. Pourtant, si cette ville manufacturière a largement contribué à la renommée textile de la région lilloise, elle est restée en retrait par rapport à Lille, Roubaix et Tourcoing. C’est si vrai qu’aujourd’hui encore, on peine à retrouver les traces du riche patrimoine industriel dont elle disposait il y a trois ou quatre décennies. Contrairement à ses prestigieuses voisines, faute de réhabilitation et de reconversion de son bâti usinier, elle a tourné le dos à son passé comme si celui-ci ne valait pas la peine que l’on s’y attarde. Aussi, entre requalification des friches et absence de volonté pour valoriser ce qui reste du patrimoine industriel, on oublierait presque qu’Armentières a été de temps immémoriaux un centre manufacturier non pas secondaire mais second. Grâce aux nouvelles techniques numériques et aux ressources désormais mises à la disposition du chercheur, il est malgré tout possible de reconstituer l’empreinte que l’industrie a laissée dans le tissu urbain. Emprise foncière des bâtiments dévolus à la fabrication ou à la commercialisation des toiles, procédés constructifs et matériaux, organisation des lieux productifs : il a fallu exhumer et agencer toute la documentation disponible pour faire ressurgir un passé en quasi-totalité disparu. Pourtant, quand il s’est agi, dès le milieu du XIXe siècle, de répondre aux défis des marchés, les entrepreneurs locaux ont réussi à développer la convoitise de la clientèle pour le linge de maison et de table. Ils ont également répondu avec succès aux demandes toujours plus exigeantes de l’armée et des administrations. Bref, en valorisant la tradition tout en répondant aux exigences de produits « techniques », les industriels d’Armentières sont parvenus, autour du travail du lin, à imposer la localité comme une véritable marque de fabrique pour mieux soutenir la comparaison avec leurs puissants voisins. Mais cette conquête des marchés n’aurait pas eu lieu sans une indéniable capacité à maîtriser le travail d’une fibre longtemps rétive à la mécanisation. Aussi, pénétrer dans les usines, recenser les matériels et retrouver les gestes du fileur et du tisseur étaient indispensable pour comprendre comment, par delà les vicissitudes de la conjoncture, les défis techniques ont été relevés afin de conjuguer production de masse, qualité de la marchandise et coûts de fabrication. Histoire des lieux de la production, des marchandises et de la fabrication des toiles, ce travail entend également revenir sur le milieu des patrons armentiérois déjà étudié, non sans complaisance envers son milieu d’origine, par Lambert-Dansette. Les sources de l’Enregistrement et les actes notariés, entre autres, ont permis de revenir sur les origines géographiques et sociales des entrepreneurs puis de s’interroger sur les montages juridiques, les financements et les modes de gestion qui ont rendu possible cette aventure industrielle. C’était là l’occasion de mesurer la spécificité du monde des liniers au sein du patronat régional et, plus encore, de comprendre leur étonnante capacité à repousser, à partir des années 1930, les échéances d’une mort annoncée. Soucieux de souscrire à la « main invisible du marché » et de sanctifier tous les dogmes libéraux, les patrons d’Armentières ne s’arrangent-ils pour bénéficier de l’aide de l’État dont ils attendent à la fois une relative souplesse à leur égard et, singulièrement une protection infaillible ? En définitive, le choix délibéré de faire l’histoire en longue durée des entreprises et des entrepreneurs du lin à une échelle locale permet de réinterroger les modes de coordinations et les combinaisons multiples qui, en mariant le local et le global, autorisent à saisir d’un seul tenant tous les déterminants spatiaux du capitalisme. / Armentières was called “the city of linen” for a long time, and it prospered for a century thanks to the manufacture and trade of fabric, mainly linen. But even if this manufacturing town greatly contributed to making the Lille area famous for its textiles, it always remained in the background compared to Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing. This is so true that today it is still difficult to find memories of the rich industrial heritage that Armentières had three or four decades ago. Unlike its prestigious neighbours, Armentières turned its back on its past as if it was not worth any attention, and this was reflected notably in a lack of renovation and renewal of its industrial buildings. Entire industrial wastelands are being reshaped and no one seems willing to make what is left of the town’s industrial heritage more attractive, which could make us forget that since ancient times Armentières was a major manufacturing centre. However, thanks to the new digital technologies and the resources that are available available to researchers, it is now possible to recreate the imprint that the industry has left on the urban network. Whether it was about the impact on property of buildings devoted to fabric manufacturing and trade, about building processes and materials, or about the organization of manufacturing facilities, it was necessary to find and organize the whole range of documents available in order to bring back to life a past that had almost completely disappeared. Local entrepreneurs managed to stimulate customer desire for household and table linen when they had to face the challenges of the market in the middle of the 19th Century. They also responded successfully to the increasingly demanding requests from the army and administration. Putting tradition forward while also providing technically demanding products, the manufacturers from Armentières focused on linen and managed to turn the area into a label that guaranteed authenticity and quality, ensuring that Armentières was fully able to compete with its powerful neighbours. But they would never have conquered the market if they had not mastered the ability to work with a type of fabric that was hard to manufacture industrially. Thus, taking a close look at the factories, listing the machines and tools that were used, and studying precisely how the spinner and the weaver worked were necessary steps to face up tothe the technical challenges in a difficult economic context, so as to handle mass production, product quality and manufacturing costs at the same time. This dissertation proposes to study the history of the manufacturing facilities, the manufacture of goods and fabrics but also to deal with the social class of Armentières’ factory owners, which was already studied by Lambert-Dansette, not without some self-indulgence towards the social class he came from. Various sources have allowed me to take a close look at the geographical and social origins of these entrepreneurs and then to look into the various legal, financial and management condidtions which made this industrial adventure possible. This allowed me to confront the experience of the linen makers with that of the other industrialists in the region, and to understand their amazing ability to push back and delay the inevitable death of their industry from the 1930s onwards. Willing to obey “the invisible hand of the market” and to follow all liberal theories wholeheartedly, can we not say that the industrialists of Armentières did everything they could to benefit from state assistance? Not only did they expect to receive state support, they also sought to have their sector benefit from considerable state protection.

Cette thèse illustre l'émergence d'un Nouveau Management Humanitaire. La recherche en contrôle a montré que le champ de l'aide humanitaire s'est profondément transformé en se structurant autour d'une «chaîne de l'aide» imbriquant des bailleurs internationaux, des ONG internationales mais également de petites ONG situées dans les pays bénéficiaires ; cette même littérature en contrôle a montré que la gestion des ONG est fortement influencée par la relation que ces dernières entretiennent avec les bailleurs internationaux. L'objectif de notre thèse est de contribuer à cette littérature en analysant le rôle et l'influence des dispositifs de contrôle dans la transformation du champ humanitaire. Pour analyser ces transformations, nous proposons le concept de régime de contrôle, défini comme la combinaison d'un système d'accountability, d'un modèle de performance et d'un ensemble cohérent de normes et de valeurs. Pour répondre à cette problématique, notre travail de terrain a constitué en deux immersions ethnographiques, l'une chez Handicap International (HI), l'autre chez Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Nous montrons que le système d'accountability de Hl sert à «rendre des comptes» aux bailleurs alors que celui de MSF incite les sans-frontiéristes à se « sentir responsables». Le modèle de performance de HI repose sur des systèmes de contrôle centralisés, favorisant la notion d'efficience humanitaire, alors que les caractéristiques du modèle de performance de MSF reflètent une responsabilité budgétaire collective et une prise de risque tolérée. Quant aux normes et valeurs, celles de Hl signalent un processus de managérialisation de l'ONG, matérialisé par le recrutement de « néo-managers humanitaires», alors que les normes et les valeurs élitistes de MSF favorisent l'émergence d'un «néo-entrepreneur humanitaire». Si MSF parvient à adopter un modèle alternatif, c'est parce que l'ONG a su s'affranchir des bailleurs, afficher une forte légitimité auprès de ses parties prenantes externes tout en maintenant des normes et des mécanismes d'accountability interne prégnants. Le cas MSF, en illustrant une organisation alternative au schéma traditionnel de la managérialisation de l'humanitaire, permet de montrer que cette évolution n'est pas inéluctable. / This thesis illustrates the emergence of a "New Humanitarian Management". The field of humanitarian aid has undergone a sound transformation by structuring itself around a "chain of aid" involving international donors, international NGOs as well as small country-based-NGOs. Management Control research has shown that NGOs' management is strongly influenced by their relationship with international donors. The objective of our research is to contribute to this literature by analysing the role and influence of monitoring mechanisms in transforming the humanitarian field. To analyse these transformations, we propose the concept of a control regime, defined as the combination of an accountability system, a performance model and a coherent set of standards and values. Our fieldwork consisted of two ethnographic immersions within Handicap International and then within Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). We show that Handicap's accountability system is used to "report/ give accounts" to donors, while MSF's accountability system encourages MSF members to "feel responsible". Handicap's performance model is based on centralised control systems, promoting the notion of a humanitarian efficiency, while the characteristics of MSF's performance model reflect a collective budgetary responsibility and tolerated risk-taking. As for norms and values, Handicap's norms and values signal a process of managerialization of the NGO, materialized by the recruitment of humanitarian neo-managers, while MSF's elitist norms and values allow the emergence of a humanitarian neo-entrepreneur. MSF has managed to adopt an alternative model because the NGO has been able to free itself from donors and display strong legitimacy with its external stakeholders white maintaining strong internal standards and accountability mechanisms. The MSF case, illustrating an alternative organization to the humanitarian managerialised model, shows that the managerialization of the humanitarian field is not inevitable.

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.

With the entrepreneurial milieu in Linnaeus University (Växjö), students are encouraged to get involved in entrepreneurial activities. The number of student entrepreneurs has been increasing recent years. However, there is a blank in the study of student entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial education system and the features of student entrepreneurs are the focus of the research about student entrepreneurs. At the same time, no sufficient study has been done about student entrepreneurs’ usage of the business support that could be offered to them. By studying student entrepreneurs’ situation, their relationship with support agencies, their selection of business support and the way they use the support, the research question ”how do student entrepreneurs use support agencies” will be answered by the end of this thesis.

À la fin des années 2000, de nombreuses fédérations sportives traditionnelles se structurent pour organiser une pratique à destination des personnes handicapées. Des transformations des organisations sportives internationales et locales favorisent cette nouvelle forme d'action fédérale. Au niveau national, des politiques publiques incitent également ces fédérations à un plus grand investissement auprès des populations handicapées. Toutefois, l'action fédérale envers les personnes handicapées doit aussi être comprise à travers l'engagement d'acteurs particuliers. L'analyse de sept fédérations, en tant qu'institutions, démontre alors la construction d'une nouvelle catégorie d'acteurs souvent identifiés comme référents handicaps et pouvant être caractérisés d'entrepreneurs. Ces acteurs, soutenus par leurs dirigeants, investissent l'organisation de la pratique des personnes handicapées et rallient un nombre important d'acteurs fédéraux pour développer les projets. La mise en évidence des compétences sociales de ces entrepreneurs est également possible à travers l'analyse d'un travail de coopération avec des acteurs extérieurs à la fédération. L'étude des relations avec les fédérations spécifiques ou avec le ministère des sports, notamment par l'intermédiaire du pôle ressources national sport et handicaps, met alors en exergue des luttes pour la manière d'organiser la pratique des personnes handicapées. Ces luttes renforcent la visibilité et le positionnement des différents acteurs impliqués dans les processus d'engagements fédéraux. Elles permettent aussi la caractérisation d'un espace national « sports et handicaps » en pleine recomposition face à l'enjeu de l'intégration des personnes handicapées au sein du monde sportif. / In the late 2000s, many mainstream sports federations are structured to organize a way of practicing sports for people with disabilities. International and local transformations promote this new form of federal action. The transformation of international and local sports organizations promotes this new form of federal action. On a national level, public policies also encourage the federations to be more invested with people with disabilities. However, the federal action organized for people with disabilities must also be understood through the commitment of individual actors. The analysis of seven federations, as institutions, demonstrates the construction of a new category of actors, often identified as 'disability referents' and that can be characterized as entrepreneurs within their federation. These actors, supported by their leaders, invest the organization of with the practice of sports by disabled people and rally a large number of federal actors to develop the projects. Highlighting these entrepreneurs’ social skills is also possible through the analysis of cooperation with actors outside the federation. The study of these relationships with specific federations or with the Ministry of Sports, especially through the “pôle ressources national sport et handicaps”, highlights struggles about how to organize the practice of sports by disabled people. These struggles reinforce the visibility and positioning of the actors involved in the process of federal commitments. They also allow the characterization of a national "sports and disabilities" space in full recombining in front of the challenge of integrating people with disabilities in the sports world.

This dissertation explores how economic, organizational, and personal factors affect self-employment transitions, occupational decisions, and firm formation activities of individuals at different positions in the skill distribution. The first essay of my dissertation studies how local unemployment rates differentially affect entry into self-employment by individuals at different places in the skill distribution. The empirical results show a positive correlation between local unemployment rates and entry into self-employment for low-ability workers, but not for high-ability workers. Including employer size to eliminate possible distortions showed that the positive association between unemployment and self-employment among low-ability workers is in fact driven by the small firm effect. Controlling for firm size yields a negative association between unemployment and self-employment among high-ability workers. Effects of organizational capital, human capital and physical capital, on the firm formation activities of people at distinct skill levels depend on the type of the industry which is chosen for the new firm. Two types of industries, capital-intensive and ability-intensive, are utilized to explore this hypothesis in the second essay. A capital-intensive industry requires more physical investment, and consequently more funds, whereas, an ability-intensive industry requires more human capital. It is shown that high human capital requirements are associated with higher earnings among the most able individuals, and therefore makes them more likely to found firms in an ability-intensive industry. Wealthy people are more likely to establish both capital-intensive and ability-intensive firms, even though the amount of funds necessary for two industry types differs. Moreover, entry into both industries is predicted to happen later in life due to the removal of entry barriers constituted by required investment spending using savings when old. Empirical mixed results are observed. The third essay investigates earning differentials between future entrepreneurs and their non-entrepreneurial colleagues. Results show that high-ability firm-owners in an ability-intensive industry were earning more than those that remained in wage-work, whereas, low-ability firm-owners in a capital-intensive industry were earning less than those remaining in paid-work.

The present study aims to identify the association between gender and three different aspects: performance, pull-push factors, and nonprofit-for-profit sectors. In order to respond to the research questions, a quantitative approach was applied. Secondary data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2016 was collected as it includes self-reported information of established business owners from the UK. The results provided by the cross tabulation analysis executed by the SPSS, show a deeper and quantitative understanding regarding the associations between gender and the three aspects. Findings demonstrated that gender only had a significant association with the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. The other aspects clearly showed that they did not have any association with gender. Also, this study discusses the unequal number of female and male entrepreneurs shown in each of the aspects in order to provide acknowledge about the current situation in the UK. It is recommended that future research collects a higher number of variables or responses, preferably primary data that includes more information about the aspirations and preferences of the individuals and combines quantitative with qualitative methods. In conclusion, the gender of entrepreneurs should not be considered to be a break-dealer factor.

That women experience different and even more challenges within the corporate environment than men do is no news. For female entrepreneurs, the challenges they experience entering the entrepreneurial setting have been and are still being researched. Studies show that specifically female entrepreneurs face challenges such as balancing work and family, lack of networks, and creating credibility and legitimacy. However, how these challenges differ for women who innovate within companies in an intrapreneurial setting is a subject that needs more research. To explore and further understand these challenges a qualitative study has been executed with semi-structured interviews of female intrapreneurs. The findings of this study reveal that there seems to be a similarity between the challenges that female entrepreneurs and female intrapreneurs experience. These challenges were balancing work and family/social life, the glass ceiling phenomenon, creating internal credibility and legitimacy, and networking. However, it also shows that there are some perceived differences and challenges, namely, external credibility and legitimacy, raising funding, and policies applied differently to female intrapreneurs. Lastly, two unique challenges were found for females in intrapreneurship, namely, the company culture and the lack of role models. Moreover, a pattern that repeatedly came up was empowerment among women, which might not necessarily be viewed as a challenge. These findings give a reasonable indication of the challenges for women in intrapreneurship and help give direction for future research within this field.

To date, the usual analysis of an entrepreneur personality is primarily a gut feeling of the venture capitalist and is hard to codify. This paper aims to explore in a qualitative way what it is about the characteristics and the personality of the entrepreneur that influences the investment made by the venture capitalists. These findings will then be used to discuss if an artificial intelligence application can be used to analyze the personality of entrepreneurs. The primary source of information for this paper is interviews with venture capitalists. The authors searched for similarities within the available literature on entrepreneurial personalities and found that the majority of the personality traits mentioned by the venture capitalist can be found in the literature.  The research findings suggest that all venture capitalist value an entrepreneur that has passion for what she is doing and has the ability to get the job done. Additionally, most of the venture capitalist interviewed value an entrepreneur that is coachable, flexible, visionary, and is able to communicate that vision well.  Finally, based on the results, the authors proposed a framework for how an artificial intelligence system can be structured to assess personalities of entrepreneurs.