Abstract: Previous literature suggests that there are significant differences among Swedish and NonSwedish groups, as the non-Swedish counterpart of the system face more challenges and hurdles while obtaining finance for their businesses. The aim of the research paper is to map the processes of the obtaining finance from both private and government institutions and gather intelligence on the criteria to ascertain if there are any explicit difference in the processes a non-Swedish entrepreneur has to go through before it gets funded. Qualitative research approach is used in this thesis where we performed in-depth interviews in the form of open discussion with five organizations which includes government institutions and network of private of Investor. We identified two different mindsets and processes i.e. Government and Private Investors where they focus on different aspects of process even though the pre-requisite documents are similar and overlapping. The empirical data collected using qualitative methods were converted into narratives and build into process map to see whether there are any explicit differences in the processes defined for obtaining finance for non-Swedish entrepreneur. Our conclusion is that there is no difference in the processes but there are many elements which can lead to non-Swedish entrepreneur to fall out of the system. So, it‟s matter of small improvements of the system which will make it more efficient, transparent and inclusive for all the participants within the system. The research shows that there are some nuances which can add up and lead to the NonSwedish entrepreneur to be excluded from the system but there are no explicit differences in the process. In the suggested improvement, these gaps and loopholes can be covered to make the system more efficient, transparent and inclusive which can lead to equal opportunities for everyone and also increasing the economic activity within the Kronoberg region.

Crowdfunding is becoming a new form of funding used by entrepreneurs in Sweden who seek financing for their ventures or projects. This form of funding of which the crowdfunders invest in a nontraditional alternative requires a relationship between the crowdfunders and the entrepreneurs. This thesis aims to provide extensive information into how entrepreneurs and crowdfunders interact with each other. While considering research that has been carried out so far on the growth of crowdfunding, the author wishes to provide more detailed findings and an understanding of how crowdfunders and founders operate after equity crowdfunding.The empirical findings were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from 20 Swedish entrepreneurs that are currently engaged with equity Crowdfunding and have received funding for their ventures. The basis for the design of the questionnaire was built upon a literature review and previous researches. The research was carried out as an exploratory study using a qualitative approach known as thematic method of data analysis to investigate entrepreneur and crowdfunders relationships and what successes can be recorded based on the relationship.This thesis indicates that the entrepreneurs were largely satisfied with the relationship and benefits they derived from equity crowdfunding. However, this research also presented challenges and benefits of crowdfunding as experienced by the respondents. The benefits of the crowdfunders-entrepreneurs relationship as a factor have contributed to entrepreneurs' wellbeing as described by the participants.

The personality approach to entrepreneurship has often been criticized and disproved due to inconsistencies in findings and heterogeneity of concepts used to describe entrepreneurs.With  the vast amount of data created by individuals on social media day by day, along with technology advancements, one can look into personality more objectively. In this paper, the authors propose a quantitative method to analyse the Big 5 personality traits, values and needs by using IBM Watson to examine tweets from twitter accounts of 99 successful techentrepreneurs and 99 non-entrepreneurs. It is further argued that through statistical methods, tech entrepreneurs show a common set of distinctive characteristics when compared to non-entrepreneurs. Among the results, 9 Big 5 personality traits, 2 needs and 7 values are shown to be statistically different between both sample groups and therefore, tech entrepreneurs tend to evince a certain personality.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地域研究) / 甲第24255号 / 地博第308号 / 新制||地||119(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科グローバル地域研究専攻 / (主査)教授 河野 泰之, 教授 長岡 慎介, 教授 D'SOUZA Rohan Ignatious / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Area Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

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When highly successful entrepreneurs with big technology-based ideas are at the center of the academic and business discussions, this research concentrated on exploring the motivations of everyday entrepreneurs in Malmö. Most of the time everyday entrepreneurs are not considered to be worthy of observation, analysis or an inspiration for others. As they seem far away from being highly financially successful, curiosity was, if not for a big-scale profitable business, then why did they become entrepreneurs? The psychological aspects of the entrepreneurial decision-making process were explored during this research, as „motivation‟is at the heart of this thesis. Researchers have conducted extensive studies on psychological traits that separates entrepreneurs from general people. 4 most discussed indicators of entrepreneurial motivation were employed in this study as a foundational framework to understand the psychology of everyday entrepreneurs. Additionally, the theory of storytellingwas the tool for the interviewees to express themselves and facilitator of critical thinking for the researcher. Stories of 17 everyday entrepreneurs in Malmö is the basis of this research. This is a qualitative study conducted with semi-structured interviews standing on the philosophy of social constructivism. Connections between indicators of entrepreneurial motivation and the core features of human agency was established from the collected empirical data. Studying previous contexts of these everyday entrepreneurs and the journey of their becoming self-employed revealed their status regarding social exclusion and how they created opportunities to be socially included. The significance of human agency in entrepreneurial motivation studies and a new perspective of social exclusion in the light of human agency is situated at the departure of this thesis.

It is widely believed that the next battlegrounds for the forest products industry are India and China: the two most densely populated and highly deforested emerging markets. While production and trade of wood products remain concentrated in a few countries, Juslin and Hansen (2002) argue that consumption is rapidly shifting from traditional markets to emerging ones. This dissertation looks at the introduction of wood roof trusses technology (WRTT) as a new product and a new process within a network of Chinese firms. It is organised in three essays. First, Chinese environmental factors impacting the adoption of a new product are defined and measured. Second and building upon the findings in the first essay, Rogers' (1962) Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and Davis (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are combined in a structural equation model to explain the adoption process. The third essay is based on a qualitative survey aimed at completing and validating the findings in the first two essays. Findings in essay 1 suggest that the role of the state is not important, competitive pressure is nonsignificant in the early stage of adoption, and financial and non financial incentives are inefficient at the exception of the training offered by knowledgeable foreign companies. Key variables emerging from 2nd order confirmatory factor analysis include presence of infomediaries, peer usage, and training. Essay 2 adds to the contextual factors measurement model variables related to WRTT and adopting firms' characteristics. The final structural equations model suggests that relative advantage, infomediaries, and the size of the adopting organization positively impact the perception of usefulness which has a great influence on the intention to adopt new technologies. The perceived ease of use is highly dependent on training and relations between the adopter and the social system in which he evolves. In the third essay, qualitative analysis confirms the findings from essay 1 and 2 while adding new variables: cost and availability of the products. Entry modes and country of origins are discussed as well in essay 3. / Il est de plus en plus reconnu que les marchés futurs pour les produits en bois sont la l'Inde et la Chine, pays les plus densément peuplés et sans forêts parmi les marchés émergents. En effet, même si la production et la commercialisation restent concentrées dans certains pays, Juslin et Hansen (2002) avancent que la production se déplace rapidement des marches traditionnelles vers les marchés émergents. Cette thèse s'intéresse à l'introduction de la technologie des fermes de toit en bois comme nouveau produit et nouveau procédé à travers un réseau de firmes chinoises. Elle comprend trois essais. Dans le premier, les facteurs exogènes qui influencent l'adoption d'un nouveau produit sont définis et mesurés. Ensuite, après incorporation des variables du modèle de diffusion des innovations technologiques (IDT) et de celui de l'acceptation des technologies (TAM) au modèle de mesure du premier essai, le deuxième essai modélise par équations structurelles le processus d'adoption. Le troisième essai utilise une approche qualitative pour confirmer les résultats obtenus dans les deux premiers essais. Les résultats du premier essai suggèrent que : le rôle de l'Etat chinois n'est pas très important dans le processus de décision des firmes enquêtées, la pression compétitive est faible en début d'adoption, les incitatifs d'ordre financiers sont inopérants, la formation par les compagnies étrangères expertes en la matière est recherchée. Les variables identifiées par le modèle factoriel confirmatoire de deuxième ordre sont : la présence d'intermédiaires, l'usage par les pairs et la formation. Le deuxième essai ajoute à ces variables les caractéristiques du produit et du procédé ainsi que celle des firmes. Le modèle final d'équations structurelles suggère que l'avantage relatif, les intermédiaires, ainsi que la taille des firmes exercent un impact sur la perception d'utilité qui à son tour influence l'intention d'adopter les fermes de toit. La perception de la facilité d'utilisation est quant à elle influencée par la formation et les relations entretenues dans le réseau. Dans le troisième essai, une analyse qualitative confirme les résultats obtenus dans les deux premiers tout en ajoutant deux variables importantes: le prix et la disponibilité des produits. Les modes d'entrée et les pays d'origine sont aussi discutés dans l'essai 3.

This thesis contributes to our knowledge on the emergence of environmental entrepreneurs. The study is guided by the research question, “how do UK environmental entrepreneurs start to form their distinctive environmental entrepreneurial thinking” and analyses the development of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset in the UK, through a theory of practice perspective. Based on a three-stage data collection process (preliminary focus group, semi-structured interviews and life stories), the study (1) conceptualises the construction of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset, (2) investigates the experiences of constraints for practice and (3) analyses differences in habitus and constraints on the basis of the sampling dimensions, type (social environmental and commercial) and gender (male and female). The study was undertaken under a social constructivist perspective and follows the naturalistic paradigm (Guba, 1978). The rigour (or trustworthiness) of the qualitative approach has been established according to perspectives by Mason (2001) and Guba and Lincoln (1985). The empirical basis of the study is comprised of a three stage design of discursive interviews, involving overlapping collective (focus group) and individual (life stories, in-depth interviews) data collection techniques, with a partly gathering structure (through semi-structured questions). A preliminary focus group identified key themes relevant to the study’s objectives and the concepts of the theory of practice (field, capital, and habitus). Three life stories refined the themes and analysed them within the context of entrepreneurs’ lives. The two stages enabled the development of questions targeting themes for the in-depth interviews and the cross case content analysis. For sampling purposes, the Maximum Variation Sampling (MVS) strategy was employed, which enabled identification and analysis of common and divergent themes (Miller & Crabtree, 1999) and by over-coming the limitations of the sample size, it provided a conditional representativeness. The findings show that environmental entrepreneurs accumulate divergent forms of cultural, social and economic capital, which shapes their entrepreneurial and environmental mindsets, triggering the creation of a disposition (habitus) towards setting up an environmental enterprise. Studying the formation of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset addresses a relevant knowledge gap and offers theoretical and methodological contributions. It also confers implications for practice, with a particular reference to entrepreneurial education and policymaking.

The positive role and fundamental contribution of entrepreneurship on a global and national level is an unconditional phenomenon pertaining to economic growth. There are though various perspectives and opinions on the format and context of contribution. One of these perspectives embraces the obstacles involved in the entrepreneurial process hindering contribution and economic catalisation. This study follows a focused approach towards investigating a critical obstacle and specifically the access to finance, within an indicated geographical area. The research intervention has obtained a large and reliable data set to examine the contention that there are obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in accessing small business finance in the Tshwane area. The findings of the study support this contention and also the fact that conventional financing mechanisms do not allow for cost-effective provision of finance to large numbers of entrepreneurs seeking small quantities of finance. Poverty and lack of assets mean that many people do not have the collateral needed to access formal financing. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

This paper investigates French entrepreneurs’ motivations to start a business in Taiwan as well as what they find most satisfying and challenging in the process. The data used for the research was collected from interviews of 11 French entrepreneurs and 4 foreign entrepreneurs. The results show that there are two groups of French entrepreneurs: those who came to Taiwan with the intention of starting a business and those who were already in Taiwan before starting a business. The key findings are the following: even if the two groups have different personal motivations to first come to Taiwan, on average, French start a business in Taiwan because of the business opportunities of the country. Indeed, most of them started a business in a niche market. The analysis shows that French and foreigners have the same motivations to start a business in Taiwan. French entrepreneurs are satisfied about the rapidity of business creation and the help received from many people. They also acknowledge the growing startup community but highlight that there are still a lot to be done in order to improve the foreign startup ecosystem.