With Small Change: Why Business Won't Save the World, Michael Edwards delivers a powerful critique of the movement he calls philanthrocapitalism. This review tracks his main arguments and summarizes the book's content. Despite a few weaknesses in sourcing its arguments, the book is strongly recommended both to academics and to practitioners, especially to the prophets and disciples of the venture philanthropy and social business.

This thesis explores how, and to what extent, farm businesses are responding to changing demands on agriculture in terms of resource efficiency, entrepreneurship and understanding the role of soft technology in supporting these strategies. This is in response to a changing business environment which is challenging farming income streams and profitability. The research questions in this thesis are resolved by adopting a multi-method research strategy. This includes a survey of 738 Welsh Upland hill farmers from a population of 7,500, 10 semi-structured interviews and action research in the design, development and implementation of decision support systems. Together the methods address the issues of strategic stance, and technology adoption in agriculture. The study findings are intended to be useful for farm decision-makers, support and advisory bodies, and for informing policy in terms of farming approaches, technology infrastructure and farm resource management. The research outcomes presented in the main chapters provide, individually and in synthesis, a better understanding of farming strategies and the role of technology in assisting such strategies. Collectively, the multi-phased approach to the research topic identifies many important farm responses to the economic and political tensions facing agriculture. Farmers can decide on entrepreneurial and efficiency driven strategies whilst making the best use of resources and technology. The findings also show that the strategic objectives of farm decision makers are far more influential in technology adoption than the technology itself and therefore leadership and market maturity are key factors that must be considered as influencing the degree of technology adoption. Additionally, insights are provided regarding wider issues of ICT adoption amongst farmers with particular regard to barriers to technology adoption.

<p> This research study examined the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and environmental dynamism, contributing to the knowledge base of the resource-based theory. Specifically, this study examined the influence perceived environmental dynamism has on entrepreneurial bricolage while controlling for the firm&rsquo;s annual revenue, number of employees, age, industry and business experience, and educational level. Prior research has identified firms with higher levels of entrepreneurial bricolage overcome resource limitations through innovation, a primary component of competitive advantage. Prior research has also identified firms that function efficiently in rapidly changing environments demonstrate stronger dynamic capabilities and higher levels of innovation. In addition, previous research has identified entrepreneurial bricolage and environmental dynamism, separately, positively impact innovation; however, no identified research has examined these constructs together within the parameters of this research study. This research study utilized multiple linear regression to analyze the data used to test the hypotheses related to the research questions. The primary research question examined in this study was to what extent does Environmental Dynamism Index (IV) explain variations in the Entrepreneurial Bricolage Index (DV), controlling for Annual Revenue (CV), Number of Employees (CV), Firm Age (CV), Industry Experience (CV), Business Experience (CV), and Education Level (CV). The population for this study included businesses located in the United States in the business services sector (SIC 73) with fewer than 100 employees and annual revenue below $5 million. Results identified perceived environmental dynamism was a statistically significant predictor of entrepreneurial bricolage; no statistically significant relationship was identified between all control variables (annual revenue, number of employees, firm age, business experience, and education level) and entrepreneurial bricolage. Findings of this study suggested that firms operating in environments of greater perceived environmental dynamism demonstrated greater use of entrepreneurial bricolage. This research study was limited in population and did not include all constructs of the Environmental Dynamism Scale; further research is recommended examining the relationship between environmental dynamism and entrepreneurial bricolage in various industries and cultures. In addition, future research is recommended examining these constructs using all constructs included in the Environmental Dynamism Scale.</p><p>

Orientador: Marianne Hoeltgebaum. / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Centro de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração.

<p> The failure rate of rookie realtors is highest in the first 24 months of a new real estate practice. A large percentage of newly hired realtors voluntarily exit the industry because they are unable to earn enough income to sustain their practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the shared practice strategies and common themes of the successful rookie realtor. The perspectives of realtors that obtained a level of sales success during the early phases of employment are important to future practitioners and leaders in the industry. This qualitative case study examined the experiences of rookie realtors that successfully acclimated into new real estate careers and experienced sales success during the first 12 months of a new real estate practice. A purposeful sample of 10 realtors shared their early experiences of success in semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed five significant themes relative to their sales success: (1) rookie realtors are motivated by client satisfaction and financial rewards, (2) successful rookie realtors develop effective relationships, (3) understanding terms and constructs of the sales contract and finding a mentor provided the most significant training during the early phases of employment, (4) technology tools and applications are used to increase agent efficiencies and, (5) rookie realtors have unrealistic expectations about their jobs and the roles of leadership. According to the data, the most significant factor positively influencing early sales success in rookie realtors is their motivation to receive client satisfaction. A customer orientation trait in rookie realtors may positively influence early sales success.</p><p>

Purpose – The purpose of this master thesis is to offer a number of illustrations of Russian female entrepreneurs in order to identify potential motivational factors that make Russian women launch their own business start-ups. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative research method is applied within the master thesis based on information received from secondary (case studies) and primary (semi-structured interviews) data collection methods. The actor view and combination of directed and summative approaches of the qualitative content analysis update the information gathered within the theoretical studies of peer-reviewed articles on female entrepreneurship in general and particularly in Russia. Findings – Female entrepreneurs are not a homogenous group. Motivational factors can be divided in two groups: both applicable to male and female entrepreneurship; exclusively female motivations. “The glass ceiling effect” is a common problem that pushes women into self-employment. “Internal-stable reasons” encourage women entrepreneurship as an opportunity to achieve work-life balance and be one’s own boss. The desire of social contribution is a driver of female entrepreneurship, too. Marriage and birth of children make females think about starting their own businesses as well. Female entrepreneurship discrimination in Russia still exists up to now, in particular: sexism and dalliance. The principle motivational factors for women entrepreneurs in Russia are: wholesome family relationship and family support. One can behold a developing positive trend inside the boundaries of various discrimination problems that used to frustrate the majority of females determined to embark on entrepreneurial activity. Still the majority of females who are determined to launch entrepreneurial projects consider marriage to be a significant and useful social institution. Research limitations/implications – The research studies on women entrepreneurship in the world are at the infancy stage, much less in Russia. Thus, the number of articles on female entrepreneurship is willing to be broaden. The only conduction of interviews in terms of empirical analysis is not enough and could be supported by surveys and focus groups in the future. The authors are limited in time and resources for the analysis of such a vast topic as well as restrictions in the regional context (central regions – Moscow) disallow to apply findings in relation to the whole Russian Federation. Practical implications – The findings of the master thesis could be used by researchers to replicate the study of motivational factors in a multiregional sample and to know whether the results are similar in all regions of Russia; and policy makers to motivate women to become entrepreneurs as it is a source of new jobs and allows women to be active participants in the country’s economy.

This research contributes to the discussion surrounding New Zealand’s entrepreneurial environment and Innovation Framework and addresses the research problem of whether the New Zealand government should seek to support entrepreneurship and innovation through the various knowledge-based or regulatory organisations it owns or funds, and if so, how it should go about accomplishing this. The approach taken was to use qualitative methods to examine how the government’s support for entrepreneurship and innovation was delivered to an emerging cluster of entrepreneurs from the point of view of those entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs were involved in the innovative industry of land-based aquaculture and fieldwork was carried out in the Gisborne Region, on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. This study began by reviewing relevant literature from academic, industry and government sources to identify relevant sub-themes and create a framework for analysis. Fieldwork was undertaken using ethnographic methods to explore how the entrepreneurs experienced the New Zealand entrepreneurial environment and innovation framework in their interactions with knowledge-based and regulatory organisations. Data was gathered primarily by participant observation and semi-structured interviews and transcripts were coded and analysed using NVivo® software. An ethnographic narrative was produced and the interview transcripts analysed for relevance to the sub-themes from literature and to identify patterns that emerged from the data. This research reports that four of the entrepreneurs failed in their ventures due to a combination of factors both within their operations and within the entrepreneurial environment. These factors included technical difficulties maintaining livestock health and growth within an artificial marine environment, an inability to obtain assistance from knowledge-based organisations, problems in dealing with regulatory organisations, difficulty retaining trained staff, uncertainty about the market, and high energy costs. The Māori training organisation, Turanga Ararau, formed the Gisborne Aquaculture Society in an effort to establish a Gisborne aquaculture cluster however, this initiative proved unsuccessful primarily because the society failed to attract the 12 involvement of key stakeholders. This research contributes to the policy and practice of cluster facilitation by examining the extent to which best practice was followed in this attempt to establish a cluster and presents conclusions as to how the process of establishing the cluster could have been improved. This study also reports that the entrepreneurs were cut off from access to knowledge and research resources and received little advice or support from the knowledge based organisations that might have played a role in the development of their cluster. It examines how and why New Zealand’s Innovation Framework might be failing to recognise and support the vital role of entrepreneurs in economic development and suggests how this might be improved. The methodology chapters of this thesis contribute to literature regarding the use of ethnographic methods in entrepreneurship research and a further by-product of this thesis is an ethnographic account of the participant observation and semi structured interviews with the entrepreneurs. This research also provides an insight into the obstacles and challenges faced by entrepreneurs in New Zealand, in particular those involved in the emerging recirculating aquaculture industry.

The study is the result of a 'journey of discovery'. The fruits of an analytical and purposely open-minded process, which sought neither to prove nor disprove some pre-existing theory, regarding either the nature or influencing drivers of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship; but rather progress through a subjective review of past and current thinking on the topic. Only then, armed with that insight, proceeded to both test and possibly re-discover the underlying evolutional and constituent realities of this most elusive of subjects. The desired resultant goal of this process is to help define a methodology by which to better identify the principle traits that make up successful entrepreneurial companies and most importantly, the individual entrepreneur(s) that lead them. Should such benchmarks show reliability of purpose, they would certainly help provide both the Institutional and Venture Capital community with a better and more insightfid understanding and evaluational mechanism of venture ready Entrepreneurs thereby leading to a streamlining of their funding processes. This process of discovery commenced by drawing on existing literature and defining what was to be one of the principal subject matters for analysis - the nature of entrepreneurship itself and specifically whether entrepreneurship was an 'art' or a 'science'? Was it learned or instinctive? And whether its existence could actually be formulated, and thereby predicted. The results of this initial process were revealingly rather ambiguous. For while alluding to the existence of a workable methodology by which to deliver an insight into the potential success or failure of an entrepreneurial venture, the contention that a commonality of entrepreneurial characteristics and predispositions existed were almost entirely dismissed. As a result, the subsequent research sought to test this perception and to identify the key constituent characteristics and motivars of the successful entrepreneur. To do so, a multi-dimensional entrepreneurial model was formulated and, in turn, tested through the development of a three tiered qualitative analysis methodology. Firstly, one that encompassed a relatively broad-based pool of approximately 45 entrepreneurs from pre-selected Small Medium Enterprises. From this number 12 subjects were in turn further tested utilising pre-defined methodologies; with four of them actually subjected to in-depth one on one interviews and subsequent analysis. Contrary to conventional thought, the evaluational amalgam of this qualitative process significantly revealed a reliably high degree of commonality of specific traits among entrepreneurial subjects reviewed. In addition, an exciting and valuable insight into the mind of the entrepreneur was revealed; one that within the study is described as the 'third dimension' of entrepreneurial motivation, and one that the author contends could unlock the door to an even deeper understanding of this most elusive of subject matters and form a strong basis for further research.

Prompted by the observation that some Australian universities state that they wish to be entrepreneurial, and appear to be only mildly successful at it, whilst others are entrepreneurial by any measure and yet do not state that aim, this study explores what it means to be an entrepreneurial university in the complex and challenging Australian context. It asks the key question �What does it take?� in seeking to identify the organisational and managerial capabilities that underpin successful entrepreneurial outcomes with a view to developing a model that can assist senior university executives in their managerial and leadership practice. The study is undertaken in an interpretive, qualitative research framework where an initial model based on a literature synthesis, using the work of Clark as a starting point, is presented to a group of participants. All are either present or recent vice-chancellors, higher education industry experts and bureaucrats, or are senior technology transfer managers concerned with direct entrepreneurial efforts in larger universities. In two iterations, the participants are engaged in dialogue about the model, refining and commenting on it until their views are incorporated and it more closely approximates their own mental models for the practice of entrepreneurship in the university. Their comments about related issues of government policy, current national and international trends, their respective university strategies and concerns are also incorporated to add rich meaning to their views on the model itself. The study concludes that there are five clusters of capabilities involved in building an entrepreneurial university in the Australian setting. They are labelled Context, Strategy, People, Enabling Mechanisms and Culture and Internal Politics in this study. There is some overlap with those elements Clark originally identified but also some notable additional emphasis and detail added. In this study, the capability clusters related to relationship with environment and Context and that relating to Strategy and strategic leadership in general are found to be more important than Clark indicated, more crucial in the present Australian context and generally more underdeveloped in Australia than the current circumstances would indicate is necessary. It is concluded that where entrepreneurship is handled as a marginal, optional, or half-hearted pursuit, and the concept not fully embraced, it is likely to result in haphazard outcomes, not always enhancing or progressing the institution in its desired direction. In contrast, successful entrepreneurship in and by Australian universities essentially requires greater emphasis on the capabilities of strategic management and plans that place entrepreneurship centrally in an integrated strategic entrepreneurship framework.

The past decade has seen a surge of interest in ‘born global’ firms which internationalise rapidly following their inception. While born global internationalisation paths are commonly associated with high tech firms, there has been some limited research suggesting that biotech ventures do not fit this model. My aim, therefore, was to contribute to international business research by investigating whether biotech firms internationalise as is suggested by born global scholars. Accordingly, my research focused on examining how the internationalisation of these small firms with radical innovations might best be explained. My research proceeded by means of a comparative case study of four Australian biotech companies, with their internationalisation histories forming the focal unit of analysis. The first contribution resulting from my cross-case analysis is to show that oversimplified measures of firm inception have led to ‘conceptual stretching’ of the born global category. This does not imply that born globals do not exist; rather; I argue that greater care needs to be applied when measuring inception. Ultimately, biotech firms do not fit easily into the born global category because the lengthy innovation process they undergo means they are likely to have strong pre-organisational roots extending far beyond their incorporation date. This pre-organisational history needs to be factored in because of its effects on firm internationalisation. My second contribution is to suggest a driver for internationalisation that to date has not been included in existing research into high tech firms: namely, the influence of the innovation process. The internationalisation decisions of the case firms could be explained to a large extent by the stage that their core technologies were at. The international partnerships that the firms signed were also very much affected by the uncertainties surrounding the intellectual property being exchanged. My contribution therefore lies in proposing that incorporating the innovation process can advance understanding of high tech internationalisation. I conclude by suggesting that theory development concerning high tech internationalisation should pursue further these linkages between innovation and internationalisation. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1349297 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, The Business School, 2008