Carlo Raffo, Andy Lovatt, Mark Banks and Justin O’Connor
Reports on an ESRC‐funded, in‐depth qualitative research project into 50 micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the cultural industries. Our evidence sheds light on the extent to…
Abstract
Reports on an ESRC‐funded, in‐depth qualitative research project into 50 micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the cultural industries. Our evidence sheds light on the extent to which the teaching and learning strategies adopted by higher education, further education and other VET providers are effective in providing entrepreneurship education and training for this innovative, high skill sector. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs in this sector learn best by being able to experiment with ideas, by “doing” and networking with others and by working with more experienced mentors in their sector. The article concludes by suggesting a more “naturalistic” approach to teaching and learning entrepreneurship for micro and small businesses in the cultural industries sector.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the influence of the creative industries on design education in New Zealand.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the influence of the creative industries on design education in New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
A range of contemporary literature is presented to help define the term “creative industries”, and to locate this new “culture of creativity” within a wider global trend of creative cultural theory.
Findings
Cultural policy initiatives from Britain, Canada and New Zealand are reviewed and used to demonstrate how creative industries theory has sought to combine social, cultural and economic development.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is primarily concerned with recent changes to design education and the ways in which universities and polytechnics are attempting to meet the challenges of this new holistic approach to creativity and innovation.
Practical implications
In the final section the concept of interdisciplinary study of design is explored. This new model is developed through the example of a new interdisciplinary programme structure developed by the Wellington Institute of Technology in New Zealand.
Originality/value
In conclusion the concept of a “virtuous cycle” is used to describe the relationship between design education and the creative industries. This paper argues that, if this cycle continues, the creative industries will expand to become the model for a new economy based on social, cultural and economic entrepreneurship and change.
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David Butler, Robert Butler, Justin Doran and Sean O’Connor
Growing evidence suggests regional economic factors impact on individual outcomes, such as life expectancy and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact…
Abstract
Purpose
Growing evidence suggests regional economic factors impact on individual outcomes, such as life expectancy and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact that player-specific and regional differences have on the number of senior international appearances football players accumulate over the course of their careers, for six UEFA member countries, from 1993 to 2014.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employs a Poisson regression model to analyse the impact of individual and regional factors on the number of senior international caps a footballer receives over the course of their career.
Findings
The results indicate that both individual and regional variables can explain the number of caps a player receives over the course of their career. The authors find that an individual’s career length positively influences the number of international caps accrued. Players born in wealthier and more populous regions accumulate a greater number of international appearances. Distance from the capital has no effect, however, the number of youth academies in the player’s region of birth has a significant positive effect.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is limited to regional variations within economically developed states. It would be interesting to test whether the correlation between relative regional development and international success exists in less developed countries. The authors only address mens international football in this study and cannot comment on the generality of the findings across genders or sports.
Practical implications
The results can provide insights for local football authorities and policy makers concerned with regional characteristics and those interested in the development of elite talent.
Originality/value
This is the first study to analyse a pan-European data set, using an increasingly adopted econometric method to understanding regional economic development – Poisson modelling.
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Mari O' Connor, Justin Doran and Nóirín McCarthy
This paper combines the concepts of search depth and cognitive proximity to investigate the impact of intense collaboration with different external agents on firms' innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper combines the concepts of search depth and cognitive proximity to investigate the impact of intense collaboration with different external agents on firms' innovation performance. It empirically tests whether firms that draw deeply on cognitively proximate collaborative partners are more innovative than those collaborating intensively with cognitively distant partners. It explores whether the impact of each external agent is equally important in determining the innovation output of firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the Irish Community Innovation Survey 2012–2014, this paper employs a probit model to empirically test the impact of collaboration with cognitively proximate and distant sources of external knowledge to establish whether their impact on innovation performance is uniform.
Findings
The results show that not all collaborators equally impact firm innovation performance. Firms who indicate that knowledge sourced from backward linkages with suppliers is highly important are more likely to engage in both product and process innovation, with the effect more pronounced for the former. The extent of this is greatest for backward linkages compared to forward, horizontal and public linkages. Public linkages have the weakest impact on innovation output which raises questions from a policy perspective given the focus on university–industry collaboration for innovation. The findings indicate that collaboration with cognitively proximate sources of knowledge benefits firms' innovation output.
Originality/value
The study provides empirical evidence on the role of intense collaboration with cognitively proximate and distant external knowledge sources to explore their impact on the subsequent innovation performance of firms. The results can be used to help shape firm-level innovation policy, and indeed national policy, to promote innovation performance.
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Shane Barrett, Frank Crowley, Justin Doran and Mari O'Connor
This paper examines the relationship between open innovation (measured by exploratory and exploitative linkages) and firm-level innovative activity in the offshore renewable…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the relationship between open innovation (measured by exploratory and exploitative linkages) and firm-level innovative activity in the offshore renewable energy (ORE) sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique, purpose-built survey that targeted firms operating in the ORE sector and its supply chain was used. The data provides novel insights into the research activities and networking capabilities of an industry in its infant stages of development. Regression models are used to estimate the relationship between firm-level external linkages and innovative activity.
Findings
Exploratory linkages are positively related to more innovative activity. This relationship is subject to diminishing returns, distinguishing the ORE sector from other sectors. Collaborating with suppliers and accessing scientific journals are conducive to research and development (R&D) activity and process innovation, whilst collaborating with customers is associated with the decision to introduce new products and processes.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence of a positive, but curvilinear, relationship between external knowledge linkages and innovative activity, adding novel insights into the relationship between open innovation (OI) strategies, research and innovation outcomes for firms predominantly in the introductory stages of the technological life cycle with limited commercialisation experience. The nuanced finding that specific linkages matter for certain research and innovation (R&I) outcomes adds deeper complexity to March’s (1991) framework, where tailoring certain exploratory or exploitative linkages to specific innovation activities is important.
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Yuping Yin, Frank Crowley, Justin Doran, Jun Du and Mari O'Connor
This paper examines the innovation behavior of family-owned firms versus non-family-owned firms. The role of internal family governance and the influence of external stimuli…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the innovation behavior of family-owned firms versus non-family-owned firms. The role of internal family governance and the influence of external stimuli (competition) on innovation are also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of 20,995 family and non-family firms across 38 countries are derived from the World Bank Enterprise Survey during the period 2019–2020. Probit models are used to examine the impact of family ownership, family governance, and competition on innovation outcomes.
Findings
Family firms are more likely to make R&D investments, acquire external knowledge, engage in product innovation (including innovations that are new to the market) and process innovation, relative to non-family firms. However, a high propensity of family member involvement in top management positions can reduce innovation. Competition has a negative impact on innovation outcomes for both family and non-family firms, but it has a positive moderating effect on the innovation activities of family firms where a higher level of family member involvement in management is present.
Originality/value
This paper provides novel insights into family firm innovation dynamics by identifying family firms as more innovative than non-family firms for all types of indicators, debunking the idea that family firms are conservative, reluctant to change, and averse to the risks in innovation activities. However, too much family involvement in decision making may stifle some innovation activities in family firms, except in cases where the operating environment is highly competitive; this provides new insights into the ownership-management dynamic of family firms.
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Leon Schjoedt and Justin B. Craig
Given the nature of entrepreneurship, a domain-specific self-efficacy scale should pertain to venture creation, be unidimensional, and be developed and validated using nascent…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the nature of entrepreneurship, a domain-specific self-efficacy scale should pertain to venture creation, be unidimensional, and be developed and validated using nascent entrepreneurs – persons for whom self-efficacy may be most important. Extant measures employed in entrepreneurship research do not meet all these criteria. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a unidimensional entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) scale based on samples of nascent entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a sample of nascent entrepreneurs and items from PSED I were used to develop and assess the validity of a new ESE scale. To further establish scale validity, a comparison group from PSED I along with a sample of nascent entrepreneurs from PSED II were employed.
Findings
A unidimensional three-item self-efficacy scale for assessing a person’s belief that s/he can create a new business successfully is developed and validated using samples of nascent entrepreneurs and a control group.
Research limitations/implications
The scale offers opportunity to enhance research-based assessment using a parsimonious, reliable, and valid unidimensional measure of ESE. The scale may enhance future research findings, as well as promoting reconsideration of past research findings, on many issues in the entrepreneurship literature.
Originality/value
This research uses a sample of nascent entrepreneurs to provide a new three-item scale for assessment of ESE that is parsimonious, valid, and unidimensional.
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The first indication that traditional lecture-style teaching is not very effective was provided by Dr Donald Bligh in the 1980s and 1990s. As empirical evidence about this fact…
Abstract
Purpose
The first indication that traditional lecture-style teaching is not very effective was provided by Dr Donald Bligh in the 1980s and 1990s. As empirical evidence about this fact has continued to accumulate, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the USA has undergone a significant change in emphasis away from lecture-based approaches in favor of systems emphasizing more interactive learning. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
A wide range of experimental research has employed the principles of scientific teaching to investigate the efficacy of an ever widening range of pedagogical methods. For STEM education, the most successful of these has been active learning.
Findings
At its core, active learning is a redesign of in-class activities to maximize interactivity and feedback through facilitated problem-solving environments. Although the efficacies of both scientific teaching and active learning have been verified in a wide range of empirical works, the dissemination of these platforms, in general, teaching has been slow, even in the USA.
Research limitations/implications
The first significant impediment has been an overall lack of awareness coupled with general skepticism about alternative learning methods.
Practical implications
This paper first reviews the education literature behind scientific teaching and active learning before reviewing some of the challenges to their implementation on an institutional level.
Social implications
These challenges and known solutions are then applied to the European and East Asian contexts to examine why scientific teaching and active learning remain predominantly an American phenomenon.
Originality/value
For East Asian countries, the authors offer a commentary on how certain aspects of Confucian classroom culture may interact negatively with efforts to install scientific teaching and active learning systems.