Peter English, Margarietha Johanna de Villiers Scheepers, David Fleischman, Jacqueline Burgess and Gail Crimmins
Responding to increasing external pressure, universities are developing new strategies to illustrate the impact of their degrees on graduate employability. This paper investigates…
Abstract
Purpose
Responding to increasing external pressure, universities are developing new strategies to illustrate the impact of their degrees on graduate employability. This paper investigates how alumni regard the development of their professional networks during their tertiary education in relation to employability and the associated pedagogical implications.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 18 business and arts alumni from a regional university.
Findings
The findings reveal the importance of developing a professional network by cultivating social capital while at university. Alumni identify all forms of work-integrated learning (WIL), connectedness through social media, the role of university staff and volunteering as concrete ways to develop a professional network and enhance employability.
Research limitations/implications
This paper has pedagogical implications to develop graduate employability and WIL. Universities should draw from alumni networks to help develop students' bridging capital through industry-facing WIL projects. Educators should design assessment tasks in which students develop contacts and networking capabilities with alumni and other professionals using various platforms (e.g. social media). In addition, educators should promote the benefits of voluntary work and invite alumni and other industry stakeholders to co-design and co-teach areas of curriculum.
Originality/value
Drawing from the experiences of alumni re-routes the channel of communication from institutions expressing the importance of professional networks in relation to employability, to credible industry alumni confirming this importance. Few previous studies have taken this “outside-in approach” to emphasise and validate the importance of developing professional networks in relation to employability, particularly at regional universities.
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Margarietha Johanna de Villiers Scheepers, Renee Barnes, Michael Clements and Alix Jayne Stubbs
The purpose of this paper is to propose an experiential entrepreneurship work-integrated learning (EE WIL) model recognising that the development of an entrepreneurial mindset…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an experiential entrepreneurship work-integrated learning (EE WIL) model recognising that the development of an entrepreneurial mindset enables graduates to manage their careers in uncertain labour markets. The model shows how students develop relationships with their professional community, and not only a few employers.
Design/methodology/approach
The pedagogical underpinning of the conceptual model, attributes associated with the entrepreneurial mindset and relationships between the student, professional community and university are explained, and illustrated through a case study at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Findings
The EE WIL model enables students to develop agency through structured engagement with a professional community, facilitating the development of bridging social capital. Bonding social capital can be developed through intense, sustained interaction between students and their professional community.
Practical implications
WIL curricula should be scaffolded and directed towards developing sustained interaction and information sharing, underpinned by professional community norms. This approach enables students to develop an aligned professional identity and emotional attachment to the professional community. The experiential development of an entrepreneurial mindset enables students to solve career challenges, by viewing these as opportunities. Professional communities and universities both share the responsibilities of preparing the future graduate workforce.
Originality/value
The conceptual model draws on effectual entrepreneurship pedagogy and contributes to the WIL literature, showing that an entrepreneurial mindset can be cultivated experientially through an intensive, emotional and authentic learning experience.
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Margarietha J. de Villiers Scheepers, Renee Barnes and Laura Kate Garrett
This paper investigates how early-stage founders use the 60-s nascent pitch to attract co-founders, by applying the narrative paradigm.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates how early-stage founders use the 60-s nascent pitch to attract co-founders, by applying the narrative paradigm.
Design/methodology/approach
Videos of supported and non-supported pitches from Startup Weekend were analysed using the Grounded Theory Method.
Findings
The findings were used to develop a framework for a successful nascent pitch. It shows that founders who can engage the audience, convey credibility and use symbols effectively are more likely to attract co-founders. Bringing these three elements together through personalisation, that is, making the startup concept tangible and personally relevant for co-founders to visualise, enables the founder to talk a venture into existence.
Practical implications
This paper holds implications for founders and entrepreneurship mentors to craft a powerful, persuasive pitch by drawing on the framework.
Originality/value
The framework brings a holistic understanding to the nascent pitch and explains how nascent founders acquire human resources at one of the earliest stages of venture formation. In this way, concerns of prior fragmented approaches focussed only on narrative elements of investment pitches are addressed.
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Thomas Moser, Margarietha Johanna de Villiers Scheepers and Saskia de Klerk
Organisational learning (OL) is a critical capability family firms (FFs) need in order to adapt to an increasingly turbulent environment. Given the uniqueness of FFs and their…
Abstract
Purpose
Organisational learning (OL) is a critical capability family firms (FFs) need in order to adapt to an increasingly turbulent environment. Given the uniqueness of FFs and their differentiated decision-making processes, this review addresses fragmentation in the literature and synthesises prior research outlining the development of OL in FFs.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted using four databases, and 53 pertinent papers on OL in FFs published from 1998 to 2023 were analysed using the theory, characteristics, context and methodology (TCCM) framework.
Findings
The last five years (2019–2023) show a marked increase in interest in OL in FFs, with a rise in the number of quantitative studies. The findings indicate that OL is mainly studied as a unidimensional construct, while it is a multidimensional capability. Strategic management and organisational behaviour theories are commonly employed, while theories specific to family business such as socioemotional wealth (SEW) and familiness are underrepresented. Most studies focus on FFs in the Northern Hemisphere, and few studies examine OL in FFs located in the Global South. The TCCM framework reveals the complexity and multi-layered nature of OL in FFs.
Originality/value
This is one of the first systematic reviews to synthesise research on OL in FFs. The proposed research agenda identifies fruitful areas for future investigations concentrating on the multidimensional nature of OL, family-related outcomes, as well as contextual and methodological research directions of interest to family business researchers.
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Aaron Tham, Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers, Anthony Grace and Ann Suwaree Ashton
This paper aims to critically evaluate the evolution of Assurance of Learning (AoL) in business education and identify gaps and responsibilities in higher institution landscapes…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to critically evaluate the evolution of Assurance of Learning (AoL) in business education and identify gaps and responsibilities in higher institution landscapes moving into the future. This comes amidst increasing structural reforms, an increasingly digitalised world, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and wider scrutiny of graduate competencies for job readiness.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review comprising 27 journal articles published between 2018 and 2022 is the methodology used in this research. This approach is justified as it provides a recent synopsis of current trends on AoL and encompasses the changes over the course of the COVID-19-induced higher education landscapes.
Findings
The systematic literature review revealed a strong flavour for AoL measurement through the students' perspectives, with little emerging from faculty insights. Only six out of the 27 articles were framed in a non-English speaking background, revealing that most studies were still concentrated in a US or English environment. Also, while papers on AoL have increased in numbers from 2018 to 2022, there remains scant literature on AoL measurements related to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent digital technologies, and how these would have changed given the rapid shift to online or hybrid environments.
Originality/value
A comprehensive review of AoL literature from 2018 to 2022 is undertaken through Leximancer, which reveals conceptual and relational ties between core themes and concepts of interest. The findings inform business school leaders of the current state of AoL processes, by combining the views of students, faculty and managers.
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Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers, Paul Williams, Vikki Schaffer, Anthony Grace, Carl Walling, Jenna Campton, Karen Hands, Deborah Fisher, Hannah Banks, Jo Loth and Aurora Scheelings
In contrast to prior studies examining burnout in academic employees, this paper explores how academic employee agency mitigates burnout risks in the context of the coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
In contrast to prior studies examining burnout in academic employees, this paper explores how academic employee agency mitigates burnout risks in the context of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and how this agency facilitates research productivity and influences well-being in the face of changes in learning and teaching practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use collaborative auto-ethnography (CAE) in the higher education (HE) sector to probe how an employee productivity group supported the group's members during the pandemic.
Findings
Thematic analysis revealed four emerging themes: burnout, beneficial habits for research productivity, blocking-out-time and belonging. The authors' findings suggest that by acknowledging and legitimising employee-initiated groups, feelings of neglect can be combatted. Purposeful employee groups have the potential to create a therapeutic, safe space and, in addition to the groups' productivity intent, diminish the negative effects of a crisis on organisational effectiveness.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by utilising a CAE approach to provide greater insight into how academics enact agency by creating digital research workspaces, attending to the spatial dimensions of well-being especially during turbulent times.
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Brett Letcher, Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers and Wayne Graham
This paper aims to explore small firm perceptions of coopetition, focusing on coopetitive tension, balance and value appropriation realised in dyadic relationships, not considered…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore small firm perceptions of coopetition, focusing on coopetitive tension, balance and value appropriation realised in dyadic relationships, not considered holistically in previous research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use seven cases of small firms as the empirical foundation of this study and analysed data thematically.
Findings
The findings show that precursors to coopetitive tension in dyads influence friction in these relationships, as firms seek to achieve balance. Balance is dynamic as firms continuously appraise their positions to determine the benefits realised from coopetition. The extent to which firms act cooperatively or competitively is influenced by their perception of fair value appropriation for sustained coopetitive relationships.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the research design findings are not generalisable but provide insight into small firm coopetitive relational dynamics. Future research should explore how industry differences influence firms’ perceived precursors to coopetitive tension and value appropriation based on boundary conditions.
Practical implications
Small firms can proactively address coopetitive tension by developing relationships with potential partner firms through trialling smaller projects and increasing awareness of how their competitive or cooperative behaviours might influence the actions of their counterpart.
Originality/value
This study advances a theoretical framework integrating coopetitive tension, balance and value appropriation, as opposed to earlier fragmented approaches. The framework reveals that precursors to coopetitive tension are continuously appraised as firms act in cooperative or competitive ways. These interactions imply that firms will take a position of balance that provides complementary benefits.
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Margarietha Johanna de Villiers‐Scheepers
Entrepreneurship theories have a predominant developed economy focus, but the relevance of these theories for emerging economies remains largely untested. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurship theories have a predominant developed economy focus, but the relevance of these theories for emerging economies remains largely untested. The purpose of this paper is to show how the antecedents to strategic corporate entrepreneurship influence the entrepreneurial intensity of emerging economy firms in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was carried out, using a telephone survey to obtain responses from 146 established South African firms.
Findings
The findings indicate that entrepreneurship theories are contingent on the economic context. Entrepreneurial intensity (EI) of firms is strongly related to organizational antecedents and environmental opportunity perceptions. Three organizational antecedents are crucial to create a supportive internal environment: management support, autonomy and rewards. Furthermore, perceptions of munificence are positively related to EI. However, hostility, found to be related to entrepreneurial activity in developed economies, is not related to EI in this sample.
Practical implications
Managers, operating in emerging economies, can stimulate strategic corporate entrepreneurship by creating a supportive internal climate and fostering opportunity perceptions in dynamic, hostile environments; however, strategies using social or political capital seem to be more suitable for managing threats.
Originality/value
This paper enriches understanding of the contingent nature of entrepreneurship theories, suggesting that emerging country context matters, in terms of environmental opportunity and hostility perceptions for strategic corporate entrepreneurship.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
It isn't easy at the best of times to bring new business ideas to the market, or to go from spotting an opportunity to launching a successful product that makes your business take off and grow. How much harder, then, to do this in an emerging economy, where the problems of doing business are so much greater? Even so, it's clear that many business people consider it worthwhile to act as entrepreneurs in these conditions – and that their success is a key part of economic development. What are the factors that drive them on? And are there ways of increasing entrepreneurial intensity in an emerging economy?
Practical implications
The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.