Search results
1 – 10 of 124Patrick Gregori, Patrick Holzmann, Ines Krajger, Erich J. Schwarz and Rainer Harms
This study investigates antecedents determining the inclination to engage in future environmental entrepreneurial activities. Building on passion research and social cognitive…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates antecedents determining the inclination to engage in future environmental entrepreneurial activities. Building on passion research and social cognitive theory, the authors explore the role of environmental passion for environmental entrepreneurial intention, drawing attention to the mediating role of environmental self-efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
A regression-based path analysis for mediation to test the developed hypotheses on a sample of 139 young individuals is applied.
Findings
The results demonstrate a significant positive effect of environmental passion on environmental entrepreneurial intention. The mediation analysis shows a positive direct and indirect effect of passion on intention, concluding that self-efficacy is a partial mediator. The results further suggest that environmental entrepreneurial intention is related to gender. In contrast, covariates like age, entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurship education have no significant effect.
Practical implications
The results have implications for practitioners and policymakers who aim to further entrepreneurship for environmental sustainability. It underlines the need to take emotional antecedents seriously, suggests policy for creative and interdisciplinary education with respect to its challenges and emphasizes the roles of teachers in fostering passion.
Originality/value
The results provide a deeper contextualized understanding of passion, self-efficacy and intention in environmental entrepreneurship. These results offer an original perspective of entrepreneurship as a conduit to channel energy, concerns and passionate interests in the natural environment. The study presents theoretical implications for passion theory by extending sources of passion and clarifying the direction of self-efficacy in entrepreneurship.
Details
Keywords
Juliano Afonso Tessaro, Rainer Harms and Holger Schiele
This study aims to analyze how startups organize their purchasing activities to improve operative excellence and become attractive customers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze how startups organize their purchasing activities to improve operative excellence and become attractive customers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a two-phase exploratory approach with semistructured interviews and a World Café. In total, 20 startup purchasers and suppliers participated. It is an international study with participants from eight countries (Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, the UK and the USA).
Findings
The authors find that startups organize the purchasing function in five ways: partial outsourcing, transactional-oriented, strategic only, outsourced purchasing and full department. Each type has advantages and disadvantages regarding operative excellence. The authors identify type-specific antecedents to operative excellence: forecasting, payment habits, ordering process, contact accessibility and quick decision-making.
Research limitations/implications
The value of this paper is that it offers entrepreneurs a framework to organize startup purchasing activities, including outsourcing options. Furthermore, it provides theoretical contributions that expand the topic of purchasing and supply organization and operative excellence to the startup context.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to explore purchasing organization and operative excellence in startups.
Details
Keywords
Sascha Kraus, Rainer Harms and Erich J. Schwarz
To analyze the performance implications of essential elements of strategic planning (time span, formalization, frequency of control, and use of planning instruments) in smaller…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the performance implications of essential elements of strategic planning (time span, formalization, frequency of control, and use of planning instruments) in smaller enterprises in a simultaneous way.
Design/methodology/approach
The main methods being used for this article were a thorough review of literature for the development of hypotheses and a logistical regression analysis for the empirical evaluation. The study is based on a representative sample of small Austrian enterprises (n = 290).
Findings
Planning formalization has a positive and highly significant impact on the probability of belonging to the group of growth firms, whereas other aspects of strategic planning (time horizon, strategic instruments, and control) did not contribute to performance.
Research limitations/implications
Employee growth has been used as an indicator for firm performance. Other indicators (e.g. sales growth, profitability, and subjective evaluation of the entrepreneur) might be used to draw a more detailed picture. Additionally, dichotomizing the dependent variable has some weaknesses. Furthermore, only a limited number of industry categories have been controlled for.
Practical implications
Practitioners might want to emphasize formal strategic planning in order to enhance the probability of performance. Also, they might want to regard the business plan as a management and learning tool rather than as a pure means to generate funding.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to analyze different dimensions of strategic planning in small firms simultaneously. Additionally, it is one of only very few studies outside of the Anglo‐American realm, which might be a help especially for European SMEs (small and medium‐sized enterprises).
Details
Keywords
Rainer Harms, Sascha Kraus and Carl H. Reschke
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured overview of the application of the configuration approach in the context of new and small ventures.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured overview of the application of the configuration approach in the context of new and small ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper surveys the empirical literature in the leading entrepreneurship journals from 1994 to 2006.
Findings
There are a small, but significant number of studies that deal with the empirical identification and examination of new venture types. However, researchers are just beginning to tap the potential of the configuration approach. More specifically, configuration analyses are still rather heterogeneous, and no study deals with the identification of development configuration in the context of new ventures yet.
Research limitations/implications
Since the configuration approach has already delivered interesting results in research on new ventures, we might see additional studies based on this approach in the future. However, there are practical and theoretical considerations to be taken into account.
Practical implications
An awareness of the existence of different types of start‐ups can lead to more informed decisions in new venture management.
Originality/value
This literature review identifies and structures empirical configuration research in the context of new and small ventures. Also, awareness for future research opportunities is raised.
Details
Keywords
Isabella Hatak, Rainer Harms and Matthias Fink
– The purpose of this paper is to examine how age and job identification affect entrepreneurial intention.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how age and job identification affect entrepreneurial intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers draw on a representative sample of the Austrian adult workforce and apply binary logistic regression on entrepreneurial intention.
Findings
The findings reveal that as employees age they are less inclined to act entrepreneurially, and that their entrepreneurial intention is lower the more they identify with their job. Whereas gender, education, and previous entrepreneurial experience matter, leadership and having entrepreneurial parents seem to have no impact on the entrepreneurial intention of employees.
Research limitations/implications
Implications relate to a contingency perspective on entrepreneurial intention where the impact of age is exacerbated by stronger identification with the job.
Practical implications
Practical implications include the need to account for different motivational backgrounds when addressing entrepreneurial employees of different ages. Societal implications include the need to adopt an age perspective to foster entrepreneurial intentions within established organizations.
Originality/value
While the study corroborates and extends findings from entrepreneurial intention research, it contributes new empirical insights to the age and job-dependent contingency perspective on entrepreneurial intention.
Details
Keywords
Robert Tierney, Aard J. Groen, Rainer Harms, Miriam Luizink, Dale Hetherington, Harold Stewart, Steve T. Walsh and Jonathan Linton
Twenty first century problems are increasingly being addressed by multi technology solutions developed by regional entrepreneurial and intreprepreneurial innovators. However, they…
Abstract
Purpose
Twenty first century problems are increasingly being addressed by multi technology solutions developed by regional entrepreneurial and intreprepreneurial innovators. However, they require an expensive new type of fabrication facility. Multiple technology production facilities (MTPF) have become the essential incubators for these innovations. This paper aims to focus on the issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors address the lack of managerial understanding of how to express the value and operationally manage MTPF centers through the use of investigative case study methods for multiple firms in the study.
Findings
Owing to the MTPF centers' novelty and outward similarity to high volume semiconductor fabrication (HVF) facilities, they are laden with ineffective operation and strategic management practices. Metrics are the standard for both operational and strategic management of HVF facilities, yet their application to this new type of center is proving ineffectual.
Research limitations/implications
These new types of regional economic resources may be at risk. A new approach is needed.
Practical implications
The authors develop an operational and strategic metrics management approach for MTPFs that are based on these facilities' unique nature and leverages both the HVF and R&D metrics knowledge base.
Social implications
Innovations at the interface of micro technology, nanotechnology and semiconductor micro fabrication are poised to solve many of these problems and become a basis for job creation and prosperity. If a new management technique is not developed, then these harbingers of regional economic development will be closed.
Originality/value
While there is an abundance of research on metrics for HVF, this is the first attempt to develop metrics for MTPFs.
Details
Keywords
Tiago Ratinho, Rainer Harms and Aard Groen
Business incubators (BI) have been established worldwide as tools for company creation and small businesses support. BIs claim to help their tenants by providing them with the…
Abstract
Business incubators (BI) have been established worldwide as tools for company creation and small businesses support. BIs claim to help their tenants by providing them with the optimal conditions for increasing early stage survival and long-term performance. Practitioners and researchers agree that business support is a crucial feature of incubating businesses. Yet this is seldom researched. In this study we theoretically relate business support to help in solving problems and further investigate to what extent business incubators support their tenants overcome their developmental problems. Results show that tenants do not experience many problems and when they do business support is not necessarily sought. Furthermore, our data suggests that business support is not preferentially sought within incubator environments. When this happens, support provided by the BI does not contribute to problem solving. Finally, we discuss the impact of the type of BI on helping their tenants.
Details
Keywords
Aims to describe a variety of journal‐writing processes and howthey have been used with students in a graduate course in human resourcedevelopment; describes possible causes of…
Abstract
Aims to describe a variety of journal‐writing processes and how they have been used with students in a graduate course in human resource development; describes possible causes of learning and writing blocks and how they can be overcome; evaluates the creative journal process by describing advantages, disadvantages and issues from both the students′ and the lecturers′ perspectives; and offers suggestions for people who use the journal process.
Details