Robert Newbery, Stephen Roderick, Johannes Sauer, Matthew Gorton and Keith Robbins
Research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) seeks to understand the EO–performance relationship. However, at a strategic level, performance relates to a competitive advantage and…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) seeks to understand the EO–performance relationship. However, at a strategic level, performance relates to a competitive advantage and comprises both value-added and efficiency measures. Following arguments that performance is context and strategy dependent, the paper argues that EO research needs to clarify and specify the type of performance relationship measured.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the EO–performance relationship, the research considers the agricultural sector where policy has traditionally encouraged the maximisation of efficiency in production and has only recently promoted entrepreneurship, providing fertile ground to explore different approaches to measuring performance. A survey collected detailed accounting records and context specific EO for 282 commercial farms. The authors estimate two models (Heckman selection regression and stochastic production frontier) that examine the relationships between EO and value-added/efficiency performance outcomes.
Findings
The analysis confirms the EO–value-added performance relationship, with significant positive relationships for the EO components proactiveness and innovativeness and a negative relationship for risk. No EO–efficiency performance relationship was found, despite a robust analysis of technical efficiency using detailed accounting data.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to EO theory by problematizing performance and highlighting the importance of the type of performance measured. This paper contributes empirically with findings relating to a mature industry contributes to entrepreneurship methodology by outlining how EO–performance relationships can be measured in terms of productivity and technical efficiency.
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This article analyses value preferences and basic cultural behavioural patterns in two fairly diverse countries/societies: Britain and Yugoslavia. It is, from the very outset…
Abstract
This article analyses value preferences and basic cultural behavioural patterns in two fairly diverse countries/societies: Britain and Yugoslavia. It is, from the very outset, assumed that both countries are undergoing a period of significant social changes, both political and social. The UK is introducing the policy of devolution with significant constitutional changes pending, while the Yugoslav society is recovering from the conflict in the area, economic slowdowns and is searching for its new identity. Due to long‐standing British interests in the Balkans, the attractiveness of a virtually unpenetrated Yugoslav market and the vast opportunities for investment pending the solution of political crises in the Balkans, it is expected that British investors, companies and entrepreneurs will be interested in establishing business links in Yugoslavia, and therefore it is more than useful to analyse basic cultural patterns of both societies, expressed through public opinion polls and informal exchange of opinions (used only in anecdotal manner). It is concluded that although both societies are shaped in the dominant European manner, there are also many differences between them, but none of them so significant as to pose an obstacle to a successful business co‐operation.
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Dave Towey, James Walker and Ricky Ng
Embracing reflective practice and retrospection, with a goal of identifying commonalities, this paper aims to examine delivery of engineering subjects in both traditional higher…
Abstract
Purpose
Embracing reflective practice and retrospection, with a goal of identifying commonalities, this paper aims to examine delivery of engineering subjects in both traditional higher education (THE) and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
Design/methodology/approach
Reflections on actions and autoethnography were used to examine the teaching and learning experiences of three educators across two higher education (HE) institutions (HEIs) in the greater Chinese context. Literature reviews and historical contexts are outlined to support the approaches and insights identified.
Findings
This paper presents a number of common characteristics and challenges identified across both THE and TVET. Drawing on the successful embrace of ambiguity and change in recent software engineering (SE) development paradigms, recommendations are made for how the agile SE themes can be applied in a larger sense to address the wider challenges facing both THE and TVET.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that engineering education has been examined and contrasted in the contexts of THE and TVET. The similarities and common challenges may represent a new focus for related work, and the presented insights, from agile methodologies in SE, represent a new perspective for viewing future HE and TVET sustainability.
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Stephen L. Vargo, Robert F. Lusch, Melissa Archpru Akaka and Yi He
Riots, and the political reactions that followed, in the European Union and in the USA, will likely serve to turn the World Trade Organization (WTO) away from its purely material…
Abstract
Riots, and the political reactions that followed, in the European Union and in the USA, will likely serve to turn the World Trade Organization (WTO) away from its purely material bent and into an institution that engages the social, cultural and environmental concerns of the world community. It may well wind up being modeled after the EU. At future meetings, members of the WTO will undoubtedly be pressured into dealing with many of the issues aired in the streets of Europe and the USA. Creating a more democratic WTO should appease many of the disparate constituencies that openly voiced their reservations about the WTO’s narrow commercial focus and also permit the world’s poorest nations to finally begin to benefit economically from the globalization movement.
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Erik M. Hines, Paul C. Harris and Dwayne Ham
In this chapter, the authors discuss how school counselors may create a college-going environment for African American males in middle school. The authors use Bronfenbrenner’s…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors discuss how school counselors may create a college-going environment for African American males in middle school. The authors use Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory to explain how environmental influences impact African American males’ college trajectory, both positively and negatively. Moreover, they use Ecological Systems Theory to discuss how multiple stakeholders (e.g., school counselors and parents) and various structured activities that align with the Eight Components of College and Career Readiness (NOSCA, 2010) may promote college preparation among Black male middle school students. The authors also present two case vignettes as examples of how school counselors may assist African American males for postsecondary options. In closing, the chapter concludes with implications for educational policy, research, and practice.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between income inequality and economic growth, both in linear and non‐linear specifications.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between income inequality and economic growth, both in linear and non‐linear specifications.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper has employed annual time series data over the period of 1971 up to 2005. Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) bounds testing approach has been used for cointegration and error correction model for short run behavior. Unit root problem is handled by the use of augmented Dickey‐Fuller unit root test.
Findings
The analysis findings are sharply contrasted to the significant association between income inequality and economic growth found in 1994 by Alesina and Roderick and by Persson and Tabellini. The empirical evidence provides support for the existence of Kuznets inverted‐U as well as inverted S‐shaped curve in Pakistan.
Practical implications
This paper opens up new directions for policy‐making authorities to equalize income distribution in the case of a small transition economy like Pakistan.
Originality/value
This paper convincingly argues that there is a need for case‐by‐case study on such a project in view of each country's unique characteristics. This paper makes a unique contribution to the literature with reference to Pakistan, being a pioneering attempt that employs ARDL cointegration approach.