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Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Christian Harrison, Stuart Paul and Kevin Burnard

This paper aims to uncover the challenges facing entrepreneurs in a developing economy, using the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria. Furthermore, the entrepreneurial leadership…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to uncover the challenges facing entrepreneurs in a developing economy, using the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria. Furthermore, the entrepreneurial leadership attributes that have proved to be valuable in overcoming the challenges faced in this sector will be identified.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is exploratory. Data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with retail pharmacy entrepreneurs and their employees. Although there has been some body of literature on entrepreneurial leadership, (Fernald et al., 2005; Gupta et al., 2004), none have addressed the nexus of leadership and entrepreneurship (Cogliser and Brigham, 2004) from the retail pharmacy sector of a developing economy.

Findings

Findings show that retail pharmacy entrepreneurs in a developing economy are faced with challenges such as inadequate capital and poor infrastructural facilities. However, despite these challenges, these entrepreneurial leaders were successful because of key attributes, namely, vision, risk-taking and opportunity recognition and exploitation.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size is a limitation to the study. Future studies with a larger sampling base as well as a different sector will provide greater insight.

Originality/value

This study is the first qualitative study to explore the impact of entrepreneurial leadership in the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria. It identified the training needs for entrepreneurs in this context. By the participants sharing their experiences, the study identified the prerequisites for success, hence motivating other retail pharmacy entrepreneurs.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

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Article
Publication date: 21 December 2017

Christian Harrison, Kevin Burnard and Stuart Paul

The purpose of this paper is to examine entrepreneurial leadership and to determine the entrepreneurial leadership skills which are important for success in a developing economy…

4777

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine entrepreneurial leadership and to determine the entrepreneurial leadership skills which are important for success in a developing economy environment. Specifically, the focus of this research was on entrepreneurial leadership within the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was guided by an interpretivist-constructionist perspective. By adopting a qualitative approach, the lived experiences of the retail pharmacy entrepreneurs could be understood. In total, 51 semi-structured interviews were the mode of data collection, and data were triangulated via three sources: entrepreneurs, employees, and literature.

Findings

From the study results, a vivid picture of entrepreneurial leadership was formed, which in turn provides the basis for an empirical skill-based model of this phenomenon in a developing economy. This study identifies four distinct entrepreneurial leadership skill categories. These include technical/business skills, interpersonal skills, conceptual skills, and entrepreneurial skills. The findings of this study also show the factors and conditions necessary for entrepreneurial leadership in a developing economy.

Originality/value

The findings of this study have implications in theory and practice. Its results provide an empirical, skill-based framework on entrepreneurial leadership in a developing economy, a subject area for which there exists a lack of background literature. In practice, the findings of this study serve as a useful reference for practitioners and policy makers of the skills and other factors required for people to succeed as entrepreneurial leaders.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

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Article
Publication date: 27 February 2007

Stuart Paul, Geoff Whittam and Janette Wyper

The purpose of this research is to explore whether the “pecking order hypothesis” (POH) applies to the capital finance preferences of start‐up businesses.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore whether the “pecking order hypothesis” (POH) applies to the capital finance preferences of start‐up businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

In‐depth interviews with 20 Scotland‐based entrepreneurs were conducted in order to reveal the subtleties of the capital finance preferences which applied to a sample of start‐up firms. To ensure reliability and validity, data was analysed using a systematic schema.

Findings

Consistent with the POH we found that entrepreneurs in start‐ups turn to internal sources first, that is, their own funds. In contradiction to the POH, however, evidence in this paper finds that where external funds are required, the main source is equity rather than debt. In the majority of cases, in depth interviews show that a bridged pecking order applies in that the businesses move from self‐funding to external equity in preference to, or instead of bank finance. Two reasons for this pattern can be established. First, entrepreneurs consider debt to be a personal liability as it invariably requires to be underwritten by personal guarantees. Entrepreneurs place a self‐imposed limit on the extent to which they are prepared to mortgage their assets. Second, entrepreneurs deliberately seek out equity investment as a means of obtaining added value over and above the finance invested. Rather than the external equity being viewed as expensive, it is viewed as good value as a well‐chosen investor can add business skills and social capital in the form of commercial contacts and access to relevant networks.

Practical implications

Entrepreneurs searching for investment should assess the post‐investment role they wish investors to play. Successful consideration of this issue will make it more likely that a start‐up business obtains external finance and that entrepreneurs achieve good “matches” with investors, and vice versa.

Originality/value

The value of this paper rests in its finding that a bridged pecking order may apply to start‐up firms in that entrepreneurs move directly from self‐funding to equity.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

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Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Albert Müller

The purpose of this paper is to target the problem of awareness of the history of cybernetics as a field with different actors inside and outside cybernetics. It provides a short…

200

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to target the problem of awareness of the history of cybernetics as a field with different actors inside and outside cybernetics. It provides a short overview on research and literature during the last two decades and pleads for a multiplicity of historical views.

Design/methodology/approach

Historical research, review of literature.

Findings

While it can be found that there was a growing historical interest in cybernetics, this cannot be claimed for the history of the American Society of Cybernetics (ASC) as an organization and a productive network. One reason seems to be the lack of archival sources. The article provides a proposal to reconstruct such an archive for the history of the ASC.

Originality/value

Stimulation of historical awareness for and in cybernetics.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 44 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 1997

John L. Campbell

Interest in developing institutional explanations of political and economic behavior has blossomed among social scientists since the early 1980s. Three intellectual perspectives…

408

Abstract

Interest in developing institutional explanations of political and economic behavior has blossomed among social scientists since the early 1980s. Three intellectual perspectives are now prevalent: rational choice theory, historical institutionalism and a new school of organizational analysis. This paper summarizes, compares and contrasts these views and suggests ways in which cross‐fertilization may be achieved. Particular attention is paid to how the insights of organizational analysis and historical institutionalism can be blended to provide fruitful avenues of research and theorizing, especially with regard to the production, adoption, and mobilization of ideas by decision makers.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 17 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Alexander Riegler

The paper serves as an introduction to the special issue on Heinz von Foerster. Major episodes of his life are sketched and related to his scientific convictions regarding…

379

Abstract

Purpose

The paper serves as an introduction to the special issue on Heinz von Foerster. Major episodes of his life are sketched and related to his scientific convictions regarding transdisciplinary research and radical constructivist. In the second part the contributions to the issue are summarized. Finally, the relevance of Foerster's work is discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The arguments are based on the scientific literature.

Findings

Foerster argued against reductionist science and in favor of transdisciplinary research in order to trigger further scientific developments.

Practical implications

By using transdiciplinary and choosing the constructivist perspective, science will increase its productivity. This should be reflected in science policy.

Originality/value

By pointing at the variety of his scientific output and his influence on many colleagues and students, the paper is in support of Foerster's non‐reductionist worldview.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 34 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 15 April 2021

David Arditi

Free Access. Free Access

Abstract

Details

Streaming Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-768-6

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Book part
Publication date: 29 May 2018

Jayne O. Ifekwunigwe

Purpose – Based on auto/biographical and ethnographic narratives and conceptual theories, this chapter explores the Global African Diaspora as a racialized space of belonging for…

Abstract

Purpose – Based on auto/biographical and ethnographic narratives and conceptual theories, this chapter explores the Global African Diaspora as a racialized space of belonging for African diasporas in the United States, the United Kingdom and – more recently – the clandestine migration zones from Africa to southern Europe

Methodology/Approach – Both auto/biographical as well as conceptual theoretical approaches are used to illustrate the author’s roots, routes and detours interpretive paradigm highlighting the interconnectedness across time and space of differential African diasporas. This methodology also illuminates shifting conceptions of blackness as forms of transnational kinship and solidarity.

Findings – This analysis reveals the messiness of complex racialized conceptualizations of belonging in the specific diasporic spaces of England, the United States and the clandestine migration zones of southern Europe. At the same time, the chapter highlights transnational modalities of black and Global African Diasporic kinship, consciousness and solidarity engendered by shared lived experiences of institutionalized racism, structural inequalities and violence.

Originality/Value – Using the author’s interpretive framework entitled roots/routes/detours, this chapter moves away from prior theoretical simplifications of the Global African Diaspora towards an engagement with its conceptual complexities. In particular, this chapter critically explores social, political and historical formations of African diasporas in the United States, the United Kingdom and the more recent clandestine migration zones between continental Africa and southern Europe as their formulations collide with shifting conceptions of blackness as forms of transnational kinship and solidarity.

Details

Contested Belonging: Spaces, Practices, Biographies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-206-2

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Book part
Publication date: 2 May 2024

Amanuel Elias

This chapter examines the concepts of race and racism, critically reviewing their historical and contemporary applications in everyday life as well as in academic and policy…

Abstract

This chapter examines the concepts of race and racism, critically reviewing their historical and contemporary applications in everyday life as well as in academic and policy debates. Racism has been extensively researched, with various theories and conceptualisations developed across social science. However, there is a great deal of disagreement regarding its nature, contemporary significance and empirical validation. This chapter examines these and attempts to synthesise some of the common definitions of racism provided in the literature. It explores related concepts and underlying themes pertaining to expressions of race and racism. Furthermore, it unpacks current knowledge about racial issues and discusses recent advances in the conceptual understanding of various forms of racism. It also elucidates the social, political and analytical applications of racism as a concept and the significance of racism in contemporary societies. The chapter concludes by highlighting how racism is a dynamic phenomenon, continuously evolving with the social, political and technological transformations in contemporary societies.

Details

Racism and Anti-Racism Today
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-512-5

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 1999

Gerold Schwarz

Last summer we published an article about the work of INCube Inc. ‐ a consumer‐led consultancy in New York that helps former psychiatric patients create their own jobs in…

17

Abstract

Last summer we published an article about the work of INCube Inc. ‐ a consumer‐led consultancy in New York that helps former psychiatric patients create their own jobs in businesses they have founded themselves. Such a lot of interest was created by this article ‐ and by the founder of INCube, Mimi Kravitz, at the Life in the day Annual Conference ‐ that we have decided to follow up on the development of this work. The first article presents the first results of the TAP (Technical Assistance Program for Recipients) programme.The unique features of the programme are described and discussed in detail ‐ the author is the programme director, Gerold Schwarz. The second article by Liz Ruddle of Milton Keynes MIND is an account of a visit to the programme in New York and her thoughts about INCube from a UK standpoint.

Details

A Life in the Day, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-6282

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