Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini, Thomas Paris and Sylvain Bureau
The purpose of this paper is to enrich our understanding of entrepreneurs’ daily deeds, tasks and activities. The research investigates the ways in which entrepreneurs seize…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to enrich our understanding of entrepreneurs’ daily deeds, tasks and activities. The research investigates the ways in which entrepreneurs seize opportunities and gain knowledge from the start to the expansion of their ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
Two case studies were developed based on a longitudinal fine-grained analysis of two ventures over two years. Entrepreneurs’ success and learning were modeled in line with grounded theory methodology. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources in the form of semi-structured interviews and archival documentation.
Findings
The authors develop an original conceptual framework that consists of ten entrepreneurial learning opportunities and four knowledge development modes. There are ten generic types of actions that entrepreneurs take. There are then four distinctive ways to transform these experiences into knowledge. The model is assessed in absolute terms and relatively to existing taxonomies.
Research limitations/implications
The findings question the premises on which entrepreneurial learning research traditionally relies. Opportunities can be open-ended rather than purely instrumental. Similarly, knowledge can be emerging as much as it can be espoused. This opens-up space for further research.
Practical implications
For practitioners, the findings suggest new ways for making sense of the daily experience of their entrepreneurial endeavor. The learning modes suggested can be used by coaches and mentors when helping entrepreneurs in their venture.
Originality/value
The research provides empirical evidence of what entrepreneurs do. This may help cast traditional debates about what there is to do (logical necessity) and what there is to know (a priori knowledge) in a new light.
Details
Keywords
Among leaders of the French Socialist Movement, Albert Thomas (1878‐1932) was one of the few steady supporters of scientific management. The purpose of this paper is to describe…
Abstract
Purpose
Among leaders of the French Socialist Movement, Albert Thomas (1878‐1932) was one of the few steady supporters of scientific management. The purpose of this paper is to describe how Thomas developed his ideas about advanced management thought and practice during and after World War I.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper makes extensive use of published and unpublished primary sources preserved at the Archives nationales, Paris, at the Bureau International du Travail (BIT), Geneva, and at Smith College, Northampton, MA.
Findings
Thomas's reformist ideology first stood the test during World War I when he served as minister for munitions for France. After the International Labour Organization had entrusted him with the directorship of the BIT, Thomas helped to create the International Management Institute (IMI) as a center for the collection and dissemination of advanced management thought and practice. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the rationalization movement fell into disrepute. Like some progressive members of the Taylor Society, Thomas identified scientific management increasingly with concepts of socioeconomic planning and international cooperation. Nonetheless, the intellectual tide turned against his reformist creed. Having lost the support of its American sponsors, IMI closed its doors in January 1934, only about two years after Thomas's unexpected death.
Originality/value
The paper tries to show how one of the most brilliant French politicians of the last century developed and applied his theories‐in‐use about scientific management under changing historical circumstances.
Details
Keywords
Ying Xiao and Mark Thomas
The purpose of this article is to outline the reasons for the success of the Chinese HNA Group in the development of its international strategy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to outline the reasons for the success of the Chinese HNA Group in the development of its international strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
The article adopts a critical single case study method approach.
Findings
The HNA Group has been highly successful using cross-border merger and acquisitions (M&As) as a platform for growth. However, Chinese companies are facing more difficulties compared to their international competitors in cross border M&A deals and are paying a higher premium for that. Even HNA Group, a veteran player in the international capital market, may not be exempted from the skeptics toward China money.
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.
Details
Keywords
Claudette Lafaye and Laurent Thévenot
There are a number of conflicts today involving groups and individuals as regards nature in its various forms. The aim of this article is to examine how these give rise to changes…
Abstract
There are a number of conflicts today involving groups and individuals as regards nature in its various forms. The aim of this article is to examine how these give rise to changes in the forms of critique and justification that underpin them. Based on various points of disagreement as to how nature should be developed, three possibilities of change have been put forward for examination according to the importance of the transformations required: (a) integration of the model into existing orders of justification, (b) development of a new order based on the same model, (c) serious adjustment of the underlying common matrix of orders and the basis it offers for appreciating injustice.
Details
Keywords
Claudia Roda, Ann Murphy Borel, Eugeni Gentchev and Julie Thomas
By reporting the experience gained in the development of a digital image library in the academic environment, this paper aims at providing perspective developers with insights on…
Abstract
Purpose
By reporting the experience gained in the development of a digital image library in the academic environment, this paper aims at providing perspective developers with insights on the main usability issues raised by this type of project.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper addresses three common needs in academia with respect to image collections: preservation, access, and reuse. In the framework of the specific project experience, it discusses how usability issues have been tackled at design time, highlights the usability problems revealed by tests on the first implemented prototype, and advances proposals on how these problems may be addressed.
Findings
Team formation and high turn‐over impact usability design; collection management functionalities effect final product usability; usability and resource reuse levels are severely reduced if the services are limited to those of classic digital libraries.
Research limitations/implications
All usability issues are discussed with respect to the specific project characterized by a small, in‐house development team with high turn‐over; a participatory design approach; a fairly small, accessible, and heterogeneous user (and stakeholder) population; very limited financial resources but also limited time constraints.
Practical implications
A usability guide for future developers of digital image libraries in academia.
Originality/value
Addressing usability issues related specifically to the design of digital image libraries rather than text‐based digital libraries. Addressing the objectives of image reuse and of widespread adoption. Discussing usability design by a team of students with heterogeneous background in academic environment.
Details
Keywords
Stephanie Dameron and Thomas Durand
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of the emerging business education and institutions in a multi‐polar world and to identify the causes of the strategic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of the emerging business education and institutions in a multi‐polar world and to identify the causes of the strategic convergence of management education, to explore the limitations of the dominant models of management education and to propose a range of strategic alternatives for business schools operating in the diversity of a multi‐polar world.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a critical review of the development of Anglo‐American modes of business education, and an evaluation of alternative strategic approaches to business school development that might engage with different contexts of business.
Findings
There is a tension between the continuing ascendancy of dominant Anglo‐American paradigms of management education, and the increasing recognition of the diversity of a multi‐polar world. This tension may be resolved by business schools following more distinctive strategies that are responsive to local contexts.
Research limitations/implications
The research suggests business schools work towards greater recognition of culturally diverse business models, and develop tools of analysis appropriate to this context. Further research is necessary of the efforts to develop different approaches to business education, and of the strengths and limitations of these approaches.
Practical implications
The analysis offers a rationale for exploring different strategies for business schools, and proposes some different models to examine.
Originality/value
This paper provides a critical assessment of the development and convergence of international business schools and business education, and an outline of alternative possibilities.
Details
Keywords
Since its emergence in the early twentieth century, cinema has acquired a cultural identity. As purveyor of light entertainment, the local movie palace sold escapism at a cheap…
Abstract
Purpose
Since its emergence in the early twentieth century, cinema has acquired a cultural identity. As purveyor of light entertainment, the local movie palace sold escapism at a cheap price. It also acted as an important social apparatus that regulated everyday mannerisms and appearance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the box office ledger of a UK picture house and to consider the role of the accounting document as a medium through which both local and broader social and historical norms can be reflected.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper primarily employs archival sources. It examines the box office ledger of the Edinburgh Playhouse cinema for the period 1929‐1973. This ledger is held within the National Archive of Scotland. Secondary sources are also drawn upon to provide a social and historical context to the study.
Findings
The analysis of the box office ledger illustrates the potential value of an accounting document as a source of social history. Not only does this single ledger mirror the defining moments in British cinema history, it also helps inform the conception of what constitutes accounting, shapes the perception of contemporary strategic management accounting rhetoric, and further an appreciation of the relationship between accounting and everyday life.
Originality/value
The entertainment industry has been largely ignored within accounting scholarship. Such neglect is lamentable given both the scale of the industry and its impact on contemporary culture. This paper is an attempt to redress this neglect by examining one component of the entertainment business, cinema, through the medium of an accounting document.
Details
Keywords
Describes a number of experiments with electronic documentdelivery, and the copyright problems that are affecting its use.Considers the inadequacies of interlending for the user…
Abstract
Describes a number of experiments with electronic document delivery, and the copyright problems that are affecting its use. Considers the inadequacies of interlending for the user, the interlending in Eastern Europe and Australia. Outlines the impact of CD‐ROM on document supply and suggests that interlending can be a social, cultural and economic measure.