Thomas Pittz, Terry Adler and Carma Claw
This paper aims to offer fresh insight into new institutional theory in the context of Native American tribal sovereignty. This paper outlines the history of tribal sovereignty to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to offer fresh insight into new institutional theory in the context of Native American tribal sovereignty. This paper outlines the history of tribal sovereignty to propose it as an 8th institution, express how it is differentially applied in Native Nations and discuss how conflicts between institutional logics have an impact on economic and cultural outcomes. While doing so, this paper provides a review of tribal sovereignty to contextualize how the institution has developed over time, how it is exercised today and how the complexity of economic logics continues to affect its attainment. The power of the institutional logics that undergird tribal sovereignty has shifted over time, and this paper highlights the ontological and practical consequences of this shift on the institution of tribal sovereignty itself.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviewed the literary history of Native American tribal sovereignty using the lens of institutional theory to uncover dynamics that have been previously overlooked. This study stems from this review and extends the understanding of neo-institutional theory by offering a fresh contextual perspective from the lens of tribal sovereignty. The inclusion of a historical perspective, as well as modern expressions of tribal sovereignty, enables the narrative to suggest that tribal sovereignty is better understood as an institution. This paper is also able to highlight how some of the tension within conceptualizations of tribal sovereignty relies, in part, upon the institutional logic of Hózhó, and why these tensions persist even today within the exercise of sovereignty. This study is akin to what Arseneault, Deal and Helms Mills (2021) call a “review with attitude” that provides an alternative view of Native American tribal sovereignty and its relationship with new institutional theory to suggest a new research agenda for organizational studies.
Findings
This paper demonstrates the challenges that tribal leaders face and enumerates the various strategies used by Native American nations to exercise sovereignty from the US Federal Government. It shows the conflicts between economic and cultural outcomes and the ways in which tribes struggle to balance these conflicts both from within the tribe and without. While all organizations face various forms of environmental pressures, tribal nations in the USA exercise sovereignty to achieve a balance that is unlike other, paradigmatically capitalistic and Western, institutional forms.
Originality/value
At a time when marginalization and inclusiveness have become more prominent themes in management discourse, this paper expands upon the background of tribal sovereignty in the USA to highlight these concepts. Much has been written about the legal and social aspects of Native American culture and integration, or lack thereof, within Western culture. What has been missing, however, is the way in which tribal nations rely on sovereignty as a social structure beyond the mere legal and formal aspects of being recognized as a “nation within a nation.” One of the contributions of this study is to link the concepts of tribal sovereignty and the study of institutional theory, providing a rich framework for distancing ourselves from traditional logocentric Westernized approaches to a more inclusive understanding of alternative social structures.
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Thomas Pittz, Joshua S. Bendickson, Birton J. Cowden and Phillip E. Davis
Owners of the US-based sport teams are seeing consistent gains on their financial investments, no matter the success of their teams on the playing field or their impact on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Owners of the US-based sport teams are seeing consistent gains on their financial investments, no matter the success of their teams on the playing field or their impact on the surrounding community. Sports teams are a part of an ecosystem comprised of primary and secondary stakeholders. The authors explore this phenomenon using a stakeholder perspective to understand how different business models and ownership structures optimize stakeholder value.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ an evaluative conceptual approach to examine the dominant model in the US, European ownership structures and public-private partnerships (PPPs). T finalize these comparisons by exploring a fourth business model and ownership structure – a relatively unique option in the US deployed by the Green Bay Packers – which we refer to as the maximized value partnership (MVP). These comparisons are followed by practical advice for owners in regard to these governance mechanisms.
Findings
The MVP ownership model has the potential to level the playing field between public and private actors. This potential is realized by fusing some of the best practices from European football clubs, in particular aspects of the stock market and supporter trust models.
Originality/value
By evaluating the most common ownership structures for sports teams, t provide an alternative model as well as practical advice for owners.
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Melissa Intindola, Judith Y. Weisinger, Philip Benson and Thomas Pittz
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of a multi-level approach consisting of individual, human resource management (HRM) team, and organizational contingency…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of a multi-level approach consisting of individual, human resource management (HRM) team, and organizational contingency factors when considering the efficacy of HR devolvement efforts. The authors accomplish this through a review of the relevant devolvement literature to show how outcomes are impacted by contingency factors, which highlights a gap in extant scholarship, and the authors organize the literature in a way that is meaningful to future researchers interested in the topic as well as practitioners involved with its implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a narrative review approach to describe previous devolvement research (e.g. Hammersley, 2001; Harvey and Moeller, 2009). In contrast to a systematic review more commonly seen in quantitative meta-analyses, a narrative review allows for a more descriptive and detailed analysis and critique of quantitative, qualitative, and theoretical research (Bezrukova et al., 2012; Posthuma et al., 2002). This methodology produced over 300 books, journal articles, magazine articles, and discussion papers. In this review, the authors chose to focus only on those peer-reviewed papers reporting empirical findings or developing theoretical arguments surrounding devolvement.
Findings
While the studies reviewed herein are admirable and help call attention to an important topic in HRM, they nonetheless fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of contingencies affecting devolvement as they do not consider the multi-level nature of the phenomenon. Therefore, the authors’ contribution lies in the identification and categorization of contingency factors affecting the occurrence of devolvement operating at the individual, HRM team, and organizational levels.
Originality/value
As devolvement continues to be a viable means for assigning HR responsibilities from the human resources department to managers, its effects can have an impact on organizational performance, the strategic positioning of HR, and various job attitudes of line managers. Therefore, a clearer picture of devolvement in order to understand its continued significance is an important contribution.
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Art Barnard, Thomas Pittz and Jeff Vanevenhoven
Over the past 30 years, enrollment in entrepreneurship programming within community colleges has grown substantially. The two-year context poses unique challenges and…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the past 30 years, enrollment in entrepreneurship programming within community colleges has grown substantially. The two-year context poses unique challenges and opportunities for studying entrepreneurship, and the purpose of this paper is to use a narrative review approach to consider the vitality of entrepreneurship education in the community college system. This research captures and reflects key findings from the field and illuminates the current state of scholarship on entrepreneurship education in community colleges. Four key areas are highlighted that describe the primarily challenges and distinctiveness of entrepreneurship education in the community college setting: curricular effectiveness, emphasis, degree and non-degree programs. The general framework that emerges from this narrative review helps to identify gaps in the literature and provides a focal point for future studies.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured literature review methodology (Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2008) was chosen for this study as the state of literature in the specific area of interest did not present general groupings of topics or activities. Given this lack of categorical clarity, the design was specifically focused on bringing together key groupings to provide a framework for further study. The specific methodology adopted standard SLR techniques in terms of article selection, choice and organization. No pre-conceived groupings were used as part of organization of information. The goal was to allow the disparate studies fall into natural categories as greater review and organization continued.
Findings
During the authors’ review and analysis of the extant literature, four focal areas emerge that appear to create a general framework for explaining the important matters in community college entrepreneurial education. Those areas are: overall effectiveness, education emphasis, non-credit educational programs, and for-credit educational programs. The following discussion offers a starting point for future investigation. Figure 2 presents this paper’s advocacy arguments and a full literature review follows this initial framework.
Originality/value
Entrepreneurship programs in universities have grown significantly over the last 30 years (Heriot and Simpson, 2007). In the early 1980s, approximately 300 schools had entrepreneurship and small business programs. By the 1990s, that number had increased to 1,050 schools and signaled the beginnings of rapid entrepreneurial education expansion (Solomon et al., 1994). By the early 2000s, entrepreneurship education had exploded to more than 1,600 schools offering over 2,200 courses including journals and mainstream trade publications as well as special issues devoted solely to entrepreneurship (Katz, 2003; in Kuratko, 2005). This growth trend has been mirrored in community colleges (DoBell and Ingle, 2009). Despite that growth, scholarship regarding entrepreneurship education in community colleges has been described as a “wild west” (Truit, 2017) highlighted by little communication or sharing of experiences or cooperative activities beyond limited partnerships both inside or outside of the community college. Existing studies tend to be scattered and practitioner-written while academic articles are often theoretical, focused more on entrepreneurial education in four-year universities and at times promote underspecified models of challenges community colleges face. Given the dearth of scholarly work in the domain, this review attempts to form a comprehensive classification of extant work in order to stimulate and direct future research in this domain. The goal is to provide a current “state of the literature” of entrepreneurial education in community colleges that shares findings, suggests potential areas of inquiry, and helps to structure research arguments. To accomplish this, in the spirit of Hammersley (2001) and Harvey and Moeller (2009), we present a descriptive, narrative review of entrepreneurship education in community colleges in order to gain a better understanding of its complexities.
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Thomas G. Pittz and Giles Hertz
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the entrepreneurship center (EC) in the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurial ecosystems thrive because of complex…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the entrepreneurship center (EC) in the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurial ecosystems thrive because of complex interdependencies and dynamic relationships between and among its participants. While the university has often been highlighted as a key player in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the role of the EC within the university, despite its strategically influential position in stimulating entrepreneurship, has not received sufficient attention in scholarship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors attempt to address this gap in scholarship using an expert Delphi panel approach to explore the vital role that the EC plays in ensuring the vibrancy of the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. In doing so, the authors tackle the question of sustainability of the EC by outlining a structural framework and key job characteristics of the EC director so that it may thrive beyond the tenure of a transformational leader.
Findings
In analyzing the responses of Delphi panelists and reviewing the theoretical foundations, the authors have identified three areas for discussion: the question of whether the EC director ought to be an academic job, the key skills of an effective EC director and how to sustain the EC after the departure of a transformative leader. Considering the vital role that the EC plays in the university and regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, these questions have importance for the future of the practice of entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
The role of the EC in the larger regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and the impact of the EC director are subjects that have been largely unaddressed by current scholarship. This is despite the growing number of ECs, the growth of entrepreneurship as a discipline, the desire to foster entrepreneurial universities and the struggle to find suitable EC leadership talent. The EC is critical for bringing together various actors within the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem, creating and maintaining an entrepreneurial culture and fostering co-curricular learning to develop human capital, key benefits that the university provides on top of its research activity.
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Thomas G. Pittz, Laura T. Madden and David Mayo
We implement an inductive, case study approach to explore the motivations and methods of five successful social entrepreneurs. Our findings show that founders noticed, felt, and…
Abstract
We implement an inductive, case study approach to explore the motivations and methods of five successful social entrepreneurs. Our findings show that founders noticed, felt, and responded to someone else's pain, demonstrating compassion as the genesis of the business venture. Successful social innovation, however, was the result of the creation of an organization structured to include diverse stakeholder input and participation in the decision-making process. Thus, compassion motivates entrepreneurs to pursue broad gains as opposed to singular interests and enhances a willingness to incorporate others' ideas through an open-strategy process. Our study suggests that interaction with stakeholders can impact the structure of the firm, the business model it employs, and intended and unintended business consequences.