Udo Staber and Ho‐ward Aldrich
Labor market studies which focus on dichotomous categories such as employed and unemployed miss a variety of marginal employment situations. This article addre‐sses the recent…
Abstract
Labor market studies which focus on dichotomous categories such as employed and unemployed miss a variety of marginal employment situations. This article addre‐sses the recent proliferation of jobs created by democratically controlled alternative organizations. We argue, from a population ecology perspective, that the economic potential of small alternative organizations is limited. Although current environmental con‐ditions favor small specialist organizations, the salience of non‐material incentives prevents alternative organizations from fully exploiting emerging opportunities. Alternative employment is best considered an instance of underemployment with strong tendencies toward impoverishment and self‐exploitation.
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This chapter combines insights from organizational theory and the entrepreneurship literature to inform a process-based conception of organizational founding. In contrast to…
Abstract
This chapter combines insights from organizational theory and the entrepreneurship literature to inform a process-based conception of organizational founding. In contrast to previous discrete-event approaches, the conception argues that founding be viewed as a series of potential entrepreneurial activities – including initiation, resource mobilization, legal establishment, social organization, and operational startup. Drawing on an original data set of 591 entrepreneurs, the study examines the effect of structural, strategic, and environmental contingencies on the relative rates with which different founding activities are pursued. Results demonstrate that social context has a fairly pervasive impact on the occurrence and sequencing of founding processes, with one possible exception being the timing of legal establishment.
Barbara J. Orser and M.K. Foster
Investigates the lending needs of the self‐employed and of micro‐basedbusinesses. Describes the lack of coherence between the evaluativecriteria used in traditional lending models…
Abstract
Investigates the lending needs of the self‐employed and of micro‐based businesses. Describes the lack of coherence between the evaluative criteria used in traditional lending models and the needs of business owners. Findings suggest that the standard “5 C” model for assessing the viability of loan applications does not meet the needs of the present business environment. Women business owners may be at a disadvantage when applying for a business loan as the supposedly “objective” criteria are applied in a “subjective” manner to the detriment of female entrepreneurs. Presents information on the characteristics of micro‐loan programmes and proposes a market approach to micro‐loan practices that is better adapted to changing finance opportunities.