Yann Truong, Dirk Schneckenberg, Martina Battisti and Rachid Jabbouri
Yann Truong and Yosr Ben Tahar
Crises, such as COVID-19 pandemic, are critical events that provoke important changes in organizational practices, regulations and actors' roles. The pharmaceutical sector has…
Abstract
Purpose
Crises, such as COVID-19 pandemic, are critical events that provoke important changes in organizational practices, regulations and actors' roles. The pharmaceutical sector has been strongly affected because of the urgency to produce drugs that are effective and safe. However, the validation process and regulations are historically restrictive in this sector. This study aims to study how biotechnology firms, small companies lacking resources, have undertaken strategic actions during crisis time to induce important changes to their advantage within such a highly regulated environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with 21 managers in four mRNA-based biotechnology firms.
Findings
Results showed that rhetorical strategies and institutional actions are used in order to manage change opportunities. Media attention, greater openness of state agencies and public willingness to accept new ways of treatment illustrated this opportunity of change in favor of biotechnology firms.
Originality/value
Highly regulated environments tend to be unfavorable to smaller firms with limited resources to overcome these constraints. The authors show that times of crisis can reverse this assumption through the provision of new opportunities as long as the smaller firms skillfully use strategic actions to exploit the institutional changes at play.
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Rachid Jabbouri, Yann Truong and Helmi Issa
We explore how NGO’s local entrepreneurial initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs can compensate for weak state policies for women in a context of male-dominated…
Abstract
Purpose
We explore how NGO’s local entrepreneurial initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs can compensate for weak state policies for women in a context of male-dominated socio-cultural norms.
Design/methodology/approach
We use the case of a local entrepreneurial initiative launched in the Atlas region of Morocco, the Empowering Women in the Atlas Initiative (EWA). We collected data through 51 semi-structured interviews of women entrepreneurs in three cooperatives which exploit the natural resources of their region to establish a social venture. Our data are longitudinal as they were collected at two time periods: before and after the initiative.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest that local entrepreneurial initiatives can have a significant impact on rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. The improved perception of empowerment has not only helped them develop capacities to leverage the business opportunities linked to the natural resources of their region, but it has also increased their status and role within their family and community.
Practical implications
We make recommendations for policymakers to encourage this type of initiative to compensate for the absence of supporting policies geared toward women.
Originality/value
Our study is one of the first to look at empowerment as a policy instrument to develop women entrepreneurial activities in rural areas of developing countries. Our paper uses a unique hierarchical perspective and a multidimensional framework for analyzing social cooperative ventures and rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. Our paper unravels interesting insights for women entrepreneurs’ narration strategies.
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An important but neglected area of investigation in digital entrepreneurship is the combined role of both core and peripheral members of an emerging technological field in shaping…
Abstract
Purpose
An important but neglected area of investigation in digital entrepreneurship is the combined role of both core and peripheral members of an emerging technological field in shaping the symbolic and social boundaries of the field. This is a serious gap as both categories of members play a distinct role in expanding the pool of resources of the field. I address this gap by exploring how membership category is related to funding decisions in the emerging field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Design/methodology/approach
The first quantitative study involved a sample of 1,315 AI-based startups which were founded in the period of 2011–2018 in the United States. In the second qualitative study, the author interviewed 32 members of the field (core members, peripheral members and investors) to define the boundaries of their respective role in shaping the social boundaries of the AI field.
Findings
The author finds that core members in the newly founded field of AI were more successful at attracting funding from investors than peripheral members and that size of the founding team, number of lead investors, number of patents and CEO approval were positively related to funding. In the second qualitative study, the author interviewed 30 members of the field (core members, peripheral members and investors) to define their respective role in shaping the social boundaries of the AI field.
Research limitations/implications
This study is one of the first to build on the growing literature in emerging organizational fields to bring empirical evidence that investors adapt their funding strategy to membership categories (core and peripheral members) of a new technological field in their resource allocation decisions. Furthermore, I find that core and peripheral members claim distinct roles in their participation and contribution to the field in terms of technological developments, and that although core members attract more resources than peripheral members, both actors play a significant role in expanding the field’s social boundaries.
Practical implications
Core AI entrepreneurs who wish to attract funding may consider operating in fewer categories in order to be perceived as core members of the field, and thus focus their activities and limited resources to build internal AI capabilities. Entrepreneurs may invest early in filing a patent to signal their in-house AI capabilities to investors.
Social implications
The social boundaries of an emerging technological field are shaped by a multitude of actors and not only the core members of the field. The author should pay attention to the role of each category of actors and build on their contributions to expand a promising field.
Originality/value
This paper is among the first to build on the growing literature in emerging organizational fields to study the resource acquisition strategies of entrepreneurs in a newly establishing technological field.
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Yann Truong, Rod McColl and Philip J. Kitchen
This paper seeks to test the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations on luxury brand preference. The objective is to help luxury marketers better understand and anticipate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to test the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations on luxury brand preference. The objective is to help luxury marketers better understand and anticipate the psychological needs of their customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a thorough review of the literature, a series of hypotheses are derived and tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The final sample consists of a total of 615 participants.
Findings
The main findings show that aspirations can affect luxury brand preference depending on the type of aspirations: positive for extrinsic aspirations and negative for intrinsic ones. The findings also suggest that intrinsic aspirations play a more substantial role in luxury consumer behavior than had been previously thought.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that luxury marketers should take into consideration the duality of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations when designing marketing campaigns. Particularly, focusing advertising campaigns on extrinsic values seems restrictive and discards consumers who are intrinsically motivated.
Originality/value
Aspirations are important in social psychology research because they have a strong influence on individuals' behavior. However, little research has been done in marketing to assess the potential effects of aspirations on consumer behavior, especially within the context of luxury goods.
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Geoff Simmons, Brychan Thomas and Yann Truong
Given the emergent nature of i‐branding as an academic field of study and a lack of applied research output, the aim of this paper is to explain how businesses manage i‐branding…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the emergent nature of i‐branding as an academic field of study and a lack of applied research output, the aim of this paper is to explain how businesses manage i‐branding to create brand equity.
Design/methodology/approach
Within a case‐study approach, seven cases were developed from an initial sample of 20 food businesses. Additionally, utilising secondary data, the analysis of findings introduces relevant case examples from other industrial sectors.
Findings
Specific internet tools and their application are discussed within opportunities to create brand equity for products classified by experience, credence and search characteristics. An understanding of target customers will be critical in underpinning the selection and deployment of relevant i‐branding tools. Tools facilitating interactivity – machine and personal – are particularly significant.
Research limitations/implications
Future research positioned within classification of goods constructs could provide further contributions that recognise potential moderating effects of product/service characteristics on the development of brand equity online. Future studies could also employ the i‐branding conceptual framework to test its validity and develop it further as a means of explaining how i‐branding can be managed to create brand equity.
Originality/value
While previous research has focused on specific aspects of i‐branding, this paper utilises a conceptual framework to explain how diverse i‐branding tools combine to create brand equity. The literature review integrates fragmented literature around a conceptual framework to produce a more coherent understanding of extant thinking. The location of this study within a classification of goods context proved critical to explaining how i‐branding can be managed.
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Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
As marketers become increasingly adept in exposing us to advertising, consumers constantly need to ask: Are their advertisements truthful, do they obey government regulations – and do they annoy or please us?
Practical implications
Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
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.
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Santo Raneri, Fabian Lecron, Julie Hermans and François Fouss
Artificial intelligence (AI) has started to receive attention in the field of digital entrepreneurship. However, few studies propose AI-based models aimed at assisting…
Abstract
Purpose
Artificial intelligence (AI) has started to receive attention in the field of digital entrepreneurship. However, few studies propose AI-based models aimed at assisting entrepreneurs in their day-to-day operations. In addition, extant models from the product design literature, while technically promising, fail to propose methods suitable for opportunity development with high level of uncertainty. This study develops and tests a predictive model that provides entrepreneurs with a digital infrastructure for automated testing. Such an approach aims at harnessing AI-based predictive technologies while keeping the ability to respond to the unexpected.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on effectuation theory, this study identifies an AI-based, predictive phase in the “build-measure-learn” loop of Lean startup. The predictive component, based on recommendation algorithm techniques, is integrated into a framework that considers both prediction (causal) and controlled (effectual) logics of action. The performance of the so-called active learning build-measure-predict-learn algorithm is evaluated on a data set collected from a case study.
Findings
The results show that the algorithm can predict the desirability level of newly implemented product design decisions (PDDs) in the context of a digital product. The main advantages, in addition to the prediction performance, are the ability to detect cases where predictions are likely to be less precise and an easy-to-assess indicator for product design desirability. The model is found to deal with uncertainty in a threefold way: epistemological expansion through accelerated data gathering, ontological reduction of uncertainty by revealing prior “unknown unknowns” and methodological scaffolding, as the framework accommodates both predictive (causal) and controlled (effectual) practices.
Originality/value
Research about using AI in entrepreneurship is still in a nascent stage. This paper can serve as a starting point for new research on predictive techniques and AI-based infrastructures aiming to support digital entrepreneurs in their day-to-day operations. This work can also encourage theoretical developments, building on effectuation and causation, to better understand Lean startup practices, especially when supported by digital infrastructures accelerating the entrepreneurial process.