Volume 9, Issue 3 -

This study examines how written expressions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and hope may affect investor evaluations of funding potential in business plan competitions. To understand why some firms are evaluated more favorably, we combine screening and signaling theory when analyzing early-stage venture-investor communication. Findings support that expressions of EO while business planning contribute to greater expressions of hope to cope with the Knightian uncertainty when developing new business models. Results suggest that the impact of hopeful dialogue on investor impressions of fundability critically depends upon the presence or absence of past founder financial investment. Implications for future research are discussed.

This paper presents a conceptual framework for investigation of the factors influencing the failure of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as the level of their recovery. Based on the review of literature, all the factors are classified either as individual characteristics of entrepreneurs or non-individual characteristics, that is, characteristics related to SMEs. Having in mind various factors identified by different researchers in their studies, the authors of this paper formed a basic hypothetical framework as well as a qualitative framework for evaluation of the most significant factors influencing SME failure and recovery. Accordingly, a preliminary questionnaire was designed in order to collect the attitudes of entrepreneurs regarding the impact of particular factors. The results of the survey were used for further quantitative analysis and as a base for the formation of a structural equation model for testing the proposed hypotheses. Using the structural equation model to derive results, the authors have found that all the analysed factors except the factors related to private time activities of entrepreneurs/owners of SMEs have a statistically significant influence on SME success, with external non-individual factors having the greatest influence. Furthermore, the results indicate that the level of recovery, business life cycle stage and the sector of a failed SME impact on the ranking of the factors leading to SME failure. The study points to the necessity of improving the conditions under which SMEs operate, primarily by removing the obstacles that hinder growth and development of SMEs as well as by developing the appropriate system of support for entrepreneurs. In addition, having a clear vision of the factors of failure can help SMEs to become more resistant to the adverse effects of these factors and deal with them more effectively.

This paper contributes to the literature on the entrepreneurial behavior of firms during the economic crisis, by investigating the determinants of proactive behavior on a large sample of European companies during the 2008–2009 financial crisis. We explore various dimensions of proactive behavior, including: investments in innovation, expanding product offer, undergoing quality certification, investing in tangible assets and avoiding layoff. Our findings show a surprising heterogeneity of determinants in the case of different proactivity measures, especially when considering the impact of public policies which support entrepreneurship. We also provide some evidence supporting the organizational learning hypothesis with regard to proactiveness, as we show that the previous crisis experience matters in the case of the adoption of proactive or reactive strategy by a firm.

Academic and practitioner have considered innovation as an approach to produce value to customer in order to remain competitive in the market. However, previous studies on innovation culture among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have received little attention and SMEs need to inculcate the innovation culture in order to generate innovation. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the influence of organizational culture, organizational learning and market orientation on innovation culture. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to gather data from SMEs in Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed and gathered with a total of 183 usable responses. The analysis was conducted via SMART PLS to produce interesting findings. Findings suggest that all dimensions of organizational culture (adaptability, involvement, mission and consistency) have an influence on innovation culture, organizational learning in terms of information acquisition and behavioural & cognitive have an impact on innovation culture. Finally, only competitor orientation influences innovation culture. Although SMEs play an important role within the Malaysia economy, their contribution to innovation is small and marginal. This study makes an important contribution by providing information to SMEs on the elements that could nurture innovation culture in their organizations. As such, it is hoped that this study will generate interest among the researchers to reach more conclusive evidence about the practice of innovation culture among SMEs in Malaysia. More effort should be devoted to comprehending the concept of innovation culture among SMEs from the context of developing country. The findings combined with the suggestions may offer alternative insights on innovation culture and extend a basic framework for further investigation.

This case study investigates whether collective entrepreneurial team cognition remains consistent throughout all stage processes when setting up a large-scale, distributed research infrastructure. A new “action phase model” has been devised, known as the “4 I’s of entrepreneurship”, with each “I” elucidating the entrepreneurial rationale behind various stages of the creation process: Intention, Initiation, Implementation and Introspection . The case investigated was BBMRI.se ( BioBanking and Molecular Resource Infrastructure in Sweden ) – a Swedish large-scale distributed research infrastructure aimed at harmonizing biobanking standards. Managers and key personnel involved in founding and/or operating the organization were interviewed. The results showed there was agreement regarding the need for the research infrastructure, while there were disagreeing perceptions of what the organization should be doing and regarding the difficulties it had faced. These developments would ultimately lead to BBMRI.se’s demise. The homogenous mindset would begin to dissipate once the Initiation stage was reached and worsened throughout the Implementation stage. The results indicate that BBMRI.se’s managerial structure, personal ambitions and lack of transparency and communication were key contributors to its ultimate failure. The implications highlight the risk of fragmented motivations as collective entrepreneurs turn their ambition into reality, if given too much autonomy.