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The Internet of Things (IoT), a worldwide network of interconnected objects uniquely addressable, based on standard communication protocols, has become a disruptive technology, even for decision-makers who develop products based on them. It was reported in 2015 and 2018 that decision-makers associated with the Fortune 1000 firms stated that they were hesitant to use IoT-based value propositions, primarily due to privacy and security concerns. In this article, we view decision-maker willingness to develop IoT-based products through the lens of the social construction of technology (SCOT) theory. We utilize SCOT-based generational cohorts of firm decision-makers to investigate whether generational cohorts of decision-makers are relevant in a firm's decision to launch an IoT value proposition. We argue that it is pertinent to consider age-based generations as stakeholders for IoT, which currently constitutes a gap in the literature on IoT and SCOT. We employ an exploratory survey analysis that supports the relevance of generational decision-making cohorts. We focus on age to the exclusion of other potential decision-maker cohort possibilities and discuss this as a limitation in our conclusion.

International-entrepreneurship researchers use a capability-based perspective to analyze the international performance of early-internationalizing firms. More than 300 papers seem to address the role of capabilities in international performance. The purpose of this study is to structure this literature and provide an orientation for researchers. First, we develop a capability-categorization model. Second, we use this model in conjunction with our systematic literature review to identify which capabilities dominate the literature and which may have been overlooked. Third, we find that, in a significant share of the papers, “capability” is defined rather loosely, which impedes theory development at the interface of the capability-based perspective and international entrepreneurship. We conclude with a research agenda for future capabilities-based international-entrepreneurship research.

Research partnerships between university researchers and industry partners are becoming increasingly prevalent. For university researchers, maintaining autonomy is crucial. We explore how researchers strategically manage autonomy in collaborative research partnerships, using a framework to distinguish strategically planned and opportunity-driven behaviour in the process of selecting partners and executing research in partnerships. We then focus on the management of autonomy in setting research directions and managing the research process. We draw on insights from 14 management scholars engaged in collaborative Ph.D. research projects. Based on our analysis, we show that researcher autonomy has two facets: operational and scientific. Researchers are willing to compromise their operational autonomy as a price for industry collaboration. They have a strong need for scientific autonomy when deciding on research direction and research execution. Although they need funding, entering a specific relationship with industry and accepting restrictions on their operational autonomy is a choice. We conclude that researchers’ orientations towards practice and theory affects their choices in partnerships as well as modes of governance.

The development and management of sustainable supply chains is a practical and academic challenge. Considering that, globally, most firms are family businesses, this study explores the role that their unique familiness plays in the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability in supply chains. Family businesses emphasize a long-term perspective, social responsibility, and ecological awareness. Findings from a comparative study of twelve cases of six family and six non-family businesses demonstrate that sustainability concerns differ at the upstream, focal-firm, and downstream firm levels. These differences are explored from an institutional theory perspective and arise because of several coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures. We argue that, at the upstream level, family businesses tend to accentuate social concerns.In contrast, non-family businesses pay much less attention to social concerns. Within the firm, family businesses give weight to all three sustainability dimensions. In comparison, non-family businesses downplay the social dimension in favor of the environmental dimension. Downstream, family businesses address similar sustainability dimensions as non-family businesses. Such differences are due to institutional pressures, especially the firm's culture, values, and top management involvement. There are specific practical implications concerning the role that family businesses can play in making supply chains more sustainable

University-industry innovation networks (UIINs) are important agents of innovation, as they bring together the unique profiles of higher education and industry partners. Knowledge growth in these networks does not happen automatically. We analyze the impact of network density and heterogeneity on knowledge growth in UIINs. Knowledge grows through knowledge transfer, spillover, and knowledge innovation. Knowledge growth is a function of each agent's initial knowledge level, network density, and agent heterogeneity. To analyze these correlates of knowledge growth, we use a knowledge growth model based on multiple agents and simulate knowledge growth in a UIIN. Our results show that network density positively influences knowledge growth. Initially, this positive impact increases and then disappears with a further increase in network density. We also find that heterogeneity moderates the relationship between density and knowledge growth. Through the positive moderating effect of its impact on knowledge innovation, it promotes new knowledge generation in the entire innovation network, thus providing a basis for subsequent knowledge transfer. Our study supports and enriches the contingency view of knowledge growth in innovation networks.

Electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM) is often assumed to increase HRM service quality. This paper empirically examines the relationship between e-HRM and HRM service quality and addresses two calls from recent e-HRM studies, namely to highlight (i) the importance of the interplay between technological and organizational aspects and (ii) the finding that improved HRM service quality is a consequence of e-HRM implementation. We argue that the key drivers of HRM service quality are the strengths both of HRM and of e-HRM. The relationship may be mediated by the frequency of e-HRM usage. In addition, building on Adaptive Structuration Theory, the degree to which mediation occurs may differ within regimes of high and low e-HRM appropriation. We use moderated mediation analysis on a sample of 140 employees of an administration unit to shed light on the drivers of HRM service quality. While we identify strong positive direct effects of HRM strength and of e-HRM strength, we fail to uncover either mediation or contingent mediation effects. The study contributes to e-HRM research by identifying the main antecedent of HRM service quality as HRM strength.

The question whether patenting impacts patenting firms' subsequent financial performance is important for technology-oriented companies. However, relevant research has led to contradictory results. We strive to overcome this impasse by introducing innovation competition and patent age as moderators of patents' performance contribution into the discourse. Based on a sample of 975 cases from diverse industries, we find strong support for our arguments. In line with our expectations, the results show that the number of patents granted, the degree of patent competition, and the timeliness of a patent contribute positively to financial performance. Moderation analysis nuances our findings by showing that the impact of patent protection on financial performance is stronger when the patent competition is stronger and the patents are younger. These findings provide insights into the conditions under which patenting leads to higher financial performance. Our findings highlight the importance of innovation competition and patent age for innovation research. The empirical results show firms that patenting pays and that, in order to tap the full potential of patents, they need to focus on emerging competing industries and reduce the time to market. Policy makers learn that patenting is a successful approach to foster innovation at limited social costs.

Due to its growing practical relevance, sustainability entrepreneurship receives a high degree of academic attention. However, literature on how to educate sustainability entrepreneurs remains scarce. A promising didactical approach in this context is service learning. We ask if service learning is an effective way to educate sustainability entrepreneurs, and which framework conditions impact those educators. First, we draw on an established sustainable entrepreneurship capability framework and provide direct evidence from entrepreneurship educators about the effectiveness of service learning. Second, based on grounded theory, qualitative interviews with those educators reveal a framework composed of personal and institutional factors that they have to navigate when provide service learning. Our findings contribute to the interface of service learning and sustainability entrepreneurship by highlighting its effectiveness and the framework conditions for educators.

Coopetitors need to manage interorganizational knowledge flows to balance cooperative knowledge sharing and competitive knowledge protection. The question of how to balance these has received little research attention, with most studies analyzing knowledge sharing or protection separately. To address this gap, we develop a theoretical framework on coopetitive knowledge sharing and knowledge protection practices. This framework is based on a literature review of coopetitive interorganizational knowledge management. To complement and refine this initial framework, we build on insights from a qualitative study that gathered data from 11 semistructured interviews with key informants of Latin American firms. We show that a balance between knowledge sharing and knowledge protection in coopetition is facilitated when coopetitive interorganizational knowledge management helps coopetitors share general and project-specific knowledge while they withhold core knowledge about their firms and clients. To achieve this balance, firms combine formal and informal knowledge protection practices. As theoretical implications, we provide a fine-grained and synoptic understanding of the characteristics of knowledge management among coopetitors. As managerial implications, we call managers' attention to the need to find a balance between knowledge sharing and protection that will help clearly define what kind of knowledge is shared or protected when firms cooperate with rivals.

Collaboration in inter-organizational networks is a major driver of innovation. Nevertheless, methods that practitioners can rely upon for managing innovation networks are still scarce. This research fills this gap by providing an approach that increases innovation output by intensifying collaboration in networks. An action research methodology with two cycles of action was adopted. The first cycle develops a method of network assessment designed to evaluate a network’s collaboration potential. The second cycle iteratively builds on the first cycle and extends the method by a managerial approach to network management on an individual level.

Public involvement in technology policy making is particularly relevant because technological development is now reaching into virtually all planetary systems. The advent of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) for human food is particularly controversial, and it also raises questions about related technological-based potential products such as cyborged organisms in general. The research question in the present study is, what are the results of a Participatory Technology Assessment of cyborged ecosystems? The method utilized is Participatory Technology Assessment, implemented through scenario planning. The result of the study was three core themes: superfluous technology, dangerous tampering, and potential public health consequences. Resonances were observed between answers by laypersons and experts, indicating that they recognized the same issues but expressed themselves using different vocabularies and with different levels or types of understanding. Criteria are needed to ensure the public is able to engage in policy decisions that involve Rosennean-complex technologies.

Contemporary entrepreneurship education (EE) is often based around a team-based challenge such as creating a new venture or solving a startup problem. A creative and professional solution to such a challenge requires individual and team efforts. At the level of the individual student, self-regulated learning (SRL) is proposed as an effective way to learn in entrepreneurial projects. At the level of a student team, team learning and psychological safety are hypothesized to contribute to group performance. Yet, there is little evidence to support these claims. I seek to add to the literature by demonstrating the effects of SRL, team learning, and psychological safety on various assessment types in the context of an entrepreneurship class. Data is collected from 194 students in 41 groups. Analysis is performed with hierarchical linear modeling. The results suggest that SRL is positively related to assessments at the individual level. Team learning and psychological safety are positively related to assessments at the group level. The results inform educators, students, and entrepreneurs about effective learning strategies

Under U.S. federal regulation 31 CFR §312, medical interventions must report on a series of clinical trials phases before being submitted for approval for release to the U.S. market. Clinical trials are now being performed on medical interventions that were constructed through additive manufacturing. Serious adverse events (SAEs) in clinical trials would be the first indicator of problems in the application of additive manufacturing to medical interventions. Techniques for the visual display of aggregates of reports from clinical trials involving additive manufacturing will become more important as data becomes Big Data. Novel methods are needed for economically displaying clinical trials Big Data to industry watchers, investors and other interested parties. Aggregate indicators of additive manufacturing-based clinical trials SAEs would be of particular interest to industry watchers, investors and policy makers. In the present study, indexes are constructed comprising percents of interventional clinical trials reporting SAEs from 1997–2014, aggregated by the year in which the study commenced. The present research falls within the discipline of biomedical informatics.

PurposeTwenty first century problems are increasingly being addressed by multi technology solutions developed by regional entrepreneurial and intreprepreneurial innovators. However, they require an expensive new type of fabrication facility. Multiple technology production facilities (MTPF) have become the essential incubators for these innovations. This paper aims to focus on the issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors address the lack of managerial understanding of how to express the value and operationally manage MTPF centers through the use of investigative case study methods for multiple firms in the study.FindingsOwing to the MTPF centers' novelty and outward similarity to high volume semiconductor fabrication (HVF) facilities, they are laden with ineffective operation and strategic management practices. Metrics are the standard for both operational and strategic management of HVF facilities, yet their application to this new type of center is proving ineffectual.Research limitations/implicationsThese new types of regional economic resources may be at risk. A new approach is needed.Practical implicationsThe authors develop an operational and strategic metrics management approach for MTPFs that are based on these facilities' unique nature and leverages both the HVF and R&D metrics knowledge base.Social implicationsInnovations at the interface of micro technology, nanotechnology and semiconductor micro fabrication are poised to solve many of these problems and become a basis for job creation and prosperity. If a new management technique is not developed, then these harbingers of regional economic development will be closed.Originality/valueWhile there is an abundance of research on metrics for HVF, this is the first attempt to develop metrics for MTPFs.

The governance of nanotechnology seeks to limit its risks, without constraining opportunities. The literature on the effectiveness of approaches to governance has neglected approaches that impact directly on the behavior of a researcher. We analyze the effectiveness of legal regulations versus regulation via self-commitment. Then, we refine this model by analyzing competition andautonomy as key contingency factors. In the first step, qualitative interviews with nanotechnology researchers are conducted to reflect this model. In the second step, its empirical relevance is tested using a survey of 90 nanotech researchers. The results indicate that legal regulations, as well as self-commitment to an informal CoC reduce the scope of behavior. Finally, that competition and autonomy affect the relative strength of these governance factors.

The study of how capability relates to international startup’s international performance has become a relevant topic of research in international entrepreneurship in recent years. Unfortunately, such rapid developments have led to theoretical inconsistencies and empirical gaps that could result in an incomplete understanding of the relationship between capabilities and international startups’ international performance. To address these issues and motivate future work, we first introduced capability categorization models, and second conducted a systematic review of 25 articles that link capabilities to the international performance of international startups. The results show that: (1) research has focused on substantive capabilities that related to international market and venture internal operations, while paid little attention to capabilities that related to international market and venture internal administrations; (2) research has focused more on dynamic capabilities that related to international market observation & evaluation and venture resource reconfiguration, while paid less attention to venture resource renewal and international market resource acquisition; (3) unbalanced attention has been paid to international market oriented substantive and dynamic capabilities. Building on these analyses, we proposed a research agenda that investigating the relationship between capability configurations and international startups’ international performance.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to voluntary actions of firms to address the needs of societal stakeholders. Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are important agents of CSR, and information about the antecedents to their engagement in CSR activities is needed to inform practitioners, researchers and policy makers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relative impact of personal, firm-based and environmental factors on the monetary and temporal engagement in CSR activities of these firms. Based on a quantitative analysis of 62 rapidly growing owner-managed small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany, we found that the personal involvement of the entrepreneur and slack resources contribute about equally to the monetary and temporal engagement in CSR, while market-based factors only seem to have a small influence. Also, we find that monetary spending is related to firm profits, while the time spent on CSR is related to its number of employees.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a structured overview of the application of the configuration approach in the context of new and small ventures.Design/methodology/approachThe paper surveys the empirical literature in the leading entrepreneurship journals from 1994 to 2006.FindingsThere are a small, but significant number of studies that deal with the empirical identification and examination of new venture types. However, researchers are just beginning to tap the potential of the configuration approach. More specifically, configuration analyses are still rather heterogeneous, and no study deals with the identification of development configuration in the context of new ventures yet.Research limitations/implicationsSince the configuration approach has already delivered interesting results in research on new ventures, we might see additional studies based on this approach in the future. However, there are practical and theoretical considerations to be taken into account.Practical implicationsAn awareness of the existence of different types of start‐ups can lead to more informed decisions in new venture management.Originality/valueThis literature review identifies and structures empirical configuration research in the context of new and small ventures. Also, awareness for future research opportunities is raised.

Design is a type of innovation that focuses on creating new product and service meanings. Models of the design process are important because they can help firms manage their product and service design processes to obtain competitive advantage. Empirically-based models of the design process are particularly valuable because they help us avoid cognitive biases when constructing the models and because they can lead to new theory development. Yet such empirically-based models are relatively small in number and not utilized outside of their original studies. Using the first two stages of Ravasi and Stigliani's model of the design process, which model was based on a review of 125 articles and 20 books published between 1989 and 2011, we constructed a scale comprising four sets of redundant reflective measures. We then surveyed 131 design firms internationally with those measures. We then fit the scale to the survey results by using Confirmatory Factory Analysis. Using a variety of goodness of fit statistics, we found that a large portion of the scale fit the data.

Change in new ventures is a vibrant research topic. Scholars can draw on a number of theories that emerged as a result of decades of research in organizational and social sciences focused on large and established firms. A review on organizational change theories that address young firms is still missing. We aim to contribute to the academic debate by (1) providing a systematic analysis and classification of theoretical conceptions on organizational change in terms of main assumptions, nature and reason of change, and by (2) discussing their applicability in the context of young firms. This article may aid researchers to select appropriate theoretical conceptions to study change in young firms

Even though e-commerce almost disappeared from public discussion, it still assumes a vital role in the strategic management of most enterprises. New entry in e-commerce, whether as a new business segment of an established company or as a new enterprise, is likely to deal with the liabilities of size and newness. The aim of this paper it to discuss if those factors have an impact on the implementation and success of B2C e-commerce. We chose the online book market as our reference market and drew a random sample of retailers and publishers with an online shop. The quality of the web presence, indirect success (number of links to a particular site) and direct success (turnover of the web shop) were compared in subsamples constructed by the use of median splits according to age and size. Younger companies and larger companies were found to have a web presence of higher quality and were more successful than older or smaller companies. We conclude that the liabilities of newness do not seem to have an adverse performance impact in e-commerce. However, when a market entry is considered, new players must ensure that they can commit enough resources to build a high quality web presence. ACCESS TO FULL TEXT

This study investigates whether business scholars’ moral posture is related to their productivity in terms of peer-reviewed publications and research funds. We distinguish between deontological and consequentialist moral postures and take account of the moderating role of researchers’ perceived autonomy and the competition between them. The empirical results show that strong moral postures do not diminish research productivity. Both perceived autonomy and competition foster researchers’ productivity. Interestingly, a deontological moral posture fosters researchers’ productivity in contexts of low competition, but diminishes it in highly competitive settings. The findings suggest that measures for ethical governance in research need to consider not only the moral posture that underlies researchers’ ethical decision making, but also the institutional environment in which researchers are embedded.

This paper discusses an alternative conceptualisation of entrepreneurial marketing that can be understood as 'marketing with an entrepreneurial mindset'. By combining the definition of marketing of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and two conceptualisations of entrepreneurship (entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial management), we arrive at a definition of entrepreneurial marketing as the organisational function of marketing by taking into account innovativeness, risk taking, pro-activeness and the pursuit of opportunities without regard for the resources currently controlled. This definition must not be restricted to young and small ventures, but can equally be applied to larger firms. We illustrate the concept of entrepreneurial marketing by highlighting guerrilla marketing, buzz marketing and viral marketing.

Materials-based ventures face a high degree of technology uncertainty and market uncertainty when engaging in the technology entrepreneurial process. Recently, the lean startup methodology (LSM) has been introduced to practice and education as an integrated approach on how entrepreneurs can resolve these uncertainties when starting up a business. While the literature provides examples of LSM's successful application in a range of application areas, its focus application tends to be on consumer software. The purpose of this article is to discuss the degree to which LSM can be applied to the context of technology entrepreneurship. We find that LSM has strengths in addressing market uncertainty, but is largely silent on addressing technology uncertainty. In situations of a low degree of technology readiness, strongly intertwined process and product innovation processes such as those common in materials translation, and of addressing business markets, LSM may not suffice. We discuss the case of competence leveraging as one where technology uncertainty is lower for materials companies and illustrate the benefits on LSM in this context.

International firms with multiple business units are dealing with the question of how to balance the international dimension of their business portfolio. Which business units should go international and where should they contract or expand their international activities? Previous research lacks tools providing a foundation for this decision. Drawing on the concept of national competitiveness, we make a crucial contribution to the BCG matrix. We develop a national competitiveness-market growth matrix to identify business units that are promising targets for internationalisation. The case of TATA illustrates the meaningfulness and viability of this new matrix. Three quarters of the analysed business units of India's most successful conglomerate are active in the country's strongest export industries. This finding substantiates Porter's home base thesis: internationally active firms should capitalise on their geographical advantages. Consequently, we postulate that international managers should take precautions if a business unit of their firm has its home base in a country whose 'revealed comparative advantage' in this industry is less than one, i.e. below average.

In the literature, there exists evidence on the capital structure determinants for small ventures, but empirical research for new ventures is limited. We seek to address this gap by presenting a confirmatory analysis of determinants of capital structure of a sample of small new ventures in Austria. An understanding of the determinants of capital structure is vital since a lack of equity can have serious implications for the existence and the prosperity of a new firm. Indicators that relate to the human capital of the founder are easily available and are most prominent in venture financing decisions. Also, the industry chosen and growth intentions can serve as valuable indicators for external investors. Applying ordered logistic regression, influences of the education level, founding experience, leadership experience and turnover on leverage could be detected.

For technology-oriented SME, innovation and growth are important aspects of firm performance. A strategic orientation that emphasises entrepreneurial behaviour (entrepreneurial orientation, EO) may be an effective way to obtain these goals. However, there is little information on the internal organisational processes that link EO to innovation and growth. In this study, the performance implications of goal-oriented management techniques (GoM) such as management by objectives (MbO) on innovation and growth in the context of EO are analysed on a sample of 165 fast growth technology-based ventures from Germany. The results show that EO has a positive impact on innovation and growth, with innovation being a partial mediator. In addition to that, EO seems to be negatively related to the degree to which GoM is used, while GoM itself has a negative relationship with innovation.

To improve the current political and social situation in Western Balkans, the region needs to gain economic stability. Regional academic institutions can play an important role in that respect. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role that regional academic institutions can play in strengthening the regional system of innovation. Particularly, we discuss the importance of entrepreneurship education (EE) and technology transfer (TT), provide an overview of the state of their implementation and discuss examples of how institutional networks can engage in EE and TT, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises. While institutions of higher education and public research institutions have already gone a long way to foster EE and TT, much remains to be done to reach their potential.

One of the pillars of entrepreneurship research is the concept of 'opportunity'. The systematic search, exploration and/or creation of an opportunity are one of the main fields of interest and source of a vital research discussion. In the literature on strategic management, the term 'opportunity' is also used extensively. Indeed, the concept that roughly describes favourable future conditions is fundamental to strategy making, as it is a key building block of the early stages of the strategy making process. The question arises whether the literature on strategic management treats this concept in a differentiated way. Based on an analysis of strategic management literature, we find that in strategic management research, an implicit understanding of opportunities prevails. This is deplorable, since strategy researchers and practitioners may profit from explicitly formulated concepts of opportunity. One of the pillars of entrepreneurship research is the concept of 'opportunity'. The systematic search, exploration and/or creation of an opportunity are one of the main fields of interest and source of a vital research discussion. In the literature on strategic management, the term 'opportunity' is also used extensively. Indeed, the concept that roughly describes favourable future conditions is fundamental to strategy making, as it is a key building block of the early stages of the strategy making process. The question arises whether the literature on strategic management treats this concept in a differentiated way. Based on an analysis of strategic management literature, we find that in strategic management research, an implicit understanding of opportunities prevails. This is deplorable, since strategy researchers and practitioners may profit from explicitly formulated concepts of opportunity

New Technology Based Ventures (NTBVs) should start to develop radical innovations early if they want to stay in the market longer than the life-cycle of their initial innovation lasts. However, there might be barriers to the development of such innovations. This paper seeks to identify and discuss these barriers. Using a qualitative approach, we found that NTBV indeed favour incremental over radical innovation. Risk aversion, a focus on current customers and an informal new product development process emerged as potential causes for this phenomenon. These barriers could be issues in for future research.