Patrick J. Murphy | UAB (original) (raw)
Books by Patrick J. Murphy
Violent mutiny was common in seafaring enterprises during the Age of Discovery--so common, in fac... more Violent mutiny was common in seafaring enterprises during the Age of Discovery--so common, in fact, that dealing with mutineers was an essential skill for captains and other leaders of the time. Mutinies in today's organizations are much quieter, more social and intellectual, and far less violent, yet the coordinated defiance of authority springs from dissatisfactions very similar to those of long-ago shipboard crews. This highly original book mines seafaring logs and other archives of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ship captains and discovers instructive lessons for today's leaders facing challenges to their authority as well as for other members of organizations in which mutinous events occur. The book begins by examining mutinies against great explorer captains of the Age of Discovery: Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Sebastian Cabot, and Henry Hudson. The authors then identify lessons that entrepreneurs, leaders, and other members may apply to organizational insurrections today. They find, surprisingly, that mutiny may be a force for good in an organization, paving the way to more collaborative leadership and stronger commitment to shared goals and values.
Papers by Patrick J. Murphy
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2010
We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts ... more We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts and introduce the transgenerational family effect (TFE) construct. The TFE influences long-term strategy and culture in family-based entrepreneurial ventures. We ...
Social Science Research Network, Jun 4, 2005
Page 1. WORKI^FI ■ A FAMILY BUSINESS A Non-Family Employee's Guide to Success Christopher J.... more Page 1. WORKI^FI ■ A FAMILY BUSINESS A Non-Family Employee's Guide to Success Christopher J. Eckrich Stephen L. McClure Page 2. BUSINESS A Non-Family Employee's Guide to Success WORKING FOR A FAMILY Christopher J. Eckrich Stephen L. McClure ...
Social entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a mechanism for generating social and economic va... more Social entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a mechanism for generating social and economic value. In recent years, social entrepreneurship activity has surged tremendously and promoted the integration of social capital, culture, history, politics, and traditional business activity. However, social entrepreneurship theory lags far behind the practice. For instance, how opportunities are discovered, a basic question in traditional entrepreneurship research, has not been examined specifically in social entrepreneurship research. To help address the gap, we delineate six distinct conceptual aspects from prior work and develop four theoretic propositions useful to scholars interested in undertaking theory-driven research on the emergence and existence of social entrepreneurial opportunities. We emphasize the integration of entrepreneurial discovery with the concepts of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. By examining the roles of those concepts in social entrepreneuri...
Journal of Business Ethics, 2008
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2010
We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts ... more We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts and introduce the transgenerational family effect (TFE) construct. The TFE influences long-term strategy and culture in family-based entrepreneurial ventures. We ...
Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 2019
Social enterprises viewed as viable from societal perspectives are often regarded differently fro... more Social enterprises viewed as viable from societal perspectives are often regarded differently from traditional business perspectives. To examine this difference, we undertook two empirical studies of risk tolerance and legitimacy perceptions among observers of social enterprise and for-profit ventures. In Study 1, participants (n= 115) drawn randomly from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, an online crowdsourcing marketplace for human intelligence tasks, examined two hypothetical cases and completed the risk tolerance scale of theJackson Personality Inventory. Results show that social enterprises were seen as having lower industry legitimacy, especially by individuals with lower risk tolerance. Here, industry legitimacy mediated the effect of venture purpose on cognitive legitimacy. In Study 2, practicing entrepreneurs (n= 23) narratively interpreted Study 1 results from social enterprise and traditional business perspectives. Both studies demonstrate that social enterprise legitimacy evalua...
Journal of Management History, 2010
PurposeGuided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of ... more PurposeGuided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of upward defiance (competence deficiency; ignorance of concerns; structural gaps between echelons) and to describe the managerial actions that help depose those underpinnings.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes 30 historic narrative accounts of actual mutinies. The journalistic accounts from bygone eras provide unparalleled insight into the basic dynamics of mutiny and provide novel insights into organizational defiance.FindingsThe principal findings show that the underpinnings of mutiny in organizations derive from three foundations: disconnections between authority echelons, modes of addressing member disgruntlement, and the need for management to develop continuous competencies.Originality/valueThe paper goes beyond reports of mutinies in the popular press and lore by applying the findings to modern organizations.
Journal of Management History, 2009
PurposeThe author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contemporary... more PurposeThe author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contemporary research in the area of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to explain why current theoretic models do not adequately explain entrepreneurial phenomena and to present outlines of a distinct entrepreneurship research paradigm.Design/methodology/approachThe author examines the essay from the perspective of a historian and then summarizes its concepts. Next, the author reviews the current state of entrepreneurship research and theory and applies concepts from the essay to its contemporary challenges. Finally, the author presents five implications.FindingsThe five implications are that entrepreneurship research should include designs that predict failure, strive to develop theory that is distinct from other areas, emphasize novel arrangements of empirical elements that are also novel, utilize nonparametric statistics and case studies more fully, and push for a paradigmatic shift.Originality/v...
Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways for people to achieve their personal and professional go... more Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways for people to achieve their personal and professional goals, build financial security and make positive contributions to society. However, entrepreneurs must clear significant barriers in order for their ventures to succeed. Whereas accessibility for different people despite their circumstances is a definitive conceptual aspect of entrepreneurship, the lack of necessary financial capital, critical expertise gaps and other kinds of missing resources or support can (and do) account for the difference between entrepreneurial success and failure. Moreover, in practical terms, the availability of such resources is not equitable. It varies for different entrepreneurs based on many different factors. The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has created new potentials for better equity, greater access and fuller democratization of vital entrepreneurial resources. However, many entrepreneurs do not understand how generative AI can be instrumental to entrepreneurial performance. There is no shortage of generative AI tools. They include Chat GPT, Stability AI, Claude AI, Fyber AI, Midjourney, OpenAI (Dall-E, Dall-E 2), Pictory AI, Synthesia and many more. In this editorial, we draw from our experiences and discuss some ways that entrepreneurs can use generative AI to improve venture performance capabilities and enlarge wealth creation capacities.
Journal of Management History, 2006
PurposeTo interpret and explain evolution in entrepreneurial thought, using the application of hi... more PurposeTo interpret and explain evolution in entrepreneurial thought, using the application of history to unify the extant and wide‐ranging concepts underlying the field to detect a conceptual foundation.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual approach is taken, the paper undertaking a delineation of how past theory has brought about the field's current state and an identification of some conceptual areas for future advancement.FindingsThe importance and impact of the entrepreneurship field is increasing in academic and practical settings. A historical view on the conceptual development of entrepreneurial thought provides a lens for scholars as well as practitioners to interpret and explain their own entrepreneurial activity or research and formulate new questions.Originality/valueThe paper aids scholars and researchers to interpret and explain entrepreneurial activity.
Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Oct 23, 2012
This article documents the results of a research workshop bringing together six perspectives on s... more This article documents the results of a research workshop bringing together six perspectives on social entrepreneurship. The idea was to challenge existing concepts of the economy, the firm, and entrepreneurship in order to shed new light on social entrepreneurship and on our existing theoretical frameworks. The first two contributions use a macro-perspective and discuss the notion of adaptive societies and the tragedies of disharmonization, respectively. Taking a management perspective, the next two focus on the limits of conventional assumptions in management theory, particularly human capital theory and resource-based view. The final two contributions follow an entrepreneurship perspective highlighting the usefulness of mobilization theory and the business model lens to social entrepreneurship. Despite this diversity, all contributions share the fact that they challenge narrow definitions of the unit of analysis in social entrepreneurship; they illustrate the aspect of social embeddedness, and they argue for an open-but-disciplined diversity of theories in social entrepreneurship research.
Management Decision, Jul 2013
Purpose - This paper clarifies distinct aspects of firm culture, delineates its effects on perfor... more Purpose - This paper clarifies distinct aspects of firm culture, delineates its effects on performance outcomes, and examines culture intensity on theoretic grounds with attention to its effects and limits.
Design/methodology/approach - The study analyzes a data set of 2,657 individual cases that are empirically aggregated into 302 organizational units. Its operationalization of culture intensity derives from distinct culture theory. Hypothesized relations are examined via structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings - Structural equation modeling results show culture relates positively to cooperation, coordination, and performance. Hierarchical regression analysis results show intensity influences cooperation and coordination directly and does not moderate culture’s relations with those outcomes.
Research limitations/implications - The large scale empirical study of a broad diversity of firms has advantages over smaller and more targeted studies of lesser generalizability.
Practical implications - Firms with cultures of higher intensity can enhance performance indirectly by driving cooperation and coordination directly.
Originality/value - This study distinguishes culture from climate on conceptual grounds. Climate strength, an analog of culture intensity, is known to moderate climate’s relations with outcomes. By contrast, this study shows that culture intensity has a main effect on outcomes, in line with culture’s distinct theoretic bases.
Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 2012
Purpose – Pursuing objectives despite limited internal resources and leveraging external resource... more Purpose – Pursuing objectives despite limited internal resources and leveraging external resources despite non-ownership are familiar hallmarks of entrepreneurial firms. Although outsourcing is the standard way for businesses to surmount these barriers, entrepreneurial firms often lack the resources to purchase outsourcing arrangements. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how entrepreneurial firms can better procure and benefit from outsourcing arrangements.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines six entrepreneurial firms in a Shanghai business incubator as they undertook a variety of outsourcing arrangements. It utilizes an integrative framework based on transaction cost theory, resource dependency theory, and the resource-based view. It then cross-hatches those three theory bases with four outsourcing modes (full, partial, spinout, inter-outsourcing) and case study methodology.
Findings – The paper's findings yield three novel propositions for strategic and ex ante entrepreneurial firm outsourcing activities. The propositions pertain to the exchange of non-traditional resources, vendor-buyer power differentials, and linkages between internal operations and external resources.
Originality/value – Entrepreneurial firms stand to benefit in particularly vital ways from outsourcing arrangements. Yet, they are often severely constrained with respect to resources. Such strong need combined with limited means is a peculiarly valuable setting but only a paucity of research exists. The original study targets this important setting.
![Research paper thumbnail of Entrepreneurial Alertness, Technological Innovation, and New Product Development [Chinese]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/30522970/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Contemporary Finance and Economics, 2009
洞察力是机会识别的关键前提，但由于理论模糊不清，定义差别较大，使得洞察力模型不够成 熟。本文从积累、转化与选择商机信息的视角来重新定义洞察力概念，假设洞察力产生于创新之前，而创新是引 起企业内新... more 洞察力是机会识别的关键前提，但由于理论模糊不清，定义差别较大，使得洞察力模型不够成 熟。本文从积累、转化与选择商机信息的视角来重新定义洞察力概念，假设洞察力产生于创新之前，而创新是引 起企业内新产品和服务开发的中介变量。经验研究中，我们在两个具有不同文化背景的国家收集数据，分层回归 分析结果支持了我们的假设。本文的主要贡献在于界定和测量了创业理论中的洞察力概念，并讨论了技术创新在 创业洞察力和新产品与服务中的中介作用。
Academy of Management Perspectives, Nov 1, 2011
We undertook an evidence-based study of 117 carbon offset providers from eight countries. From th... more We undertook an evidence-based study of 117 carbon offset providers from eight countries. From this study we contribute a conceptualization of venture performance and an agenda for research in this important domain. Our findings show how additionality (i.e., project feasibility without external funding), certification, standards, prices, and transparency distinguish the best carbon offset providers. We lay a foundation for understanding venture strategy formulation, market entry, and competition in these unregulated and volatile organizational environments. As sustainability and environmental issues continue to influence activities in the business world, understanding the issues we delineate in this paper becomes more important for management scholars and practitioners.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Mar 2011
Theories about entrepreneurial discovery are important to entrepreneurship. However, the dominant... more Theories about entrepreneurial discovery are important to entrepreneurship. However, the dominant conceptual foundation underlying such theories hinders their development. It assumes that opportunities form based on either deliberate search or serendipitous discovery. I examine this unidimensional logic and identify a gap in its informative content. Then, I reframe it into orthogonal dimensions. The multidimensional model not only describes the same cases as the unidimensional model but also describes what the unidimensional model cannot, including cases that are high or low on both dimensions. This extension yields a 2 × 2 conceptual foundation for entrepreneurial discovery theory that promotes the development and coordination of distinct theoretic streams.
Journal of Management History, 2010
Purpose – Guided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings ... more Purpose – Guided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of upward defiance (competence deficiency; ignorance of concerns; structural gaps between echelons) and to describe the managerial actions that help depose those underpinnings.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes 30 historic narrative accounts of actual mutinies. The journalistic accounts from bygone eras provide unparalleled insight into the basic dynamics of mutiny and provide novel insights into organizational defiance.
Findings – The principal findings show that the underpinnings of mutiny in organizations derive from three foundations: disconnections between authority echelons, modes of addressing member disgruntlement, and the need for management to develop continuous competencies.
Originality/value – The paper goes beyond reports of mutinies in the popular press and lore by applying the findings to modern organizations.
Entrepreneurship: Values and Responsibility, 2010
Journal of Business Ethics, Jul 2009
Social entrepreneurship activity continues to surge tremendously in market and economic systems a... more Social entrepreneurship activity continues to surge tremendously in market and economic systems around the world. Yet, social entrepreneurship theory and understanding lag far behind its practice. For instance, the nature of the entrepreneurial discovery phenomenon, a critical area of inquiry in general entrepreneurship theory, receives no attention in the specific context of social entrepreneurship. To address the gap, we conceptualize social entrepreneurial discovery based on an extension of corporate social responsibility into social entrepreneurship contexts. We develop a model that emphasizes mobilization and timing as underpinnings of social entrepreneurial discovery and offer distinct conceptual aspects and theoretic propositions instrumental to future social entrepreneurship research.
Violent mutiny was common in seafaring enterprises during the Age of Discovery--so common, in fac... more Violent mutiny was common in seafaring enterprises during the Age of Discovery--so common, in fact, that dealing with mutineers was an essential skill for captains and other leaders of the time. Mutinies in today's organizations are much quieter, more social and intellectual, and far less violent, yet the coordinated defiance of authority springs from dissatisfactions very similar to those of long-ago shipboard crews. This highly original book mines seafaring logs and other archives of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ship captains and discovers instructive lessons for today's leaders facing challenges to their authority as well as for other members of organizations in which mutinous events occur. The book begins by examining mutinies against great explorer captains of the Age of Discovery: Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Sebastian Cabot, and Henry Hudson. The authors then identify lessons that entrepreneurs, leaders, and other members may apply to organizational insurrections today. They find, surprisingly, that mutiny may be a force for good in an organization, paving the way to more collaborative leadership and stronger commitment to shared goals and values.
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2010
We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts ... more We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts and introduce the transgenerational family effect (TFE) construct. The TFE influences long-term strategy and culture in family-based entrepreneurial ventures. We ...
Social Science Research Network, Jun 4, 2005
Page 1. WORKI^FI ■ A FAMILY BUSINESS A Non-Family Employee's Guide to Success Christopher J.... more Page 1. WORKI^FI ■ A FAMILY BUSINESS A Non-Family Employee's Guide to Success Christopher J. Eckrich Stephen L. McClure Page 2. BUSINESS A Non-Family Employee's Guide to Success WORKING FOR A FAMILY Christopher J. Eckrich Stephen L. McClure ...
Social entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a mechanism for generating social and economic va... more Social entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a mechanism for generating social and economic value. In recent years, social entrepreneurship activity has surged tremendously and promoted the integration of social capital, culture, history, politics, and traditional business activity. However, social entrepreneurship theory lags far behind the practice. For instance, how opportunities are discovered, a basic question in traditional entrepreneurship research, has not been examined specifically in social entrepreneurship research. To help address the gap, we delineate six distinct conceptual aspects from prior work and develop four theoretic propositions useful to scholars interested in undertaking theory-driven research on the emergence and existence of social entrepreneurial opportunities. We emphasize the integration of entrepreneurial discovery with the concepts of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. By examining the roles of those concepts in social entrepreneuri...
Journal of Business Ethics, 2008
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2010
We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts ... more We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts and introduce the transgenerational family effect (TFE) construct. The TFE influences long-term strategy and culture in family-based entrepreneurial ventures. We ...
Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 2019
Social enterprises viewed as viable from societal perspectives are often regarded differently fro... more Social enterprises viewed as viable from societal perspectives are often regarded differently from traditional business perspectives. To examine this difference, we undertook two empirical studies of risk tolerance and legitimacy perceptions among observers of social enterprise and for-profit ventures. In Study 1, participants (n= 115) drawn randomly from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, an online crowdsourcing marketplace for human intelligence tasks, examined two hypothetical cases and completed the risk tolerance scale of theJackson Personality Inventory. Results show that social enterprises were seen as having lower industry legitimacy, especially by individuals with lower risk tolerance. Here, industry legitimacy mediated the effect of venture purpose on cognitive legitimacy. In Study 2, practicing entrepreneurs (n= 23) narratively interpreted Study 1 results from social enterprise and traditional business perspectives. Both studies demonstrate that social enterprise legitimacy evalua...
Journal of Management History, 2010
PurposeGuided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of ... more PurposeGuided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of upward defiance (competence deficiency; ignorance of concerns; structural gaps between echelons) and to describe the managerial actions that help depose those underpinnings.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes 30 historic narrative accounts of actual mutinies. The journalistic accounts from bygone eras provide unparalleled insight into the basic dynamics of mutiny and provide novel insights into organizational defiance.FindingsThe principal findings show that the underpinnings of mutiny in organizations derive from three foundations: disconnections between authority echelons, modes of addressing member disgruntlement, and the need for management to develop continuous competencies.Originality/valueThe paper goes beyond reports of mutinies in the popular press and lore by applying the findings to modern organizations.
Journal of Management History, 2009
PurposeThe author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contemporary... more PurposeThe author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contemporary research in the area of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to explain why current theoretic models do not adequately explain entrepreneurial phenomena and to present outlines of a distinct entrepreneurship research paradigm.Design/methodology/approachThe author examines the essay from the perspective of a historian and then summarizes its concepts. Next, the author reviews the current state of entrepreneurship research and theory and applies concepts from the essay to its contemporary challenges. Finally, the author presents five implications.FindingsThe five implications are that entrepreneurship research should include designs that predict failure, strive to develop theory that is distinct from other areas, emphasize novel arrangements of empirical elements that are also novel, utilize nonparametric statistics and case studies more fully, and push for a paradigmatic shift.Originality/v...
Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways for people to achieve their personal and professional go... more Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways for people to achieve their personal and professional goals, build financial security and make positive contributions to society. However, entrepreneurs must clear significant barriers in order for their ventures to succeed. Whereas accessibility for different people despite their circumstances is a definitive conceptual aspect of entrepreneurship, the lack of necessary financial capital, critical expertise gaps and other kinds of missing resources or support can (and do) account for the difference between entrepreneurial success and failure. Moreover, in practical terms, the availability of such resources is not equitable. It varies for different entrepreneurs based on many different factors. The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has created new potentials for better equity, greater access and fuller democratization of vital entrepreneurial resources. However, many entrepreneurs do not understand how generative AI can be instrumental to entrepreneurial performance. There is no shortage of generative AI tools. They include Chat GPT, Stability AI, Claude AI, Fyber AI, Midjourney, OpenAI (Dall-E, Dall-E 2), Pictory AI, Synthesia and many more. In this editorial, we draw from our experiences and discuss some ways that entrepreneurs can use generative AI to improve venture performance capabilities and enlarge wealth creation capacities.
Journal of Management History, 2006
PurposeTo interpret and explain evolution in entrepreneurial thought, using the application of hi... more PurposeTo interpret and explain evolution in entrepreneurial thought, using the application of history to unify the extant and wide‐ranging concepts underlying the field to detect a conceptual foundation.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual approach is taken, the paper undertaking a delineation of how past theory has brought about the field's current state and an identification of some conceptual areas for future advancement.FindingsThe importance and impact of the entrepreneurship field is increasing in academic and practical settings. A historical view on the conceptual development of entrepreneurial thought provides a lens for scholars as well as practitioners to interpret and explain their own entrepreneurial activity or research and formulate new questions.Originality/valueThe paper aids scholars and researchers to interpret and explain entrepreneurial activity.
Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Oct 23, 2012
This article documents the results of a research workshop bringing together six perspectives on s... more This article documents the results of a research workshop bringing together six perspectives on social entrepreneurship. The idea was to challenge existing concepts of the economy, the firm, and entrepreneurship in order to shed new light on social entrepreneurship and on our existing theoretical frameworks. The first two contributions use a macro-perspective and discuss the notion of adaptive societies and the tragedies of disharmonization, respectively. Taking a management perspective, the next two focus on the limits of conventional assumptions in management theory, particularly human capital theory and resource-based view. The final two contributions follow an entrepreneurship perspective highlighting the usefulness of mobilization theory and the business model lens to social entrepreneurship. Despite this diversity, all contributions share the fact that they challenge narrow definitions of the unit of analysis in social entrepreneurship; they illustrate the aspect of social embeddedness, and they argue for an open-but-disciplined diversity of theories in social entrepreneurship research.
Management Decision, Jul 2013
Purpose - This paper clarifies distinct aspects of firm culture, delineates its effects on perfor... more Purpose - This paper clarifies distinct aspects of firm culture, delineates its effects on performance outcomes, and examines culture intensity on theoretic grounds with attention to its effects and limits.
Design/methodology/approach - The study analyzes a data set of 2,657 individual cases that are empirically aggregated into 302 organizational units. Its operationalization of culture intensity derives from distinct culture theory. Hypothesized relations are examined via structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings - Structural equation modeling results show culture relates positively to cooperation, coordination, and performance. Hierarchical regression analysis results show intensity influences cooperation and coordination directly and does not moderate culture’s relations with those outcomes.
Research limitations/implications - The large scale empirical study of a broad diversity of firms has advantages over smaller and more targeted studies of lesser generalizability.
Practical implications - Firms with cultures of higher intensity can enhance performance indirectly by driving cooperation and coordination directly.
Originality/value - This study distinguishes culture from climate on conceptual grounds. Climate strength, an analog of culture intensity, is known to moderate climate’s relations with outcomes. By contrast, this study shows that culture intensity has a main effect on outcomes, in line with culture’s distinct theoretic bases.
Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 2012
Purpose – Pursuing objectives despite limited internal resources and leveraging external resource... more Purpose – Pursuing objectives despite limited internal resources and leveraging external resources despite non-ownership are familiar hallmarks of entrepreneurial firms. Although outsourcing is the standard way for businesses to surmount these barriers, entrepreneurial firms often lack the resources to purchase outsourcing arrangements. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how entrepreneurial firms can better procure and benefit from outsourcing arrangements.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines six entrepreneurial firms in a Shanghai business incubator as they undertook a variety of outsourcing arrangements. It utilizes an integrative framework based on transaction cost theory, resource dependency theory, and the resource-based view. It then cross-hatches those three theory bases with four outsourcing modes (full, partial, spinout, inter-outsourcing) and case study methodology.
Findings – The paper's findings yield three novel propositions for strategic and ex ante entrepreneurial firm outsourcing activities. The propositions pertain to the exchange of non-traditional resources, vendor-buyer power differentials, and linkages between internal operations and external resources.
Originality/value – Entrepreneurial firms stand to benefit in particularly vital ways from outsourcing arrangements. Yet, they are often severely constrained with respect to resources. Such strong need combined with limited means is a peculiarly valuable setting but only a paucity of research exists. The original study targets this important setting.
Contemporary Finance and Economics, 2009
洞察力是机会识别的关键前提，但由于理论模糊不清，定义差别较大，使得洞察力模型不够成 熟。本文从积累、转化与选择商机信息的视角来重新定义洞察力概念，假设洞察力产生于创新之前，而创新是引 起企业内新... more 洞察力是机会识别的关键前提，但由于理论模糊不清，定义差别较大，使得洞察力模型不够成 熟。本文从积累、转化与选择商机信息的视角来重新定义洞察力概念，假设洞察力产生于创新之前，而创新是引 起企业内新产品和服务开发的中介变量。经验研究中，我们在两个具有不同文化背景的国家收集数据，分层回归 分析结果支持了我们的假设。本文的主要贡献在于界定和测量了创业理论中的洞察力概念，并讨论了技术创新在 创业洞察力和新产品与服务中的中介作用。
Academy of Management Perspectives, Nov 1, 2011
We undertook an evidence-based study of 117 carbon offset providers from eight countries. From th... more We undertook an evidence-based study of 117 carbon offset providers from eight countries. From this study we contribute a conceptualization of venture performance and an agenda for research in this important domain. Our findings show how additionality (i.e., project feasibility without external funding), certification, standards, prices, and transparency distinguish the best carbon offset providers. We lay a foundation for understanding venture strategy formulation, market entry, and competition in these unregulated and volatile organizational environments. As sustainability and environmental issues continue to influence activities in the business world, understanding the issues we delineate in this paper becomes more important for management scholars and practitioners.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Mar 2011
Theories about entrepreneurial discovery are important to entrepreneurship. However, the dominant... more Theories about entrepreneurial discovery are important to entrepreneurship. However, the dominant conceptual foundation underlying such theories hinders their development. It assumes that opportunities form based on either deliberate search or serendipitous discovery. I examine this unidimensional logic and identify a gap in its informative content. Then, I reframe it into orthogonal dimensions. The multidimensional model not only describes the same cases as the unidimensional model but also describes what the unidimensional model cannot, including cases that are high or low on both dimensions. This extension yields a 2 × 2 conceptual foundation for entrepreneurial discovery theory that promotes the development and coordination of distinct theoretic streams.
Journal of Management History, 2010
Purpose – Guided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings ... more Purpose – Guided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of upward defiance (competence deficiency; ignorance of concerns; structural gaps between echelons) and to describe the managerial actions that help depose those underpinnings.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes 30 historic narrative accounts of actual mutinies. The journalistic accounts from bygone eras provide unparalleled insight into the basic dynamics of mutiny and provide novel insights into organizational defiance.
Findings – The principal findings show that the underpinnings of mutiny in organizations derive from three foundations: disconnections between authority echelons, modes of addressing member disgruntlement, and the need for management to develop continuous competencies.
Originality/value – The paper goes beyond reports of mutinies in the popular press and lore by applying the findings to modern organizations.
Entrepreneurship: Values and Responsibility, 2010
Journal of Business Ethics, Jul 2009
Social entrepreneurship activity continues to surge tremendously in market and economic systems a... more Social entrepreneurship activity continues to surge tremendously in market and economic systems around the world. Yet, social entrepreneurship theory and understanding lag far behind its practice. For instance, the nature of the entrepreneurial discovery phenomenon, a critical area of inquiry in general entrepreneurship theory, receives no attention in the specific context of social entrepreneurship. To address the gap, we conceptualize social entrepreneurial discovery based on an extension of corporate social responsibility into social entrepreneurship contexts. We develop a model that emphasizes mobilization and timing as underpinnings of social entrepreneurial discovery and offer distinct conceptual aspects and theoretic propositions instrumental to future social entrepreneurship research.
Journal of Management History, 2009
Purpose – The author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contempor... more Purpose – The author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contemporary research in the area of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to explain why current theoretic models do not adequately explain entrepreneurial phenomena and to present outlines of a distinct entrepreneurship research paradigm.
Design/methodology/approach – The author examines the essay from the perspective of a historian and then summarizes its concepts. Next, the author reviews the current state of entrepreneurship research and theory and applies concepts from the essay to its contemporary challenges. Finally, the author presents five implications.
Findings – The five implications are that entrepreneurship research should include designs that predict failure, strive to develop theory that is distinct from other areas, emphasize novel arrangements of empirical elements that are also novel, utilize nonparametric statistics and case studies more fully, and push for a paradigmatic shift.
Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is useful to entrepreneurship scholars interested in developing and distinguishing their research area in a substantial and lasting way alongside other established research areas in the domain of business studies.