Brett Smith | Miami University (original) (raw)

Papers by Brett Smith

Small Business Economics

Research on the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship has produced mixed findings. W... more Research on the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship has produced mixed findings. We argue such equivocal findings are partly the result of under-specification of the role of religion in entrepreneurial action. To address this issue, we build on the process perspective of entrepreneurial cognition by simultaneously incorporating mental representations and cognitive resources. Specifically, we theorize a cognitive process that incorporates both framing effects of opportunity cues and religious belief integration based on sanctification into the assessment of feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurial action. Through two within-subject experiments, we find (i) positively framed opportunity cues yield more favorable assessments of entrepreneurial action than negatively framed opportunity cues, and (ii) religious belief integration moderates the relationship between framing and assessments of entrepreneurial action, enhancing perceived feasibility and desirability whe...

Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 2010

There is a great deal of debate about the definition of social entrepreneurship. I use an emergin... more There is a great deal of debate about the definition of social entrepreneurship. I use an emerging definition: "Innovative and effective activities that focus strategically on resolving social market failures and creating opportunities to add social value systematically by using a range of organizational formats to maximize social impact and bring about change." 1 This definition acknowledges three key aspects of social entrepreneurship: an innovative element, a primary focus on the creation of social value, and a diverse set of approaches that employ creativity to deliver social value. Thus it paves the way for a greater understanding of "invention-led development," which, according to the Lemelson Foundation, focuses on how new ideas, products, or services can be converted to widely accessible or adopted forms in the creation of social value. When the language of invention-led development is used, it conjures up images of novel products and services used in development activities. On the product side, for example, a treadle pump-such as those designed by KickStartoffers significant advantages over other alternatives in improving irrigation for subsistence farmers in Africa. Similarly, on the service side, the creation of microfinance by organizations such as Grameen Bank makes credit available to populations that previously had been denied such access.

Small Business Economics

Despite the pervasive influence religion has on society, the role of religion in angel investor d... more Despite the pervasive influence religion has on society, the role of religion in angel investor decision-making remains unknown. This study tests a model of how religion – both as a guiding institutional logic and a personal religious belief – influences angel investor evaluations. Drawing on the similarity attraction paradigm and expectancy violation theory, two scenario-based experiments find religion has a persistent but nuanced influence on investor evaluations. Generally, religious claims are a double-edged sword, either repelling or attracting angel investors. Specifically, faith-driven investors form positive evaluations of the venture but only when these evaluations are mediated by entrepreneur authenticity. By comparison, traditional angel investors form negative evaluations when religious claims are present, except for when angel investor religiosity is high. This suggests that faith-driven and traditional angel investors use different bases for evaluating entrepreneurs an...

Journal of Business Ethics

While research has focused on financial and social goals in impact investing, we add to the limit... more While research has focused on financial and social goals in impact investing, we add to the limited research that focuses on how individuals manage identity multiplicity, defined as three or more role identities. Based on our qualitative study of Christian impact investors, we develop a model of identity multiplicity work, explaining how individuals manage their multiple role identities (financial, social, and religious) to reduce identity tensions during the process of impact investing. We find individuals engaged in an interactive, ongoing three-step process of identity multiplicity work: prioritizing one of their salient identities, managing their identity multiplicity interrelationships, and reinforcing their prioritized identity. Investors generally prioritized an identity that was neither financial nor social, but rather religious. We also find this identity work implemented through three novel mechanisms: shadowing, one identity casts a shadow over another thereby enabling th...

Journal of Business Venturing, 2021

Despite contributing to its legitimacy and relevance, scholars have raised concerns that an econo... more Despite contributing to its legitimacy and relevance, scholars have raised concerns that an economic paradigm may be limiting the future of entrepreneurship research. To address these concerns, we propose religion as an alternative and complementary foundation for our field's economic legacy by allowing for transformative research that embraces multiple perspectives. While religion has been generally neglected by entrepreneurship scholars, it holds great promise because of its prevalence, centrality, established base of scientific inquiry, and ability to provide novel answers to emerging phenomena. We chart a new path for entrepreneurship that integrates religion and the "theological turn" in entrepreneurial processes and contexts and identify a number of key research questions. We believe the theological turn in entrepreneurship research builds on our past legitimacy, creates important possibilities to tackle emerging topics, and challenges us to move beyond our existing knowledge horizons to further advance the field of entrepreneurship.

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 2020

Facilitating entrepreneurship through micro-credit, micro-franchise, and micro-consignment potent... more Facilitating entrepreneurship through micro-credit, micro-franchise, and micro-consignment potentially helps to alleviate desperate poverty. However, the effectiveness of these facilitators have varied from positive outcomes of poverty alleviation to negative outcomes of increased debt. Therefore, we seek to understand: how and why are different facilitators of entrepreneurial activity at the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) relatively more effective at alleviating poverty? Building on the foundation of person-entrepreneurship fit, we introduce the construct of personfacilitator fit and develop propositions about how and why the fit between entrepreneurs and the different facilitators of entrepreneurship may influence poverty alleviation. Specifically, using a remediation perspective, we explicate how the demands-abilities and needs-supplies fit between an entrepreneur and the different facilitators of micro-credit, micro-franchise and micro-consignment moderates the likelihood of poverty alleviation and how personfacilitator fit moderates the magnitude of poverty alleviation over time. We offer theoretical and practical implications of our framework for different perspectives (remediation, reform, and revolution) on entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation.

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2018

Social entrepreneurs increasingly use franchising to scale social value. Tracey and Jarvis descri... more Social entrepreneurs increasingly use franchising to scale social value. Tracey and Jarvis described how social franchising is like commercially-oriented franchising, but noted critical challenges arising from dual goals. We investigate a social franchisor that overcame these challenges and describe how the social mission became the source of business model innovation. We show that the social mission fostered a shared identity that guided the search for adaptations to the franchise model. The shared mission-driven identity created pressure toward (1) decentralized decision-making, (2) shared governance, and (3) a role for the franchisor as orchestrator of collaborative knowledge sharing among franchisees. Findings should help social franchisors avoid common pitfalls and suggest future research questions for social entrepreneurship and franchising scholars.

Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange, 2016

Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton said, "No one can be a changemaker without empathy." In the rapidly e... more Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton said, "No one can be a changemaker without empathy." In the rapidly emerging field of social entrepreneurship, both current and future entrepreneurs must strive to achieve it.

Long Range Planning, 2017

Creative Commons Legal Code AttributionNonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International Official tran... more Creative Commons Legal Code AttributionNonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International Official translations of this license are available in other languages. Creative Commons Corporation ("Creative Commons") is not a law firm and does not provide legal services or legal advice. Distribution of Creative Commons public licenses does not create a lawyer client or other relationship. Creative Commons makes its licenses and related information available on an "asis" basis. Creative Commons gives no warranties regarding its licenses, any material licensed under their terms and conditions, or any related information. Creative Commons disclaims all liability for damages resulting from their use to the fullest extent possible. Using Creative Commons Public Licenses Creative Commons public licenses provide a standard set of terms and conditions that creators and other rights holders may use to share original works of authorship and other material subject to copyright and certain other rights specified in the public license below. The following considerations are for informational purposes only, are not exhaustive, and do not form part of our licenses.

Values and Opportunities in Social Entrepreneurship, 2010

How does a potential entrepreneur evaluate an opportunity? One of the most compelling questions i... more How does a potential entrepreneur evaluate an opportunity? One of the most compelling questions in the field of entrepreneurship concerns the evaluation of an entrepreneurial opportunity. The evaluation of an opportunity is critical because it is in this decision-making process that an individual either initiates or forgoes action that may lead to the fruits of social wealth generated by entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, in order to achieve the raison d’etre promised by entrepreneurship (Venkataraman, 1997), a prospective entrepreneur must engage in the evaluation of an opportunity during the entrepreneurial process.

Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education, Volume 3

2 Using simulation to develop empathy and motivate agency: an innovative pedagogical approach for... more 2 Using simulation to develop empathy and motivate agency: an innovative pedagogical approach for social entrepreneurship education Brett R. Smith ... a positive and significant relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior (for a meta-analysis, see Eisenberg and Miller ...

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2011

The potential for distributing socially-valuable products to previously underserved base-of-the-p... more The potential for distributing socially-valuable products to previously underserved base-of-the-pyramid markets (BOP) as a means of poverty alleviation has received growing interest within the international business field. However, such business models often struggle with the agency costs that arise between the social enterprise and local sales agents as the legal institutions and technological/physical infrastructure in BOP markets make traditional contractual and monitoring mechanisms difficult and expensive to employ. Using a multi-method quasi-experimental and depth interview design in rural Guatemala, our study suggests that identity-based mechanisms created through role immersion in multi-task settings can efficiently lead to positive spillover effects such as greater effort, risk-propensity, and self-monitoring by agents.

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014

Base-of-the-Pyramid (BOP) markets present significant governance challenges when undertaking larg... more Base-of-the-Pyramid (BOP) markets present significant governance challenges when undertaking large-scale investments. In the absence of strong legal institutions, organizations must design creative solutions for ensuring that local partners adhere to their agreements. Drawing upon social interdependence theory, we propose that the use of alternative goal structures will serve to motivate local partners to fulfill their commitments. Using data from a multi-method field experiment involving 44 construction projects within rural Sri Lanka, our results suggest that competitive goal structures are more effective than cooperative goal structures within BOP markets for reasons of resource scarcity. Furthermore, our findings suggest that higher levels of inter-group familiarity significantly decreases motivation with the use of cooperative goal structures, but do not harm motivation within competitive goal structures. Our study contributes to theory by exploring how the environmental and social context can signif...

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 2014

ABSTRACT In tackling some of society's most intractable problems, social ventures often e... more ABSTRACT In tackling some of society's most intractable problems, social ventures often engage in strategic alliances to overcome resource constraints and scale their solutions. While considerable research has focused on why strategic alliances are created, less attention has been focused on how they form and why they may (not) persist. Building on an identity-based perspective, this paper develops a theoretical model of strategic alliance development and change by explaining how, and with what results, leaders of social ventures influence the development of organizational identities within their own organizations and strategic alliance partner organizations. The model presented in this paper contributes to the identity literature by developing a cross-level model that explains how individual identities can facilitate the development of organizational identities and by extending the individual-level construct of relational identity to the organizational level by introducing the constructs of ‘organizational’ relational identity and identification. The model contributes to the social entrepreneurship and strategy literatures by suggesting that identity explanations may inform how strategic alliances are formed and why they may (not) persist.

Sommario: 1. Introduzione-2. Analisi della letteratura-3. Metodologia-3.1 Impostazione della rice... more Sommario: 1. Introduzione-2. Analisi della letteratura-3. Metodologia-3.1 Impostazione della ricerca-3.2 Analisi dei dati-3.3 Raccolta dei dati-4. Risultati-4.1 I fattori che portano alla creazione del "ba"-4.1.1 Dipendenza dalle risorse-4.1.2 Valori condivisi-4.2 Il processo di creazione di conoscenza-4.2.1 I fattori che portano all'espansione del "Ba"-4.2.2 I fattori legati alla stewardship-4.2.3 I fattori legati all'identity-fusion-5. Discussione-5.1 Contributi per l'ambito dell'imprenditorialità sociale-5.2 Creazione di conoscenza-6. Limitazioni e ulteriori ricerche-Bibliografia.

Academy of Management Journal, 2014

, and the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Management. We thank Bill Craddock, Gay Jennings, and... more , and the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Management. We thank Bill Craddock, Gay Jennings, and Clay Matthews for their invaluable assistance in gaining access to the Episcopal Church. We thank the leadership of the Episcopal Church for granting us extraordinary access to their organization. We also thank our research participants for their thoughtfulness and generosity of time. This project was funded in part by The CREDO Institute, Inc.,

Journal of Business Ethics, 2014

ABSTRACT While research has focused on why certain entrepreneurs elect to create innovative solut... more ABSTRACT While research has focused on why certain entrepreneurs elect to create innovative solutions to social problems, very little is known about why some social entrepreneurs choose to scale their solutions while others do not. Research on scaling has generally focused on organizational characteristics often overlooking factors at the individual level that may affect scaling decisions. Drawing on the multidimensional construct of moral intensity, we propose a theoretical model of ethical decision making to explain why a social entrepreneur’s perception of moral intensity of the social problem, coupled with their personal desire for control, can significantly influence scaling decisions. Specifically, we propose that higher levels of perceived moral intensity will positively influence the likelihood of scaling through open as opposed to closed modes in order to achieve greater speed and scope of social impact. However, we also propose this effect will be negatively moderated by a social entrepreneur’s higher levels of desire for control. Our model has implications for research and practice at the interface of ethics and social entrepreneurship.

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2012

The Leadership Quarterly, 2006

This study uses social network analysis to examine distributed leadership in work teams. We used ... more This study uses social network analysis to examine distributed leadership in work teams. We used sociometric data from 28 field-based sales teams to investigate how the overall network structure of leadership perceptions considered at the team level of analysis was related to team performance. We failed to find support for the idea that the more leadership is distributed across the members of a team the better the team's performance: Decentralization of the leadership network (across three different operationalizations of network decentralization) was not significantly related to superior team performance. But we did find support for the idea that certain kinds of decentralized leadership structures are associated with better team performance than others. Our study suggests that distributed leadership structures can differ with regard to important structural characteristics, and these differences can have important implications for team performance.

Small Business Economics

Research on the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship has produced mixed findings. W... more Research on the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship has produced mixed findings. We argue such equivocal findings are partly the result of under-specification of the role of religion in entrepreneurial action. To address this issue, we build on the process perspective of entrepreneurial cognition by simultaneously incorporating mental representations and cognitive resources. Specifically, we theorize a cognitive process that incorporates both framing effects of opportunity cues and religious belief integration based on sanctification into the assessment of feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurial action. Through two within-subject experiments, we find (i) positively framed opportunity cues yield more favorable assessments of entrepreneurial action than negatively framed opportunity cues, and (ii) religious belief integration moderates the relationship between framing and assessments of entrepreneurial action, enhancing perceived feasibility and desirability whe...

Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 2010

There is a great deal of debate about the definition of social entrepreneurship. I use an emergin... more There is a great deal of debate about the definition of social entrepreneurship. I use an emerging definition: "Innovative and effective activities that focus strategically on resolving social market failures and creating opportunities to add social value systematically by using a range of organizational formats to maximize social impact and bring about change." 1 This definition acknowledges three key aspects of social entrepreneurship: an innovative element, a primary focus on the creation of social value, and a diverse set of approaches that employ creativity to deliver social value. Thus it paves the way for a greater understanding of "invention-led development," which, according to the Lemelson Foundation, focuses on how new ideas, products, or services can be converted to widely accessible or adopted forms in the creation of social value. When the language of invention-led development is used, it conjures up images of novel products and services used in development activities. On the product side, for example, a treadle pump-such as those designed by KickStartoffers significant advantages over other alternatives in improving irrigation for subsistence farmers in Africa. Similarly, on the service side, the creation of microfinance by organizations such as Grameen Bank makes credit available to populations that previously had been denied such access.

Small Business Economics

Despite the pervasive influence religion has on society, the role of religion in angel investor d... more Despite the pervasive influence religion has on society, the role of religion in angel investor decision-making remains unknown. This study tests a model of how religion – both as a guiding institutional logic and a personal religious belief – influences angel investor evaluations. Drawing on the similarity attraction paradigm and expectancy violation theory, two scenario-based experiments find religion has a persistent but nuanced influence on investor evaluations. Generally, religious claims are a double-edged sword, either repelling or attracting angel investors. Specifically, faith-driven investors form positive evaluations of the venture but only when these evaluations are mediated by entrepreneur authenticity. By comparison, traditional angel investors form negative evaluations when religious claims are present, except for when angel investor religiosity is high. This suggests that faith-driven and traditional angel investors use different bases for evaluating entrepreneurs an...

Journal of Business Ethics

While research has focused on financial and social goals in impact investing, we add to the limit... more While research has focused on financial and social goals in impact investing, we add to the limited research that focuses on how individuals manage identity multiplicity, defined as three or more role identities. Based on our qualitative study of Christian impact investors, we develop a model of identity multiplicity work, explaining how individuals manage their multiple role identities (financial, social, and religious) to reduce identity tensions during the process of impact investing. We find individuals engaged in an interactive, ongoing three-step process of identity multiplicity work: prioritizing one of their salient identities, managing their identity multiplicity interrelationships, and reinforcing their prioritized identity. Investors generally prioritized an identity that was neither financial nor social, but rather religious. We also find this identity work implemented through three novel mechanisms: shadowing, one identity casts a shadow over another thereby enabling th...

Journal of Business Venturing, 2021

Despite contributing to its legitimacy and relevance, scholars have raised concerns that an econo... more Despite contributing to its legitimacy and relevance, scholars have raised concerns that an economic paradigm may be limiting the future of entrepreneurship research. To address these concerns, we propose religion as an alternative and complementary foundation for our field's economic legacy by allowing for transformative research that embraces multiple perspectives. While religion has been generally neglected by entrepreneurship scholars, it holds great promise because of its prevalence, centrality, established base of scientific inquiry, and ability to provide novel answers to emerging phenomena. We chart a new path for entrepreneurship that integrates religion and the "theological turn" in entrepreneurial processes and contexts and identify a number of key research questions. We believe the theological turn in entrepreneurship research builds on our past legitimacy, creates important possibilities to tackle emerging topics, and challenges us to move beyond our existing knowledge horizons to further advance the field of entrepreneurship.

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 2020

Facilitating entrepreneurship through micro-credit, micro-franchise, and micro-consignment potent... more Facilitating entrepreneurship through micro-credit, micro-franchise, and micro-consignment potentially helps to alleviate desperate poverty. However, the effectiveness of these facilitators have varied from positive outcomes of poverty alleviation to negative outcomes of increased debt. Therefore, we seek to understand: how and why are different facilitators of entrepreneurial activity at the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) relatively more effective at alleviating poverty? Building on the foundation of person-entrepreneurship fit, we introduce the construct of personfacilitator fit and develop propositions about how and why the fit between entrepreneurs and the different facilitators of entrepreneurship may influence poverty alleviation. Specifically, using a remediation perspective, we explicate how the demands-abilities and needs-supplies fit between an entrepreneur and the different facilitators of micro-credit, micro-franchise and micro-consignment moderates the likelihood of poverty alleviation and how personfacilitator fit moderates the magnitude of poverty alleviation over time. We offer theoretical and practical implications of our framework for different perspectives (remediation, reform, and revolution) on entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation.

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2018

Social entrepreneurs increasingly use franchising to scale social value. Tracey and Jarvis descri... more Social entrepreneurs increasingly use franchising to scale social value. Tracey and Jarvis described how social franchising is like commercially-oriented franchising, but noted critical challenges arising from dual goals. We investigate a social franchisor that overcame these challenges and describe how the social mission became the source of business model innovation. We show that the social mission fostered a shared identity that guided the search for adaptations to the franchise model. The shared mission-driven identity created pressure toward (1) decentralized decision-making, (2) shared governance, and (3) a role for the franchisor as orchestrator of collaborative knowledge sharing among franchisees. Findings should help social franchisors avoid common pitfalls and suggest future research questions for social entrepreneurship and franchising scholars.

Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange, 2016

Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton said, "No one can be a changemaker without empathy." In the rapidly e... more Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton said, "No one can be a changemaker without empathy." In the rapidly emerging field of social entrepreneurship, both current and future entrepreneurs must strive to achieve it.

Long Range Planning, 2017

Creative Commons Legal Code AttributionNonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International Official tran... more Creative Commons Legal Code AttributionNonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International Official translations of this license are available in other languages. Creative Commons Corporation ("Creative Commons") is not a law firm and does not provide legal services or legal advice. Distribution of Creative Commons public licenses does not create a lawyer client or other relationship. Creative Commons makes its licenses and related information available on an "asis" basis. Creative Commons gives no warranties regarding its licenses, any material licensed under their terms and conditions, or any related information. Creative Commons disclaims all liability for damages resulting from their use to the fullest extent possible. Using Creative Commons Public Licenses Creative Commons public licenses provide a standard set of terms and conditions that creators and other rights holders may use to share original works of authorship and other material subject to copyright and certain other rights specified in the public license below. The following considerations are for informational purposes only, are not exhaustive, and do not form part of our licenses.

Values and Opportunities in Social Entrepreneurship, 2010

How does a potential entrepreneur evaluate an opportunity? One of the most compelling questions i... more How does a potential entrepreneur evaluate an opportunity? One of the most compelling questions in the field of entrepreneurship concerns the evaluation of an entrepreneurial opportunity. The evaluation of an opportunity is critical because it is in this decision-making process that an individual either initiates or forgoes action that may lead to the fruits of social wealth generated by entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, in order to achieve the raison d’etre promised by entrepreneurship (Venkataraman, 1997), a prospective entrepreneur must engage in the evaluation of an opportunity during the entrepreneurial process.

Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education, Volume 3

2 Using simulation to develop empathy and motivate agency: an innovative pedagogical approach for... more 2 Using simulation to develop empathy and motivate agency: an innovative pedagogical approach for social entrepreneurship education Brett R. Smith ... a positive and significant relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior (for a meta-analysis, see Eisenberg and Miller ...

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2011

The potential for distributing socially-valuable products to previously underserved base-of-the-p... more The potential for distributing socially-valuable products to previously underserved base-of-the-pyramid markets (BOP) as a means of poverty alleviation has received growing interest within the international business field. However, such business models often struggle with the agency costs that arise between the social enterprise and local sales agents as the legal institutions and technological/physical infrastructure in BOP markets make traditional contractual and monitoring mechanisms difficult and expensive to employ. Using a multi-method quasi-experimental and depth interview design in rural Guatemala, our study suggests that identity-based mechanisms created through role immersion in multi-task settings can efficiently lead to positive spillover effects such as greater effort, risk-propensity, and self-monitoring by agents.

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014

Base-of-the-Pyramid (BOP) markets present significant governance challenges when undertaking larg... more Base-of-the-Pyramid (BOP) markets present significant governance challenges when undertaking large-scale investments. In the absence of strong legal institutions, organizations must design creative solutions for ensuring that local partners adhere to their agreements. Drawing upon social interdependence theory, we propose that the use of alternative goal structures will serve to motivate local partners to fulfill their commitments. Using data from a multi-method field experiment involving 44 construction projects within rural Sri Lanka, our results suggest that competitive goal structures are more effective than cooperative goal structures within BOP markets for reasons of resource scarcity. Furthermore, our findings suggest that higher levels of inter-group familiarity significantly decreases motivation with the use of cooperative goal structures, but do not harm motivation within competitive goal structures. Our study contributes to theory by exploring how the environmental and social context can signif...

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 2014

ABSTRACT In tackling some of society's most intractable problems, social ventures often e... more ABSTRACT In tackling some of society's most intractable problems, social ventures often engage in strategic alliances to overcome resource constraints and scale their solutions. While considerable research has focused on why strategic alliances are created, less attention has been focused on how they form and why they may (not) persist. Building on an identity-based perspective, this paper develops a theoretical model of strategic alliance development and change by explaining how, and with what results, leaders of social ventures influence the development of organizational identities within their own organizations and strategic alliance partner organizations. The model presented in this paper contributes to the identity literature by developing a cross-level model that explains how individual identities can facilitate the development of organizational identities and by extending the individual-level construct of relational identity to the organizational level by introducing the constructs of ‘organizational’ relational identity and identification. The model contributes to the social entrepreneurship and strategy literatures by suggesting that identity explanations may inform how strategic alliances are formed and why they may (not) persist.

Sommario: 1. Introduzione-2. Analisi della letteratura-3. Metodologia-3.1 Impostazione della rice... more Sommario: 1. Introduzione-2. Analisi della letteratura-3. Metodologia-3.1 Impostazione della ricerca-3.2 Analisi dei dati-3.3 Raccolta dei dati-4. Risultati-4.1 I fattori che portano alla creazione del "ba"-4.1.1 Dipendenza dalle risorse-4.1.2 Valori condivisi-4.2 Il processo di creazione di conoscenza-4.2.1 I fattori che portano all'espansione del "Ba"-4.2.2 I fattori legati alla stewardship-4.2.3 I fattori legati all'identity-fusion-5. Discussione-5.1 Contributi per l'ambito dell'imprenditorialità sociale-5.2 Creazione di conoscenza-6. Limitazioni e ulteriori ricerche-Bibliografia.

Academy of Management Journal, 2014

, and the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Management. We thank Bill Craddock, Gay Jennings, and... more , and the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Management. We thank Bill Craddock, Gay Jennings, and Clay Matthews for their invaluable assistance in gaining access to the Episcopal Church. We thank the leadership of the Episcopal Church for granting us extraordinary access to their organization. We also thank our research participants for their thoughtfulness and generosity of time. This project was funded in part by The CREDO Institute, Inc.,

Journal of Business Ethics, 2014

ABSTRACT While research has focused on why certain entrepreneurs elect to create innovative solut... more ABSTRACT While research has focused on why certain entrepreneurs elect to create innovative solutions to social problems, very little is known about why some social entrepreneurs choose to scale their solutions while others do not. Research on scaling has generally focused on organizational characteristics often overlooking factors at the individual level that may affect scaling decisions. Drawing on the multidimensional construct of moral intensity, we propose a theoretical model of ethical decision making to explain why a social entrepreneur’s perception of moral intensity of the social problem, coupled with their personal desire for control, can significantly influence scaling decisions. Specifically, we propose that higher levels of perceived moral intensity will positively influence the likelihood of scaling through open as opposed to closed modes in order to achieve greater speed and scope of social impact. However, we also propose this effect will be negatively moderated by a social entrepreneur’s higher levels of desire for control. Our model has implications for research and practice at the interface of ethics and social entrepreneurship.

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2012

The Leadership Quarterly, 2006

This study uses social network analysis to examine distributed leadership in work teams. We used ... more This study uses social network analysis to examine distributed leadership in work teams. We used sociometric data from 28 field-based sales teams to investigate how the overall network structure of leadership perceptions considered at the team level of analysis was related to team performance. We failed to find support for the idea that the more leadership is distributed across the members of a team the better the team's performance: Decentralization of the leadership network (across three different operationalizations of network decentralization) was not significantly related to superior team performance. But we did find support for the idea that certain kinds of decentralized leadership structures are associated with better team performance than others. Our study suggests that distributed leadership structures can differ with regard to important structural characteristics, and these differences can have important implications for team performance.