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Given limited attention to the individual-level antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation in small business ventures, this study explores two antecedents, core self-evaluation and entrepreneurial ...

Relatively little research examines the microfoundations of social responsibility in the small business setting, despite the demonstrated importance of entrepreneurs’ socially responsible behavior ...

The aim of this chapter is to examine an entrepreneurial training program using a theoretical foundation to assess pedagogical and programmatic outcomes. First, the chapter begins by reviewing military veteran entrepreneurship. Next, key constructs previously shown to impact entrepreneurial capabilities and intentions are reviewed. Subsequently, the case used in this study of an entrepreneurial education program is shared, along with how the program impacted a cohort of military veterans. Finally, we provide a discussion about how these results should influence thinking about entrepreneurial training programs for veterans.

As a high impact practice and well-established pedagogical tool, student consulting projects are a means to bridge the needs of multiple stakeholders. The purpose of this research is to provide discussion around and illustration of how university strategy, applied education mission and accreditation standards can integrate under the umbrella of student consulting projects. While these are obviously not the sole means to address engagement and impact, student consulting projects provide an effective means to innovate and engage students within and outside the classroom, and to yield measurable, sustainable impact for the community. To do so, we explore how through these structures, universities can curate currency and leverage future opportunities.

Innovation seems to be a fundamental requirement for the growth and sustainability of small businesses. While previous research revealed a strong correlation between intellectual capital and performance, the role of intellectual capital in facilitating the innovativeness and performance of a firm has not been thoroughly examined in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) context. This study examines the role of innovativeness in the intellectual capital and organizational performance relationship using a sample of small firms. The results of a survey conducted on 460 small business owners indicate a positive relationship between two components of intellectual capital, human capital and organizational capital, and organizational performance. Further analysis finds that innovativeness partially mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and organizational performance. Our findings indicate that efficiently and effectively organized firms can leverage well skilled and innovative employees to achieve the best performance through innovation.

Nordstrom and Jennings (2017) provide an in-depth view of the Hutterite Brethren community to theorize family business practices and their association with familial well-being. Drawing from self-determination theory, we extend their model to provide additional theoretical development regarding the role of task and enterprise practices in satisfying basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), promoting motivation, and fostering family member well-being. Although the Hutterite community’s practices likely facilitate high levels of competence and relatedness, there is potential for autonomy need deficits. As such, we address areas for future research regarding need fulfillment and well-being in family businesses.

Purpose Prior research indicates that family businesses have fewer management control practices in place and are more likely to have non-economic goals for their firm. Further, researchers in this domain contend that female-controlled businesses tend to underperform compared to male-controlled businesses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance effects of management controls and goals for the business across both male and female-controlled farm and rural family businesses. Design/methodology/approach The data used in the analyses are from the 2012 Intergenerational Farm and Non-Farm Family Business Survey. The sample comprises 576 small- and medium-sized rural family businesses. The authors used probit analysis to model both family business objective and subjective success for women and men. Findings The results suggest that female-controlled farm and rural family businesses do not underperform their male counterparts in terms of objective or subjective assessments of performance. The results do indicate, however, that strategic management via management control practices within the firm influence objective and subjective performance differently across male and female-controlled farm and rural family businesses. Originality/value The results provide three primary contributions to the family business literature. First, the authors determined that strategic management practices via management control mechanisms, as well as the monitoring of managers, are of significance to the objective performance (i.e. gross income) of both men and women-controlled farm and rural family businesses. Second, the authors found that communicating economic vs non-economic goals do not influence satisfaction with the firm’s performance, but do influence the probability of success for female-controlled family businesses. Finally, the authors find that when we compare male and female-controlled businesses in the same industry, while controlling for family and business factors, men and women do not differ in a statistical sense in objective or subjective performance.

Scholars emphasize the importance of emotion in entrepreneurship and the potential of emotional intelligence, but research is sparse in the field. We develop and test a novel partial mediation mode...

Small family businesses have generally been shown to exhibit significant concern for social responsibility, especially at the community level. Despite the reported heterogeneity of family firms in their preferences for and participation in social responsibility, the drivers of such differences are not agreed upon in the literature. We draw from enlightened self-interest and social capital theories by exploring their complementary and competing implications for the effect of duration and community satisfaction on participation in community-oriented social responsibility (CSR). Additionally, drawing on the association between gender and self-construal and evidence that gender shapes helping and giving behaviors, we assess the moderating role of the gender of the firm manager in these relationships. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 279 family businesses and find support that gender moderates the relationship between community duration and satisfaction and measures of CSR.

Women entrepreneurs have long been argued to suffer from disadvantages in initial resource stock, which makes it difficult to establish and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Prior work suggests that planning may assist in overcoming these disparities; however, few studies have examined these relationships while considering context. We explore the role of strategic business planning activities on entrepreneurial firm performance and whether such planning activities yield greater benefit for women than men. We find that business planning provides greater performance benefits to women, which we argue may give women an opportunity to compensate for initial resource disadvantages.

While it is widely known that food recalls can have large, negative financial and reputational impacts, we know relatively little related to what factors increase consumers’ propensity towards broad consumption changes during food recalls. Consequently, we designed a survey instrument to better understand consumer reaction to food recalls, and in particular, uncover the driving influences behind these broad consumption changes. Results were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. We find that recall concern, propensity to reduce consumption beyond the recall parameters in the situation of both specific branded and unbranded products, and media reliance hold strong, direct effects on broad consumption changes. Further, recall awareness exhibited a minimal role as a moderating influence, but held a strong, direct relationship with the broad consumption changes dependent measure. In addition, using chi-square tests of differences, we find two distinct points of divergence between Millennials and Non-Millennials. First, Millennials have much lower recall awareness. Secondly, Millennials are more likely to react in ways unwarranted by the recall than older generations for the peanut butter recall scenario. These findings are extremely important as policymakers, commodity processors, food manufacturers, and food retailers develop strategies for minimizing the negative impacts from food recalls.

This paper discusses how co-creative, design-led, and user-centered design methods are being utilized to gain insight into the factors that influence the communication of food recalls. It looks at the role of designer and public in these methods and considers the value of these methods for other settings.

Based on the assumptions of agency theory, family business researchers have often argued that family firms are less likely to use formal methods of monitoring and control than nonfamily firms. We explore the relationship between family firm status and presence of a written agreement among the owners, a formal measure of control. We hypothesize economic goals and perceived level of risk taking and management efficacy will mediate the relationship between family firm status and presence of a written agreement. Results indicate that the primary goal of the firm serves as a partial mediator of this relationship.

In the last six years, there have been calls for change to the United States (US) food recall system. These calls highlight the need for: 1. Change in federal oversight2. Better use and management of data3. More effective food recall communication to the US publicThis paper presents recent responses to these calls for change, both from the food industry and government. The authors suggest that the majority of reform and change has focused on federal oversight and improved data tracking, while neglecting to explore ways of communicating food recalls more effectively to the public.The paper answers the questions: 1. Are there specific ways that the communication of food recalls might be improved?2. Where and how do consumers prefer to receive food recall information?3. Who do consumers trust to deliver food recall information?The extant literature suggests that making information about recalls more accessible to the public might help consumers make more informed decisions during food recalls. The re...

Although the marketing mix has been covered in great detail in many veins of literature, very little information exists regarding the mix of marketing tools within the agriculture industry serving U.S. agricultural producers. Using a survey conducted by AgriMarketing magazine in June 2006, a two-fold analysis is undertaken. This study attempts to determine the differences in the use of marketing tools by industry and simple regression analysis is conducted to determine promotional factors that produce a significant impact on sales. Both mass media and other promotional tools were found to be the most consistently significant factor impacting sales of firms in the study.

Legitimacy is a critical resource for new ventures. Yet, our review of the literature indicates that the process through which new venture legitimacy judgments are bestowed by stakeholders is under...

Legitimacy judgments of organizations have been studied from both management and entrepreneurship perspectives. Despite the recent progress in conceptualizing the judgment formation process, the ph...

Zimmerman and Zeitz (2002) correctly remind us that legitimacy must be viewed through the eye of the beholder. Yet, the beholder’s (stakeholder’s) ability to process and selectively interpret infor...