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The research aims to ask whether, in the absence of overarching innovative conditions, a small firm can have an innovative culture and what its scale and scope is.

The study employs four exploratory case studies. This methodological choice is justified in that a case study approach allows the use of the existing literature without inhibiting the detection of any unique characteristics in the Tunisian context. This context of a developing economy is likely to be different from established economies.

The study finds evidence of a learning environment within the firms and a good fit with the concepts of an innovative culture. Internal knowledge sharing is evident for all companies. However, this culture faces inwards, so that the paucity of linkages and weak socialisation combines with institutional thinness to isolate the firms. Local competitive advantages are not amplified but rather are dampened by the relative absence of interaction.

Most research about innovation in the ICT sector is conducted in the context of developed countries. This paper shows the specificities and uniqueness of innovation culture in the context of a developing country.

The findings imply that despite recent improvements, Tunisia lacks many of the regional “institutions” that produce the synergic benefits of an innovative milieu.

The context of a developing country is novel. The value of the findings may, however, be extended to other similar countries. This is important given the role of ICT in “catching up”.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the practices and processes of trust building and use in collaborative networking for product innovation and to compare face to face with virtual networking.

Guided by a literature review and preliminary participant observation, 16 open ended interviews collected data about the processes in 11 small biotech firms. These data were inductively analysed by the constant comparative method to develop explanatory themes.

Trust was seen as a requirement for successful collaborative innovation, but the paper identified how different dimensions of trust are located in the trust building processes. Trust works by creating a platform of confidence that fosters flows of information and the exchange of tacit knowledge. Two types of trust relationships, the technical and the social, work in different ways to produce different, but complementary, types of trust. Virtual environments suit technical trust building but are less suited to developing deeper, more enduring forms of trust.

These different approaches to collaboration are often implicit. But if practitioners are made aware of how they work, they can use the most appropriate approach to build trust.

The method and sample restrict general application, but the explanatory framework may be conceptually generalisable.

Networking for innovation is seen as much social as technical.

The paper contributes conceptually by theorising the trust building process and its role in knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation. It addresses a gap in the literature in identifying how trust is produced, developed and employed in furthering innovation, in particular the behavioural patterns of using virtual networks in furthering innovation.

E‐trade (or electronic trading) appears to offer increased efficiency in business processes, but only a limited number of small firms in Korea have adopted the new processes. The purpose of this paper is to try to establish the obstacles and the perceived barriers to the continuing use of e‐trade technologies by small Korean firms.

The literature was employed to develop a theoretical model that includes perceived risk and the environment. The model was operationalised in a questionnaire completed by 164 respondents. LISREL validated the instrument and the model. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The authors found that information risk and business risk negatively affect adoption and use. The authors also tested the relationship between the environment of the organisation and adoption of e‐trade. The results show that the maturity of information technology and the innovation characteristics of the firm have positive influences on the adoption of e‐trade.

This study uses data from existing users, so the findings extend the existing literature about decisions to adopt and use new processes. The data are, however, limited to the Korean context.

The study demonstrates the negative influence of perceptions about risk associated with innovative processes. Thus, this awareness and understanding of how barriers are perceived should help to increase the diffusion of e‐trade systems. The authors' findings indicate what has to be done for developing and extending the use of e‐trade.

The study is novel and contributes to the understanding of the adoption and use of new processes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how knowledge and information is shared by small information and communication technology firms in Tunisia.

The paper employs a comparative case study approach. This was intended to collect data that describe processes and also to elicit information about the reasons for these processes. The authors set the study in the context of a developing country.

It was found that information and knowledge is key to the operational success of these companies. Knowledge, and its application, is crucial to their competitive advantage. The companies have developed very useful internal systems for sharing information. They also have efficient methods for tapping into existing external knowledge. However, evidence was also found of immature national information sharing systems. The authors attribute this to the level of development in Tunisia and to the understandable attitudes of the firm owners.

Whilst unable to generalise empirically beyond these cases, the authors can conceptually generalise that these processes are likely to be common in similar national contexts. The implication is then that developing countries such as Tunisia may need to invest more in creating knowledge hubs.

The paper contributes by describing knowledge sharing in a less well‐researched area. Conceptually, it offers an appreciation of how knowledge sharing works in less‐developed regions.

The paper aims to review the emergence and nature of entrepreneurship education in China. This paper considers the variability of developments in practices despite policy. In turn, this allows one to consider the implications of this uneven distribution of expertise and resources.

The paper is primarily empirically descriptive, but it draws upon different literatures to examine entrepreneurship education in the uniqueness of its Chinese context. The authors offer two comparative cases to illustrate the arguments.

Substantial differences were found by region and by the status of the institution. The region aspect is paradoxical because the largest number of new businesses exists in those regions with the best provision of enterprise education. The channelling of resources to elite resources compounds the problem. Less prestigious universities make do with what they have, and this may be detrimental for the quality and effectiveness of enterprise education.

There may be some regional differences that have been overlooked, but the thrust is clear. Different resource allocations have shaped entrepreneurship education in the regions.

Applied policy may have detrimental effects on less well-endowed universities and thus neglect less entrepreneurial places.

If entrepreneurship is to deliver its promise of opportunity, innovation and job creation, it needs to be taught by experienced and informed faculty. The uneven distribution of entrepreneurship pedagogy and expertise indicates that this may be more difficult to deliver in some places.

Although entrepreneurship education in China is now pervasive, little work has been done in comparing policies with practices.

The enterprise culture is founded on the premise that entrepreneurship is the engine that drives the economy. One aspect of this cultural pervasion is the increase in the numbers of educational institutions teaching entrepreneurship courses. Yet this hegemony of the encouragement of new business start‐up, almost for its own sake, needs to be critically reviewed. One aspect is the enigmatic nature of entrepreneurship itself; what is it, and can it be taught? Another aspect is the very different expectations of those stakeholders promoting entrepreneurship education. Argues that the process of entrepreneurship involves both art and science; consequently our students need more than SME management skills. Graduating enterprise students must be innovative and creative to satisfy the need for entrepreneurial novelty ‐ the art. Yet, paradoxically they also need to be competent and multifunctional managers ‐ the science. Explores both these areas to argue that theory can bridge the art and science. The final section explains briefly how the recent research and practice at Aberdeen University attempts this synthesis. The intended outcome of our educational process are reflective practitioners, fit for an entrepreneurial career.

The paper aims to better understand the process of networking by small business with their customers to achieve innovations. In particular the relative roles of face‐to‐face and virtual interaction are to be investigated.

Initially a week of participant observation was undertaken then 17 in‐depth interviews were conducted and analyzed. The biotechnology sector was used for the sample.

Networking interaction could be categorized into stages. A deepening of the relationship developed on two fronts: increasing exchanges of technical information but necessarily supplemented by increased sharing of social information to facilitate tacit knowledge exchanges. As the relationship continued to develop, virtual modes could be used in an increasing capacity. The paper developed a stage model and identified the role of face‐to‐face and virtual exchanges at each stage.

Generalizability is unproven. However the issues appeared typical of any technology or science‐based sector and suggest broader applicability.

Business people cannot assume that all steps in the process of generating an innovation with a customer can be achieved virtually. The stage model provides guidance to practitioners on the appropriate interaction modes to avoid wasteful face‐to‐face meetings and ineffective virtual exchanges.

While the usefulness of networking by small business is well recognized, little is known about the process of networking and in particular the potential role of virtual communication and what can and cannot be achieved. The paper sheds light on these issues and develops an explanatory framework.

This paper explores the role of religion in the formation and development of the enterprise culture. The approach is that of legitimisation leading to an increase in environmental munificence. It is argued that entrepreneurial activity was encouraged by the use of an entrepreneurial theology specifically articulated by Margaret Thatcher. Parallels are drawn to Max Weber’s work on the Protestant work ethic, particularly in the way that he argued that changes in the socio‐cultural framework of theology allowed, permitted and encouraged entrepreneurial action in what he called the new rational capitalism. Different aspects of the theological underpinnings of enterprise are discussed. The key findings are that religion played a significant role. It provided a Thatcherite rhetoric which became a moral crusade which was passionately pursued. Entrepreneurship was thus elevated to a new moral high ground; this was in spite of the strongly contested views of the Church. Interestingly, it appears that religious support for entrepreneurship, albeit in a modified form, continues with New Labour.

This paper considers the role and process of the formation and development of a social network in the furtherance of rural small business. The paper's contribution is in enhancing our knowledge about the social aspects of rural networking. The study uses a qualitative approach of data collection involving participant observation and interviews to build a full picture of the networking activities of two competing olive oil producers based in a small village in Greece. The data were analysed by comparative analysis to show that for both cases networking is primarily a social activity. Networking practices involved becoming embedded in the community, building a reputation for usefulness and establishing trust. It was noted that the entrepreneurs both focused on linking activities by using their position within the rural network to establish useful further external linkages.