Search results

The ICT sector in France is characterized by intense firm birth rates, but also by a high mortality. Five years after the start-up, only 38.7% of the firms survived, comparing to 51.0% in the middle high technology and 46.3% in non-innovative branches (Lasch, 2003a). The high growth potential of ICT firms is linked to specific problems, such as a higher risk of failure, a difficult financing, the lack of knowledge in firm management of new entrepreneurs, etc. (Pleschak, 1997). Mostly SMEs, young ICT firms are extremely fragile, so the present chapter proposes to discuss the crucial topic of survival and growth in innovation and knowledge-based sectors.

The present study in this paper seeks to deal with the crucial topic of growth determinants for ICT start‐ups. In this emerging industry high firm birth rates go hand in hand with a great risk of failure and only one firm out of three survives the first three years.

The paper analyzes 220 start‐ups of the ICT service sector and verifies the influence of individual and organisational factors on growth.

The paper finds that human capital and working experience have no significant impact on the success of young ICT firms.

The paper shows that critical growth factors are mostly financing and customer related variables (firm size and capital at start‐up, customer structure, regional market orientation, etc.).

The purpose of this study is to attempt to provide an insight into the individual aspects of academic entrepreneurship, defining a series of entrepreneurial profiles and investigating the challenges associated with each specific role as well as their impact on firm's performance.

The presented findings are based on the analysis of secondary and primary data. First, a series of articles and reports regarding academic entrepreneurship have been accessed in order to define the research framework. Second, primary data were collected through semi‐structured interviews conducted with 26 academic entrepreneurs working in UK biotech firms.

The analysis of data revealed that academics choose mainly three forms of academic entrepreneurship: founder‐manager of an entrepreneurial firm; project manager in an existing firm; or scientific advisor to the board of directors of one or several firms. In each of these three situations, the personal responsibilities, the level of implication and the performance impact of the academic entrepreneur are different.

Findings demonstrate a direct relation between the specific responsibilities associated with the three types of academic entrepreneurship and the scientific/research performance of the investigated firms. Unfortunately, the small sample does not permit generalizations at industry or national level. Future studies should, on one hand, increase the field of investigation, in order to develop reliable measurements of academic entrepreneurship performance; and, on the other hand, collect additional qualitative information using a case study approach.

The findings may provide useful information for academic entrepreneurs working in the biotech sector, regarding the specific challenges and positioning of each entrepreneurial role, allowing them to take better professional decisions.

The study enriches the existing literature on academic entrepreneurship, expanding the definition and the profile of entrepreneurial roles to include also intrapreneurship activities in medium‐size or larger organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and systematically discuss generic forms of contract logistics services and their distinct underlying approaches for fulfilling their respective value propositions. A general frame of reference is developed that addresses the value proposition, as well as the value creation architecture that leads to generic business model configurations for contract logistics services. The framework is built upon the basic notions of service theory, competence research and the resource based view.

The paper combines service theory with work of organizational theory and develops an analytical framework based on conceptual considerations. First empirical results are additionally used to support and illustrate the key outcomes.

Combining the dimensions of integration power and intangible knowledge creation, the authors are able to specify generic types of contract logistics services. Thereby the authors deducted for every type the distinct requirements for service fulfilment and present this in a specific frame of reference.

The illustrated empirical results are still limited due to a limited sample size for the interviews. Additional empirical work on the whole third party logistics (3PL) market is suggested.

The paper provides generic types of 3PL services and a characterization of properties and architectures of respective business models. Combined with first empirical results, the paper's results offer insights for practitioners to rethink their value propositions and potentially redesign their service architectures.

The paper delivers a set of distinct business models for 3PL services reflecting the customer's, as well as the service provider's point of view. It addresses specific aspects of the generation/production of required services that are so far mostly neglected.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of a new convenience‐enhancing service at the interface between retailers and consumers: time‐based delivery of parcels. The service allows consumers to choose a preferred time slot for a parcel to be delivered. This convenience‐enhancing logistics service may be attractive for consumers, retailers, and logistics service providers. The authors provide insights on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for this service and important drivers of its attractiveness.

This paper measures and analyzes the attractiveness and antecedents, the WTP, and the overall revenue potential of this service based on an empirical analysis. A contingent valuation approach was adopted to measure the WTP and the level of usage.

Research results suggest that the level of availability at home and the working hours per week are important antecedents of the perceived attractiveness of the service. Furthermore, consumers who perceive this convenience‐enhancing service as attractive, represent a market segment that has significant revenue potential.

Based on the analysis, important managerial insights are derived that can guide logistics service providers and retailers in their decision to implement such a novel service.

The paper enhances the scope of convenience services, providing empirical data for a time‐based delivery service.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the customer partnering behavior dimensions – operational information exchange, planning, sharing of benefits and burdens, and extendedness – influence goal achievement and goal exceedance at the interface between customer firms and their logistics service providers.

This research develops a conceptual model of relationships between the customer partnering dimensions and logistics outsourcing performance (goal achievement and goal exceedance). The model is then tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that sharing of benefits and burdens has no significant effect on performance, while the other partnering dimensions positively influence goal achievement and goal exceedance. Amongst these partnering dimensions, extendedness demonstrates the strongest effect on both performance dimensions. Furthermore, operational information exchange primarily influences goal exceedance, while planning primarily impacts goal achievement.

The paper extends the extant logistics outsourcing literature by examining the effects of established customer partnering dimensions on performance.