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This paper aims to study the effect of two important marketing decisions on the extent of value capturing by the firm owners. First, it addresses the debate whether acquirers of young technology-based firms value targets that span multiple technology and market categories indicating multiples options for growth or prefer more narrowly defined targets with a clear product and market focus. Second, it investigates to what extent the use of alliances for marketing purposes contributes to value capturing and how they moderate the effect of diversification of technology and marketing.

To estimate the acquisition price, a linear regression model is used, including a Heckman correction controlling for the likelihood of being acquired. The hypotheses are tested in a sample of British venture capital backed firms.

Firms that convey focus in their marketing activities (either because they focus on a few market categories or because they rely on downstream alliance to market their inventions) receive higher valuations at acquisition than those that diversify. Further, also the size of the product portfolio is negatively correlated to the acquisition price. Finally, the results reveal that firms with a broad patent portfolio can reduce the negative effects on firm value by engaging in less downstream alliances.

This paper advances existing research on exit strategies for entrepreneurial firms by considering factors explaining acquisition prices, instead of acquisition probabilities. Further, it adds the categorization research by demonstrating how acquirers respond to complex combinations of technology and market categories.

In 1990/91, survey responses were gathered from 621 independent businesses located in Great Britain. A follow‐on telephone survey was conducted with 150 surviving firms in 1997. This survey gathered information surrounding the propensity of firms to export their goods or services abroad as well as other performance and goal outcomes. Organizational and external environmental variables collected in 1990 are used to explain within a multivariate statistical framework the propensity of a firm to be an exporter in 1997, and the intensity of internationalization activity. Data collected in 1990 is also used to explain variations in several performance variables (i.e. whether exporting was regarded as a path to firm growth; profit performance reported in 1997 relative to competition; and the propensity to report employment growth over the 1990 to 1997 period).

This study focuses on home country institutions as sources of variation in the level of foreign investment into India. Our findings support the idea that institutional voids found in India are less of a deterrent to investments from home countries with high levels of institutional development than from home countries with similar institutional voids. Overall, foreign investments in India are found to be significantly related to the strength of institutions within home countries. The levels of both approved and realized foreign direct investment (FDI) are strongly influenced by economic factors and home country regulative institutions, and weakly influenced by home country cognitive institutions. When considered separately, the cognitive institutions and regulative institutions within a given home country each significantly influence the level of approved/realized FDI into India. However, when considered jointly, only the strength of regulative institutions is predictive of FDI inflows.

Entrepreneurship is the driving force of countries for sustainable economic development. The importance of this issue is to the extent that in recent years, countries have made great efforts to develop their entrepreneurial ecosystem. But the starting point for entrepreneurship is when an opportunity is identified and the entrepreneur rises to use it. Accordingly, opportunity recognition will be the foundation of entrepreneurship and ultimately sustainable development. Given the importance of this topic, this paper attempts to provide a large picture of the studies conducted in this field.

Given the importance of this topic, this paper attempts to provide a large picture of the studies conducted in this field by reviewing 868 articles published on the Web of Science database in the field of opportunity recognition. Accordingly, using statistical descriptions of articles, analyzing the communication network among elements such as authors, countries, institutions, keyword analysis in articles and examining their trends over time, identifying the most important articles using co-citation analysis and finally this macroimage has been mapped, clustered and identified in leading articles in the last decade by co-citation clustering.

The results of the clustering show that the five main clusters of recent decades have included entrepreneurial characteristics and opportunity recognition, macroeconomic opportunity recognition cluster (community and impact on economic development of the country), opportunity recognition process cluster, opportunity recognition cluster in serial and intra-entrepreneurship and opportunity recognition cluster in new venture internationalization.

Using a bibliometric analysis and co-citation analysis in the field of opportunity recognition and making a big picture of studies in this field of study is a contribution that can be used for future studies and researchers and managers in this field.

The major issues in, and influences on, the determination of marketing strategy across the personal financial services sector are examined. Recent changes in the competitive environment emphasise the need to see banks in the context of the sector as a whole. New survey evidence is discussed which relates to the nature of marketing research, advertising strategy, distribution strategy and the use of information technology.

Traditionally, marketing in financial services had been a largely tactical activity, concerned primarily with the advertising and selling of existing products. With the growth in environmental turbulence which characterized the 1980s the notion of marketing as a strategic activity became increasingly important. The 1980s were, in many senses, an era of expansion and diversification. However, many organizations over‐stretched themselves in this period and the 1990s has seen many organizations looking to refocus on core businesses.

Purpose – Although there is extensive work on labor mobility, research on entrepreneurial mobility is fragmented and many aspects are largely neglected. We develop a framework for analysis that integrates different perspectives on entrepreneurial mobility to provide a broad agenda for future research.

Design/methodology – We build upon the strategic entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial behaviour theory, resource-based theory and other literatures, to distinguish four quadrants involving high and low geographical mobility and high and low organizational mobility.

Findings – Within each quadrant we identify different types of entrepreneurial mobility, specifically habitual entrepreneurs, management buyouts, university spin-offs, returnee entrepreneurs and transnational entrepreneurs. Issues concerning the development of research programs and methods, with particular emphasis on datasets, are discussed.

Originality/value – It is hoped that this chapter will spur entrepreneurship and strategy scholars to recognize that the scope of the entrepreneurial mobility concept is considerably greater than hitherto appreciated, providing interesting new avenues for theoretical and methodological development in this area.

Purpose – Emerging work on returnee entrepreneurs has done little to examine how these individuals coordinate the resources they need to exploit their opportunities. Existing research has recognized the role of context, but this has been quite limited. The chapter provides a novel analytical framework that integrates a resource orchestration perspective with recognition of the heterogeneity of context.

Design/Methodology – The authors build upon returnee entrepreneurship, strategic entrepreneurship theory, and theories relating to context and spillovers to distinguish the implications of temporal, institutional, social, and spatial dimensions of context for resource selection and coordination.

Findings – The authors identify a range of research themes relating to each context. The authors also discuss methodological issues relating to both qualitative and quantitative research.

Originality/Value – The intention is to spur further entrepreneurship, strategy, and international business research.

Not only has the number of management buyouts increased rapidly in the last few years, but the actual size of the buyouts has also significantly increased.

Increasing deregulation in personal financial services in the UK raises important issues about the future of banks. This survey attempts to quantify the major trends in the personal financial services market, particularly from a bank perspective. A postal survey by the Nottingham Institute for Financial Studies of major financial institutions was earned out in early 1985. A response rate of 43.5 per cent was achieved from an initial mailing of 487 questionnaires. The results show a major diversification into banking and increased competition for the banks from current non‐banking institutions (mainly building societies). Strong moves into stockbroking and estate agency activities are expected, as is diversification by banks into closely related areas. Those banks which will be affected by internal growth and direct marketing will diversify activities. Diversification by building societies is perceived as the major source of increased competition in the personal financial services sector, and further entry by US banks is expected.