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Article
Publication date: 25 January 2021

René Schmidt, Robin Bell and Vessela Warren

This research identifies the forms of tacit knowledge frequently requested in the job descriptions of knowledge workers in a multinational automotive manufacturer's product…

Abstract

Purpose

This research identifies the forms of tacit knowledge frequently requested in the job descriptions of knowledge workers in a multinational automotive manufacturer's product development department. It then explores how and why the most requested forms of tacit knowledge are used in practice to achieve organizational goals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows a sequential mixed-methods approach to quantify the most frequently requested forms of tacit knowledge within internal job descriptions and then explores how and why this tacit knowledge is used. The first stage applies manifest content analysis to internal job descriptions to highlight the epitomes of tacit knowledge to identify the most frequently requested forms of tacit knowledge. The second stage employs semi-structured interviews to explore the use of the most frequently requested forms of tacit knowledge in practice.

Findings

The research indicated that the organization most frequently requested tacit knowledge in the form of skills and experience in the job descriptions of knowledge workers in the product development department. When the use and application of tacit knowledge in the form of skills were further explored in practice, it was found that tacit knowledge-based socially-focused skills were used, which was underpinned by the need to bring people together and align them towards a common goal to make things work; by enabling people to work together as a team; by developing and using networks; and acting as a required resource to support the development and integration in product development. Tacit knowledge in the form of experience was applied through the application of personally obtained experience to enhance development work by acting as a pacemaker for increasing efficiency and a sense of upcoming issues.

Originality/value

This work addresses the paucity of studies identifying tacit knowledge in large organizations and meets calls to investigate the processes and activities related to tacit knowledge in specific contexts.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 22 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2019

Peng Liu and Robin Bell

This paper aims to investigate four successful Chinese ICT enterprises to determine what initiated their business-model innovations and the process they went through by exploring…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate four successful Chinese ICT enterprises to determine what initiated their business-model innovations and the process they went through by exploring how they adapted and innovatively renewed four key elements of their business models.

Design/methodology/approach

This investigative and exploratory research adopted a multiple-case-study design exploring four purposively selected successful Chinese ICT enterprises which had all engaged in significant business model innovation since their inception. Data for the case studies were collected through in-depth interviews with the founders and analyses of the companies’ history to gain a detailed account of the evolution of the firms’ business models since their formation.

Findings

The research identified three key initiating factors to business model innovation in the firms studied, namely, constant and rapid product iteration, along with an emergent strategy, leading to business model innovations to take full advantage of the firms’ competitive advantages; a reaction to threats and environmental changes; and an opportunistic behaviour to extend the business model to new markets. The research found that networks were a key factor in the process, including the customer base, financial investors and network collaborators.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to four successful Chinese ICT firms; this in-depth approach means the information may have only limited transferability but provides depth on a burgeoning Chinese sector.

Originality/value

This research addresses the call for more research and a greater understanding of what initiates business model innovation and the process firms go through to develop the key elements of their business models by looking at a purposively selected sample of successful Chinese enterprises in a fast-moving and technologically driven market.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2018

Thanh Trung Pham, Robin Bell and David Newton

Many family businesses do not survive into the second generation. A common reason put forward for this is poor succession planning for the second generation. This paper is…

6147

Abstract

Purpose

Many family businesses do not survive into the second generation. A common reason put forward for this is poor succession planning for the second generation. This paper is designed with the aim to explore the role of the father in supporting the son’s business knowledge and development in Vietnamese family businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopted an inductive qualitative approach using multiple face-to-face semi-structured interviews with five father–son succession pairs. The interview participants were a cross section of Vietnamese family businesses, where the father–son pair was involved in the process of business knowledge transfer and the succession process was at an advanced stage.

Findings

The results suggest that the father plays different roles at different stages of the son’s business knowledge development process. In particular, the father acts as an example during the son’s childhood; a supporter to encourage the son to gain more business knowledge from both formal education and working experience outside the family business; a mentor and trouble-shooter after the son joins the family business as a full-time employee; and as an advisor after the son becomes the leader of the firm.

Originality/value

Most Vietnamese family businesses are still operating under the control of the first generation, and as a result, research into the succession process in Vietnam can help to provide valuable insights. Furthermore, existing research into the role of the predecessor in the whole process from the successor’s childhood until the end of the succession process is ambiguous and requires further research to clarify this research gap.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2000

R.E. Bell

Robin Hood had clearly now become a serious problem. Previously he had been known for taking from the rich, giving to the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. Much of…

Abstract

Robin Hood had clearly now become a serious problem. Previously he had been known for taking from the rich, giving to the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. Much of the proceeds of his robberies had also gone towards raising a ransom to free Richard the Lionheart from an Austrian dungeon where he had been imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his return home from the Third Crusade. When Richard returned to England, taking back his rightful place on the throne, all had been well for a number of years. However with Richard restored to the throne, Robin had lost his purpose in life. There was no longer any justification for living as an outlaw in Sherwood Forest or for robbing the rich, and so Robin had grown old and disillusioned. After a while, the carriages carrying the King's tax revenues in the Nottinghamshire area had begun to be attacked again. The raids were well planned and executed and the modus operandi bore a distinct resemblance to the raids carried out by Robin's band in the years when they had been outlaws.

Details

Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-5201

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Robin Bell and Heather Bell

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of an experiential learning approach, available to students in all disciplines that combined a hands-on…

3643

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of an experiential learning approach, available to students in all disciplines that combined a hands-on entrepreneurial and enterprise experience with professional consultant mentoring by using a competition to win business start-up funding.

Design/methodology/approach

Students at a UK University had the chance to enter a competition in which they developed an entrepreneurial idea and then designed and presented a business plan to win business start-up capital. Students who were entrepreneurially motivated, but who lacked capital to start-up their business, were targeted, as these students have been argued to benefit the most from a combination of business plan training and entrepreneurial development. Feedback and data were obtained from the students at each stage of the process and was thematically analysed to assess the development of students’ entrepreneurial skills and knowledge through the experience.

Findings

The research found that the benefits gained from this approach included both enterprising and entrepreneurial skills, with the greatest impact being on student confidence and belief in their ability to start a business. The practical skills had a “demystifying” effect on students that made them feel like entrepreneurship and enterprise start-up were attainable.

Research limitations/implications

The research focused on students at one UK University and centred on entrepreneurship in a retail business. The competition thus appealed mainly to students who were interested in retail start-up, thus leaving out some enterprising students whose feedback may have been different. In addition, while entrepreneurial skills are assessed in the data, the students who would be interested in the competition would be assumed to be proactive, and this skill was not able to be analysed. This research is a single case, and thus could be enhanced by more cases and looking at other enterprise start-up means beyond retail.

Originality/value

This research makes a case that, in light of literature critical of the use of business plan training in entrepreneurship education, certain students are appropriate candidates for this approach. Specific skills and knowledge can be developed in university students using a live enterprise experience, supported by entrepreneurial mentoring. By making the event extracurricular, the study sought to capture the feedback of students who self-selected into the programme, who can benefit most from combined entrepreneurial and business plan development experience.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 58 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Robin Bell

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and traits and their classification of employment six months after…

2544

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and traits and their classification of employment six months after university graduation. It aims to identify what specific attitudes and traits of entrepreneurial graduates are linked to employability in a professional or managerial field.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopts a quantitative approach to measure the entrepreneurial drive of final-year undergraduate business school students and regresses this measurement against the employment level of the same students six months after their graduation. The employment classification of each respondent was classified as “professional/managerial” or “non-professional/non-managerial”, in line with the Standard Occupational Classification 2010.

Findings

The research found that both proactive disposition and achievement motivation were statistically linked to the likelihood of graduates being employed in a professional or managerial position six months after graduation.

Originality/value

This research goes beyond existing literature linking entrepreneurship to employability to quantitatively examine what specific attitudes and traits can be linked to employability in recent graduates. By identifying the aspects of entrepreneurialism that have a relationship with employability, more information is available for educators who are designing entrepreneurial education programmes and allows for greater focus on aspects that may be of greatest benefit to all students.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 58 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2014

Rachael Smith, Robin Bell and Helen Watts

– This paper aims to identify personality trait differences between social and traditional entrepreneurs.

6420

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify personality trait differences between social and traditional entrepreneurs.

Design/methodology/approach

The Durham Business School’s General Enterprise Tendencies (GET) test was chosen to measure an individual’s entrepreneurial personality. The choice was based on the test’s established use within industry and its ability to measure traits most commonly considered “entrepreneurial” by the extant literature. The test was adapted for this study and distributed to both social and traditional entrepreneurs. The results were then statistically analysed to test for significant differences between the two groups.

Findings

It was found that social entrepreneurs exhibited statistically significantly higher levels of creativity, risk-taking and need for autonomy than traditional entrepreneurs. The results were then discussed critically in light of the literature.

Research limitations/implications

The modest sample size was the main limitation of the research. In addition, the sample set was fairly culturally homogeneous. It has been recommended that an additional test be carried out with a larger sample size, consisting of a more culturally diverse range of participants, to improve the generalisation of the findings.

Originality/value

This research provides new insights into personality trait differences between social and traditional entrepreneurs and is particularly useful to those with an interest in entrepreneurial orientation and those interested in the identification and development of social entrepreneurs.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1987

UNTIL the early 1950s the Petters name, as a manufacturer in Staines, Middlesex, of i.e. engines, was associated with medium or small power units designed mainly for the…

Abstract

UNTIL the early 1950s the Petters name, as a manufacturer in Staines, Middlesex, of i.e. engines, was associated with medium or small power units designed mainly for the construction industry and for a variety of agricultural equipment.

Details

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, vol. 39 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0036-8792

Content available
Article
Publication date: 28 October 2014

Bob Doherty

808

Abstract

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Content available
Article
Publication date: 14 October 2021

Marina Dabic, Timothy Kiessling and Vanessa Ratten

331

Abstract

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 22 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

11 – 20 of 798