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1 – 10 of 654Pezhman Ghadimi, Shane O'Neill, Chao Wang and John W. Sutherland
The purpose of this study is to identify a comprehensive list of main enablers of successful implementation of green manufacturing (GM) practices in small and medium-sized…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify a comprehensive list of main enablers of successful implementation of green manufacturing (GM) practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on the inputs from Irish SMEs' experts, a validated conceptual hierarchy model of the identified enablers is developed to analyse and prioritise the most dominant ones.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using a questionnaire survey responded by various professionals in Irish manufacturing SMEs. Experts' opinions were analysed using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) to distinguish the mutual influences amongst the nine identified enablers.
Findings
The findings revealed that from the Irish SMEs' perspective, strong green supply chain relations are the outcome of successfully implementing GM and not a driver of the other enablers. Furthermore, lower manufacturing costs are found to arise as a result of GM practices in SMEs.
Practical implications
It is discussed that emulating the actions of larger companies will not necessarily yield the same results for SMEs. Innovation will become a cornerstone of remaining competitive in a sustainable environment, which is facilitated by closer green supply chain relations.
Originality/value
The reported findings in this article contribute to theory and practice of GM and SMEs research domains by systematically identified, classified and ranked enablers in a conceptual hierarchal model from the perspective of Irish SMEs. This research lays the foundations for further analysis of the GM practices enablers in a time when UN mandates and EU regulations are increasingly impacting SMEs all around Europe and especially Ireland.
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Alka Gupta, Christoph Streb, Vishal K. Gupta and Erik Markin
Acting entrepreneurially in nascent industries is a complex endeavor characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. Nevertheless, entirely new industries do emerge, often as a direct…
Abstract
Acting entrepreneurially in nascent industries is a complex endeavor characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. Nevertheless, entirely new industries do emerge, often as a direct result of entrepreneurial behavior. We extend and apply discovery and creation approaches to study entrepreneurial behavior during industry emergence by means of qualitative analysis of a film about the personal computer (PC) industry℉s formative years. We find that discovery and creation behavior are fundamentally interrelated and share a common element: bricolage. Moreover, ideological activism is a major component of entrepreneurial behavior in a new industry℉s formative years during both creation and discovery processes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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The management of children′s literature is a search for value andsuitability. Effective policies in library and educational work arebased firmly on knowledge of materials, and on…
Abstract
The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.
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Subhan Shahid and Emmanuelle Reynaud
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived attributes of the green market mediate the relationship between individuals' sustainability orientation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived attributes of the green market mediate the relationship between individuals' sustainability orientation and entrepreneurial intentions and to what extent field of study (business vs non-business) moderates this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed 314 students in French universities and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the moderated mediation mechanism.
Findings
The results reveal that the adverse effects of the field of study on the relationship between sustainability orientation and entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating paths of green design and green supply chain. The authors found that these adverse effects were stronger for business students than for non-business students.
Practical implications
The authors recommend that government and academia collaborate to make crucial management decisions that encourage a sustainable entrepreneurship culture, such as revising the academic curriculum and supporting the inclusion of public–private sector initiatives.
Originality/value
This study contributes to and extends previous findings on the positive nexus between an individual's sustainability orientation and entrepreneurial intentions by theorizing the perceived attributes of the green market as a mediating process for translating sustainability beliefs into entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the adverse moderating effect of the field of study adds nuance to previous knowledge on the role of education in determining entrepreneurial intentions.
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Due to environmental and health awareness, there are a number of green startups increasing day by day and consumers want to use organic products over conventional products. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to environmental and health awareness, there are a number of green startups increasing day by day and consumers want to use organic products over conventional products. The green enterprise faces unique challenges and opportunities in attracting the right investors, organization growth and their performance. The purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between green entrepreneurship (GE) and different leadership styles (LS) and their association with organizational growth (OG).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a methodology based on multiple independent variables and one dependent variable i.e. multiple regression analysis. A numerical analysis of the Indian organization is presented to demonstrate the use of the proposed method.
Findings
The findings indicate that different LSs (charismatic, transformational, visionary and servant leadership) feature an influence on entrepreneurial activity. The result of the study also found that GE and LS have a positive effect on OG.
Research limitations/implications
This research will help the industry reflect on the style of leadership and attempt to introduce a new style of leadership that supports and is suitable for the green organization’s growth.
Originality/value
The study identified diverse LSs that specifically plays an important role in green entrepreneurship organizations. Additionally, investigate the relationship between OG and GE.
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Jodyanne Kirkwood and Sara Walton
Ecopreneurs are those entrepreneurs who start for‐profit businesses with strong underlying green values and who sell green products or services. This is an emerging field where…
Abstract
Purpose
Ecopreneurs are those entrepreneurs who start for‐profit businesses with strong underlying green values and who sell green products or services. This is an emerging field where research is still in its infancy. Research has been called for to understand the factors that motivate these ecopreneurs to start businesses – and that is the focus of this study. The aim of this paper is to compare the findings with results of extant literature on entrepreneurial motivations.
Design/methodology/approach
This study comprises 14 in‐depth case studies of ecopreneurial companies in New Zealand in 2008. Participants were interviewed in a face‐to‐face, semi‐structured format. In total, 88 secondary sources such as media reports, industry statistics, and information from company web sites were also collected.
Findings
Ecopreneurs were motivated by five factors: their green values; earning a living; passion; being their own boss; and seeing a gap in the market. Ecopreneurs appear to have quite similar motivations to entrepreneurs in general, aside from their green motivations. They had lower level financial motivations than have been found in prior research on entrepreneurs. The ecopreneurs were primarily pulled into entrepreneurship, which bodes well for their ongoing success. The paper presents a number of contributions to both the ecopreneurship and entrepreneurship literatures.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample is a potential limitation and the country context may also influence the findings.
Originality/value
This is one of the largest samples of ecopreneurs to date. Given the emerging nature of the field of ecopreneurship, this study's conclusions require further research and testing. A total of 11 such suggestions for future research are made.
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Erik Melin and Johan Gaddefors
The purpose of this article is to explore how agency is distributed between human actors and nonhuman elements in entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore how agency is distributed between human actors and nonhuman elements in entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
It is based on an inductive longitudinal case study of a garden in a rural community in northern Sweden. The methodology includes an ethnography of the garden, spanning the course of 16 years, and a careful investigation of the entrepreneurial processes contained within it.
Findings
This article identifies and describes different practices to explain how agency is distributed between human actors and nonhuman elements in the garden's context. Three different practices were identified and discussed, namely “calling”, “resisting”, and “provoking”.
Originality/value
Agency/structure constitutes a longstanding conundrum in entrepreneurship and context. This study contributes to the on-going debate on context in entrepreneurship, and introduces a posthumanist perspective—particularly that of distributed agency—to theorising in entrepreneurship. Rather than focussing on a human (hero)-driven change process, induced through the exploitation of material objects, this novel perspective views entrepreneurship as both a human and a nonhuman venture, occurring through interactions located in particular places and times. Coming from the agency/structure dichotomy, this article reaches out for elements traditionally established on the structure side, distributing them to the agency side of the dichotomy. As such, it contributes to an understanding of the agency of nonhuman elements, and how they direct entrepreneurship in context. This theoretical development prepares entrepreneurship theories to be better able to engage with nonhuman elements and provides example solutions for the ongoing climate crisis.
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Vincent Yu, Hsiu‐I Ting and Yen‐Chun Jim Wu
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to explore whether a linkage between environmental effects and financial performance exists; and second, to investigate whether firms…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to explore whether a linkage between environmental effects and financial performance exists; and second, to investigate whether firms displaying more environmental effort show a more significantly positive relationship between environmental performance and financial performance than those displaying less green effort.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts correlation analysis of a sample comprising of 51 European companies from 14 industries across 15 countries to investigate the possible relationship between firm environmental performance (including three measures: sustainable value, sustainable value margin, and return to cost ratio) and financial performance.
Findings
The paper does not find a positive relationship between firm environmental performance and financial performance. Both the Pearson correlations and Spearman's rho are statistically insignificant for both the full sample and the carbon‐intensive sectors. When the lag effect on firm financial performance is considered, the result remains the same. The result suggests that corporate good guys in Europe do not necessarily reap the rewards of their green effort.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may investigate the relationship between firm environmental efforts and financial performance across industries with different technologies and product life cycles, or industries with similar pollutions/emissions or usage pattern of natural resources, such as the petroleum industry and the transportation industry.
Practical implications
Although it was not possible to find a positive association between environmental performance and financial performance, still, being perceived as a green company may improve a company's image and reputation, thus attracting more talented workers and green‐conscious customers.
Originality/value
The paper provides a new perspective on the relationship between firm environmental performance and financial performance in monetary terms by taking a broader view at the environmental outcomes. While past studies only measure firm environmental performance based on damaging impacts to the environment, the research also considers the efficiency of resource use by the firm.
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Despite the increasing popularity of entrepreneurship among students in colleges and university, there is a surprising scarcity of theoretical or empirical research on this topic…
Abstract
Despite the increasing popularity of entrepreneurship among students in colleges and university, there is a surprising scarcity of theoretical or empirical research on this topic. In this article, we define the concept of student entrepreneurship, delineate its domain, and demarcate its boundaries. We propose a preliminary typology of student entrepreneurship rooted in the works of three leading economists from the Austrian School of Economics: Joseph Schumpeter, Israel Kirzner, and Ludwig Lachmann. We also identify and discuss important challenges associated with the practice of student entrepreneurship. The article concludes by advancing a future research agenda for the study of student entrepreneurship.
Frances M. Amatucci, Nelson Pizarro and Jay Friedlander
This article proposes that sustainability represents a paradigmatic shift from traditional perspectives in entrepreneurship education. This “call to action” argues that it is…
Abstract
This article proposes that sustainability represents a paradigmatic shift from traditional perspectives in entrepreneurship education. This “call to action” argues that it is imperative for entrepreneurship scholars and practitioners to add sustainability to academic curricula and consulting support activities. The evolutionary development of entrepreneurship from the traditional profit-oriented perspective to sustainable entrepreneurship is described. A case study of an academic institution, which has successfully incorporated sustainability principles into its curriculum, is provided.This article is among the first that details the importance of a paradigmatic shift because “business as usual” is no longer effective in the twenty-first century.
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