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Article
Publication date: 3 February 2020

Tina M. Kruger, Nicholas McCreary, Brandon L. Verhoff, Virgil Sheets, James H. Speer and Stephen P. Aldrich

The purpose of this study was to explore college students’ understanding of sustainability and, specifically, the extent to which students see social justice as being integral to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore college students’ understanding of sustainability and, specifically, the extent to which students see social justice as being integral to sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

Between fall 2015 and 2017, an online survey study was deployed to students at a Midwestern University in the USA to assess attitudes and concerns about environmental issues and awareness of the university’s activities related to these issues. This analysis included ten assessment items from a larger study, of which 1,929 participants were included in the final sample. A chi-square goodness-of-fit and variable cluster analysis were performed on the included items.

Findings

Items such as “recycling,” “economic viability” and “fair treatment of all” were identified as integral to the concept of sustainability, while items such as “growing organic vegetables” and “reducing meat consumption” had high levels of “not applicable” and “don’t know” responses, with differences arising across gender and class standing. Social justice-related items were seen as more distally connected to sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by a non-random sample of students.

Practical implications

College students tend not to recognize the integral nature of social justice or the relevance of food to sustainability, providing an opportunity for universities to better prepare their students for a sustainable future.

Social implications

Universities might adopt policies and curricula that address these areas of ignorance.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to identify specific areas of college students’ lack of understanding about sustainability.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 July 2020

James Hardy Speer, Virgil Sheets, Tina M. Kruger, Stephen Peter Aldrich and Nicholas McCreary

The purpose of this study is to assess environmental concern at a Midwest university, analyze trends in concern over time and determine the effect of the development of a campus…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess environmental concern at a Midwest university, analyze trends in concern over time and determine the effect of the development of a campus sustainability office.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-question survey was administered through peer-to-peer recruitment from an undergraduate environmental science class each fall from 2010–2017. This exercise was originally developed as a pedagogical exercise on the scientific method.

Findings

Over eight years, incoming freshmen have expressed more concern that humans are harming the environment and students also express greater concern as they progress through college.

Research limitations/implications

The first year of the survey (2010) and the year that the lead PI was on sabbatical (2014) saw reduced response rates (∼1%–3% of the student population) compared to 6%–9% of the student population in other years.

Practical implications

Responses to all of the questions in the survey provide guidance for university administrations and sustainability offices about the concerns of the campus community, awareness about campus efforts and support for sustainability activities on campus.

Originality/value

Few studies have been published on students’ perspectives on environmental concern and sustainability activities on university campuses. These data provide an overview of environmental concern, perceived government action and empowerment to action over an eight-year period. This approach is recommended as a technique to teach the scientific method in introductory classes and as a means to collect data about student perspectives on sustainability.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Brian McKenzie

Oral history collections can offer a wealth of detailed information for entrepreneurship researchers. The stories that entrepreneurs tell provide researchers with insight into…

1222

Abstract

Oral history collections can offer a wealth of detailed information for entrepreneurship researchers. The stories that entrepreneurs tell provide researchers with insight into both perspective and into substantive issues of entrepreneurial behavior. The life stories of entrepreneurs offer students of entrepreneurship insight into both the explicit and the tacit knowledge of working entrepreneurs.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 October 2018

Golshan Javadian, Tina R. Opie and Salvatore Parise

One key determinant of entrepreneurial success is entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), defined as an individual’s confidence in his or her ability to perform entrepreneurial…

2470

Abstract

Purpose

One key determinant of entrepreneurial success is entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), defined as an individual’s confidence in his or her ability to perform entrepreneurial tasks. Whereas previous research has examined how individual and business factors influence ESE, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of entrepreneurs’ social networks upon ESE. The paper examines such relationships for black and white entrepreneurs.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 110 black and white entrepreneurs responded to a survey measuring ESE and critical constructs representing elements of the quality of entrepreneurs’ networks: emotional carrying capacity (ECC) and network ethnic diversity.

Findings

The authors found significant, positive relationships between both ECC and network ethnic diversity on ESE for white entrepreneurs but only found a significant positive relationship between ECC and ESE for black entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

While research is clear about the role that ESE plays in entrepreneurial activities, few studies have focused on the factors that improve ESE. In the present work, the authors study the role of context by examining how entrepreneurs’ social networks influence ESE. The authors examine such influences for both white and black entrepreneurs to better understand the implications of ethnicity.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 November 2008

Stephen K. Callaway

Two hot topics today in the popular press as well as academic literature are international entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship. These topics challenge two traditional…

1071

Abstract

Two hot topics today in the popular press as well as academic literature are international entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship. These topics challenge two traditional notions within those fields: the difficulty of established corporations to be entrepreneurial and the difficulty of entrepreneurs to go global. The current study introduces the concept global corporate ventures, which merges the concepts internal corporate ventures and “born globals.” This concept is developed and illustrated by two examples of global corporate ventures, ING Direct and HSBC Direct, two financial services e‐commerce ventures that have been launched on a global scale.

Details

Multinational Business Review, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1525-383X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2005

Stephen Emmitt

This paper seeks to investigate the theoretical and practical links between teaching and research in a teaching led university in the UK. Focus is on the new architectural…

378

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate the theoretical and practical links between teaching and research in a teaching led university in the UK. Focus is on the new architectural technology undergraduate programmes that, in theory at least, provide an opportunity to integrate activities. An extensive literature review demonstrated the benefit to both students and academic staff of incorporating research into the curriculum. The research used was centered on an innovative Level 3 undergraduate module, which was monitored for 48 months. The module was designed with the aim of encouraging architectural technology students to approach architectural detailing from first principles within an environmentally responsible framework. The philosophy behind the module was to incorporate lecturers’ research into the module, both to enhance the student experience and to narrow the gap between research and teaching. The module also sought to form a subject integrating role, bringing together management, technology and design via project work. A brief overview of the development of the module and the teaching and learning strategy is provided before looking at delivery and evolution of the module. The students’ evaluation of the module, via a questionnaire survey, is then reviewed and issues for further consideration highlighted. A number of observations are made relating to the integration of knowledge, which have implications for all contributors to construction education.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Charles F. Abel

While mainstream organization theory has contributed to making organizations a productive part of society, they have simultaneously contributed to the creation of a “dark side” of…

Abstract

While mainstream organization theory has contributed to making organizations a productive part of society, they have simultaneously contributed to the creation of a “dark side” of organizational existence that stifles the individual, frustrates the attainment of desired social ends and distorts many core values of democratic societies. Mainstream theory recognizes this “dark side,” but has been unsuccessful at suggesting how it might be ameliorated or avoided. The writings of Foucault, however, reveal not only how the “dark side” arises but also how it might be avoided so that organizations may develop and pursue interests in common with both society and the individual.

Details

International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1093-4537

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2021

Zonghui Li and Douglas Johansen

Drawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to examine how family involvement in migrant-founded small businesses gives rise to distinctive resources that help these…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to examine how family involvement in migrant-founded small businesses gives rise to distinctive resources that help these businesses survive.

Design/methodology/approach

Using microdata from the 2007 US survey of business owners (SBO), this study uses logit regression modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

Results show that small businesses founded by migrant entrepreneurs are less likely to survive and that family involvement weakens the negative relationship between founder migrant status and business survivability. In addition, the positive moderating effect associated with family involvement is further strengthened by the use of external/borrowing startup capital, thus migrant families founded small businesses with access to external capital have the highest probability of survival.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on both migrant entrepreneurship and family business. This paper finds family involvement in the business, interacting with the founder’s migrant status, tends to create distinctive resource endowments that help to compensate for the resource constraints associated with migrant entrepreneurs. Such resource endowments may take the form of high levels of solidarity among migrant family members and the spanning role of the migrant kinship networks extended from the country of origin to the country of residence.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 April 2021

Aliaksei Kazlou and Karl Wennberg

Economic integration of refugees remains a challenge for developed countries. Although refugees differ greatly from labor migrants in available resources and motivation toward…

1735

Abstract

Purpose

Economic integration of refugees remains a challenge for developed countries. Although refugees differ greatly from labor migrants in available resources and motivation toward self-employment, prevailing studies on minority and ethnic entrepreneurship tend to lump these different categories of migrants together. Based on theories of migrants’ economic embeddedness, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which family- and kinship-based resources affect self-employment duration among refugees and labor migrants.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on Cox regression models, this longitudinal study estimates the self-employment duration of 10,519 refugees and 2,503 labor migrants starting businesses in Sweden in the period 2006–2012.

Findings

Results reveal that while refugees are at a disadvantage to labor migrants in terms of self-employment duration, their higher level of family embeddedness in part helps them overcome these disadvantages. For refugees but not for labor migrants, co-location in an ethnic enclave also lowers the risk of them becoming unemployed after a spell in entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

This original paper provides empirical and theoretical contributions to research on migrants’ self-employment success. It also discusses contributions for research on entrepreneurs’ social embeddedness and refugees’ entrepreneurship.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2012

Stephen Dobson

The analogy of the city as an evolving system is an enduring one that is both universally acknowledged and greatly researched in equal measure. The purpose of this paper is to…

Abstract

Purpose

The analogy of the city as an evolving system is an enduring one that is both universally acknowledged and greatly researched in equal measure. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the potential for urban characterization studies, emerging from the fields of cultural heritage and landscape, to provide a rich source of data for exploring the characteristics of spatial adaptation and innovation over time.

Design/methodology/approach

An analysis of commercial organizational space in the city of Sheffield, UK is provided here as the subject of study which employs English Heritage's Historic Landscape Characterization dataset to explore temporal characteristics of commercial space within a broader context of change, at the city‐wide scale.

Findings

It is proposed here that to achieve culturally sustainable development against a context of urban “deterritorialization” and homogenization the very character and distinctiveness of innovation and change needs to be explicitly acknowledged. An evolutionary approach to organizational space is suggested here as a means to locate such adaptation and spatial change in “place”.

Originality/value

It is hoped that the approach presented may provide an important stage in thinking about the spatial relationships between business and society over time and particularly their interdependence within a city ecology. The scope is therefore to explore multi‐level evolutionary characteristics of socio‐cultural space, appreciating multi‐scale temporal change through a broad lens of Darwinism.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

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