Selected DD for Critique

8/14/2019 Selected DD for Critique

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Dynamic capabilities and the Growth of Technology basedNew Ventures (2006)Florin Thomas Strehle

Leiden University.

Contribution to Theory

This dissertation contributes to theory in two different forms. First, Icontribute to the concept of dynamic capabilities. Although acceptedas important, the framework has been subject to various points ofcritique. Different scholars (e.g., Henderson and Cockburn 1994; Foss1999; Williamson 1999; Priem and Butler 2001) argue that theframework is tautological, non-operational, theoretically vague, andlacks empirical grounding (Eisenhardt and Martin 2000; Barney 2001;

Blum 2004). Although many scholars refer to the concept forempirical research, most of them use it rather to establish the contextthan to underpin the concept directly. However, some empirical work(e.g., Henderson and Cockburn 1994; Makadok 1999) constitutes veryconcrete tests of the framework (Barney 2001).

In this dissertation, I operationalise the concept of dynamiccapabilities to apply it to the growth processes of entrepreneurialfirms. First, I identify the different capabilities that are required in astart-up company and thus address the criticism that the concept isnon-operational. In addition, I contribute to the theory by describingthe evolution of dynamic capabilities in entrepreneurial ventures.Finally, I enrich the strategic management framework by providingempirical grounding through the multi-method, multi-case fieldresearch described in the previous chapter.

The second major contribution to theory focuses on the field ofentrepreneurship research. By applying the concept of dynamiccapabilities, I develop a framework that allows the tracking of thegrowth processes of technology-based new ventures over time. Iidentify differences in the growth processes of start-up companiesand link these characteristics to performance.

Contribution to Practice

The practical contribution of this dissertation addresses entrepreneursas well as investors, universities, incubators, venture coaches, andconsultants. By identifying the different capabilities that are neededto grow a technology-based new venture, business founders realisewhich capabilities they have to develop to be successful asentrepreneurs. Management teams could either invest in learning todevelop the required knowledge or hire additional managers to

complete the team and thus close the skill gaps. In addition, trainingcould be another means of skill development.


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The contribution to entrepreneurial education at universities goes inthe same direction. The curriculum and the teaching material couldbe adapted to the respective needs of business founders andmanagement teams. The advantages of this study for investors,consultants, coaches, and incubators are similar. All these entities

support entrepreneurs with their start-up companies and couldbenefit from this dissertation because they could

Summary:

TheoryWhat Why How

To operationalize theconcept of Dynamiccapabilities and applyit to the growthprocess of Entrepreneurial firms

To address the issuethat the concept isnon-operational

By identifying thedifferent capabilitiesthat are required in astart-up company

Describe theevolution of Dynamiccapabilities in anEntrepreneurial Firm

To understand theprocess better in aStart-up

Multi-case field study

Provide an empiricalbasis forunderstandingDynamic capabilities

Testing the theory Multi-method , Multi-case study

Practice

What For whom How Why The differentdynamiccapabilitiesrequired to growa technologybased start-up

Entrepreneurs,BusinessFounders,Investors

identifying thedifferentcapabilities thatare needed togrow atechnology-basednew venture

For businesssuccess

How type of

actions areneeded to help

Venture

Coaches,Consultants

By acquiring new

skills or closingthe skill gaps

Performance


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start-up to takeadvantage ofDynamiccapabilitiesEntrepreneurshi

p Education

Universities Dissemination of

new knowledge

Increasing start-

up rate.

Entrepreneurial strategy-making mode and performance: Astudy of the newspaper industry (2009)

Aldo Van Weezal

Jonkoping International Business school, 2007

Contributions to theory

This study makes several contributions to the fields of strategicmanagement, corporate entrepreneurship, and media management.First, the relationship between an entrepreneurial strategy-makingmode and performance is still being explored to better understandhow they relate to each other under different circumstances. Thisresearch will test the relationship in the context of a mature industry

undergoing profound changes to its business model, as it is the caseof the newspaper industry. The context considers environmental andorganisational dimensions, which together will provide a richerunderstanding of the phenomenon. Second, the entrepreneurialstrategy-making mode is understood in this study as a series ofdimensions that guide decision-making at the strategic level of thefirm. This study will rely on several measures of managers attitudes,some of them not tested yet according to the extant literature. Thisaddition allows to better model a firms entrepreneurial behaviour.Third, the testing of the relationship between entrepreneurial strategy

making and performance has been done mainly through contingencymodels, i.e. two-way interactions. Guth and Ginsberg (1990) suggest


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that empirical research is needed on the combined effects ofstrategy, organisational structure, processes and core values/beliefson corporate entrepreneurship. In the same vein, Short, Payne andKetchen (2008) claim that configurational research still has much tocontribute to entrepreneurship, and in particular the concepts of

entrepreneurial orientation. This study will contribute to the stream ofresearch that uses a configurational model by means of the analysisof three-way interactions. Dess, Lumpkin, and Covin (1997) andWiklund and Shepherd (2005) are among them. While the formercentres its analysis on the interplay among entrepreneurial strategymaking, strategies and environment, the latter focuses onentrepreneurial orientation, access to capital and environmentaldynamism in a sample of small businesses. Fourth, this studyexplores the dimensions of an entrepreneurial strategymaking modeand how they are shaped in the context of newspapers by analysingthree case studies that deepen our understanding of the complexitiesof the interrelations among these dimensions, the changes in thestructure of the organisation, the competitive environment, and thefirms leaders. Fifth, the focus of this study is the entrepreneurialbehaviour that enables strategic renewal. Although the literaturerecognises strategic renewal as an important form of corporateentrepreneurship (Covin and Miles, 1999; Kuratko and Audretsch,2009), empirical studies examining their impact on performance arescarce. This piece of research helps reaching a better understandingof the phenomenon by drawing on quantitative and qualitative data.Finally, the literature on media management has barely developed an

understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship in media companies.This study will help to bring the discussion forward, highlighting theimportance of entrepreneurial behaviour on a changing medialandscape. In particular, this study will deepen our understanding ofthe organisational changes taking place in newspapers and theirimpact on performance. Given these reasons, some aspects of theresults of this study may also be relevant to other mature industriesfacing uncertain future because of technological and market changeswhich the industrys traditional strategy modes cannot handle.

Contributions to methodology

The mixed method approach employed in this study is unusual inmanagement research. While most published works adhere to eitherthe quantitative or qualitative method, I combine both in a sequentialdesign. Although this type of research method usually requires moreresources to be completed not only in financial terms but also intime it offers the possibility to address the research questions froma different angle thus contributing to strength conclusions. Theweaknesses of each method may to a certain extent be overcome byusing two distinct methods in one research. Thus, once hypotheseshave been tested in the quantitative part, the case studies may beparticularly useful to create knowledge that is relevant for managers(Gibbert, Ruigrok and Wicki, 2008). Furthermore, case studies have


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been advised for inquiring on corporate entrepreneurial activities inorder to avoid researchers to make overly simplistic assumptions(Dess, Lumpkin and McGee, 1999).

Contributions to practitioners

Management research should also be of interest to practitioners. Thisstudy may help newspaper managers who want to understand how anentrepreneurial attitude in strategy-making is beneficial to them andunder what circumstances. Traditionally, managers seeentrepreneurship as a concept related to nascent ventures and self-employment. However, corporate entrepreneurship is beingdeveloped to connect the ideas of entrepreneurship with theparticularities of larger companies. On the one hand, this study willidentify those characteristics of an entrepreneurial behaviour thatbetter serve to improve the performance of established firms. On theother hand, the models that will be explored in this study theconfigurational models- will shed light on the particularities ofdifferent contexts revealing the impact of environmental andstructural variables on the relationship between strategy andperformance. Because this study focuses on the newspaper industry,the structural variables are tailored to measure some of the maintransformations that newspapers are suffering from nowadays. Theresults, thus, will be of interest to those who are responsible forchange because these changes are often guided only by intuition andthe experience of others. In particular, the qualitative analysis of

three case studies will shed light on the practicalities ofentrepreneurial behaviour in different contexts.

Theory

What Why How

The relationship To explore new By testing the


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between anentrepreneurialstrategy-makingmode andperformance

relationship in a newcontext( thenewspaper industry)

relationship in thecontext of a matureindustry undergoingprofound changes toits business model

The process of entrepreneurialdecision making.

To identify measureswhich has not beenexplored in theliterature

Using measures ofmanagers attitudes,some of them nottested yet accordingto the extantliterature

A new perspective tostrategy makingusing a three wayconfigurationalmodel.

Extant research usesmainly Contingencyapproach

Using three additionalconstructs( EntrepreneurialOrientation, access tocapital andenvironmentaldynamism)

MethodologyWhat Why How

Using multi-methodresearchmethodology

Most research usesonly one method-either quantitative or

Qualitative

First usingquantatitive methodsfollowed by

qualitative casestudies to understandthe richness anduniqueness of thephenomenon

Practice

What For whom How Why The importanceofEntrepreneurialattitude instrategymaking.

Managersin theNewspaperIndustry

By informingabout the bestpractices, whichare not based onintuition orexperience.

To increaseperformance


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Innovations in New Firms: Examining the role of knowledgeand growth willingness

Alexander MckalvieJonkoping International Business school , 2007

Intended contributions

With the purpose of the research clarified, I now turn to the specificintended ontributions of my work. As for any academic researchstudy, there should be a number of contributions made to the salientliterature. In addition, for research within Business Administration, itis also important to have implications for practitioners; this providessome benefit to the managers who take their time to participate inthe research, but also implies that there are lessons learned that canincrease the performance of firms.

Contribution to theory

This dissertation contributes to the academic literature in two mainways. The first is that I investigate the role of knowledge-based

capabilities, growth willingness and innovation in new firms. This isimportant for two reasons. To begin with, this area is generallyunderstudied, despite the fact that the underlying issues are of primeinterest to scholars from a variety of fields and to practitioners.Research has shown that innovation is a precondition for new firmgrowth (e.g. Brderl & Preisendorfer, 2000). Yet there are only a fewstudies that examine these issues. Lynskey (2004) studied thecharacteristics of Japanese start-ups and their innovative activity.Heirman and Clarysse (2004) looked at intangible resources andinnovation speed in new firms, while Deeds, DeCarolis and Coombs(1999) considered the geographic location and publishing records as

links to innovation. Lee, Lee and Pennings (2001) remain the mainstudy that I have found where the focus was on capabilities. However,they looked at new venture performance, not innovation. Therefore,we have limited knowledge of these issues in new firms. Trying tounderstand the internal factors and behaviours of new firms and theirsubsequent outcomes on innovation are important for comprehendingnew firms growth and performance. Studying new firms also providesthe opportunity to test the boundary conditions of existing theory. As Inoted earlier, the vast majority of studies looking at knowledge,capabilities and innovation have focused on large, established firms. These studies subsequently exclude many of most relevantcharacteristics of new firms. Of prime interest is the effect of growthwillingness on capabilities and innovation. However, other internal


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issues, such as age, size, ownership, and perceived external taskenvironments (i.e. market and technological dynamism), alsofluctuate greatly among new firms. Covin and Covin (1990) observethat, the simple fact that researchers study new ventures impliesthat age effects can be significant (p. 39). As a whole, taking into

consideration the distinctive issues of new firms, which I do, allows forincreased testing of the viability of our existing theories ofentrepreneurial behaviour, especially in dynamic markets. The secondcontribution that I make is that I empirically unpack the appropriateconcepts involved in the literature on knowledge-based capabilitiesand innovation. This contribution is based upon three foundationalcontributions. Firstly, I define and empirically measure knowledgeacquisition, knowledge assimilation, knowledge transformation, andknowledge exploitation and their effects on innovation. Hereto fewempirical studies capture these firm-level actions and their effect oninnovation in a manner that allows for probability analysis. This studymay therefore be seen as attempting to open the black box ofcapabilities and innovation with a large-scale quantitative study. Thisimplies testing how well our existing theories work. Secondly, Iexamine the inter-relationships between knowledge-basedcapabilities. Instead of assuming that the knowledge capabilitiesmerely have direct impacts on innovation, I try to embrace the factthat there may be a sequential ordering to this. Zahra and Georges(2002) conceptual article provides input into the notion that there is aprocess involved. I test this. Thirdly, I make a distinction betweenmarket and technological knowledge within this process. These are

conceptually different. There has been a tendency to prioritise one ofthe approaches depending on the research traditions of researchers(e.g. Marketing researchers on market knowledge, technologymanagement researchers on technological knowledge). By(consciously or unconsciously) looking at only one type of knowledge,the inherent differences between the two types are ignored. The fewstudies that do take both of these into empirical consideration arefrequently qualitative in nature (e.g. Danneels, 2002) and thereforeare devoid of statistical estimations. My contribution to the literatureon knowledge-based capabilities and innovation is aided by my choiceof studying new firms. A number of researchers have suggested

studying capabilities in new ventures as they often provide theopportunity to gather information from someone with full knowledgeof the firm, and it is therefore easier to assess relationships betweenvariables within these firms (Sorensen & Stuart, 2000; Autio, Sapienza& Almeida, 2000). For instance, the inherent size and complexity ofestablished firms is removed; new firms are much simpler to study,relatively speaking (Kazanjian & Rao, 1999). This should allow for acloser understanding and observation of the capabilities at work.Spender and Grant (1996) note that the variables which are mosttheoretically interesting are those which are least identifiable andmeasurable (p. 8) Studying new firms simplifies part of this difficulty.Furthermore, some researchers have argued that innovation in newfirms should be studied as new firms are less hindered by such


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restrictive issues as incumbent inertia, core rigidities, andcompetence-destroying innovation (e.g. Katila & Shane, 2005,Leonard-Barton, 1992). In sum, this study contributes both increasedtheoretical understanding of new firms but also a different lensthrough which to examine important but difficult to capture empirical

issues.

Contribution to practice

There are naturally implications of this research to managers andother practitioners. The first and primary contribution is the value inclarifying the differential effects of the various knowledge-basedcapabilities on innovation. Of particular interest for managers is theeffect of the different types of knowledge acquisition andtransformation practices that take place within the firm. Often,managers are not familiar with the varying outcomes of certain firm-level activities and benefits of diverse sources of knowledge. Thefindings that I present provide managers with help in deciding whereand how they can invest their time and effort, assuming that theywant to innovate. Ethiraj, Kale, Krishnan and Singh (2005) argue thatall firms must invest in the increased usage of capabilities if the firmis going to survive. Thus knowing what types of capabilities facilitateinnovation is worthwhile. It is important to bring these effects to lightfor firms whose intention is to innovate and grow. I also tailor theseimplications to managers of new firms. This is an important distinctionas much normative advice is dedicated to managers of large,

established firms. I have already argued that new and primarily smallfirms may not be subject to many of the same issues as their moreestablished counterparts. This contribution may also be extended toventure capitalists, parent companies and others who would beinterested in seeing new firms continue to flourish and be innovative.For owners, identifying factors that can lead to the increasedcapability of the firm to innovative may allow the firm to deliberatelyacquire or develop these capabilities. That is, the findings may helpowners with a description of activities that the firm should engage inorder to increase their internal capabilities and external output. Forpolicy makers, the appropriate support mechanisms and opportunities

can be put into place within society to help new firms refine thenecessary capabilities. To note is that I am chiefly and foremostinterested in the internal activities of the firm. Therefore, I do notnecessarily intend or aspire to provide a contribution as to howspecific policy makers can develop legislation or regulations for howsociety can increase the ability of firms to innovate.

RESOURCES, INDUSTRY MEMBERSHIP, AND FIRMPERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF CAPABILITY


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CONFIGURATIONS IN VALUE CREATION FOR IPO-STAGE

NEW VENTURESTim R Holcomb

Mays School of Business

Texas A & M University , United States

Abstract

A widely held belief is that resource constraints and industry conditions can threaten the

performance of entrepreneurial ventures. While previous research links resources to different

performance outcomes, no research has explored the performance implications of resource use,

especially for new ventures. Building from resource-based theory and contingency theory, we

examine indirect (through capability formation/use) effects that occur within the black box

between resources and performance for a sample of entrepreneurial firms undertaking an IPO.

Further, we extend theory in an entrepreneurial context to explain how underlying routines

allow resources to be managed for greater value across different industriesconditions thatmake resources valuable in some contexts and not in others.

Expected Contribution.

1. Why resources alone may not be valuable for performance.

2. How routines can be used to enhance the value of organizational resources .

Innovation in New Firms: Examining the role of knowledge and

growth willingness

By

ALEXANDER McKELVIE

Jonkoping International Business School, 2007

Executive Summary

Innovation is an important means of competition and growth for newfirms, especially in industries where customer demands and


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technology are fast changing. Surprisingly, little is known about hownew firms acquire and use knowledge in the pursuit of innovation.Previous research has prioritised large, established firms, andtherefore overlooked many central issues for new firms, such as theirwillingness to grow. In addition, the methods employed in previous

research (e.g. case studies or proxy measures for key concepts) donot truly capture the in-depth behaviours underlying how firmsacquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit their knowledge. Thisdissertation attempts to fill these research gaps by examining the roleof knowledge and growth willingness on innovation using alongitudinal study of over 300 new firms in the Swedish TIME sector(Telecom, IT, Media, and Entertainment). The results indicate that theinnovation of new firms is largely explained by the firms knowledge-based capabilities and growth willingness. The detailed empiricalfindings also help to open up the black box relationships amongdifferent capabilities and types of knowledge (e.g. market andtechnological) in order to understand how these factors work togetherto increase innovation. Furthermore, the results show that growthwillingness and the technological dynamism of the industry work ascausal factors in the deployment of capabilities. This has implicationsas to intentionality in the development of capabilities and absorptivecapacity in new firms. In sum, this dissertation provides novel insightsinto the value creation activities of new firms and to researchconcerning knowledge, capabilities, absorptive capacity andEntrepreneurship.

Intended Contribution

To fill a research gap in the area of the role of knowledge andknowledge acquisition on Growth of New Firms.

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