Aron Perenyi

The perceptions of Australian senior entrepreneurs on the drivers of their entrepreneurial activity

Purpose n n n n nWhy is self-employment an attractive option for certain seniors and what drives seniors into business start-ups? In this study, the motivations and preferences of senior entrepreneurs in Australia, to become self-employed, by means of business start-ups, are explored. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical basis for policy implications. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nA mixed methods study is conducted. Members of the National Senior’s Association in Australia were interviewed and surveyed. The semi-structured interviews identified the key factors influencing senior entrepreneurs in relation to self-employment and entrepreneurial choices at a later career stage. The survey collected information on intentionality, motivation, skills, opportunities, success, satisfaction, participation, barriers, benefits, education and training, and perceptions of policy support for senior entrepreneurs. n n n n nFindings n n n n nRespondents gave an account of the prevalence of pull factors motivating their choice of an entrepreneurial career. Multivariate statistical analysis of survey responses showed that senior entrepreneurs are more driven by opportunity than necessity and are primarily internally motivated. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nResults of this study suggest a weak link between motivation by others and the act of start-up, but this may also imply that those seniors who are more likely to become entrepreneurs are more likely to ignore the impulses from their social context. This requires further investigation to ensure a robust identification of drivers and an elimination of contextual effects. Further research is suggested to compose a relevant model structure in different contexts and a representative sample to confirm the model outcomes. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis is the first mixed methods study of the antecedents of senior entrepreneurs’ start-up intentions in Australia. The study also uses entrepreneurial activity as opposed to intention as its dependent variable, which allows for a more accurate evaluation of antecedents to the senior entrepreneurship phenomenon.

Are theories applicable across different contexts? A cross-national comparative analysis through the lens of firm life-cycle theory in the ICT sector

It is currently common practice in social and business research, to lift concepts and theories from one country context—and extending the validity of the results—using them in another. This paper discusses the question relating to such generalisability in the context of global, innovative industries. Statistical methods are applied to compare results of a quantitative investigation of firm life-cycle theory between two developed countries. Such comparison implemented with statistical rigour on a quantitative basis is not common, and difficult to execute. Results show that even though life-cycle theory has been found meaningful and valid on both country-specific populations, the quantitative comparison of these results has highlighted a substantial amount of statistically significant differences. This leads to the conclusion that extension of social theory between various country contexts needs to consider a variety of contextual parameters, cautioning computer scientists offering solutions to various problems around the world coming from their own, unique, country-specific perspectives to keep an open mind.

Shared leadership as a vehicle to healthy service eco-systems: practical or fanciful?

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a shared leadership governance arrangement facilitates improved outcomes within a social marketing service eco-system. The research was focussed on gaining an understanding of participants involved in a cross-institutional partnership. The case study selected to facilitate this exploration was a social marketing project that aimed to support aboriginal households in Victoria with regard to their energy efficiency. It thus investigated the meso-level insights experienced by partners and those delivering the service.,Interview (yarn-based) data from 20 individuals involved in an energy efficiency programme were collected and analysed. Participants shared their experiences via informal “yarns” that were conducted in the first 12 months of the programme. This timing was chosen to gain their initial self-reflective perspectives and their interactions within the shared leadership model.,The results of the analysis identified six key themes that are interrelated and fundamental to building trust between all actors involved. The themes include relationship building, advocating rights, managing competing priorities, being community driven, using communication that translates and using community networks. Four of the themes were found to be components of relationship and trust building, which collectively lead to effectively accessing aboriginal communities. These findings extend current knowledge on the structures necessary to ensure healthy eco-systems are sustained throughout social marketing programmes.,The authors established that shared leadership is well aligned with service-dominant logic, and the findings of this study reveal that it can positively contribute to meso-level service eco-systems and thus improve social outcomes for recipients of social marketing efforts. The findings also underscore the need for social marketers to recognise the importance of having a culturally acceptable value co-creation model in social marketing programmes when working with Aboriginal Australians.,This paper is the first to explore and develop the authors’ understanding of the efficacy of adopting a shared leadership approach in social marketing. Shared leadership has the potential to be an institutional arrangement that facilitates service-dominant logic and the value co-creation process, influencing positive behaviour change at the micro level in aboriginal communities. Specifically, it is the first to identify that “advocating rights” is an important component for partners to adopt in cross-cultural collaborations when collectively running social marketing programmes.

The positive relationship between flipped and blended learning and student engagement, performance and satisfaction

Flipped and blended learning pedagogies are increasingly being adopted by institutions that see in these novel pedagogies, mechanisms that might contribute to improved student outcomes and, in the ...

Education agents as competitiveness enhancers of Australian universities by internationalisation facilitation

Objective: The objective of this article is to explore the role of education agents as drivers of competitiveness of Australian Universities by facilitating internationalisation. Researchxa0Designxa0&xa0Methods: The article presents an analysis of semi-structured interviews from two University international officers, an education officer with Victorian Government and an education agent. This set of primary data and a comprehensive literature review served as a stimulus for this investigation. Findings: It is evident that the agents play an extremely vital role in the internationalisation process and the four key themes, which are identified from the interviews are Market Knowledge, Network Facilitators, Financial Interest and Reliance and Trust factor. Implicationsxa0&xa0Recommendations: The article proposes several key concepts/themes, which could be used to frame future investigations into the role of education agents in the internationalisation of higher education. The higher education providers should not neglect the importance of the knowledge that the education agent may offer for recruiting international students or even to establish an offshore operation. Contributionxa0&xa0Valuexa0Added: The originality of this work lies in finding the various themes which are essential to be looked at by the higher education providers in order to further utilise the potential of education agents in the internationalisation process.

Russian Institutional Development: Challenges to inbound investments and implications for government policymakers

This paper sets out to contribute to the literature by investigating the institutional arrangements facing investors in Russia, the extent to which they had been reformed, and the resultant impact on the willingness of foreign-owned TNCs to commit inbound foreign direct investment (IFDI) to this high-risk transition economy. The degree to which institutional factors explain Russias persistent underperformance in terms of IFDI is assessed through the review of the academic literature and other documentary sources. Making use of the corruption perception index, ease of doing business, world governance indicators and index of economic freedom (IEF) data, we analyse the provenance of Russias IFDI-related institutional reforms since the late 1990s until the end of 2013. Given the international isolation of Russia after its annexation of the Crimea and the collapse of the oil price, the paper argues that in order to achieve a sustainable economic development, the Russian Government must implement substantial shifts in the design and functioning of its national institutions.