Bala Mulloth

Driving technology innovation through social entrepreneurship at Prezi

Purpose – There has been a profound neglect in most of the literature dealing with social entrepreneurship on the relationship between social entrepreneurship and technological innovation. The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into that relationship by using the case of Prezi, a Budapest, Hungary-based mission-driven software company. Design/methodology/approach – The research approach used for this paper is qualitative in nature and uses the case study methodology. Evidence was based on interpretative/qualitative interviews and direct observations. Findings – Using the example of Prezi, the authors show that social entrepreneurial activities and projects could act as an important innovation source for technology-based industries. Originality/value – The authors use the case of Prezi and describe several of Prezi’s socially driven projects and show how they influence those involved with the company to continuously innovate and solve problems that have positive impact in the community as wel...

The interlinking of entrepreneurs, grassroots movements, public policy and hubs of innovation: The rise of cleantech in New York City

Although increasingly complex, modern innovation is still largely viewed through distinct sectoral lenses-e.g. large corporate RD Green Drinks NYC-a pure networking endeavor with no identifiable center (resembling a ldquomeet-uprdquo); and GREEEN.US-a fluid movement emanating from a university-based incubator and comprising diverse entrepreneurs, community activists, faculty, corporate executives and public officials. The lessons learned for Cleantech innovation and for modern innovation generally are then developed. Finally, Cleantech innovation is portrayed as a new form of innovation (emphasizing especially collaborative hubs of grassroots social entrepreneurship), and, thereby ultimately providing a basis for conceptualizing important aspects of overall modern innovation.

Building a Global Brand: The Case of Wipro

In this business case study, we describe the transformation of Wipro, a Bangalore-based information technology company. Founded in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited, Wipro is today the worlds largest independent R&D services provider and among the top three offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) service providers with over 490 clients, 53000 employees and 40 plus development centers across the globe. Wipros aim was to continue its transformation from a low cost provider of outsourced services to become a global information technology leader, delivering world-class solutions to its global customers through a process of fostering ongoing internal and external innovation while maintaining the cost advantage associated with being located in India. The case also describes the steps senior management at the firm took to enhance brand awareness, brand differentiation, and brand positioning, which were all playing important roles in the growth of the company. Teaching objectives of the case include (a) understanding the evolution on the Wipro brand, (b) developing strategic initiatives to move up the value chain, (c) enabling intellectual leadership and building a global outlook within a large services firm, and (d) managing the challenges and opportunities of a technology-based global delivery model, combined with a multi-location strategy.

The Role of Universities in Encouraging Growth of Technology-Based New Ventures

In addition to typical university focus activities such as the education of students, dissemination of faculty research findings through publications, and partnerships with corporate firms and outreach, today, new venture creation has also gained substantial interest. In fact, universities worldwide are increasingly viewed as venues for spurring entrepreneurship and economic development. This conceptual paper seeks to explore the types of capabilities that universities could develop and enhance to support the growth of technology-based new ventures. Using an entrepreneurial competence framework that builds on insights from the academic entrepreneurship literature, the paper identifies and discusses some of the key factors to be considered for the development of these new ventures. The paper concludes with specific set of recommendations on how universities could encourage the growth of technology-based new ventures.

The Role of Triple-Helix Collaboration in the Development of Cleantech Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned From the Øresund and Moscow Regions

This study analyzes the role of triple-helix collaboration in two regions—Oresund, the Danish-Swedish cross-border region, and the Moscow region. We focus on the role of the university in stimulating clean technology (cleantech) entrepreneurship. Implementation of cleantech usually assumes an improvement of environmental performance at a lower cost, higher productivity and responsible use of natural resources which could result in more sustainable development of the region. Our comparative research is based on more than 30 interviews and communications conducted between February 2012 and February 2015 with stakeholders from academia and public and private sectors in the regions. The results show that Oresund and Moscow regional innovation stystems indeed possess proven capacities for the development of research-based innovations, particularly the cleantech ones. At the same time there are no strong interconnections between university-born innovations and entrepreneurial activities in the Oresund and Moscow regions. The lack of entrepreneurial capacity and culture seems to be a common barrier for triple-helix collaboration to work effectively in both regions. Our findings reveal that in order for innovations in cleantech to be successfully implemented, the efforts of entrepreneurs become essential for promotion of knowledge spillover from research institutes and “locked” systems into business environments in order to successfully implement innovations in cleantech. Furthermore, encouraging research-based innovations related to social sciences significantly extends the possibility of building robust regional innovation systems.