Bill O'Gorman

Entrepreneurs' Perceptions of Business Networks: Does Gender Matter?

This paper looks at perceptions of entrepreneurial networks and the gender differences in networking. Womens networks tend to be more limited and to focus on family and friends, whereas male entrepreneurs generally have wider networks. The results of the study indicate that female entrepreneurs have a significantly more positive attitude towards networking, especially once the business has been established. The main benefits of networks for both men and women are better business contacts, sharing knowledge, problem solving and social aspects. Female entrepreneurs also believe that networks can provide them with learning opportunities and enable them to develop management skills.

Gender differences in early group formation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish whether different gender groups develop in similar or dissimilar ways to conventional group formation patterns. Focussing primarily on Tuckmans model of group development, male, female and mixed gender learning networks (groups) of entrepreneurs were observed over a six month period, with the observations recorded and analysed, to establish whether different gender networks of business people adhere to Tuckmans model of group development in terms of early development and cohesion through the forming, storming and norming stages.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 100 entrepreneurs were recruited in Autumn 2009/Spring 2010 and allocated to three different gender networks, male, female and mixed, in Ireland and Wales (six networks in total), as part of the Sustainable Learning Networks Ireland Wales (SLNIW, for detailed information about SLNIW see www.slniw.com) INTERREG 4A funded project. The groups began networking in January 2010, observed by imp...

Local interpretation of national micro‐enterprise policy: To what extent has it impacted on local enterprise development?

Small businesses and micro‐enterprises provide more than 75 per cent of all private sector employment in most countries. In todays environment where large urban areas are more attractive to young people and multinational employers, micro‐enterprise support has become a very important element of both industrial and regional policy, especially in Ireland. However the development of support policies for small businesses is not new and has been evolving over the last 30 years, but up to the early 1990s no support structure policies existed for micro‐enterprises. This research involves an assessment of Irelands current government micro‐enterprise policies and their effects on entrepreneurs and the growth of their businesses at a local level. The research endeavours to establish if government policy in the micro‐business sector is meeting the objectives of government, if it is satisfying the requirements of the entrepreneurs, i.e. promoters of micro‐enterprises at local level, and to understand what are the effects of local interpretation of government policy on entrepreneurs and their businesses.

The role of action research in the development of learning networks for entrepreneurs

Developing sustainable learning networks for entrepreneurs is the core objective of the Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales (SLNIW) project. One research team drawn from the Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy at Waterford Institute of Technology and the School of Management and Business from Aberystwyth University has contributed to the understanding of how to create sustainable business learning networks for entrepreneurs. The research findings are attributed to action research by the conduction of two separate cycles in the forum of research projects. The first cycle, called Female Entrepreneurs in Ireland and Wales, produced findings that were reflected on and investigated further by the research team through the establishment of the second cycle named SLNIW. This paper discusses the two action research cycles through the action sets of planning, action, observing and reflecting and the contribution of the development of understanding and practice of networking for entrepreneurs through the production of guidelines for establishing sustainable learning networks.

Regional Sustainability, Innovation and Welfare Through an Adaptive Process Modell

Over the last 10 years or so the EU has supported many initiatives focused on enhancing regional competitiveness, regional innovation, and regional sustainability. Whilst a plethora of initiatives has been developed and presented, ongoing sustainability of regional innovation processes and regional innovation clusters still eludes us. A proposed solution is the Adaptive Model for Creating a RTD (Research and Technology Development) Investment Policy for Regions in Emerging and Developed Economies (CRIPREDE), which was developed as part of an EU FP6, Regions of Knowledge 2 co-funded project. The Adaptive Model was co-developed, and tested, in a highly interactive process, involving stakeholders and research organisations in six very different (political, cultural, economic) regions across the EU.

Developing self-facilitating learning networks for entrepreneurs: a guide to action

A longitudinal study conducted over a three-year period established six learning networks consisting of 105 entrepreneurs and SME owner/managers. The principal objective of the study was to uncover the critical elements that ensure networks operate effectively in order to advise and inform on practice for the creation of sustainable self-facilitated learning networks. The methodological approach adopted for this study was primarily direct participant observation. Findings provide a guide to action for the development of self-facilitated sustainable learning networks. This paper makes a significant contribution to practice providing knowledge on how to create sustainable learning networks thus having implications for entrepreneurs, government, policy-makers and academics interested in understanding how to effectively guide the development of sustainable learning networks for entrepreneurs to solve their own problems. This paper concludes with a discussion of theoretical and applied significance.

Book review: Elias G. Carayannis and Piero Formica (eds), Knowledge matters: Technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in innovation networks and knowledge clusters. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008; 267 pp.: 9781403998729, £58.00 (hbk)

of the role of clusters in the economic recovery of old industrial regions. The third chapter in this section (Chapter 13) by De Beule, Van den Bulcke and Zhang examines the reciprocal relationship between transnational corporations and clusters. The final chapter in the section re-examines the case against regional/cluster specialization by arguing for a more diversified economic base. The four chapters in the final section of the book represent uptodate case studies of clustering in service industries. The first chapter by Pandit, Cook (Gary) and Swann focuses on wholesale financial services production clusters, in which theory is tested against a large-scale empirical investigation in the City of London (Chapter 15). The second contribution in this section is a chapter by Andersson and Andersson on the film industry sub-sector, as part of a wider examination of clustering in the creative industries (Chapter 16). The third chapter by Cook (Gary) and Pandit focuses on TV broadcasting, which they use to reflect on a number of key issues in the economic geography literature (Chapter 17). Their evidence suggests that the nature of clustering in broadcasting in the UK is analogous to that more commonly recognized in Hollywood and typical of that claimed for the cultural industries more generally. The fourth chapter in this section, and final paper in the book, by Michael, deals with the application of the principles of clustering in tourism, making linkages with network theory (Chapter 18). This volume provides both depth and breadth on the basics of concept of industrial clustering. As such, it will be of interest to researchers, teachers and postgraduate students from a range of disciplines, including economic geography, regional science and entrepreneurship. The need for, and potential usefulness of, this volume for policy makers and practitioners was emphasized in the introduction to this review. It remains to be seen whether or not the knowledge base it contains has the influence on policy that it deserves.