Binod Sundararajan

Immigrant Capital and Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Objective: The main objective of this study is to define and operationalize the concept of immigrant capital, a key factor that differentiates immigrant from host country entrepreneurs in how they recognize and start new ventures. Research Design & Methods: A detailed analysis of contemporary immigrant entrepreneurship and opportunity recognition literature was carried out. Using grounded theory, we synthesized the outcomes from the analysis of eight Canadian and U.S. case studies of successful immigrant entrepreneurs with the key findings from the literature to define and develop a model of immigrant capital. Findings: Based on our grounded theory development process we show that the concept of immigrant capital as a distillate of human, cultural, economic and social capital that goes beyond expected opportunity recognition (OR) drivers like prior knowledge and prior experience to differentiate and enhance the immigrant entrepreneurs ability to recognize business opportunities compared to host country entrepreneurs. We found immigrant capital to be a consequence of being boundary spanners in host and home country networks. Implications & Recommendations: Understanding a unique resource like immigrant capital, will help immigrant as well as host country entrepreneurs further develop their opportunity recognition ability by bridging gaps and fulfilling the needs for both, immigrant and host country consumers. Contribution & Value Added: The main contribution is the theoretical development, identification and definition of the immigrant capital model and propositions that will articulate the factors that lead to the conceptualization and operationalization of immigrant capital. Furthermore, the immigrant capital model can serve host country entrepreneurs to develop cross-cultural networks and jump-start entrepreneurial activities in their home countries as well as learn how to expand their operations into global markets.

Mediated Discourse in Higher Ed Classrooms Using Text Messaging

Mediated communication can be thought of as a mediated discourse, involving the knowledge of language, symbols, metaphors, and shared meaning. We describe here a funded study where we investigate the effectiveness of text messaging as a learning tool for higher level courses and provide insight into the use of texting as a supplemental, yet critical learning tool in the teaching and learning process. The design, based on the Vygotskian constructivist paradigm, where learning can happen in social and collaborative interactions, assesses three types of communication within student groups, (1) face-to-face (FTF), (2) using only Instant Messenger (IM), and (3) using only cell phone texting. For analyzing the IM and text exchanges we follow the recommendations of Thurlow (2003) using thematic referential coding schemes. Using the concept of Grice (1975), we detect the presence of conversational maxims and implicature and also the presence of adjacency pairs (Sacks, Schegloff, Jefferson, 1974), indicating turn-taking in IM and texting conversations. Results from content and conversational analyses indicate that while there is an innate preference for FTF discussions among participants, participants felt that IM and texting would be useful if used intermittently and as a supplementary learning tool in classrooms to mediate discussions. Participants also felt that IM and texting focused them on tasks and despite any frustrations with the technology they did gain a shared understanding of the subject matter and gained new and conceptual knowledge. The findings from this research can be used to explore the use of an additional dimension of learning in school and university classrooms.

Influencing Group Decisions by Gaining Respect of Group Members in E-Learning and Blended Learning Environments

Computer-mediated communication (CMC), consisting of highly interactive communication tools, including electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards, asynchronous multimedia notebooks, remote screen-sharing, and desktop video teleconferencing, is becoming increasingly common in modern classrooms, in addition to face-to-face time between the instructor and the students.

EVEN SUPERHEROES NEED A NETWORK: Harriet Tubman and the Rise of Insurgency in the New York State Underground Railroad

We analyze historical data to conduct an exploratory structural investigation into the process that Harriet Tubman used to free her family and friends as a member of the New York State Underground Railroad (UGRR). We suggest that she accomplished this feat because of her ability to rely on embedded (Granovetter 1985 ; Uzzi 1996 ) network contacts that allowed her to bridge structural holes (Burt 1992 ) and link with people with whom she was not previously linked (Lin et al., 2001 ). We conclude by discussing the importance of network analysis for providing empirical meaning to historical events and episodes.

How electronic communication moderates mentor-apprentice relationships in technologically driven organizations

Our study compares how effective task-related learning and conceptual learning occur between two groups, apprentices with formal mentors and apprentices without formal mentors, in technologically driven organizations. Electronic communication is introduced as a moderator in the mentor-apprentice relationship to study its impact on the learning process of the apprentice. Our study proposes and finds that in mentor-apprentice relationships, electronic communication not only moderates non-routine creative skills through conceptual learning, but also task related learning.