Leona Achtenhagen

Business Growth-Do Practitioners and Scholars Really Talk about the Same Thing?

The current growth literature has stalled over which measures to use in empirical studies, causing a fragmented theory base. This paper claims that there is a third issue that further curbs efforts in developing a better understanding of business growth. Based on a thorough literature review, a quantitative, and a qualitative study, we find that academic scholars and entrepreneurs do not talk about the same thing when they say “business growth.” For practitioners, growth is a more complex phenomenon—with a strong emphasis on internal development—which differs from the simplified conceptualization of growth used in empirical studies.

Small Firm Growth

We review and discuss the literature on small firm growth with an intention to provide a useful vantage point for new research studies regarding this important phenomenon. We first discuss conceptual and methodological issues that represent critical choices for those who research growth and which make it challenging to compare results from previous studies. The substantial review of past research is organized into four sections representing two smaller and two larger literatures. The first of the latter focuses on internal and external drivers of small firm growth. Here we find that much has been learnt and that many valuable generalizations can be made. However, we also conclude that more research of the same kind is unlikely to yield much. While interactive and non-linear effects may be worth pursuing it is unlikely that any new and important growth drivers or strong, linear main effects would be found. The second large literature deals with organizational life-cycles or stages of development. While deservedly criticized for unwarranted determinism and weak empirics this type of approach addresses problems of high practical and also theoretical relevance, and should not be shunned by researchers. We argue that with a change in the fundamental assumptions and improved empirical design, research on the organizational and managerial consequences of growth is an important line of inquiry. With this, we overlap with one of the smaller literatures, namely studies focusing on the effects of growth. We argue that studies too often assume that growth equals success. We advocate instead the use of growth as an intermediary variable that influences more fundamental goals in ways that should be carefully examined rather than assumed. The second small literature distinguishes between different modes or forms of growth, including, e.g., organic vs. acquisition-based growth, and international expansion. We note that modes of growth is an important topic that has been under studied in the growth literature, whereas in other branches of research aspects of it may have been studied intensely, but not primarily from a growth perspective. In the final section we elaborate on ways forward for research on small firm growth. We point at rich opportunities for researchers who look beyond drivers of growth, where growth is viewed as a homogenous phenomenon assumed to unambiguously reflect success, and instead focus on growth as a process and a multi-dimensional phenomenon, as well as on how growth relates to more fundamental outcomes.

‘Surfing on the ironing board’ – the representation of women's entrepreneurship in German newspapers

Despite extensive attempts to enhance womens entrepreneurship in Germany, a gender gap continues to exist. This article sets out to analyse the representation of womens entrepreneurship in German media, by analysing how it is depicted in newspapers and how this changes over time. Images transported in media might regulate the nature of womens entrepreneurship, as they contain information about ‘typical’ and ‘socially desirable’ behaviour of women as well as of entrepreneurs. This article contributes to developing an understanding of the relevance of media representation of the entrepreneurship phenomenon for influencing the propensity towards entrepreneurial activity.

Balancing tensions during convergence : duality management in a newspaper company

Abstract Media companies inherently face organizational tensions, as dual—artistic and commercial—orientations are part of their mission. Yet, it is still poorly understood what the existence of such tensions implies for managing media companies that undergo organizational changes to embrace technological convergence. Based on a case study with a European media company, this article argues that different organizational tensions exist and exemplifies this by characterizing structural, processual, and cultural tensions. This study finds that these tensions are interlinked, interdependent, and dynamic—namely, when media companies change, their inherent tensions are also likely to change. Thus, they need to be actively and comprehensively managed to avoid disfunctionalities. In fact, considering the different tensions in the reorganizing process might enhance its chances of success. Relocating the tension, enhancing perception of the tension, and providing training to increase awareness of employees emerge from this case as different strategies for managing tensions.

Studies on women's entrepreneurship from Nordic countries and beyond

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to direct attention to recent research on womensentrepreneurship, focusing on Nordic countries.Design/methodology/approach– The paper encourages research that ...

Understanding Entrepreneurship in Traditional Media

Abstract The phenomenon of media entrepreneurship is currently attracting increasing interest by scholars and practitioners alike. However, most of this attention is devoted to entrepreneurship within new media, while some of the traditional media industries—for example print media—are believed to be the living dead without much future promise. Nonetheless, sustainable entrepreneurial ventures do emerge in these traditional media industries. These ventures demonstrate that new venture creation and survival in traditional media industries is in fact possible and that the current scholarly focus on new media entrepreneurial activities is too restrictive. This article conceptualizes and explores the phenomenon of entrepreneurship in traditional media industries. Empirically, it is based on the Swedish case of the company Latifeh, its magazine Gringo, and their further (media) activities. Gringo and the team behind it have received massive media attention as well as several prizes for their innovativeness, and stirred up the emotions of many people. A number of propositions are derived from the case, which can serve as a starting point of future empirical work on media entrepreneurship in traditional industries. In addition, these propositions can serve as practical guiding lights for (potential) media entrepreneurs.

Das Open Source-Dilemma: Open Source-Software zwischen freier Verfügbarkeit und Kommerzialisierung

SummaryThis contribution discusses the organisation of open source software development and the commercialisation of its products. Open source software is based on an openly distributed and modifiable kernel, which distinguishes it from traditional software development. The success of its development processes puts pressure on the traditional developers. The commercialisation of open source products and services triggers the question of how sustainable the voluntary developer community and the derived business models are. In this contribution, we discuss this ‘enigma’ of software development.

Discouraging stereotypes? US newspaper coverage of ethnic minority entrepreneurs before the economic downturn

While research shows that ethnic minority entrepreneurs make a relevant contribution to economies, academic studies often convey a rather negative image of their entrepreneurship as necessity- rather than opportunity-driven, and with little innovation. This study examined the US newspaper coverage of these entrepreneurs during the five years before the economic downturn. It found that only one-tenth of the articles were negative, while two-thirds were positive. Two-thirds of the articles mentioned assistance programs that could help entrepreneurs. The vast majority of the articles presented positive frames of minority entrepreneurs and their contributions. This study found that newspapers can be important sources for ethnic minority individuals interested in becoming entrepreneurs and provide information useful in formulating public policy.

Media Entrepreneurship—Taking Stock and Moving Forward

ABSTRACT This editorial reviews current research about media entrepreneurship and introduces the four papers published in this special issue. These papers move the emerging academic field of media entrepreneurship forward by outlining the relevance of context for enhancing our understanding of entrepreneurial phenomena, by introducing the theoretical concept of ‘entrepreneuring as emancipation’, by analyzing the institutionalization of media entrepreneurship education, and by categorizing different investment types in corporate entrepreneurship. The editorial concludes by calling for continuing efforts to theory-building to further develop the field.

The Development of Media Management as an Academic Field: Tracing the Contents and Impact of Its Three Leading Journals

This chapter takes stock of the development of media management as an academic field. We draw on Bird et al. (Family Business Review 15(4): 337–350, 2002) to assess how these fields measure up on three criteria that determine maturity as a discipline. While the existence of professional associations is evident in media management and career opportunities for media managers and scholars alike indicate that two prerequisites have been fulfilled, systematic theory is less evident and that is problematic. The authors reach this conclusion based on review of the most-cited articles published in the three leading journals of the field (Journal of Media Economics, International Journal on Media Management and Journal of Media Business Studies). Drawing on Whetten (Academy of Management Review 14(4): 490–495, 1989), the chapter observes that while considerable progress has been made in identifying the what (i.e. factors relevant to understand empirical phenomena related to media management) and quite a bit of less to how these factors are related, the why (i.e. the underlying dynamics explaining the characteristics of the field) and the who, where and when (as boundary conditions placing limitations on the theory or model) are in need of substantial work in order for a systematic body of theory about media management to develop.