Maura McAdam

Gender and entrepreneurship

Purpose – Women‐owned businesses are frequently described as under‐performing in that the majority remain small and marginal. The authors dispute this description; within this paper, it is argued that such performance profiles reflect the constrained performance of most small firms. The assertion that women owned firms under‐perform reflects a gendered bias within the entrepreneurial discourse where femininity and deficit are deemed coterminous. In addition, women‐owned firms are expected to under‐perform given expectations of female weakness in the context of male normativity and superiority. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to critically evaluate the association between gender and business performance suggesting that this critique has implications for the broader development of our understanding of entrepreneuring behaviours.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual research note which explores the notion of performance and under‐performance in the context of gender.Findings – It is argued...

The Networked Incubator The Role and Operation of Entrepreneurial Networking with the University Science Park Incubator (USI)

Within the current literature it is generally agreed that university incubator units offer considerable advantages to new, growth-orientated firms in the provision of shared facilities such as offices, administrative staff and access to university research and grant support. Moreover, in recent years the networked incubator has emerged as an effective mechanism that fosters partnerships between high-technology-based firms (spin-out HTBFs) and other external parties such as government support agencies and funders, thus facilitating technology transfer from universities to the economy. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies exploring how entrepreneurial networking operates and develops and how the entrepreneur uses these networks to support growth ambitions, within USIs. To explore this issue further, this paper presents evidence from an in-depth longitudinal study of the operation of entrepreneurial networking within 12 entrepreneurial firms based in a USI, and with related stakeholders in the Republic of Ireland. The research methodology is based on longitudinal semi-structured interviews. The results show that the incubator environment enhances the development of social networks that act to support the new entrepreneur during the vital stages of firm foundation. Furthermore, the networks have a key role in facilitating the design and implementation of firm growth strategies within the USI.

Building Futures or Stealing Secrets? Entrepreneurial Cooperation and Conflict within Business Incubators

Business incubator units are an effective support mechanism for new entrepreneurial firms in that they provide basic facilities, office space, administrative staff and expert managers during the volatile start-up and growth process. This enables entrepreneurs to reduce operating costs and focus their attention upon product development.There are also many intangible benefits to incubator placement such as enhanced firm credibility, access to established business networks and the opportunity to share the challenges of entrepreneurship with peers. From this study of such a unit in the Republic of Ireland however, it became apparent that as the firms grew and sought to enhance credibility and protect market share, disadvantages emerged regarding incubator placement. Firm proximity created tensions concerning privacy, the protection of intellectual property and competitive strategies. It was also evident that as the firms became more mature, the need to develop independent, secure internal systems could be impeded by the ready availability of support and advice from the incubator management team.

Analyzing the Influence of Gender Upon High‐Technology Venturing within the Context of Business Incubation

We explore the influence of sex role attribution and associated gendered ascriptions upon the entrepreneurial experiences of a female high–technology business owner operating within the context of business incubation. Our literature analysis and empirical evidence suggest that stereotypical gendered expectations surrounding incubated high–technology venturing reproduce masculine norms of entrepreneurial behavior. The adoption of a gendered perspective to explore the experience of business incubation responds to contemporary calls to embed feminist analyses within the entrepreneurial field of enquiry. Furthermore, we draw upon evidence from a detailed case study informed by a life history narrative to explore a female entrepreneurs experience of incubated high–technology entrepreneurship.

Open innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises: An overview

Our introduction provides the foundation and background for this special issue on open innovation. Since the beginning of the 21st century, innovation has evolved from being the artefact of an individual or internal process within firms to an interactive process between firms and/or in collaboration with knowledge-creating institutions at both the domestic and global levels. The open innovation model suggests that firms should combine external and internal ideas and technologies as effective pathways to market when advancing and commercialising technologies. However, existing research focuses mainly on high-technology multi-national firms hence, theoretically driven and empirically-based research exploring open innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises remains relatively scarce. This special issue offers a critical contribution to this gap with four articles which explore differing aspects of open innovation within smaller firms. The introduction to this special issue commences with an overview of the relevant literature; it then describes the articles and, finally, suggests potential avenues for future research.

A preliminary investigation into networking activities within the university incubator

Purpose – Research to date has identified incubator units as an effective mechanism for supporting the growth and development of small entrepreneurial firms. Advantages are gained not only from the provision of appropriate facilities and external managerial expertise on site, but also from the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial networks facilitated by the spatial proximity of incubator firms. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of context, in other words the degree to which the networking opportunities provided by the university incubator support the small firm in its pursuit of sustainability and growth.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence is presented from six in‐depth, longitudinal case studies of entrepreneurial firms based within a university incubator located within the United Kingdom. The interviews were tape‐recorded and transcribed and then analysed through the NUD*IST software package.Findings – The current research highlights the specific role of th...

Business Processes and Networks in University Incubators: A Review and Research Agendas

Abstract While the technology aspects of university incubators in university science parks (USPs) receive considerable attention and development, as the primary force in the creation of incubator businesses, the business and social inputs (entrepreneurial networks) are less well defined. Anchoring to the resource-based view of the firm (RBV), it is argued that a business process perspective is useful to conceptualize the deployment of key resources in USPs—namely business support and social support (entrepreneurial networks). This paper reviews existing literature in relation to university incubator business processes and networks. In particular, the paper seeks to link the process and network concepts to define research agendas.

Incubation or Induction? Gendered Identity Work in the Context of Technology Business Incubation

While there is a substantial body of literature exploring the influence of business incubation upon early stage firms, this debate remains almost entirely gender blind. This article challenges this assumption by adopting a feminist perspective to reveal business incubation as a gendered process shaping the identity work undertaken by women seeking legitimacy as technology venturers. In so doing, we critically evaluate prevailing normative analyses of the business incubation process and entrepreneurial legitimation. To illustrate this argument, we draw upon empirical evidence which reveals technology incubation as a legitimating induction process encouraging women to reproduce masculinized representations of the normative technology entrepreneur.

Sense and sensibility: The role of business incubator client advisors in assisting high-technology entrepreneurs to make sense of investment readiness status

For high-technology entrepreneurs, attaining an appropriate level of investment to support new ventures is challenging as substantial investment is usually required prior to revenue generation. Consequently, entrepreneurs must present their firms as investment ready in the context of an uncertain market response and an absence of any trading history. Gaining tenancy within a business incubator can be advantageous to this process given that placement enhances entrepreneurial contact with potential investors whilst professional client advisors (CAs) use their expertise to assist in the development of a credible business plan. However, for the investment proposal to be successful, it must make sense to fund managers despite their lack of technological expertise and product knowledge. Thus, this article explores how incubator CAs and entrepreneurs act in concert to mould innovative ideas into plausible business plans that make sense to venture fund investors. To illustrate this process, we draw upon empirical evidence which suggests that CAs act as sense makers between venture fund managers (VFMs) and high-technology entrepreneurs, yet their role and influence appears undervalued. These findings have implications for entrepreneurial access to much needed funding and also for the identification of investment opportunities for VFMs.

Breaking Glass: Toward a Gendered Analysis of Entrepreneurial Leadership

Despite recent expansion in the literature on entrepreneurial leadership, this has not been matched with the development of appropriate theoretical frameworks, theory building, and conceptual analyses, including the analysis of gender. In this paper, we provide the foundation for a more robust and extensive gendered study of entrepreneurial leadership, through a review of the entrepreneurial leadership literature and of the current debates on gender and leadership. On the basis of this, we propose a research agenda for the gendered analysis of the rapidly expanding interface between leadership and entrepreneurship, comprising three themes around which the future development of entrepreneurial leadership can be organized.