Paula Danskin Englis

The impact of knowledge capabilities on corporate venturing

This study focuses on the role of knowledge capabilities across the startup and growth phases of corporate ventures. Specifically we focus on exploration, exploitation and transformation of (technological) knowledge capabilities as these facilitate birth and growth of corporate ventures. To examine the impact of knowledge capabilities in corporate ventures, in-depth case studies of three knowledge intensive corporate ventures were conducted using semi-structured interviews. Knowledge capabilities were mapped across the startup and growth stages of the ventures.

Scientific Team Effectiveness and the External CEO: A Study of Biotechnology University Spin-Offs.

This paper presents an empirical exploration of the effectiveness of scientific teams and the role of an external CEO in the spin-off formation process. The paper contributes to the literature by focusing on the role of the experienced or ‘external’ entrepreneur (their commercial resources and capabilities) in the early phase of spin-off formation and offering an attempt to understand the interaction between scientific team effectiveness and the external CEO. The data are drawn from the BioPartner First Stage Grant, a seed fund initiated in the Netherlands that aims to stimulate university spin-offs in biotechnology. This unique data set covers 68 biotechnology spin-off projects and the results show that an external CEO positively influences the spin-off creation and leverages the effect of the spin-offs scientific quality.

Managerial Mindset and the Born Global Firm

Abstract Using a series of case studies, we show that global mindset is at the heart of global growth and opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures. We review how having an entrepreneurial mindset and international experience influence the rapidity of internationalization by discussing the entrepreneurial process and how the global mindset of founders of born global firms influences their choices in the competitive landscape. This chapter closes with a discussion of a continuum — globalization frustrated (focusing on firms with entrepreneurs that have global mindsets but cannot internationalize) to globalization mandated (focusing on firms that are forced to be global).

The stigmatization of bankrupt entrepreneurs in Dutch newspapers

We examine to what extent bankrupt entrepreneurs are stigmatized in the mass media. Based on a decade of newspaper articles, we show that while overall the level of stigmatization is lower than expected based on popular belief, stigmatization increases in the years with many bankruptcies, and in the months following a prominent bankruptcy. These differences are caused by the distinctions made by journalists between entrepreneurs in charge of large and small firms respectively as villains responsible for the bankruptcy and its consequences, or as hard-working victims of the system. Findings are explained in terms of experienced peril and cultural factors.

Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship and the voice-of-the-consumer

The founder of paperbackswap.com, Bobby Swarthout, developed the idea for his venture while he was a college student. As a student on a limited budget, he had become tired of paying high prices for textbooks. So he developed and launched an online textbook swapping service. Along with a small group of students, he managed to assemble a group of 12 colleges and universities across the United States to participate in textbook swapping. However, after a few months, very few students had used the site. By listening to the potential customers who chose not to participate, Bobby found out that there were too many easy substitutes for the swapping service (e.g. bookstore returns, half.com, efollett, etc.). These alternatives offered either greater convenience or cash in return for used books (especially appealing to students who did not pay for their books themselves), or other appealing features. However, Mr. Swarthout believed in his concept and also listened to the ‘voice-of-the-consumer’ (VOC) and moved his business idea into different consumer/product space: that of paperback books. Along with a few lead users attracted to his original idea, he refined the original idea, gathered resources (an angel who invested in the business) and added technological capabilities. One year later he launched paperbackswap.com. From inception, the firm embraced the VOC as the key tool in driving product development and improvement efforts. For paperbackswap.com listening to the VOC has become part of a closed-loop system where inputs from consumers are analysed and product improvements developed in response and where the loop is closed by listening to how consumers respond to product changes.

Using knowledge management to gain competitive advantage in the textile and apparel value chain: a comparison small and large firms

The ability to store, capture, and disseminate knowledge within and across organizational boundaries has challenged managers for many years. However, as product lifecycles have decreased and environmental complexity and volatility have increased, the need to manage knowledge is intensifying, particularly across the value chain. Firms view knowledge and knowledge management as part of their strategic orientation. The difficulties of managing knowledge of are faced by firms of all sizes. Low-cost strategies may emphasize knowledge that can be used to cut costs, lower prices, and shorten cycle times whereas differentiation strategies may emphasize knowledge that adds value to a product giving it unique characteristics that serve to differentiate it from the competition. This research examines the process of acquisition, retention, maintenance, and retrieval of knowledge both within the firm through organizational memory and across the value chain through knowledge management and compares these practices for small and large firms.