Tom Elfring

NETWORKS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE CASE OF HIGH-TECHNOLOGY FIRMS

The value of networks as an integral part of the explanation of entrepreneurial success is widely acknowledged. However, the network perspective does not specify the role of networks in the emergence and early growth of a venture. We have distinguished three entrepreneurial processes in new venture development, i.e. discovery of opportunities, securing resources, and obtaining legitimacy, which are of importance for survival and performance. This paper examines how these processes are influenced by strong and/or weak ties and whether the degree of innovation (incremental versus radical) acts as a contingency factor in the way network ties support entrepreneurial processes. In this explorative study three cases on high technology firms in The Netherlands provide empirical material enabling us to develop a number of propositions on the network effect, in particular the mix of strong and weak ties, on the three entrepreneurial processes.

Realizing innovation in services

This article describes a number of innovation forms that are of special relevance to firms in the service industry. Not only technological innovations but also organizational innovations have been distinguished. In the service industry organizational innovations seem to play a significant role. The literature on innovations makes little mention of new organizational arrangements in services. Based on the service management literature a scheme with three forms of organizational innovation and one form of technological innovation is developed. This scheme is illustrated and elaborated in ten case studies of firms in various service industries. The case studies shed some light on innovations in multi-unit forms, combinations of services and co-operation with customers. On a basis of the service management literature and the case studies some of the main processes supporting the (organizational) innovations are analysed.

How Does Trust Affect the Performance of Ongoing Teams? The Mediating Role of Reflexivity, Monitoring and Effort

In this study, we investigate how trust affects the performance of ongoing teams. We propose a multiple mediator model in which different team processes act as mediating mechanisms that transmit the positive effects of trust to team performance. Drawing on a data set of ongoing tax consulting teams, we found support for the mediated effects of trust via team monitoring and team effort. Our results did not support the mediating role of “team reflexivity.” These findings contribute to understanding how trust operates within ongoing teams in a way that is distinct from what is known from studies of short-term teams.

Networking by Entrepreneurs: Patterns of Tie—Formation in Emerging Organizations:

There are two conflicting patterns of network development of founding entrepreneurs that emerge from existing literature. One of them evolves from an identity-based network dominated by strong ties into an intentionally managed network rich in weak ties. The other involves the opposite, with weak ties dominating in the emergence phase and some of them developing into strong ties, the latter of which are characteristic of the early growth phase. The empirical part of this study focused on the development of the networks of 32 IT start-ups in The Netherlands, which we constructed on the basis of secondary data sources and in-depth interviews with the founders. We found three distinct patterns of network development. The conflicting patterns from the literature fitted two of our patterns and we were able to reconcile them by showing how initial founding conditions and post-founding entrepreneurial processes influence tie-formation processes. We propose that the simultaneous effect of these tie-formation processes leads to particular development patterns of weak and strong ties over time, highlighting the importance of investigating network processes.

Outsourcing technical services: Stages of development

Abstract This article is based on an investigation of the development of two service functions, software development and engineering, in the automobile industry. The inquiry revealed the importance of ‘learning and leverage’, and the need for a successful combination of functional and application capabilities to achieve to competitive advantage. The study describes the evolution in the development of service functions. This has involved a gradual move from in-house development to a more autonomous status in which external clients also play a role. This often leads to the closure of the in-house unit, and in the final stage the service supplier offers a package of related services.

Application of semantic technology for social network analysis in the sciences

SummaryThe use of electronic data is steadily gaining ground in the study of the social organization of scientific and research communities, decreasing the researchers reliance on commercial databases of bibliographic entries, patents grants and other manually constructed records of scientific works. In our work we provide a methodological innovation based on semantic technology for dealing with heterogeneity in electronic data sources. We demonstrate the use of our electronic system for data collection and aggregation through a study of the Semantic Web research community. Using methods of network analysis, we confirm the effect of Structural Holes and provide novel explanations of scientific performance based on cognitive diversity in social networks.

Entrepreneurial Team Cognition: A Review

Entrepreneurial team scholars highlight the importance of studying entrepreneurial team cognition in gaining a better understanding of why some entrepreneurial teams are capable of developing teamwork leading to successful entrepreneurial outcomes while others are not. However, in the absence of a clear definition of entrepreneurial team cognition, researchers continue to employ a vast diversity of potentially related concepts. To bring clarity to this fragmented area of research, the authors performed a systematic literature review of papers concerned with entrepreneurial team cognition published in the leading management and entrepreneurship journals over the past 20 years. This review was guided by two main research questions: (a) what is entrepreneurial team cognition, and (b) how does entrepreneurial team cognition interact with inputs, processes and outcomes. Based on the published literature, key properties of the concept are identified, and an overarching definition of entrepreneurial team cognition composed of these properties is introduced. Next, the review outlines how entrepreneurial team cognition interacts with other variables within a comprehensive input-mediator-output framework. Finally, the review addresses how future research can build on the proposed definition and framework to advance the theoretical depth and empirical investigation of entrepreneurial team cognition.

The Main Features and Underlying Causes of the Shift to Services

This article shows the main characteristics of the shift to services in seven advanced economies on the basis of sectoral changes in employment, expenditure, output, prices, and productivity. With the help of a new approach a quantitative estimate is made of the main factors contributing to the rising service sector employment share. It was found that for the period 1973–84 the relatively fast growth of intermediate and final demand for services was on average responsible for roughly half of the employment shift to services.

Theories of the firm, competitive advantage and government policy

To improve the effectiveness of government policy, it is necessay to develop a good picture of what a firms in a knowledge-intensive economy is and does. In this paper, we have drawn on the recent surge of books and articles on the resource- and knowledge-based theories of the firm and their implications for competitive advantage. We would like to contribute to that discussion summarizing that debate and exploring the implications for government policy. In new theories of the firm, emphasis is placed on the crucial importance of knowledge, a production factor which is not easily imitated. Exampb of government policy which are based on these new inskhts are the recognition of the importance of demanding clients, the emphasis on the unique potential of the local business environment and the stimulation of transfer of knowledge between firms and networks instead of subsidizing project for knowledge development in isolated firms. A more realistic view of business behaviour will improve the effectiveness of po...

Implementation of geriatric assessment and decision support in residential care homes: facilitating and impeding factors during initial and maintenance phase

BackgroundSuccessfully introducing and maintaining care innovations may depend on the interplay between care setting, the intervention and specific circumstances. We studied the factors influencing the introduction and maintenance of a Multidisciplinary Integrated Care model in 10 Dutch residential care homes.MethodsFacilitating and impeding factors were studied and compared at the time of introduction of the interRAI-LTCF assessment method in residential care homes as well as three years later, by surveys and semi structured interviews among nurse staff, managers, and physicians.ResultsFacilitating factors at introduction were positive opinions of staff and family physicians about the changes of the process of care and the anticipated improvement of quality of care. Staff was positive about the applicability of the software to support the interRAI-LTCF assessments. Impeding factors were time constraints to complete interRAI-LTCF assessments and insufficient computer equipment.In the maintenance phase, the positive attitude of the location manager and the perceived benefits of the care model and the interRAI-LTCF assessment method were most important. Impeding factors after 3 years remained the lack of time to complete the assessments and lack of sufficient computer equipment.ConclusionsImpeding and facilitating factors were comparable in the initial and maintenance phase. Adoption of the interRAI-LTCF assessment method depended on positive opinions of staff and management, continuing support of staff and the availability of sufficient computer equipment.