This paper explores incubator facilitation of technology transfer for their New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs). Empirical evidence gathered from six interviews with incubator managers, together with a survey of 131 NTBFs in incubators in Sweden, in 2005, and the findings made in a survey of 273 NTBFs situated inside-and-outside Science Parks in 1999, are used for the exploration. It is suggested that incubators do facilitate technology transfer for their NTBFs. It is further suggested that the development towards increased ability to facilitate technology transfer will continue as a results of the efforts made on the incubator and systemic level.
The unique features of entrepreneurial learning, that involves multiple dimensions, are not easily captured and today few appropriate assessment frameworks exist. The aim of this paper is therefore to develop an assessment framework for entrepreneurial learning and empirically illustrate its potential on a specific SME learning program. Based on a survey of owners/managers who took part in the government supported learning program, krAft, an exploratory factors analysis and a regression analysis were conducted. The paper proposes a two dimensional framework of cognitive and social/emotional learning outcomes where both are strongly correlated to internal efficiency but only the social/emotional outcomes are correlated to external effectiveness. The paper therefore concludes that the mere focus on cognitive learning outcomes is not enough in order to successfully act upon business opportunities. Hence, the social/emotional learning dimension is of great importance, and should be utilized, in the development of arranged SME learning groups.
This study proposes a systematic process in the pre-startup stage of establishing independent and franchised catering micro businesses. A questionnaire based on the key success factors (KSFs) affecting the establishment of a micro business was developed. Grey relational analysis (GRA) was performed to determine KSFs that can affect the start of a catering micro business, while interpretive structure modelling (ISM) was used to establish the pre-startup process. Studies show that GRA and ISM results were different in the two types of catering businesses. Therefore, business starters ought to investigate their industry of interest and determine the startup process prior to establishing their respective businesses.
For restaurants, the provision of coupons is a usual way of attracting people to the restaurant. Today, many restaurants consider how to use mobile advertising to promote their coupons (i.e., mobile coupons) in order to attract people and enhance its popularity. The purpose of this research is to identify what factors that affect customers' willingness to use mobile coupons in a restaurant setting. Five key factors that affect customers' willingness to use mobile coupons in a restaurant setting have been identified, from a base of 14 factors regarding customers' willingness to accept mobile advertising. The identified factors include price, customisation, promotion, entertainment, and sending time. This means that when customers use mobile coupons, the five identified factors will affect their willingness to use them. Restaurants can use the identified factors as a reference, when they try to develop new marketing strategies or want to enhance the effectiveness of mobile coupons.
This paper connects previous research in global competitiveness analysis, taking the impact of global financial crisis into account, to evaluate how manufacturing companies are able to manage crisis by adjusting their manufacturing strategy and transformational leadership together with technology level to improve operational competitiveness performance. It develops a theoretical approach of integrating the core factors which influence the operational competitiveness performance, i.e. manufacturing strategy, and transformational leadership with technology level, into conceptual analytical models to evaluate overall competitiveness. The empirical studies are focused to case companies in the most dynamic market - China, especially large- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, and compare their operational performances in global context. The overall competitiveness of multiple cases are studied using the proposed analytical models to conclude the experience of crisis management, which can become a model for crisis management studies of companies globally as well as foreign companies in China.
Technological advances, changed regulations and intense competition are a reality for service providers in various industries. For banks, these changes have mostly served transactional approaches. In addition to being of crucial importance for the economy, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important customers for banks. SMEs often perceive banks as standardised organisations offering identical products and services. Using concepts such as core services reliability, relational services reliability and customer satisfaction, this study investigates whether aiming for a perceived partnership can be a viable differentiating tool for a service provider in a competitive environment consisting of increasingly larger and standardised institutions. The study's hypotheses were tested by the use of structural equations' modelling on questionnaire responses from 343 Swedish SMEs. The results suggest that service providers aiming for a relationship differentiating them from their competitors must, in addition to provide core services, focus on relationship building interactions.