Entrepreneurship and Performance of Firms, 2014, vol. 10, issue 4

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Competitive Strategies and Improved Performance of Selected Nigeria Telecommunication Companies
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Akingbade, Waidi Adeniyi
The influence of globalization in telecommunication companies has greatly increased the level of competition in the industry and they are forced to be competitive to survive. Different types of strategies are put in place in order to be profitable and competitive. All these strategies are directed to attract, retain and maintain customers for continuous profitability. However, majority of them hardly measure the impact of their strategic innovation on their customers. The paper seeks to explore the influence of competitive strategies embarked upon by selected telecommunication companies in Nigeria on their performance. The paper also examines how competitive strategies could be implemented for improved customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty. Three null hypotheses were postulated to test the relationship between lower prices and customer satisfaction, uninterrupted trunk services and customer loyalty, and customer complaint handling and retention. Only customers using telephone service were selected as respondents from Lagos State. The state was stratified in to 20 local government council area and questionnaires were distributed to 125 respondents in each of them. The completion rate of the questionnaire in each of them is between 103 and 110. Survey research design was adopted to carry out the study. A structured questionnaire was designed and validated through the construct validity and tested for confirmation using the KMO measure of sampling adequacy. It was also made reliable using Cronbach’s Alpha test. From the study, findings revealed relationship between competitive strategies and customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between competitive strategies, its constituents and performance of telecommunication companies. It is recommended that universal mobile telecommunication services (UMTS) operators should adopt the culture of competitive strategies since it can impact on their performance for achieving competitive advantage.
Inventory Management - A Tool for Optimal Use of Resources and Overall Efficiency in Manufacturing SMEs
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Akindipe, Olusakin S.
Observation shows that there is a serious problem regarding inventory management in manufacturing organizations, particularly in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This has prompted the desire to embark on a study that will examine the problem and strive to proffer useful suggestions. This paper intends to bring to the fore the salient issue of inefficiency in the practice of inventory management and its effects on production operations of manufacturing concerns. Survey design was used with the application of random sampling technique in selection of units within the case study areas. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaires and the analysis was done using Pearson correlation coefficient and frequency counts and percentages to give adequate descriptions. The study concluded that efficient management of stock would be achieved through determination of stock levels, engagement of skilled store personnel, and the use of automated stock control. It went further to assert that the achievement of optimal use of resources through efficiency in the management of stock will eliminate the problems of sudden lack of stock; the resultant low capacity utilization, loss of production time, and thereby improving overall efficiency of the manufacturing SMEs and breed high performing entrepreneurs.
Network Dynamics of Descending Diaspora Entrepreneurship: Multiple Case Studies with Japanese Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Harima, Aki
Entrepreneurial activities of the Diaspora attracted increased research attention in the recent years, as the phenomenon of migration is rapidly growing. The Diaspora refers to the migrants and their descendants who maintain a strong relationship with their country of origin (Safran, 1991). The previous research has, however, predominantly focused on diaspora entrepreneurs from developing or emerging economies and those who originate from developed countries are almost invisible, even though they are empirically observable (cf. Elo, 2013; Horiuchi, 2010). In fact, their entrepreneurial activities have mostly been neglected by previous research in diaspora as well as international entrepreneurship. This study coins a new concept ‘Descending diaspora entrepreneurs’ for the entrepreneurs from developed countries who migrate to less developed ones and explores their entrepreneurial activities through the network perspective. The literature review on entrepreneurial networks as well as diaspora networks identifies three potentially significant benefits of networks on entrepreneurial activities: (i) opportunity recognition, (ii) access to resources and (iii) motivation sustainment. Explorative multiple case studies with Japanese diaspora entrepreneurs in emerging economies (Philippine, Guatemala and Argentina) was conducted and the empirical findings were descriptively analyzed in line with the identified network benefits. Finally, the model of network dynamics for Descending Diaspora Entrepreneurs is developed based on the findings.
Short- and Long-Term Effects of Innovations on Enterprise Market Value: A Case of the Tourism Industry
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Szutowski, Dawid; Bednarska, Marlena A.
Innovations seem crucial for contemporary enterprises willing to achieve the objective of increasing firm’s value. The aim of this paper is to examine, both conceptually and empirically, the relationship between innovations and tourism enterprises’ market value. Tourism sector was taken into consideration in order to fulfill the existing research gap. This focused paper was based on relevant market data. Event study and calendar time portfolio approaches were chosen to test investors’ responses to innovation announcements. Six tourism companies listed on the Main Market of Warsaw Stock Exchange were examined within the six years research period and 34 innovation announcements were identified. Polish Press Agency database and Warsaw Stock Exchange databases were used to collect data. Results indicate that innovations affected positively investors’ valuation of tourism enterprises. The average event day market value change equaled 0.63% and differed considerably from the one-year one of 3.02% meaning that investors adjust their initial reaction over time. Initially investors reacted mostly to marketing, distributional and external relations innovations while within one-year period they attributed the most value to marketing and external relations ones.
The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on the Performance and Speed of Internationalization
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Freiling, Jörg; Christoph Lütke, Schelhowe
Entrepreneurial orientation has emerged as a major construct in entrepreneurship literature. However, existing definitions of entrepreneurial orientation mainly focus on explorative behavior like innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking. Based on the long tradition of research on entrepreneurial functions, we argue that exploitative activities are no less an entrepreneurial endeavor than explorative activities. Following this understanding, we elaborate a broader conceptualization of the entrepreneurial orientation construct. In an empirical study with 346 established companies, we explore its effect on the performance of internationalization. Entrepreneurial orientation in its broader conceptualization positively influences the international performance and the effect is by far stronger than the one observed in existing studies. The reason for this is that both explorative and exploitative dimensions matter and equally drive the international performance. Entrepreneurial orientation positively influences the growth of the international activities as well. However, its effect is much lower. Whereas the explorative dimensions tend to foster the international growth, the exploitative dimensions do not show any effect.
The Patents and Financial Performance of Firms - Evidence From Polish Manufacturing Companies
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Prędkiewicz, Katarzyna; Prędkiewicz, Paweł
This article is a contribution to the discussion on innovation activity and its influence on financial performance of companies. The authors employ a simple measure of innovativeness, which was also used in other studies, and the division of companies into two groups (innovative and non-innovative) was based on the fact whether they obtained a patent (patents) or not. In this paper, we compare the rates of return and revenue growth achieved by innovative versus non-innovative companies operating in the manufacturing industry in Poland, in the years 2006 to 2012. Financial and qualitative data for testing the hypotheses were taken from the Amadeus database provided by Bureau van Dijk. The sample consisted of 4004 enterprises, of which 681 were owners of at least one patent. T-Student test, ANOVA and OSL models were used to verify the working assumptions. The study tests the following three research hypotheses. H1: “Innovative companies achieve higher rates of return than the noninnovative ones.” That hypothesis was confirmed in relation to the EBITDA margin and ROS (return on sale), but not to ROA (return on assets) and ROE (return on equity). The fact of belonging to a group of innovative companies had an impact on an average EBITDA margin increase by 0.83 p.p. in 2007, 0.78 p.p. in 2009 and 0.73 p.p. in 2012, ceteris paribus. The difference between ROE was found statistically insignificant in most analysed periods (except 2007 and 2009), however, non-innovative companies have achieved a higher return on equity than innovative companies. It can be associated with higher operational risk in innovative companies which restrict access to external capital, leading such companies to expand their businesses through their own equity. The second tested hypothesis is: “An innovative activity has higher impact on financial performance in medium-sized companies than in large and very large ones.” During the research, it was found out that having obtained a patent is important determinant of EBITDA margin for medium-sized companies, increasing it by 0.76 p.p., ceteris paribus. In large companies, it contributed to an increase of 0.71 p.p., and for very large ones – by only 0.19 p.p., with the slope for the latter group at a number other than zero found to be statistically insignificant. In relation to third tested hypothesis:” Innovative companies are more sensitive in terms of revenue dynamics to economic slowdown than the non-innovative ones.” it was found out that in the period of time from 2006 to 2012 the dynamics of revenue growth in innovative companies was generally higher than in the non-innovative ones, except in the year 2009, when all companies showed a significant decline in revenues, but for innovative companies, the decline amounted to 6.39%, and for the remaining ones it was found at 4.98%. Based on those findings it was confirmed that innovative companies are characterized by a greater sensitivity to economic slowdown.
The Role of Pluriactivity for Continuity and Survival in Family Farm Firms
(Nowy Sacz School of Business – National-Louis University, 2014) Niemelä, Tarja; Häkkinen, Reija
Our study focuses on family farm firms as an important and yet under-researched type of family firms. We explore the entrepreneurial growth behavior in the context of family farm firms by focusing on the role of pluriactivity. By integrating the literature of family business strategies, EO, and growth intentions, this study of 1618 Finnish family farms seeks to understand the idea of pluriactivity as a strategic orientation of family farm firms leading towards the growth and renewal of their prevailing and future domains. Our study revealed that pluriactivity is associated with growthorientation and perceived strengths of the family farm firms. We identified four types of growth groups (Established, Growth-Driven, Experimenters, Stand-Stills) and found differences in their pluriactive orientation. We suggest that pluriactivity as a strategic orientation affects the growth-intention of the family entrepreneurs and the business renewal processes of the family farm firms. Entrepreneurs need to have capabilities (knowledge, skills, experience) and willingness to change (motivation, attitude, volition) when using pluriactivity as a strategic orientation as they affect growth behavior (EO). Lastly, we discuss with our results and make some suggestions for future research avenues in family business strategy research.

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