bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SMOS salinity in the subtropical North Atlantic salinity maximum: 2. Two‐dimensional horizontal thermohaline variability
Authors: Kolodziejczyk Nicolas , Hernandez Olga , Boutin Jacqueline , Reverdin Gilles
Published: January 2015

The horizontal thermohaline seasonal variability of the surface ocean is investigated in the subtropical North Atlantic Surface Salinity Maximum (SSSmax) region. Satellite sea surface temperature and salinity are used, along with high‐resolution thermosalinograph data, and Argo interpolated products, to study the horizontal two‐dimensional field of density and thermohaline variability. During late winter, compensated temperature and salinity gradients at large and mesoscale are observed northeast of the SSSmax, in the Azores Front Current region. In spite of the large and sharp surface thermohaline fronts, satellite measurements reveal a rather weak surface horizontal density gradient. During summer, the front is dominated by salinity gradients. South of the SSSmax, at large scales, the density ratio is controlled by the salinity gradient and the horizontal density gradient is enhanced by a constructive contribution of opposite salinity and temperature gradients.
Detecting the surface salinity signature of Gulf Stream cold‐core rings in Aquarius synergistic products
Authors: Umbert M. , Guimbard S. , Lagerloef G. , Thompson L. , Portabella M. , Ballabrera‐Poy J. , Turiel A.
Published: January 2015

New sea surface salinity (SSS) observations derived from satellite remote sensing platforms provide a comprehensive view of salt exchanges across boundary currents such as the Gulf Stream. The high resolution (45 km spatial resolution and 3 day repeat subcycle) of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) observations allows detection (and tracking) of meander and ring structures of the Gulf Stream from SSS maps. These structures are, however, not resolved by the relatively lower resolution (100 km and 7 day repeat subcycle) of Aquarius observations. A recently developed fusion technique, based on singularity analysis, is applied in this study to reconstruct these mesoscale (from 100 km and 3 days) features in Aquarius‐derived products. New quarter‐degree SSS maps are obtained by fusing Aquarius data with three different geophysical templates: sea surface height (SSH) from AVISO, SSS from SMOS, and sea surface temperature (SST) from AVHRR. The proposed method exploits the theoretical correspondence among the singularity exponents of different maps of ocean‐surface remotely sensed scalar fields. The analysis results over the year 2012 show that merging Aquarius with SSH data provides a series of negative salinity anomalies that better collocate with the position of the cyclonic eddies identified from sea level anomaly maps. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that this SLA derived cyclonic eddies in this area are indeed CCRs shed off the GS.
Ecohydrologic role of solar radiation on landscape evolution
Authors: Yetemen Omer , Istanbulluoglu Erkan , Flores‐Cervantes J. Homero , Vivoni Enrique R. , Bras Rafael L.
Published: January 2015

Solar radiation has a clear signature on the spatial organization of ecohydrologic fluxes, vegetation patterns and dynamics, and landscape morphology in semiarid ecosystems. Existing landscape evolution models (LEMs) do not explicitly consider spatially explicit solar radiation as model forcing. Here, we improve an existing LEM to represent coupled processes of energy, water, and sediment balance for semiarid fluvial catchments. To ground model predictions, a study site is selected in central New Mexico where hillslope aspect has a marked influence on vegetation patterns and landscape morphology. Model predictions are corroborated using limited field observations in central NM and other locations with similar conditions. We design a set of comparative LEM simulations to investigate the role of spatially explicit solar radiation on landscape ecohydro‐geomorphic development under different uplift scenarios. Aspect‐control and network‐control are identified as the two main drivers of soil moisture and vegetation organization on the landscape. Landscape‐scale and long‐term implications of these short‐term ecohdrologic patterns emerged in modeled landscapes. As north facing slopes (NFS) get steeper by continuing uplift they support erosion‐resistant denser vegetation cover which leads to further slope steepening until erosion and uplift attains a dynamic equilibrium. Conversely, on south facing slopes (SFS), as slopes grow with uplift, increased solar radiation exposure with slope supports sparser biomass and shallower slopes. At the landscape scale, these differential erosion processes lead to asymmetric development of catchment forms, consistent with regional observations. Understanding of ecohydrogeomorphic evolution will improve to assess the impacts of past and future climates on landscape response and morphology.
Capital Budgeting
Authors: Cheng C. S. Agnes , Newman Michael
Published: January 2015

Capital budgeting involves decisions on resource allocation, particularly for the production of future goods and services.
Goodwill Accounting
Authors: Choi Frederick D. S.
Published: January 2015

Accounting for goodwill is complex and controversial.
Impairment of Asset Values
Authors: Massoud Marc F.
Published: January 2015

The value of long‐lived assets such as buildings, land, and equipment can be susceptible to impairment. The decline in their value could be due to any number of factors such as technological innovations, new competition, or wear and tear. Both GAAP and IFRS provide different guidelines for when to recognize and how to measure impairment losses of long‐lived assets and intangible assets. There are certain tests that must be performed by an organization before they recognize any impairment loss.
International Harmonization of Accounting Standards
Authors: McLeay Stuart
Published: January 2015

Harmonization is a legal concept that is employed in the European Union (EU) to refer to the creation of a body of law that is common to the member states.
Leases
Authors: El‐Gazzar Samir M.
Published: January 2015

This article analyzes current accounting for leases under US GAAP and IFRS and discusses the accounting update of the subject by the two accounting regimes. The article points out the tendency of lessees to account for leases under the operating lease as it allows them to obtain legitimate off‐balance sheet financing. It also analyzes the lack of lessor's disclosure of potential risks from leases with bargain purchase option and/or residual value. The proposed accounting for leases by the IASB and FASB addresses these concerns.
US
and International
GAAP
Authors: Walsh Eamonn
Published: January 2015

US GAAP has a pervasive impact on International GAAP. However, cooperation between standard setters has resulted in superior outcomes, most notably with respect to revenue recognition.
Intellectual Capital
Authors: Mouritsen Jan , Bukh Per Nikolaj
Published: January 2015

Intellectual capital (IC) consists of human capital, organizational capital, and relational capital, and their relationships. It has been said to be important to explain the difference between market value and book value of a firm, but measurement ofICis more likely to be important because it forms a starting point for understanding and managing value‐creating processes. Three distinct agendas withinICmanagement and research can be identified. The first concerns to measure the components ofIC, the second attempts to relate indicators to effects using statistical models, while the third links the indicators through narratives. MeasuringICfocuses attention on the role of the individual versus the organizational processes.IChas gained much interest but the role of measurement and the relationships between indicators are still open to debate.
Accounting‐Based Equity Valuation
Authors: Pope Peter F.
Published: January 2015

Basic finance theory provides a well‐established framework for valuing a firm's equities (or shares).
Information Content of Cash Flows
Authors: Clubb Colin
Published: January 2015

Much of the literature on the information content of accounting data (meaning the explanatory power of accounting data for share prices or returns) has focused on the information content of earnings, principally because earnings represent the main informational output from the financial reporting system.
Legal Systems and Accounting
Authors: Möller Hans P.
Published: January 2015

Accounting has always been embedded in human behavior.
Product Cost Determination
Authors: Balachandran Kashi R. , Callen Jeffrey L.
Published: January 2015

Allocation of costs of a commonly used service center by several jobs is an important aspect of determining product costs. Jobs that access a common service center cause delay to other jobs and this is captured in this article for developing a theoretically correct opportunity cost approach to cost allocation. The approach is used to determine the benefit obtained from setting up a capacity for the center to help in the determination of whether to outsource the service or to set up own facility.
Accounting Ethics
Authors: Knapp Michael C.
Published: January 2015

The Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants serves as the blueprint for all other ethical codes employed within the US accounting profession. Six ethical principles provide the foundation of that code with the lynchpin being “integrity.” Integrity is measured in terms of what is just and right. Accountants should test major decisions they make by simply asking, “Am I doing what a person of integrity would do? Have I retained my integrity?” A major source of ethical dilemmas for accountants is the inherent conflict of interest between corporate executives responsible for disseminating financial information for their organizations and the needs of third parties who must use such information to make critical economic decisions. Financial reporting scandals involving companies such as Equity Funding, WorldCom, and Lehman Brothers demonstrate the enormous pressures that accountants routinely face in resolving such ethical dilemmas. As the accounting profession has matured in emerging economies around the globe, new generations of accountants have been forced to resolve challenging decision scenarios that stem from the inherent conflict of interest between preparers and users of financial information.
Contracts and Contracting
Authors: Bronaugh Richard N.
Published: January 2015

The civil wrong identified by the common law of contract is the existence of a broken promise thus contract is rooted in a moral concept. To be binding, the act of promising must be made without fraud or force; unconscionability of terms based on an imbalance of bargaining power may invalidate a contract. Also there must be consideration extended from the promisee thus it is not promise of a gift. Though a contract is said to show parties “in agreement”, “an agreement” can be found on objective grounds. Relief in contract is normally money damages not an order of performance.
Executive Compensation
Authors: Schwartz Mark S.
Published: January 2015

The article discusses the ethics of executive compensation including its efficacy, meaning whether the amount or type of executive compensation that is provided achieves the objectives it is set out to achieve; and fairness, meaning whether the amount of compensation can be considered fair and just. The article concludes with suggestions as to how to address the ethical issues that arise from executive compensation.
Legal Ethics and Business Ethics
Authors: Hamilton Neil
Published: January 2015

The following is a definition of business ethics and legal ethics.
Corporations and the Law
Authors: Johnson Lyman
Published: January 2015

Law influences corporations in many ways. Corporations are distinct legal persons and law grants them broad powers. This has facilitated the corporation's role in fostering economic growth. Law also specifies the internal governance and decision‐making structure of corporations, and extensively regulates corporate conduct through many civil and criminal statutes. Corporate influence, and various scandals and business failures, have spurred heightened interest in business ethics and social responsibility
Compensation, Ethics Of
Authors: Arnold Denis G.
Published: January 2015

Questions of how to determine what pay is deserved for a particular job, wage limits and wage equity comprise the main categories of dispute in regard to ethical compensation practices. In light of the means‐end principle, at a minimum employee compensation should be determined by qualities of individual workers, notably effort, productivity, education, exposure to danger, and the relative value of one's work to others. Calculations based on these factors can be used to justify wage differences among individuals laboring in the same field, e.g., medical doctors vs. a nurses. Loyalty to the employer, adherence to statutory regulations or performance standard, may also be justifiable considerations. Market dynamics of supply and demand may also shift compensation independent of individual qualities. But where lawful wages fall below the threshold of what one needs to live with dignity in a particular society, the ethical questions still surface, focusing primarily on pay that adequately recognizes the inherent dignity of persons vs. pay that serves the society's interests overall. Executive pay and differentials between men and women are among compensation issues getting increased scrutiny.
Consequentialism
Authors: Langenfus William L.
Published: January 2015

Consequentialism holds that the moral evaluation of acts, dispositions, or any other possible object of moral assessment, is exclusively related to their contribution to an impartially good overall state of affairs. The continued appeal of such a conception rests upon this fundamental idea. Somehow, it is thought, morality must have something essentially to do with how these affect the world and make it either a better or worse place. A consequentialist perspective inherently captures this idea and makes it the ultimate basis of morality. However, a fully developed consequentialist theory must address a variety of further questions. What conception of good/value is to be incorporated into the theory? Does it require one to “maximize” good outcomes or merely generate satisfactory outcomes that are deemed “good enough?” How does the theory assess and combine these various consequentially relevant factors into a coherent view? And finally, can the moral conception respond adequately to the objection that it is radically too demanding for normal human agents? The article addresses these elements essential to the formulation and development of a consequentialist theory.
Corporate Crime
Authors: Mathews M. Cash
Published: January 2015

Corporate crime has continued to proliferate despite codes of ethics, training, governmental regulation, and punishment. Regulatory scrutiny of corporate and executives' behavior and misbehavior has waxed and waned over the past few decades. While many corporations and their executives have taken corporate social responsibility seriously, too many others have taken such issues lightly. The lack of progress in corporate social responsibility requires that vigilance over corporations and their executives must continue.
Corporate Moral Agency
Authors: French Peter A.
Published: January 2015

The article summarizes the theory that corporations and corporate‐like entities can satisfy the conditions of being intentional actors and qualify as moral agents to which moral principles and rules apply and be held morally responsible for what they do. The theory is an alternative to the methodological individualist's interpretation of corporations as merely contractual relations between human moral agents with no moral status of their own. It provides a synopsis of the locus classicus of the theory that was developed by Peter French and clarifies that holding a corporation morally responsible for an action or event does not exclude the possibility that a human moral agent may also be responsible for the same action or event.
Integrative Social Contracts Theory
Authors: Dunfee Thomas W. , Donaldson Thomas J.
Published: January 2015

Integrative social contracts theory (ISCT) is a normative theory of business ethics.
public/private distinction
Authors: Francis Leslie P.
Published: January 2015

The public private distinction has been a mainstay of liberal political theory but has come under criticism from feminists and communitarians, among others. Criticisms have included whether the distinction is normative or empirical, how and whether lines can be drawn between the public and the private, and whether considerations of justice apply within institutions such as the family that have traditionally been regarded as private.
Socially Responsible Investing
Authors: Larson Andrea
Published: January 2015

SRI directs capital to socially responsible companies. Its fundamental principle is the alignment of financial goals and social/environmental responsibility. The article provides insights on the history of SRI, which can be traced all the way to the seventeenth century. However, especially from the mid‐1990s onwards, SRI has been characterized by rapid growth. It distinguishes and elaborates on three SRI strategies that have evolved over time: screening, shareholder advocacy, and community investment. The article points out that SRI does not merely offer equal returns than conventional investments, but often outperforms the market. As such, SRI will become an important driver for responsible business practices.
Communitarianism
Authors: Bell Daniel A.
Published: January 2015

A theory that contends that the individual develops and can flourish morally and politically only within the context of a community. Modern‐day communitarianism began in the upper reaches of Anglo‐American academia in the form of a critical reaction to John Rawls's landmark book of 1971, A Theory of Justice. Drawing primarily upon the insights of Aristotle and Hegel, political theorists disputed Rawls's assumption that the principal task of a government is to secure the liberties and economic resources individuals need to lead freely chosen lives. Just as liberals sometimes have to choose between ideals (e.g., freedom and equality) that come into conflict with one another if a serious effort is made to realize any one of them fully, so communitarians may have to make some hard choices between valued forms of communal life.
Economic Liberty
Authors: Mack Eric
Published: January 2015

Economic liberty consists in the freedom of agents to dispose, for economic purposes, of the objects or powers to which they are entitled in any way they choose as long as this disposition does not prevent other agents from enjoying a comparable discretionary control over the objects and powers to which they are entitled. Thus, economic liberty is a major subcategory of liberty understood as the freedom to dispose of one's own as one chooses. As the definition of economic liberty makes clear, determining whether an agent enjoys or suffers a loss of economic liberty requires prior judgments about what entitlements that agent has.
Environment and Environmental Ethics
Authors: Westra Laura
Published: January 2015

In the sense intended by Environmental Ethics (EE), “environment” refers specifically to the natural world of which humans are a part.
Fiduciary Duty
Authors: Boatright John R.
Published: January 2015

Fiduciary duty is the duty of an individual or an organization in a position of trust to act in the interest of another party with the skill and competence of a reasonable, prudent person. Fiduciary duty is relevant in business primarily to describe the responsibility of those entrusted with financial assets or with control of corporations, especially officers and directors. The basis of this duty is usually a contract by which a fiduciary agrees to serve the interests of another.
Financial reporting
Authors: Ponemon Lawrence A.
Published: January 2015

Financial reporting is the process of collecting, processing, and disclosing an organization's economic activity. Using one currency, and standard accounting rules, the process involves gathering data on business transactions and using the data to report on various aspects of the firm's financial position, summarized in statements including a balance sheet and income and cash flow statements. These and other specific outputs provide information for future decision making. Primary objectives for the process are to ensure control of assets, to create a timely, accurate and unbiased picture of economic activity and to hold management accountable to key stakeholders. This need for accountability combined with the public's reliance on full and truthful reports to gauge a firm's performance and worth form the basis for ethical practice in financial reporting. Conflict of interest between management and other stakeholders, whether perceived or real, are often the basis for such ethical errors as intentional misreporting or efforts to cover fraud. The independent auditor places a crucial role in ensuring that financial reports can be relied upon to determine the fiscal health of a company.
International Business Ethics
Authors: Donaldson Thomas J.
Published: January 2015

A blizzard of ethical issues surrounds transnational corporations. The most‐discussed involve labor standards, marketing practices, tax policy, economic impact, human rights, host government relations, and environmental responsibilities. Two distinct schools of thought have arisen about transnational responsibilities: the “minimalist” and “maximalist.” The minimalist argues that a transnational corporation's moral responsibilities are linked tightly to its economic purposes: to make profits for its investors and products or services for the public. Minimalists deny that it is ever the responsibility of the corporation in a host country to raise labor standards, fight corruption, improve the environment, discourage bias, or expand human rights, except insofar as doing so advances its more fundamental mission of making profits.
Just Cause
Authors: McCall John J.
Published: January 2015

Comparison of employment at will with the more internationally common job security rules of just cause systems. An analysis of the major arguments for and against just cause rules.
Leveraged Buyouts
Authors: Jones Thomas M.
Published: January 2015

A leveraged buyout (LBO) is a transaction that transforms a publicly traded corporation into a privately owned firm through the use of newly issued debt. The article examines the resulting ethical implications and impact on the organization's employees, suppliers; investors, the economic community and the broader society.
Liberalism
Authors: Flathman Richard E.
Published: January 2015

Liberalism is an idea encompassing both political and ideological tendencies and a fractious family of theories. Liberalism can be distinguished in complementary yet also competing ways. There are both justice‐ and rights‐oriented liberalisms. Liberalism may also be distinguished according to whether it is agency‐ or virtue‐based.
Motives
Authors: Hartman Edwin M.
Published: January 2015

You have a motive for performing an act if and only if there is something to be said for it from your point of view. You have a motive for doing anything that is in your interest, although in some cases you may have a stronger motive for not doing something of that kind. Motives can be causes of behavior even though we sometimes identify them through the behavior they cause, and usually cannot identify the law‐like regularities that link cause and effect.
Praxis
Authors: Nielsen Richard P.
Published: January 2015

Ethics praxis is ethical action that makes the actor a better person and the world a better place. It is action that is an end in itself. According to Bernstein (1971, ix), “The Greek term ‘praxis’ has an ordinary meaning that roughly corresponds to the ways in which we now commonly speak of ‘action’ or ‘doing,’ and it is frequently translated into English as ‘practice.’” As Bernstein (1971) interprets Aristotle, a contrast is made between two dimensions of life within the whole person, understanding (theoria), and action (praxis). Praxis does not refer to the mundane or to an anti intellectual person or to a person who is not concerned with ideas or theory. The end of the praxis dimension of life is living well or living appropriately within the polis, and within the community, within the organization. According to Bernstein (1971:x), “Praxis in this ⋱sense signifies the disciplines and activities predominant in man's ethical and political life” within the polis, within the community, within the organization.
Prisoner's Dilemma
Authors: Gilbert Daniel R.
Published: January 2015

The prisoner's dilemma is an analytical device designed to demonstrate difficulties inherent in voluntary human cooperation.
Regulation
Authors: Magat Wesley A.
Published: January 2015

As defined in the classic treatise of Alfred Kahn (1970, P. 3), “regulation is the explicit replacement of competition with governmental orders as the principal institutional device for assuring good performance” in an industry. Systems of regulation are imposed by law through the political‐choice process in order to improve the performance of the industries. Regulation operates through agencies, who act as the agents of the administrative and legislative branches of government in carrying out the laws.
Work
Authors: Gini Al
Published: January 2015

Good or bad work offers us meaning, money, identity or at the very least, a label. Like it or loathe it, work is part of the basic fabric of human condition.
Aesthetics and Ethics
Authors: Elm Dawn R.
Published: January 2015

This article discusses the recent revival of the inclusion of an aesthetic dimension into ethics. Research suggests that the practice and study of ethics and ethical decision making is enhanced by including dimensions of the human condition, emotional, aesthetic, physical, in addition to rational cognitive processes.
F
ederal
S
entencing
G
uidelines
Authors: James Ron
Published: January 2015

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO), created in 1991 by the United States Sentencing Commission, address consistency in sentencing organizations convicted of failing to comply with the law. The Guidelines provide incentives for good corporate behavior through significant reduction of sentencing and, financial penalties if the organization demonstrates seven elements of an effective compliance program. In 2004, the FSGO were updated to include an emphasis on the importance of creating and sustaining a culture committed to ethical behavior and compliance with the law.
Self‐Assessment and Improvement Process
Authors: Maines T. Dean
Published: January 2015

The SAIP is an assessment method that helps organizations integrate moral values within their policies, practices, and culture. The method is modeled upon the assessment approach pioneered within the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. SAIP‐based assessment tools translate a set of moral principles into an inventory of questions concerning a firm's management system. Answering these questions on the basis of evidence – for example, using documents that describe
how
the organization operates, as well as the
outcomes
it has attained – yields a qualitative and quantitative appraisal of the degree to which the principles have been embedded within the policies and processes that shape its work. The assessment results also support the formulation of initiatives designed to better align the organization's management system with these moral standards. Applied periodically, SAIP‐based assessment tools help firms establish a discipline of continuous learning and improvement on organizational ethics. By providing leaders with a practical way to shape their firm's moral character, the SAIP method helps executives address the growing public expectation that, all enterprises will conduct their affairs in an ethically responsible manner.
W
orld
E
conomic
F
orum
Authors: Michaelson Christopher
Published: January 2015

The article is a description of the World Economic Forum, a non‐governmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded by Klaus Schwab.
Archetypes, Entrepreneurial
Authors: Miller Danny
Published: January 2015

Entrepreneurial archetypes are configurations of organizational attributes – typically of strategy, organization design, environment, and governance – that represent very common types of entrepreneurship in their context. The utility of these types is that they distinguish among different types of entrepreneurship, the situations in which these occur, the challenges they typically encounter, and the behaviors required for optimal firm performance under those conditions. The significance of archetypes is that, a rather few types can often describe in a fine‐grained way a large fraction of organizations or complex situations. Such empirically or conceptually derived types segment the complex world of organizations into more homogeneous and analytically tractable compartments. They allow researchers to make key distinctions among different types and situations, and thus more powerful generalizations and predictions within them. Indeed, a few variables often can be used to categorize a firm into a type, and from that categorization predictions can be made regarding the states of other variables, their relationships, and financial performance. This focus on archetypes gave rise to the early work on entrepreneurial orientation. Common entrepreneurial archetypes include business creation by a founding entrepreneur, innovation in an expanding enterprise, and expansion by a corporate builder.
Business Plan
Authors: Kuratko Donald F.
Published: January 2015

A business plan is a written document that details a proposed venture. It must illustrate the current status, expected needs, and projected results of the new business. The business plan represents the entrepreneur's roadmap for a successful enterprise. The business plan describes to potential investors and financial sources all of the events that may affect the proposed venture, including its projected actions and their associated revenues and costs. Thus, a business plan should describe every aspect of a particular business; include a marketing plan; clarify and outline financial needs; identify potential obstacles and alternative solutions; and serve as a communication tool for all financial and professional sources. Thus, the business plan is the major tool used to guide the venture's formation as well as the primary document needed to manage it.
Corporate Entrepreneurship
Authors: Kuratko Donald F. , Morris Michael H. , Covin Jeffrey G.
Published: January 2015

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is being embraced by executives as more than simply a component of a company's strategy, but rather as the focus of an organization's success. The concept of CE has evolved over the last four decades and the definitions have varied considerably over time. With all of these various definitions taking shape, CE has still been a critical component to firms' efforts to establish sustainable competitive advantages as the foundation for profitable growth. This article describes Corporate Entrepreneurship as being manifested in companies either throughcorporate venturing– the adding of new businesses or portions of new businesses via equity investments to the corporation through three implementation modes – internal corporate venturing, cooperative corporate venturing, and external corporate venturing; orstrategic entrepreneurship– the exhibition of large‐scale or otherwise highly consequential innovations that are adopted in the firm's pursuit of competitive advantage. These innovations may or may not result in new businesses for the corporation. With strategic entrepreneurship approaches, innovation can be in any of five areas – the firm's strategy, product offerings, served markets, internal organization (i.e., structure, processes, and capabilities), or business model.
Creative Destruction
Authors: Pfarrer Michael D. , Smith Ken G.
Published: January 2015

Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter identified the term, creative destruction as an evolutionary process within capitalism that “revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating the new one.” It is this “perennial gale” that every firm operates in, and in that “every piece of business strategy acquires its true significance”.
Creativity and Entrepreneurship
Authors: Zhou Jing
Published: January 2015

An idea that is novel but has no potential value or usefulness would not be considered creative. By definition, individual creativity is different from organizational innovation, in that the former involves the idea generation stage, whereas the latter includes both the idea generation and implementation stages. Thus, individual creativity often provides a starting point for organizational innovation. Creativity can be seen as a continuum ranging from low levels to relatively high levels.
Entrepreneurial Intensity
Authors: Morris Michael H.
Published: January 2015

Organizations vary in terms of how entrepreneurial they are. The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) seeks to capture this variability by focusing on the extent to which a company is innovative, risk‐taking and proactive. This article argues that EO fails to fully capture how entrepreneurship is actually manifested in organizations, as it incorporates only the degree of entrepreneurship. To address this limitation, the term entrepreneurial intensity (EI) is introduced. Focusing on the occurrence of entrepreneurial events within an organization, EI reflects both how often the company engages in such events (frequency) and how innovative, risky, and proactive those events are (degree). An entrepreneurial grid is presented with degree and frequency of entrepreneurship on the axes. Using the grid, a number of different strategic entrepreneurial postures can be identified (e.g., high frequency/low degree, medium frequency/high degree). It is posited that the appropriate combination for a given organization depends on its industry and market context. Further, extant evidence suggesting a positive relationship between EO and performance should be re‐assessed with this context in mind. Rather than concluding that being more entrepreneurial inherently leads to better performance, it is argued that a company that does better at the combination of degree and frequency that is most appropriate for its context will be the superior performer.
Entrepreneurial Orientation
Authors: Lumpkin George Thomas , Dess Gregory G.
Published: January 2015

Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), one of the central concepts in the entrepreneurship literature, refers to the configuration of practices, policies, and processes that provide insights into the creation of entrepreneurial actions and decisions. Early research and theory building drew on the work of Miller (1983) and focused on three dimensions: innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness. However, recent work has incorporated the additional dimensions of competitive aggressiveness and autonomy. Central research issues in the EO literature are directed toward exploring the performance implications, in particular, the fit between EO and such variables as structure and environment, as well as the extent to which the dimensions of the construct are independent or covary under certain conditions. Future directions for research and theory building are also addressed. These include additional research into what factors affect the strength or form of the relationship between EO and organizational performance; the incorporation of different perspectives on the five core underlying dimensions; efforts directed at assessing and further developing the EO construct itself; exploration of the boundary conditions in family and nontraditional firms; and, how additional insights into exploring “best practices” in leading‐edge firms can help to inductively derive theory to provide new insights as well as confirm or disconfirm extant knowledge.
Entrepreneurship Development, Patterns of
Authors: Camp S. Michael
Published: January 2015

Despite emerging patterns, there are a number of contingent factors that have been found to influence the new venture development process and which provide fruitful areas for future research. Four of the more significant contingencies are the gender of the lead entrepreneur, the corporate environment, industry structure, and the cultural contexts.
The Entrepreneurship Process
Authors: Webb Justin W. , Pryor Christopher G.
Published: January 2015

As the entrepreneurship field has matured, scholars have turned to various process theories as a useful means for synthesizing existing knowledge regarding entrepreneurship into a cohesive whole. Process theories present entrepreneurship‐related phenomena as a sequence of events or activities that are directed toward a specific outcome or goal, such as venture creation and/or growth. This article describes several process theories of entrepreneurship, with particular emphasis on the individual/opportunity model, around which scholarly consensus is forming. And, the article highlights aspects of the theories that may provide opportunities for future theoretical development.
Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, and Entrepreneurship
Authors: Dean Thomas J.
Published: January 2015

The concept of market disequilibrium plays a central role in the understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship and its function in the economic system. While some authors emphasize the role of entrepreneurship in the movement of markets away from the condition of equilibrium (through the introduction of discontinuous change), others view the entrepreneurial process as fundamentally equilibrating because the actions of entrepreneurs move markets closer to a state of perfection. In this view, disequilibrium is created by exogenous changes in technologies, tastes and preferences, and the resultant market gaps and imperfections inherent to states of disequilibrium represent profit opportunities. Whether we believe that entrepreneurs create or exploit disequilibrium conditions, it is clear that entrepreneurs alter market conditions and market conditions motivate entrepreneurial action. Central questions of the field revolve around the nature of disequilibrium, the economic opportunities inherent therein, the means of exploiting such states, and the effect of the entrepreneur on market conditions and social welfare.
Entrepreneurship as Experience
Authors: Morris Michael H.
Published: January 2015

Venture creation is a lived experience. Entrepreneurs encounter a wide array of events, many of which are novel, unexpected and uncontrolled, as their ventures unfold. Such events can be characterized in terms of their volume, velocity and volatility. The processing of these events finds the entrepreneur attempting to make sense and give meaning to novel developments. This processing involves cognitive, affective and physiological elements, with many events rich in positive or negative affect. The manner in which events are processed directly and indirectly impacts entrepreneurial decision‐making and learning, which in turn can serve to modify, redirect, and/or completely change the direction of the venture and the nature of the opportunity the venture seeks to exploit. In addition, the experiencing of these events is a key factor in the formation of the entrepreneur over time. In this sense, the entrepreneur forms the venture as he or she is being formed by the venture.
Geographic Location and Regional Variation in Entrepreneurship
Authors: Deeds David L.
Published: January 2015

Entrepreneurial activity does not exist within a vacuum; rather, it is an activity which is firmly rooted in the context in which it is being undertaken. Ventures are created and grown, and succeed or fail within specific geographic contexts that may be more or less munificent along a number of dimensions. These dimensions include risk capital, skilled labor, technical and scientific knowledge, specialized suppliers, supportive cultural norms and values, and social capital/networks. This entry begins with a review of the literature on geographic location and entrepreneurial activity. Specifically, this entry will look at the research on the impact of labor pooling, specialized suppliers, knowledge spillovers, culture, and amenities on entrepreneurial activity and conclude with suggestions of areas for future research.
Growth, Entrepreneurial
Authors: Davidsson Per
Published: January 2015

On the macro‐level, “Entrepreneurial Growth” can be understood as economic growth generated by entrepreneurial activities. This article focuses on the micro level, where “Entrepreneurial Growth” can have either of three meanings: a) the growth of owner‐managed firms; b) the early growth that make start‐ups become “real organizations” rather than just instances of self‐employment, and c) venture or firm growth that has been achieved by offering the market something new rather than by mere volume expansion or the acquisition of activities formerly performed by a different organization. Arguably, this latter interpretation of “Entrepreneurial Growth” is best aligned with recent development in micro‐level scholarship on entrepreneurship.
History of the Academic Study of Entrepreneurship
Authors: Cooper Arnold C.
Published: January 2015

Entrepreneurship as an academic field of study is quite young. It was in the 70s and 80s when business schools began to offer courses focusing on entrepreneurship. Within the Academy of Management, Karl Vesper formed an Interest Group on Entrepreneurship which achieved full status as the Entrepreneurship Division in 1987. In regards to scholarship, the
Journal of Small Business Management
started in 1963 while the
American Journal of Small Business
, started in 1976, changed to
Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice
in 1988. The
Journal of Business Venturing
was started in 1985 by Ian MacMillan under the sponsorship of the Wharton School while
Small Business Economics
was started in 1989 by Zoltan Acs and David B. Audretsch. A number of specialized journals started, including
Small Business Strategy
(1990),
Family Business Review
(1988), and
Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
(1989). In the 21st Century, some of the prestigious research universities in the U.S., such as Indiana University, University of Colorado, and Syracuse University developed Ph.D. programs in entrepreneurship in order to prepare the next generation of scholars and researchers. The academic study of entrepreneurship will continue to grow and while it is still a developing field it will have even greater impact in the future.
Information Asymmetry and Entrepreneurship
Authors: Dutta Supradeep , Folta Timothy B.
Published: January 2015

The implications of information asymmetries for entrepreneurial action and decision‐making by resource providers are explored. It is argued that firms unable to manage the negative repercussions associated with information asymmetry will find it hard to survive or prosper. These obstacles can, however, be overcome, and three vehicles for doing so are introduced: development of specific institutions that cope with adverse selection, management of moral hazard through controls built into financial contracts, and information transfer through social networks. Research priorities tied to the paradoxes created by information asymmetries are identified.
Legitimacy and Entrepreneurial Behaviors
Authors: Rutherford Matthew W. , Nagy Brian G.
Published: January 2015

In this article, we discuss organizational legitimacy and highlights its importance to the field of entrepreneurship. By considering the various dimensions of legitimacy discussed in the entrepreneurship and organizational theory areas of study, we also highlight its complex nature. In addition, we review legitimacy's effects as they pertain to the viability and success of a new venture. We highlight the theoretical underpinnings of various types of legitimacy and continue by discussing ways legitimacy may be attained utilizing isomorphic methods, strategic and innovative approaches, as well as through social means.
Liability of Newness
Authors: Schoonhoven Claudia B.
Published: January 2015

The concept of liability of newness in a start‐up and early stage venture context is reviewed. Key sources of this liability are identified. Approaches to addressing or mitigating the liability of newness are explored.
Technology Transfer
Authors: Afuah Allan
Published: January 2015

The nature of technology transfer is explored, including the many contexts within which it occurs. Distinctive aspects of intra‐ versus inter‐organizational transfers of technology are examined. Particular types of transfer mediums are identified. Tools for managing transfers effectively are identified and classified. The need to tailor transfer approaches to the nature of the technology and the context is emphasized.
Debt Financing
Authors: Ozkan Aydin , Trzeciakiewicz Agnieszka
Published: January 2015

Debt is one of the main financing methods that firms use to fund their operating and investment activities. The observed capital structure patterns of firms suggest that debt financing choice is not made randomly, and firms seem to consider the benefits and costs of borrowing in determining their capital structure. This article provides an overview of debt financing with a specific emphasis on the theoretical and empirical research that focuses on the benefits and costs of the use of debt in the capital structure of firms. It also draws attention to the strategic bargaining and signaling roles of debt financing.
Feedback Trading
Authors: Holmes Phil
Published: January 2015

In this article we consider feedback trading, which refers to trading conduct whereby investors extrapolate from historical price sequences. Feedback trading is an umbrella‐term encompassing a range of price‐based trading strategies (such as momentum and contrarian). From a theoretical perspective, its roots can be traced to both rational (informational and professional) as well as behavioral (availability bias; representativeness heuristic) reasons. Several well‐known trading practices (including stop‐loss orders and portfolio insurance) are essentially feedback in nature (since their activation is triggered upon pre determined changes in prices). Empirical research to date has indicated the presence of significant feedback trading in a wide cross section of markets (developed as well as developing), across different time periods (e.g., Asian crisis) and for different investor‐types (institutional/individual; domestic/overseas). We conclude by identifying a series of unresolved issues related to feedback trading that could motivate future research on the subject.
Capital Structure
Authors: Newton David P.
Published: January 2015

Capital structure is the mix of equity and debt. It can be changed by issuing more debt and using the proceeds to buy back shares, or by issuing more equity and using the proceeds to buy back debt. The question then arises: Is there an optimal capital structure for a company? The solution to this question, for the restricted case of “perfect markets,” was given by Modigliani and Miller (1958), whose fame is now such that they are referred to in finance textbooks simply as MM. What was considered perplexing, before MM, is now replaced by a strong and simple statement about capital structure. MM gives a baseline for comparison but it does not hold, strictly, in the real world. There is, finally, no simple formula for the optimum capital structure of a company. A balance has to be struck, especially between the tax advantages of corporate borrowing and the costs of financial distress.
Commodity Futures Volatility
Authors: Crain Susan J. , Lee Jae H.
Published: January 2015

Several theories have been offered to explain the factors that impact commodity futures contract volatility. This article highlights these theories and provides empirical evidence for the following effects: contract maturity, contract month, price level, quantity, government loan rates, production seasonality, month‐of‐the‐year, day‐of‐the‐week, and turn‐of‐the‐year.