Strategies and Tools for Entrepreneurial Resource Access: A Cross‐disciplinary Review and Typology

Given that gaining access to external resources is a critical component of entrepreneurial activity, a great deal of research has been done in an attempt to predict and explain this phenomenon. Unfortunately, this literature is largely scattered across a wide variety of somewhat disconnected research streams, which makes interpreting the insights that have been hitherto gained challenging. In response, the authors identify a sample of 76 relevant articles from the leading management and entrepreneurship journals that examine entrepreneurial access to resources. Using a narrative synthesis approach, they then organize these articles based on the strategies (projective and/or interpersonal) and tools (words, actions, associations and/or intangibles) by which entrepreneurs gain access to resources. Based on this categorization, the authors discuss the major themes in the extant literature and offer suggestions for how to move research on entrepreneurial access forward in the future.     

The Use of Multizone Models to Estimate an Airborne Chemical Contaminant Generation and Decay Profile: Occupational Exposures of Hairdressers to Vinyl Chloride in Hairspray During the 1960s and 1970s

Vinyl chloride (VC) was used as a propellant in a limited percentage of aerosol hairspray products in the United States from approximately 1967 to 1973. The question has arisen whether occupational exposures of hairdressers to VC-containing hairsprays in hair salons were sufficient to increase the risk for developing hepatic angiosarcoma (HAS). Transient two-zone and steady-state three-zone models were used to estimate the historical airborne concentration of VC for individual hairdressers using hairspray as well as estimated contributions from other hairdressers in the same salon. Concentrations of VC were modeled for small, medium, and large salons, as well as a representative home salon. Model inputs were determined using published literature, and variability in these inputs was also considered using Monte Carlo techniques. The 95th percentile for the daily time-weighted average exposure for small, medium, and large salons, assuming a market-share fraction of VC-containing hairspray use from the Monte Carlo analysis, was about 0.3 ppm, and for the home salon scenario was 0.1 ppm. The 95th percentile value for the cumulative lifetime exposure of the hairdressers was 2.8 ppm-years for the home salon scenario and 2.0 ppm-years for the small, medium, and large salon scenarios. If using the assumption that all hairsprays used in a salon contained VC, the 95th percentile of the theoretical lifetime cumulative dose was estimated to be 52–79 ppm-years. Estimated lifetime doses were all below the threshold dose for HAS of about 300 to 500 ppm-years reported in the published epidemiology literature.     

Strategic group membership and nonprofit organization performance

This study analyzed the resource characteristics of a sample of university foundations and identified five distinct strategic groups. We found significant performance differences among them. Specifically, the group that focused most heavily on fundraising activities had the highest financial performance. Also performing well was the group with the highest ratio of contributions to total revenues combined with the highest level of slack. The research and managerial implications of this study's findings are discussed.     

Behavioral and Cognitive Readiness for School: Cross-domain Associations for Children Attending Head Start

Utilizing a diverse sample of 356 four-year-old children attending Head Start, this study examined the degree to which behavioral aspects of school readiness, including classroom participation, prosocial behavior, and aggression control were related to direct assessments of child cognitive readiness (academic knowledge, executive function skills) at the start of the prekindergarten year. Classroom participation and prosocial behavior each accounted for unique variance in cognitive readiness. Aggressive behavior, in contrast, was not correlated with academic knowledge, and was associated with low levels of executive function skills. In multiple regressions, aggressive behavior paradoxically enhanced the prediction of child cognitive readiness. Profile analyses strengthened the conclusion that the promotion of competencies associated with classroom participation and prosocial behavior may be particularly critical to cognitive readiness in prekindergarten. Implications are discussed for developmental models of school readiness and preschool classroom practice.     

Simplifying Regression Models Using Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis can make a contribution to model formulation when some of the measurements in the problem are of physical factors. The analysis constructs a set of independent dimensionless factors that should be used as the variables of the regression in place of the original measurements. There are fewer of these than the originals and they often have a more appropriate interpretation. The technique is described briefly and its proposed role in regression discussed and illustrated with examples. We conclude that dimensional analysis can be effective in the preliminary stages of regression analysis whendeveloping formulations involving continuous variables with several dimensions.     

THE ROLE OF THE GOLD STANDARD IN KEYNESIAN MONETARY THEORY

This paper shows that many of the most distinctive features of Keynesian economics are best understood if one views the General Theory as essentially a gold standard model. A close examination of Keynes's statements on contemporaneous policy issues suggests that the gold standard had a profound impact on his views on monetary policy effectiveness. In particular, I show that the liquidity trap has been widely misunderstood. Finally, I argue that post–General Theory developments in Keynesian economics are best understood as a response to the inapplicability of Keynes's original message to a world of fiat money regimes. ( JEL B22, E12, N1)     

Beyond taxonomy

Much of the considerable confusion about the definition of social entrepreneurship in academic literature stems from a lack of empirical research on the subject. This article advances social entrepreneurship research beyond conceptualization discussions by developing and validating an instrument that quantifies the incidence of nonprofit entrepreneurial behavior. Information from 145 Kansas City Metropolitan Area nonprofit organizations was collected to validate the underlying constructs represented in the instrument. Behavior differences were depicted between entrepreneurial and nonentrepreneurial nonprofits. Using principal component factor analysis, the research illustrates social entrepreneurship as a unique nonprofit behavior that occurs at the intersection of innovation, proactiveness, and risk taking.