To learn or not to learn from new product development project failure: The roles of failure experience and error orientation

Data availability: Data will be made available on request.Copyright © 2023 The Authors. New product development (NPD) project leaders' learning varies after experiencing project failure, as not all failure experience equally promotes learning and not all project leaders equally learn from failure. Drawing on the sensemaking and error management perspectives, this study focuses on two research questions: to what extent does project failure experience (i.e., the percentage of project failures in the overall project portfolio managed by a project leader and the time elapsed since last project failure) affect NPD project leaders' learning from failure? To what extent does a project leader's error orientation (i.e., error competence and error strain) moderate the effect of project failure experience on NPD project leaders' learning from failure? Based on survey responses collected at two distinct time points from 237 NPD project leaders in high-tech ventures, our results show that the percentage of project failures negatively affects learning from failure, and their negative relationship is weakened as error competence increases. In contrast, the time since project failure positively affects learning from failure, and their positive relationship is weakened as error strain increases. Our findings emphasize that a simplistic approach to learning from failure fails to uncover the transformative mechanisms involved in turning failure into learning in the NPD process. Instead, we suggest a customized approach to comprehending how project leaders can capitalize on project failure considering their failure experience and error orientation to learn from NPD project failure

Changing use of external business advice and government supports by SMEs in the 1990s

This paper uses cross-sectional surveys of 1991 and 1997, a panel survey of firms surviving between 1991 and 1997 and comparison with a further cross-sectional survey in 1999, to compare the levels of use by SMEs of external business advice. The resource-based theory of the firm indicates that SMEs seek advice in order to increase their competitive capacity. Over time, increasing competition between SMEs is expected to lead to increasing use of advice. However, the paper demonstrates that only modest changes over time have occurred in aggregate use of external advice by SMEs, and these are not statistically significant. This suggests that earlier growth in external business advice services may now have plateaued. There are some significant changes of use by source (increasing for advertising, personnel and recruitment, new technology and computer services; and decreasing for taxation and financial management advice). The paper is one of the first to assess sector patterns. Publishing, manufacturing and other business activities are the largest users of advice. Sector differences are shown to be considerable and need to be taken account in future analyses. For government advice services, the shift from a centralized and fragmented structure (Small Firms Service and Enterprise Initiative) to a decentralized and coordinated structure (Training and Enterprise Councils and Business Link) had no impact on greater market penetration except for the greater participation by the larger SMEs in use of Investors in People. Increased use of government sources has occurred, however, through enterprise agencies and regional development bodies. Further comparison of developments up to 1999 suggests a possible decline in use of advice as a whole, and a significant decline in use of Business Link. This indicates that the new bodies of the Small Business Service and the Learning and Skills Council may struggle to meet their market penetration targets

Internationalisation as a human capital adaptation journey: the case of returnee entrepreneurs in China

Many studies examine the internationalisation processes of migrant entrepreneurs, whether they are moving to a new country or returning to their home country. However, research on the adaptation of their human capital throughout this journey remains limited. To advance understanding in this area, we investigate returnee entrepreneurs (REs) and their human capital adaptation journey between China, as their country of origin, and OECD countries. Applying a liminality lens, we commence with the individual dimension when they travel abroad to acquire education and experience, to then consider organisational factors when REs return home to start or invest in new business ventures with a new international outlook. Findings confirm that prospective entrepreneurs travelling abroad for school or work adapt their human capital to the new environment; we demonstrate how this happens. Our main contributions relate to the journey element when REs return experiencing a poor fit with their home business environment, but being motivated towards international entrepreneurship as an opportunity for personal validation and organisational impact. We propose a dynamic and holistic model of internationalisation as a human capital adaptation journey which contributes to human capital theory in international entrepreneurship research.</p

The Status of Innovation in Africa’s Development Strategy: Where should Science and Technology Fit in?

This chapter sets out the importance of knowledge systems in promoting economic development in African countries with special reference to innovation. Using published data from the last 20 years and a major DFID aid programme it argues that most recent investment in African technology development is still unduly biased towards formal science. What is lacking at policy level is any meaningful interaction between science and economic production on the ground. The danger is therefore a continuation of African underdevelopment with profound likely consequences for incomes and employment across the continent

Investigating the relationship between entrepreneurship and regional development: case of developing countries

Abstract A lot has been written about the relationship between entrepreneurship and regional development in the past years. However, do we have conclusive empirical evidence for justification of this relationship? Policymakers expect from entrepreneurship positive impact on country’s wealth and employment. Nevertheless, several scholars have argued that the impact of entrepreneurship might be even negative, especially, when the institutions are not working well. This might be a case of developing countries. According to our research, a recent empirical study that would be investigating this relationship is missing. Therefore, we utilize the dataset of 48 countries classified according to U.N. as developing for years 2000–2015 and we empirically test the relationship between the established business ownership rate (obtained from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) and a set of country’s economic indicators (Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Income, and Human Development Index). Obtained estimates support a hypothesis assuming a negative influence of entrepreneurship on regional development of developing countries (represented by GDP and GNI). Nevertheless, we failed to prove any impact of entrepreneurship on HDI. These findings have crucial implications for both policymakers and researchers. Based on this study, more efforts need to be put to better understand different forms of entrepreneurial activity in developing countries, its institutional context, and link towards regional economic development