Middle Tennessee State University: Journals@MTSU
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Strategic agility in the SME: Use it before you lose it
Get PDFThis empirical study investigates strategic agility and its relationships with firm age, firm size, and firm performance in SMEs. The Doz and Kosonen three-factor model of strategic agility is operationalized and tested in 30 firms from multiple industries located in the Space Coast region of Florida. It is found that strategic agility decreases as firms grow older but not as firms grow larger. Strategic agility and firm performance are also found to be related as moderated by environmental turbulence. Specifically, performance increases with strategic agility in high turbulence but decreases with strategic agility in low turbulence. This finding is consistent with the view that dynamic capabilities like strategic agility bear a cost which may be unnecessary in stable environments. Overall, the study suggests that SMEs may benefit from strategic agility if it used while they still have it, that is, when they are young
Fostering Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and the Choice of Location for New Companies in Rural Areas – the Case of Germany
Get PDFStartup ecosystems have become a popular field of research in recent years, not only for researchers but also for regional policy makers. Contemporary research on startup ecosystems generally focuses on urban areas and hubs such as Silicon Valley, Berlin, or Tel Aviv. However, little is known about startup ecosystems in rural areas. To fill this research gap, the research objective of this paper is to analyse disparities between entrepreneurial ecosystems in urban and rural areas in general and specifically in Germany. The major aim of this study is to examine the importance and development of startups in urban and rural areas and to identify challenges and opportunities for rural areas in order to set the right impulses. The research focus of this paper is to discuss which stakeholders and determinants affect the founders in their location decision. Using German Startup Monitor (DSM) 2019 data, it is found that the lack of network ties and opportunities to collaborate with established corporations; availability of qualified personnel; access to venture capital; an investment and economic policy initiative appear to be obstacles that prevent founders from starting up in rural areas in Germany. The results also confirm the findings of other studies that entrepreneurship tends to be an urban event. This study also provides suggestions for future research
Marketing strategies in family firms
Get PDFBranding and reputation plays an important role in determining firm behaviour and outcomes. These well-known marketing concepts have attracted attention of family firm scholars as well. However, despite the significant growth in family firm literature over the last two decades, the application of marketing theories and concepts in family firm context is limited. Thus, there is an urgent need for a better understanding of reputation, branding, communication, and marketing perspectives in family firms. The goal of this special issue is to enhance our understanding of marketing strategies in family firms. This special issue features 5 articles that represents the work of 12 scholars from five different countries
MOTIVATING QUALITY RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS CAPSTONE COURSES
Get PDFThere has been a proliferation of capstone experiences in economics. These experiences often require that students complete original research and write a lengthy paper, a task that many undergraduates find intimidating. This paper explores methods that reduce anxiety and incentivize undergraduate students to create new knowledge through quality research by examining our capstone seminar experience at a small Midwestern university. The paper recommends encouraging high-quality student research by breaking projects into manageable parts, having explicit grading criteria, and using peer review. Students also benefit from sharing their work with others through oral presentation and publication in undergraduate journals
Letter from the Editor in Chief
No full textAs Middle Tennessee State University’s student research journal, Scientia et Humanitas publishes exemplars of the research and scholarship that MTSU students, from across the humanities and sciences, produce each year. This volume is a testament to the determination and ingenuity of graduate and undergraduate students at MTSU; despite the significant challenges of the last year, these students have produced innovative and compelling research and scholarship. The essays collected here also reflect the central values of this publication: scholarly rigor, originality in research and analysis, and a dedication to advancing our academic discourse in new and engaging ways.
This volume also reflects the remarkable range of issues and research areas with which MTSU students are engaged. Our first essay, “A Landscape of Linguistic Love,” immerses us in the poetry of John Milton and poignantly reveals the link between love and language in Milton’s works and personal life. While that essay evokes such timeless poetic concerns, the following essays deal with very timely issues, from policing in the United States in “Exploring the Link between Violent Crime Workload and Officer-Involved Shooting of Unarmed Individuals” to the efficacy of moral arguments in an era of extreme political partisanship in “Moral Reframing.” A literature review examines Incel ideology and discourse and the connections between this often-violent movement, online forums, and the media; this essay complements “The Islamic State,” which proposes a new framework for understanding the political-religious totalitarianism and ideology of an international terrorist organization. The concluding essay, “Narrative Authority,” challenges dominant narratives within a postcolonial framework, with the goal of returning agency to marginalized voices via an analysis of Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People. Despite the disparate approaches and subjects of these essays, they are connected by thought-provoking analysis and original research.
At the end of this process, I must first express my gratitude to these talented contributors for sharing their work with the editorial staff and, now, the MTSU community. Secondly, this volume was not produced single-handedly. It would not have been possible without our talented editorial staff: Liam McBane, Laney Jolley Smith, Percy Verret, and Elizabeth McGhee Williams. It was an honor to work with such dedicated academics and editors. I am also grateful for the assistance of the administration and staff at MTSU’s University Honors College, including the editorial advisory board: Ms. Marsha Powers, Dr. Philip Phillips, and Dean John R Vile. Their guidance throughout this process was invaluable, as was the assistance of other members of the Honors College staff, including Ms. Susan Lyons, for her work on design and layout, Ms. Sandra Campbell, and Ms. Cindy Phiffer. This volume would not be possible without the contributions of this group that is dedicated to supporting MTSU’s student researchers and writers.
Eric HughesEditor in Chie
Exploring the Link Between Violent Crime Workload and Officer-Involved Shootings of Unarmed Individuals*
Get PDFThe present author created a measure of officer workload in the U.S. and determined whether this measure predicted lethal officer-involved shootings (OISs) of unarmed individuals. Seventy-six OISs from the year 2016 were analyzed using archival data. Data were collected regarding population size, number of officers, and violent crime statistics for each city and state in which a lethal OIS of an unarmed decedent occurred. The present author hypothesized that states with more officer-involved shootings of unarmed individuals would have higher officer workloads than states with fewer shootings, and that officer workload would be higher in cities where shootings occurred, compared to those cities’ state-level measures. Workload comparisons between states were not significant; however, city to state comparisons revealed meaningful workload differences. Specifically, cities with fatal OISs of unarmed decedents had higher officer workloads than the state in which the cities were located. Future research that includes data beyond 2016 could allow one to predict cities that are at risk for lethal OISs and offer evidence-based insights into methods designed to minimize the number of these events.
*Winner of the Dean’s Distinguished Essay Awar
Education by the Numbers
Get PDFIt is not difficult to hear or engage in a debate on the influence that a celebrity, politician, or an athlete have in society. However, outside of the immediate home environment, a teacher is the most influential person in the life of a person. They act as role models and offer guidance to our children. Teachers are the backbone of society. Teachers are the people responsible for socialand economic development of a society.
What do we know about teachers in our public schools? According to the most reliable data, there are approximately 3.7 million (3.2 million public and 0.5 million private) full-time and part-time elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States. Teacher characteristics are often associated with other variables related to students’ success
Family firm heterogeneity and tax aggressiveness: A quasi-experimental analysis of the impact of different family generations
Get PDFThis paper analyses tax aggressiveness in family firm generations. Moreover, taking into account the heterogeneity in family firms, we check whether the successive generations in control show different tax avoidance behaviour. The empirical evidence, based on the quasi-experiment of the 2012 Spanish thin capitalization rule, reveals that there is a positive relationship between tax aggressiveness and successive generations. Moreover, the founder and second generations follow a similar conservative tax avoidance approach, whereas the third and fourth generations are found to be more tax aggressive
Rural Entrepreneurship Success Factors: An Empirical Investigation in an Emerging Market
Get PDFSmall businesses in rural communities play a key role in achieving global sustainable economic development because they are the driving force of poverty reduction, job creation, resiliency, and economic development. This study examines the factors that drive the success or failure of small businesses in rural communities in an emerging market. The methodology is survey interview research using a logistic regression model to test the Lussier success vs failure prediction model with a sample of 230 businesses (successful n = 120, failed n = 110) from the rural communities in an emerging market. This study supports the Lussier model validity (p < 0.01) with a high overall accuracy of 71% in predicting a venture as successful or failed. Capital, industry experience, staffing, and marketing skills are the most significant (t-values < .05) factors that distinguish successful from failed rural businesses in an emerging market. The findings can help future, and nascent rural entrepreneurs avoid failure and successfully contribute to economic development. Implications for government agencies, public regulatory bodies, financial institutions, investors, suppliers, educators, professional institutions, and society, as well as limitations and future research, are presented. This study also contributes to the international validity of the Lussier model that can be used in both advanced and developing economies, and it contributes to the development of theory
Why Small Deals Don’t Get Done: Evidence From Rural Entrepreneurs
Get PDFFor myriad reasons, rural entrepreneurs may want to harvest by selling their business. While these entrepreneurs may look for inspiration to larger, public deals, there are few relevant insights to glean from these deals. Despite the high stakes involved for rural entrepreneurs and potential buyers, researchers have placed little attention on dealmaking at the lower end of the spectrum. We address this lack of research by answering the research question: Why do deals involving small companies go unconsummated? Because research on why large deals fall through is sparse and of limited applicability, we ground our research using insights from the venture financing arena (venture capitalists and angel investors) about why deals between entrepreneurs and investors do not close successfully. Applying a novel dataset from an economic development effort in a small southwestern U.S. city, we analyze the reasons why an investor group investigated 20 potential small deals, but none eventually closed. We found that issues both with the potential buyers and sellers led to the deal failures, with issues involving the valuation and also the selling entrepreneur being the most common deal-breakers. Furthermore, through this investigation, we gained insights into the challenges of an investor-driven model for economic development