Business Development

Assessing the forward-looking policies of entrepreneurship development in Iran

by Mostafa Nejati

To cite this document: Ali Davari, Mona Zehtabi, Mostafa Negati, Mohammad Ehsan Zehtabi, "Assessing the forward-looking policies of entrepreneurship development in Iran", World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 8 Iss: 1 pp. 60 - 70

Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/20425961211221624

ABSTRACT:
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Purpose – Entrepreneurship development is known as a key enabler of economic... more ABSTRACT:
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Purpose – Entrepreneurship development is known as a key enabler of economic development, hence it has been contemplated in the strategic plans of various countries. Iran is no exception in that regard, since developing entrepreneurship has been emphasized in the country's third and fourth development plans, in order to tackle the increasing rate of population growth and unemployment. Now, as the fourth development plan has come to its end, it is necessary to evaluate the policies and programs related to entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to assess the entrepreneurial development plans of this important Middle East country to provide a benchmark of influential policies on entrepreneurship development at both macro and micro level and to evaluate them accordingly.

Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative methods, namely survey and questionnaire distribution among experts dealing with entrepreneurship subjects have been used as the main method for data collection.

Findings – The results reveal that influential entrepreneurship policies at both macro and micro levels are not generally forward-looking and supportive of entrepreneurship development. Therefore, some suggestions have been provided to develop these policies.

Originality/value – The paper presents findings of research which come from a rapidly-growing, developing country, which can provide better insights from a less-explored context and further add to the body of knowledge.

Greater Equality and Economic Growth through Social Entrepreneurship

by Lars Føleide

Social Entrepreneurs leveraging recent Innovation Management advancements in achieving Greater Equality and Economic Growth

The world is changing at an ever increasingly rate. Corporations are in a constant race to optimize cost structures,... more The world is changing at an ever increasingly rate. Corporations are in a constant race to optimize cost structures, and reinvest just enough of their profits to maximize shareholder value. The field of entrepreneurship is also rapidly becoming more agile and sophisticated, in areas of web and mobile – with Silicon Valley taking the lead in this development. But in this extreme rush to become the best, the cheapest, the biggest or the company with the most sought-after brand – we don’t stop and question if all this effort leads to economic growth.
As the economy is struggling, it becomes apparent that we have some fundamental economic structural problems. Yet again, we look towards Entrepreneurship for solutions.
Private incubator programs like Y Combinator and 500 Startups have with their success in fostering entrepreneurship served as inspiration for similar models. Doing a successful startup might seem like daunting task to accomplish, especially considering that once disrupting technologies like the Internet have now reached a mature level – and the necessary preparations to meet expectations before launch are continuously reaching new heights.
This paper seek to explain how accepting institutional capital will eventually lead to a competitive disadvantage for web and mobile internet companies with low capital requirements, and how Networked Social Enterprise Incubators can through innovative cost management, synergies and economies of scale – can lead to greater societal equality and broad economic growth.


Keywords
Incubators, Social Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth, Innovation, Venture Capital, Capitalism, Business Development, Knowledge Hub

Methods to Elicit Forecasts from Groups: Delphi and Prediction Markets Compared

by J Armstrong

Co-authored with Kesten C. Green and Andreas Graefe. Forthcoming in Foresight: The International Journal of Applied Forecasting. Working paper.

Traditional groups meetings are an inefficient and ineffective method for making forecasts and decisions. We compare... more Traditional groups meetings are an inefficient and ineffective method for making forecasts and decisions. We compare two structured alternatives to traditional meetings: the Delphi technique and prediction markets. Delphi is relatively simple and cheap to implement and has been adopted for diverse applications in business and government since its origins in the 1950s. It can be used for nearly any forecasting, estimation, or decision making problem not barred by complexity or ignorance. While prediction markets were used more than a century ago, their popularity waned until more recent times. Prediction markets can be run continuously, and they motivate participation and participants to reveal their true beliefs. On the other hand, they need many participants and clear outcomes in order to determine pay-offs. Moreover, translating knowledge into a price is not intuitive to everyone and constructing contracts that will provide a useful forecast may not be possible for some problems. It is difficult to maintain confidentiality with markets and they are vulnerable to manipulation. Delphi is designed to reveal panelists’ knowledge and opinions via their forecasts and the reasoning they provide. This format allows testing of knowledge and learning by panelists as they refine their forecasts but may also lead to conformity due to group pressure. The reasoning provided as an output of the Delphi process is likely to be reassuring to forecast users who are uncomfortable with the “black box” nature of prediction markets. We consider that, half a century after its original development, Delphi is under-utilized.

Incubators as a catalyst for Economic Growth

by Lars Føleide

The role of Incubators in knowledge hubs for continued Economic Growth

The world is changing at an ever increasingly rate. Corporations are in a constant race to optimize cost structures,... more The world is changing at an ever increasingly rate. Corporations are in a constant race to optimize cost structures, and reinvest just enough of their profits to maximize shareholder value. The field of entrepreneurship is also rapidly becoming more agile and sophisticated, in areas of web and mobile – with Silicon Valley taking the lead in this development.
Universities play a crucial role as an innovation promoting knowledge hub, and have been improving its function in this role through boundary-expanding initiatives, as they started to take an active role in improving the underlying dynamics of entrepreneurship to achieve stronger economic development.
Private incubators programs like Y Combinator and 500 Startups have with their success in fostering entrepreneurship spurred interest for replicating their value at the university level. Doing a successful startup might seem like daunting task to accomplish, especially considering that once disrupting technologies like the Internet have now reached a mature level – and the expected quality level before launch are continuously reaching new heights.
This report will explain the importance of incubators, and how they facilitate the process of allowing knowledge to be commercialized through entrepreneurship - which creates higher economic growth, as much of this knowledge might never have been commercialized without a surrounding ecosystem.

Keywords
Innovation, Cluster, Knowledge Hub, Knowledge Governance, Incubators, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, Business Development, Capitalism, Economic Growth

What Works, and Why, In Business Services Provision for SME: Insights From Evolutionary Theory

by Marjolein Caniëls

Can Business Development Services Practitioners Learn From Theories of Innovation and Services Marketing?

by Marjolein Caniëls

Triangle Forces

by Jurgen Proschinger

A holistic approach for independent production companies to manage the value generating activities and risk management... more A holistic approach for independent production companies to manage the value generating activities and risk management processes when developing, producing, and distributing feature films and other forms of audiovisual entertainment.
Knowledge of the interaction between the Triangle Forces and how to best utilize the relationship of processes when selecting projects can provide a producer of audiovisual entertainment with the groundwork for a long-term strategic agenda. Especially in a market that is rapidly developing in view of the imminent convergence between passive (film and television) and interactive audiovisual entertainment (video games).