Using data from 90 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the World Bank, we examine the country-level determinants of entrepreneurs’ sensing, seizing, and transforming capabilities, three clusters of dynamic capabilities. Our findings reveal that both the quality of entrepreneurship education and an autonomous culture promote entrepreneurs’ capabilities. However, these relationships differ depending on the country type (innovation-driven, efficiency-driven, and factors-driven countries). An autonomous culture positively influences entrepreneurs’ sensing and seizing capabilities, but not transforming capabilities. Additionally, institutional support for entrepreneurship education enhances dynamic capabilities, especially in developing countries. The research uncovers institutional mechanisms that explain cross-country variations in entrepreneurs’ dynamic capabilities, providing a deeper understanding of the interplay between culture, institutions, and dynamic capabilities.

We examined how electroencephalographic (EEG) brain activity responded to entrepreneurial pitches for venture funding and whether EEG signals from a small laboratory focus group (N = 28) could be used to predict subsequent investment outcomes. Specifically, we tested whether EEG signals of frontal alpha asymmetry and correlated EEG activity across evaluators (i.e., neural similarity) were associated with investment interest expressed by a larger population group (N = 497), as well as with the likelihood that a pitch secured a deal and, if so, the size of the investment. We found that alpha asymmetry in the first 10 seconds of a pitch predicted population-level investment interest and investment amounts, above and beyond standard self-report and textual measures. Furthermore, correlated neural activity among viewers-a measure of communication effectiveness-ramped up over time during the pitch presentation and predicted deal outcomes. These findings suggest that EEG signals in evaluators viewing entrepreneurial pitches provide early indicators of aggregate investment interest and fundraising outcomes. Together, our findings illuminate a future roadmap for reverse engineering entrepreneurs' pitches using brain signals to enhance funding success.

In times of deep uncertainty, the 'entrepreneurial university' needs to be able to transform itself, when necessary, to maintain long-term evolutionary fitness. Dynamic Universities explores how strategic, entrepreneurial leadership can help US higher education institutions thrive amid unprecedented challenges. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities framework, David J. Teece and Sohvi Heaton provide a strategic roadmap to help university leaders identify emerging opportunities and threats, take decisive action, and sustain competitiveness by enhancing, safeguarding, and reconfiguring key institutional assets – ultimately driving long-term transformation and success. Through compelling case studies – including Stanford and Berkeley – and interviews with global university leaders, this book offers practical insights into managing complexity, fostering innovation, and building resilient academic ecosystems. It is essential reading for administrators, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of higher education.

A key challenge in public procurement management is balancing equity and efficiency in government procurement. Based on longitudinal data on more than 120,000 US federal service and construction contracts awarded between 2008 and 2018 across over 500 federal agencies, we examine how agency-level dynamic capabilities shape the performance of small business set-aside programs. Employing a machine-learning-augmented propensity score weighting approach, we find that set-aside contracts are, on average, negatively associated with execution performance. However, these associations are attenuated when agencies exhibit stronger learning-based dynamic capabilities and operate in more competitive contracting environments. Moreover, under set-asides, dynamic capabilities are associated with greater access for first-time small business contractors. Our findings indicate that the equity-efficiency tradeoff in public procurement is contingent on strategic implementation, highlighting the role of dynamic capabilities in public value realization through implementation.

By combining insights from the open innovation literature with the dynamic capabilities framework, we investigate how three types of open innovation partner choices—partners from competing ecosystems, partners within the same ecosystem, and partners outside any ecosystem—affect firms' innovation outcomes. Additionally, we examine the moderating role of firms' adaptability in this relationship. Analyzing panel data for 70 global airline companies from 47 countries, we find that collaborating with a partner from a competing open innovation ecosystem enhances a firm's innovation effort more than partnering with a company from the same ecosystem or one without an ecosystem. Moreover, our results indicate that this relationship is particularly pronounced for firms exhibiting greater adaptability in times of crisis. Overall, we contribute to open innovation research by challenging the implicit assumption that open innovation occurs solely within dyadic relationships and viewing the open innovation system as static. Instead, we emphasize the interplay of interdependencies and competition across innovation ecosystems, conceptualizing the open innovation system as more dynamic. In this dynamic system, especially under conditions of uncertainty, we highlight firm-level adaptability as a critical boundary condition for successful open innovation.

The well-acknowledged gender gap in startup funding has prompted previous studies to propose gender diversity in the investment community as a potential solution. However, these studies often lack a comprehensive analysis of the underlying reasons influencing investor decision-making. Drawing on existing empirical evidence, here we develop a model of the neurobiology of investor interest in startup business ideas. By exploring the neurobiological mechanisms underlying investor behavior, we aim to reconcile the varied empirical results found in previous studies emphasizing gender disparities. In doing so, we contribute to the evolving literature on neurodiversity in entrepreneurship, emphasizing the influence of neural differences among both investors and entrepreneurs on pitch outcomes.

Big data analytics capability (BDAC) is considered an aggregation of various types of firm-level resources. While BDAC's impact on firm performance is well established in the literature, its effect on entrepreneurial orientation is an emerging area of research. This study first categorizes several BDAC resources into soft and hard components. Then, it examines whether these two big data components impact a firm's entrepreneurial orientation differently across its three dimensions: proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk-taking. This study further investigates the extent to which proactive social media market orientation mediates the relationship between BDAC and the enactment of entrepreneurial orientation. Based on data from 253 British firms, the findings from combined PLS-SEM and fsQCA analyses offer broad support for a contextual view of the value of big data for entrepreneurship in the social media-induced digital era, thereby making a significant theoretical and practical contribution to the field of information systems.

Purpose This study aims to understand the impact of student entrepreneurship and university support on faculty intrapreneurship. The authors also analyze the role of the university’s dynamic and ordinary capabilities and the environmental dynamism in which the university is embedded. Design/methodology/approach With a large survey data set involving 680 professors and 2,230 students from 70 Brazilian universities, the authors use a multimethod approach with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings The PLS-SEM results demonstrate that student entrepreneurship indirectly influences faculty intrapreneurship through the interaction of students with faculty and entrepreneurs, in addition to proving the intense influence of university support on faculty intrapreneurship, especially in a slow-growth environment. Additionally, the authors confirmed the moderating effect of universities’ dynamic and ordinary capabilities on student interaction and university support, respectively, and some exciting differences considering the ecosystem dynamism. The fsQCA results deepened the differences between environments, presenting different configurations between the antecedents that lead to high levels of faculty intrapreneurship in fast and slow-growth environments. Originality/value The study makes a unique and significant contribution to the literature on faculty intrapreneurship by examining the cross-interactions between individual, organizational and environmental levels about the promotion of faculty intrapreneurship. From a practical point of view, it is possible to identify more effective, innovative and systematic ways to encourage faculty intrapreneurship in a developing country. The findings help open up the black box of faculty intrapreneurship.

Research SummaryAlthough business model innovation (BMI) is said to be underpinned by managerial capabilities, there is a lack of studies that delve into the mechanisms through which these capabilities support BMI. In this study, we highlight internal and external advice seeking as underlying microfoundations of dynamic managerial capabilities for BMI and examine the mediating role of coordination flexibility capabilities (CFCs). With a survey dataset of 254 senior managers, our research reveals that external advice seeking capabilities positively influence BMI. Interestingly, the impact of internal advice seeking on BMI is fully mediated by CFC. Furthermore, our results indicate that the extent to which internal advice seeking impacts CFC is strengthened in firms with high levels of digitalization.Managerial SummaryWhile business model innovation (BMI) is often linked to the skills of managers, there is a lack of research exploring which particular skills actually drive BMI. In our study, we focus on how seeking advice internally and externally are crucial skills for managers in contributing to BMI, with coordination flexibility capabilities (CFC) playing a mediating role. Using data from a survey of 254 senior managers, we found that seeking external advice has a positive impact on BMI. Surprisingly, the influence of seeking internal advice on BMI is only significant when firms have high CFC at the organizational level. Additionally, we discovered that the relationship between internal advice seeking and CFC is stronger in highly digitalized firms.

Research Summary We postulate that resource allocation decisions consistent with dynamic capabilities can improve financial performance, but that governance moderates the relationship between resource allocation flexibility and financial performance. Using more than a decade of data on US public universities, we find that flexibility has much more impact when matched by lower levels of governance that allow greater expenditure autonomy for university executives and administrators. Managerial Summary Organizations are increasingly subject to conflicting demands imposed by their institutional environments. Given the importance of governance arrangements, we apply strategic management concepts to public universities and investigate the effect of external governance arrangements on university performance. We show that universities that reallocate resources more regularly are more likely to run larger budget surpluses. This is far more likely to be true at universities where external governance arrangements allow greater executive discretion.

Making a successful pitch to investors is vital to the success of startups. Improving pitch performance in women entrepreneurs might be an effective mechanism to close gender disparity in entrepreneurship. Drawing on social neuroscience studies, we present our scientific approach to shedding light on the role of “inter-brain synchrony” between women entrepreneurs and investors in pitch performance. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, we will scan 40 entrepreneur-investor dyads who engage in naturalistic pitch events. We will elucidate patterns of inter-brain synchrony that are associated with pitch performance. Additionally, we will assess whether the sex composition of an entrepreneur-investor dyad affects these associations. A better understanding of the inter-brain signatures underlying successful (and unsuccessful) pitches will generate insights into the design of novel and effective interventions that can help catalyze the success of women entrepreneurs.

A key issue in strategic management in the public sector is how government creates economic and social value through procurement. Unfortunately, most procurement studies are based on contract theories, which fail to incorporate the growing role of strategic management in performance. We fill this gap by analyzing longitudinal data on contracting to assess the equity and efficiency effects of a form of affirmative action used by governments: set-aside programs. Employing a machine learning-augmented propensity score weighting approach, we find that set-aside contracts are negatively associated with contract performance. These effects are attenuated by an agency’s dynamic capabilities and the extent to which the agency uses more competitive procedures. Our findings illustrate how the dynamic capabilities of a federal agency can simultaneously enhance equity and efficiency.

Certification as a tool for reducing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers has become popular among new ventures, yet its full impact on firm performance remains under-studied. Drawing on signaling theory and a dynamic capabilities perspective, we shed light on the double-edged sword effect of certification on firm performance. Using a sample of 319 Spanish wineries producing craft-based luxury wines in the years 2004 to 2014, we empirically test the relationship between protected designation of origin (PDO) certificates and firm performance. Our findings derived from linear mixed-effects regressions and multilevel models that account for endogeneity offer broad support for a positive signaling effect of certification, but performance can suffer when a firm’s ability to adapt to changing environments is limited due to a high cost of complying with requirements imposed by a PDO. Our findings hold important implications for craft-based ventures that need to leverage tradition, authenticity, and innovation simultaneously.

Improving a startup’s ability to obtain funding is critical to the survival of the organization. Although existing studies have observed various biases in investment decisions, few have studied the neural mechanisms behind such behavioral observations. We propose to apply cutting-edge neuroscientific techniques to uncover the neural processes engaged during pitches by entrepreneurs to investors and to use this new knowledge to identify strategy artifacts promoting pitch success. We hypothesize that pitches are dynamically shaped by covert cognitive, emotional, and social processes, which are in turn influenced by tactical approach (story-telling vs dry facts), physical context (online vs in-person), and demographics (gender, ethnicity). The role of inter-brain synchrony (i.e., correlation of cortical activity between brains) – within the startup team or between the entrepreneurs and investors – in pitch outcomes remains unknown. By uncovering the covert processes that mediate pitch outcomes, we provide an evidence-based, scientific approach to improving pitch success.

Multi-sided platforms (MSPs) are becoming increasingly important in contemporary economies. This special issue of California Management Review aims to stimulate collective discussion among researchers and practitioners on advancing diverse types of MSPs and on better understanding their future development. This article analyzes five contributions to this special issue and explores the growth trajectories of MSPs. There are three types of platforms: born-platform, platform-born adjacent, and incumbent-born. And they rely respectively on three market entry strategies: market creation, market broadening, and market deepening. This article also spotlights the coopetition dynamics of the platforms.

Scholars are always searching for better data, new models and novel theories. This special issue presents new empirical approaches for studying local entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our objective is to provide insights into the state of the art of the new methodologies and uncommon data to study the dynamics and functioning of local entrepreneurial ecosystems. ‘Uncommon data’ refers to curated data from digital sources, with bespoke indicators derived from social media and interpretations derived from observation. The papers propose new methods and measures and draw upon a wide variety of empirical evidence, from large sample analyses of archival data to detailed qualitative investigations. The authors outline the need for multidisciplinary approaches and dynamic research designs that incorporate firm-level dynamics as a key dimension of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Taken together, the papers provide important insights into the major issues facing policymakers and researchers of entrepreneurship.

Academy of Management Learning & EducationVol. 23, No. 1 Book & Resource ReviewsThe Leader's Brain: Enhance Your Leadership, Build Stronger Teams, Make Better Decisions, and Inspire Greater Innovation with NeuroscienceSohvi HeatonSohvi HeatonSanta Clara UniversityAccepted by Megan GerhardtPublished Online:6 Feb 2024https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2022.0124AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail View article"The Leader's Brain: Enhance Your Leadership, Build Stronger Teams, Make Better Decisions, and Inspire Greater Innovation with Neuroscience." Academy of Management Learning & Education, 23(1), pp. 193–194REFERENCEPlatt, M. 2020. The leader's brain: Enhance your leadership, build stronger teams, make better decisions, and inspire greater innovation with neuroscience. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 23, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 6 February 2024 Published in print 1 March 2024 Information© Academy of Management Learning & EducationDownload PDF

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have received a lot of attention over the last few years. Although the technological/pedagogical aspects of MOOCs have been well articulated in the literature, empirical evidence substantiating MOOCs' role in university outcomes is scarce. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the relationships among (a) ordinary capabilities that are necessary to achieve the university's core strategies (i.e., teaching quality, research quality, and administrative quality); (b) intrapreneurial capabilities that are necessary to accomplish the university's entrepreneurial strategy (i.e., MOOC orientation by assuming risks, sensing opportunities, and transforming routines to become more innovative and proactive); and (c) the expected university outcomes from these strategies (i.e., prestige in teaching/research, attraction of local/international students, and diversification in the income structure). Based on an analysis of 145 universities around the world, the results show that MOOC-based intrapreneurial capabilities play a direct role in the achievement of university outcomes, as well as an indirect role, by mediating the positive effect of the university's ordinary capabilities on the university's outcomes. These findings contribute to the current understanding in entrepreneurship and strategic management debates about the antecedents/consequences of intrapreneurial capabilities. A provoking discussion and implications for theory, practice, and policymakers emerge from this study.