Australian Entrepreneurs Research Articles

‘One of the sights of the colony’: Australia’s nineteenth-century arcades

ABSTRACT The arcade is a nineteenth-century architectural and social form long associated with industrial modernity and consumer culture. Better known in the British and European urban landscape, they were also significant in the Australian colonial context from 1853 onwards, in numbers rivalling those in the so-called ‘metropole’. Australian entrepreneurs, architects and shop owners utilized what was seen as a very European form to represent the progress and civilization of the Australian colonies and their urban spaces, both in capital cities and smaller regional centres. The arcades, including their presence in the landscape, their architecture, and the commodities and leisure activities found within, were regularly invoked by boosters in order to demonstrate the sophistication of these colonial urban spaces. This article briefly discusses the history of the nineteenth-century Australian arcades, the boosterish discourse that promoted them, and how their representation was a way to express the place of the Australian colonies within a transnational milieu.

Do technology-focused fast internationalizers’ performance measures change as they mature?

We examine how technology-focused innovation-based fast internationalizers’ (TIFIs’) performance measures change as they mature. Based on 42 interviews with Australian entrepreneurs and industry experts, we show that young TIFIs employ exploratory strategies for developing cutting-edge solutions and prefer using subjective measures for assessing their export performance. Later, becoming more complex organizations, employing exploitative strategies, they use additional objective, profit-based measures. The implications of destructive forces (e.g., COVID-19) to the performance of these firms were modest. Due to being digitally-based industry disruptors, they remain focused on innovation as the source of their independence and survival. Their creativity drives constant change/disruption to industries, requiring back-and-forth movement among exploratory and exploitative strategies, integrating subjective and objective performance measure simultaneously, as their new-to-the-world solutions are developed to withhold ‘creative destruction’ over time.

The entrepreneurial journeys of digital start-up founders

We study 50 Australian entrepreneurs who have collectively founded more than 120 digital start-ups and enfold entrepreneurship and digital technologies literature in order to explain how the characteristics and affordances of digital technologies impact digital entrepreneurship. We explore the process of how founders enter venturing and create (and pause, abandon, pivot, repeat or persist with) their digital start-ups in a long-term entrepreneurial journey. We discover that in a digitised world, the long-term entrepreneurial journeys of experienced professionals as founders yield useful new insights about how digital technologies enable entrepreneurship. We propose a stage-based framework to describe this journey–locating their dimensions of entry, transition and long-term engagement with entrepreneurship, and the new venture creation process within such a journey. We present the implications of this conceptualisation of the digital technology-driven entrepreneurial journey: to government agencies looking to advance their innovation and entrepreneurship development agenda; to established companies keen to manage their digital talent better; to entrepreneurship educators who wish to explore experiential entrepreneurship training; and to accelerator managers who want to support entrepreneurs. Future research opportunities to deepen research into long term entrepreneurial journey are outlined.

Persist or let it go: Do rational entrepreneurs make decisions rationally?

We theorize that both highly rational entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with a high need for cognitive closure (NFCC) are likely to put more emphasis on retrospective factors (period and degree of underperformance, personal investments) and less on prospective factors (risk of going into default, potential for growth, personal options) when deciding whether to persist with an underperforming venture. Our findings from three discrete choice experiments with three independent samples of entrepreneurs (a sample of 176 Australian entrepreneurs; a narrow-replication with 128 Australian entrepreneurs; and a quasi-replication with 157 United Kingdom entrepreneurs) consistently show that entrepreneurs who perceive themselves as rational do not always demonstrate rational behavior and entrepreneurs with a high NFCC put more emphasis on retrospective factors in persistence decisions. Important theoretical and practical contributions flowing from our study are shared in the concluding section.

‘As Modern as Tomorrow’: Australian Entrepreneurs and Japanese Entertainment, 1957–1968

This article compares the efforts of two Australian entrepreneurs to import Japanese entertainments for theatres in mid-twentieth-century Australia. David N. Martin of the Tivoli Circuit and Harry Wren, an independent producer, were rivals in the business of touring variety-revue. Both travelled to Japan in 1957, the year that the governments of Australia and Japan signed a landmark trade agreement. Whereas Martin's efforts were hampered by the legacy of wartime attitudes, Wren embraced the post-war optimism for trade. Wren became the Australian promoter for the Toho Company of Japan, touring a series of Toho revues until 1968. These Toho tours have been overlooked in Australian histories of cultural exchange with Japan. Drawing on evidence from archival sources and developing insights from foreign policy of the time, this article examines why Australian entrepreneurs turned to Japan, what Toho sent on tour, and how Toho's revues played in Australia. It analyses trade in touring entertainment as a form of entrepreneurial diplomacy that sought to realize the prospects of regional integration.

The obsessive and harmonious nature of entrepreneurial passion

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of entrepreneurial passion and in doing so explores the relationship between harmonious and obsessive passion (OP) and resilience. A pathway between passion and entrepreneurial success (ES) that is mediated by sustained entrepreneurial commitment (SEC) and resilience is tested.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire survey was completed by (n=215) Australian entrepreneurs. Results were based on structural equation modelling analysis.FindingsHarmonious passion contributes directly and indirectly to perceptions of ES through resilience; OP contributes to SEC which contributes to success through resilience.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations stem from the survey methodology used. Implications for incorporating harmonious and OP into training to ensure well developed entrepreneurs are raised.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few studies to test the theoretical constructs of passion and resilience in the entrepreneurship context, and seemingly the first to do so on an Australian sample of entrepreneurs. This research finds that both types of passion are important to individual level resilience and ultimately to ES. An OP for one’s venture is an important contributor to persisting with the venture.

Pre and post-entry resource needs for international entrepreneurs: The role of government and industry networks

AbstractThis paper identifies the resource needs of international entrepreneurs and examines the role of government and industry networks as providers of resource opportunities deemed essential by international entrepreneurs for international growth. Unique resource challenges confront international entrepreneurs in their pursuit of international markets. Our qualitative study of Australian entrepreneurs in the health industry reveals that international entrepreneurs emphasise information, knowledge and relational resources as crucial for international market entry. Although government networks provide essential resources at the planning and pre-entry stage of internationalisation, at the postentry stage industry networks offer more relevant resource opportunities. Both networks, however, fall short of expectations in affording knowledge and relational resources that are instrumental in entering international markets.

How strategies of deception facilitate business growth

PurposeThis paper intends to describe examples of entrepreneurial growth and defensive strategies used by smaller firms against larger and aggressive competitors. It aims to focus specifically on the use of strategies of deception, which, for the purposes of this discussion, are defined as legal, but unexpected methods of pre‐empting or countering potentially harmful competitor actions.Design/methodology/approachThese case examples of strategies of deception are drawn from two successful Australian firms, one from the horticultural industry, and the other from the petroleum retail industry. These cases are taken from a wider study of Australian entrepreneurs completed in 2009.FindingsThe two cases describe unique growth strategies that not only take market needs into consideration, but which are also designed to pre‐empt retaliatory strategies by competitors. One entrepreneur deploys a strategy designed to hide his success, giving the impression that his (very large firm) is only a very small family entity; the second entrepreneur takes this strategy further by completely hiding himself and his web of business interests from sight. This allows him to avoid aggressive competitive retaliatory behaviors. The strategies these entrepreneurs deploy are not unethical or illegal; rather, they offer a means of leveraging limited resourced firms against large, aggressive competitors.Originality/valueThese examples of strategies of deception are an extension from research originally reported in Pech. The case examples are valuable in their contribution to the study of entrepreneurial growth and defensive strategies, and provide insights into the means by which smaller firms can counter the presence of large and aggressive competitors.

Understanding business success through the lens of SME founder-owners in Australia and Malaysia

Given the lack of consensus on how to measure success, this paper explores the meaning of business success as perceived by SME business owners in Australia and Malaysia. A qualitative methodology was adopted whereby semi structured interviews were conducted with ten entrepreneurs from each country. A content analysis of the interview data identified 20 criteria for defining success, broadly categorised into: 1) financial; 2) lifestyle; 3) social responsibility; 4) customer satisfaction criteria clusters. Interestingly, the answers provided by Australian entrepreneurs were largely similar to the Malaysians. However, slight differences relating to aspects of financial, lifestyle and social responsibility were identified. Overall, this study finds evidence for the utilisation of multidimensional measures of business success in Australia and Malaysia.

Optimism, overconfidence and entrepreneurial activity

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the question of confidence in entrepreneurship, and the impact confidence has on key tasks in the venture development process.Design/methodology/approachPropositions about the relationship between key elements of confidence (optimism and overconfidence) are made in order to unpack the confidence construct. Simple tests of these propositions are conducted using a small sample of Australian entrepreneurs. Further propositions are made about the impact of optimism and overconfidence on activity across different phases of the new venture development process.FindingsTwo elements of confidence, optimism and overconfidence, are distinct in their association with each other and with a third individual difference (regulatory focus). The dual and sometimes opposing impacts of optimism and overconfidence on new venture activity are explored. Optimism and overconfidence are both beneficial when deciding to become an entrepreneur, but overconfidence is harmful when making decisions in response to setbacks.Research limitations/implicationsConclusions are limited by the sample size and simple analytical techniques. Rather, the impact of the paper is in the implications of the independence of optimism and overconfidence. Future research can explore and test the propositions made about when each is harmful and when beneficial.Practical implicationsFor entrepreneurs, it is important to be aware of your optimism and overconfidence in different situations. When optimism is beneficial, use it, but when overconfidence is harmful, mitigate against it by asking the right questions and working with others to check assumptions and strategies.Originality/valueThis paper distinguishes between two individual differences, optimism and overconfidence, that are typically thought to be interdependent and beneficial for entrepreneurs.

THE UNTOLD STORY: IS THE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE 21ST CENTURY DEFINED BY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) has been identified as a crucial predictor for workplace success. Entrepreneurs are those that shine and excel in the workplace beyond the norm. The present study aimed to provide a preliminary insight into this area of entrepreneurship research. Through the use of qualitative methods, several Australian entrepreneurs were examined in relation to their Emotional Intelligence ability. EQ was examined via in‐depth structured interviews. It was predicted that the entrepreneurs would significantly exhibit these ratios and hence an EQ level beyond the norm. Not only did the study yield such a result, it also showed that the entrepreneurs exhibited high levels of all the sub‐scales in each model. The outstanding performance of each entrepreneur in Emotional Intelligence ability, as well as all the sub‐scales, strongly supports the concept that EQ may be the missing factor that researchers have been searching for in entrepreneurship studies.