Despite growing recognition of some strategic advantages held by small firms, little comparative research has been performed on the advantages and disadvantages accruing to firm size. In order to delineate the differential responses of small and large businesses to their environmental context, we perform a comparative analysis of the impact of industry structural characteristics on the formation of large and small businesses in a large sample of U.S. manufacturing industries from 1977 to 1987. The results suggest that small businesses possess certain resources that allow them to overcome some barriers which create greater difficulties for their larger counterparts, as well as allow small businesses to exploit certain industry opportunities more readily than larger ones. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Emerging economies face daunting economic development challenges. Economists and management consultants have generally suggested global solutions that typically focus solely on foreign direct investment. Yet a resource-based theory approach offers an alternative view of economic development in which a foundation of resources within a region gestates entrepreneurial activity. While theoretically appealing, it is unclear in application how such resources can be developed or which types of resources are most important to develop. This paper extends the application of resource-based theory to entrepreneurial economic development in subsistence economies. A qualitative study of contrasting entrepreneurial activity in Chiapas (Mexico) and Atenas (Costa Rica) highlights the primacy of intangible resources-and especially entrepreneurial orientation resources-in the gestation of entrepreneurial activity.

The founder/chief executive officer (CEO) exit is a significant event for all business organizations. However, a social capital perspective suggests that the exit of the founder/CEO may be more disruptive for new start-ups due to the critical role the founder/CEO plays in the new organization and the heightened potential chance for failure of a new venture. A social capital perspective suggests that the ability of the entrepreneurial firm to perform better is affiliated with the social capital within the organization. This study supports a social capital perspective of CEO exit and social capital's impact on performance. It helps establish a foundation of study of CEO exit and new ventures from this perspective.

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How companies respond to impending regulations is a signifi cant aspect of corporate strategy. Regulations, especially environmental regulations, are expanding quickly and increasingly important to fi rm success. The threat of impending environmental regulation forces companies to choose levels of strategic responses on a continuum from passive to active. Using practitioner oriented research and existing theoretical models of corporate response, this study fi nds that the type of strategic response is negatively related to size, positively related to state uncertainty and negatively related to effect/response uncertainty. Based on existing literature and the results of this study, the paper suggests that simplifying the uncertainty construct could lead to more defi nitive fi ndings in future research. The study results also suggest that a curvilinear relationship may exist between managerial perception of infl uence and level of strategic response.Most importantly, the fi ndings could have a signifi cant impact on fi rm decision making regarding environmental investments. For example, it is hoped that fi rms will be able to use the fi ndings of this study to further understand and anticipate their competitors' decisions. Practitioners may also benefi t from the conclusions on uncertainty in that they may be able to more cleanly parse the types of uncertainty immersed in impending environmental regulations. Finally, fi rms may be better able to understand decisions by their own managers and their competitors' managers in terms of their perceived infl uence over the regulatory process.

Academic research has identified a broad array of resources that exist in communities that have an established technology-based entrepreneurial venture population. These studies have focused upon well-known areas such as the Silicon Valley, the 128 loop in Boston and Austin, Texas. Yet even in these relatively homogeneous environments the studies have been highly inconsistent in their findings as to what bundle of resources might be critical in attracting new ventures. Many other communities have either been unsuccessful or only marginally successful in their efforts to recreate the magic of Silicon Valley. We utilize a Resource-Based model to suggest that communities develop unique bundles over time and that the development of these bundles in a particular geographic area is neither linear nor easily replicable. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2005

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