Purpose − Entrepreneurship and small businesses in Russia have been of academic interest for over fifteen years. This paper brings together current knowledge concerning the phenomenon, and suggests further directions for research.Design/methodology/approach − The study consists of a systematic review of forty-eight refereed empirical articles on entrepreneurship and small businesses in Russia.Findings − From the articles reviewed it appears that entrepreneurs in Russia use non-material resources to overcome the financial and institutional obstacles which still seem to afflict the market. However, theoretical and methodological issues are, in many cases, poorly reported and this undermines the scientific rigor of the studies they report.Research limitations/implications -Because of the wide scope of the studies reviewed the results included here provide somewhat broad-brush descriptions of the phenomenon. However, we believe that the findings are valuable for an understanding of the current situation for entrepreneurship and small businesses in Russia. The findings may also stimulate more in-depth research in this increasingly important topic.2 Originality/value − To the best of our knowledge, no literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals.
This study reports how university students domesticate their personal laptops at the beginning of studies on a wireless campus. The aim was to examine how students integrate the laptop into their personal education experience, what sort of processes were experienced to render the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency influenced this process. Qualitative interview data with twenty students (identified and selected by quantitative survey) was analysed using the grounded theory approach during which a multi-aspect domestication process was identified. Results highlight the importance of a structured way of organising laptop initiatives in universities. It is important that students have the kind of support available that best suits their needs. Pedagogically, successful domestication enables students to integrate the computer into their learning experience. However, we argue that successful domestication allows the artefact to become more than just a tool for learning, but also an integral part of an individual's existing media environment. In effect, comfort of use and IT capability is regarded as only one way of expressing successful domestication. This article adds to the growing number of studies using domestication as an analytical and theoretical framework and considers the phenomenon in an under-researched area.
Numerous methods, methodologies, approaches, techniques and tools have been developed over the years to ensure successful accomplishment of information system development (ISD) projects in terms of user satisfaction. However, different methodologies and approaches perceive the user differently; sometimes the user is seen as an anonymous 'object' that is going to use the system, or as an evaluator confirming the correctness of the design, or even as a critical contributor along the way to user-friendly information system. Each of these approaches has their own benefits from the ISD point of view but they lack a holistic view of the user. In this paper, we will review the trajectories of ISD approaches and elucidate the nuances of human-centredness in ISD. We aim at offering a holistic picture that illustrates an overview of different understandings of the user in ISD, so that, first, the systems designers' awareness about the user in general is increased, and second, future research directions are portrayed to the researchers.
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