A new venture's strategy-and thus its performance-is based upon the knowledge the firm has about its market, its opportunity in that market, and its appropriate conduct to take advantage of that opportunity. Resource-based theory underscores knowledge as a type of resource that confers competitive advantage and the potential for sustainability, two factors that are critical for start-ups. Three types of procedural knowledge are considered to be important at start-up: (1) about the industry in which the venture competes; (2) about the type of business approach the venture is pursuing; and (3) about creating, building, and harvesting new ventures. Knowledge useful to the new venture is developed either through relevant personal experiences or by accessing relevant knowledge possessed by others. Hypotheses are developed regarding the impact on the performance of new ventures as a result of these sources of knowledge, and these relationships are explored in a study of new technology-based firms.

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Research has demonstrated that employee reactions to monitoring systems depend on both the characteristics of the monitoring system and how it is implemented. However, little is known about the role individual differences may play in this process. This study proposes that individuals have generalized attitudes toward organizational control and monitoring activities. We examined this argument by assessing the relationship between employeesÕ baseline attitudes toward a set of monitoring and control techniques that span the employment relationship. We further explore the effects of employeesÕ generalized attitudes toward monitoring and their individual ethical orientations on their attitudinal reactions to an Internet monitoring system implemented in their workplace. Results of a longitudinal study indicate that as expected, prior beliefs and ethical orientation interact to affect employeesÕ reactions to monitoring systems. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Little is currently known about the cognitive processes entrepreneurs engage in as they develop and implement strategies. A computer simulation was used to investigate this question. Repeated measures regression analysis indicated that participants using a learning goal were able to keep their simulated firms running longer than those using a performance outcome goal. Strategy mediated the relationship between task-specific self-efficacy and performance. Conversely, task-specific self-efficacy mediated the relationship between strategy use and performance. General self-efficacy added explanatory power to firm survival, even after controlling for the effects of specific self-efficacy. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Considerable discussion stresses the importance of implementing employee monitoring systems in ways that enhance perceived fairness. Less attention focuses on the organizational context in which such systems are implemented. A longitudinal field experiment examined the effects of advance notice, justification, and trust on employee reactions to Internet monitoring. Results indicate that formal characteristics of monitoring implementation were less important than organizational climate in determining employee reactions. Neither advance notice nor justification significantly affected perceptions of monitoring fairness. In contrast, trust significantly influenced these perceptions, which in turn positively affected employees' job attitudes.

background searches, drug testing, electronic monitoring, ethical orientation, formalism, privacy, utilitarianism,

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