Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference © 2011 IAABD
• good work ethic – high quality work performance involving also timeliness, accountability, and
positive teamwork.
• fulfillment – sense of joy and contentment that comes from one’s entrepreneurial activities.
• sustained performance – stabilized or incrementally increasing scale of production, delivery, and
clientele over the course of time.
• empowering others – providing opportunities, exposure, or skills that increases the capacity of
others and positions them to make a better life for themselves and others.
Figure 1 depicts the theoretical framework of Network Diversity Value in a simplified diagram.
Conclusion
Conditions
Entrepreneurial Identity:
Economic Sector
Consequence
Entrepreneurial
Progress
Figure 1: Theoretical Framework of Network Diversity Value
Central Phenomenon
Network Diversity
Value
Actions/Interactions
Network Restructuring
Context
Network Diversity
Structure
Intervening Conditions
Breakthroughs
In conclusion, the ‘story’ conveyed by the framework above is concisely narrated in the following
propositional form. The network structure of small entrepreneurs differs in the types of relationships, the
number of certain relationships, and the prominence of the relationships depending upon the
entrepreneurial characteristic that distinguishes the firms from others. The varying combinations of types,
numbers, and prominence of the relationships formulate the relational context within which an
entrepreneur is situated and operates. This relational context, the structural diversity of the entrepreneur’s
social network, is comprised of various entities and ties that connect them to entrepreneur. Through these
relationships of the network, a variety of resources deemed valuable are exchanged. The perceived value
of certain resources, how they are believed to contribute to a small firm’s progress, and the structural
shape of the network from which these resources are gained, are informed largely by the attributes of the
entrepreneur, which suggest the initial conditions that shape the small firm’s development process.
Occasionally small entrepreneurs will have breakthroughs in their entrepreneurial development- incidents
or occurrences that open up new opportunities or challenges which the entrepreneur must manage, create,
or solve in order to progress. The entrepreneur then takes action to adjust the diversity of the network –
forming new relationships or altering the prominence of existing ones – so as to respond to or provoke
new conditions. If harnessed and adjusted well, networks can serve as conducive grounds to the
entrepreneur’s progress. Further examination of this propositional narrative within various entrepreneurial
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