فصلنامه توسعه کارآفرینی
سال چهارم شماره 4 (پیاپی 14، زمستان 1390)

The purpose of this research is to investigate the passenger self-service in the Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran, known as Homa, and to recognize the entrepreneurial opportunities in this regard. A mixed method research (quality-quantity) and Morrison Environmental Analysis method were used. The statistical population in quality section consisted of directors of Homa, and in the quantity section consisted of passengers of Homa. In the quality section, twenty experts were given deep interviews and in the quality section, the sampling was performed using Kokaran formula accompanied by 203 questionnaires given to the passengers. Data analysis in the quality section was performed through an open coding method and in the quantity section thorugh the SPSS software. The findings of the research revealed that the passenger check-in operation via kiosk could be considered an important entrepreneurial opportunity and sending flight information in cell phone domain could be introduced as the entrepreneurial opportunity in line with developing business of the Airline Company.

The main purpose of this survey is to identify the barriers to corporate entrepreneurship development in Agricultural Consulting, Technical and Engineering Service Ventures (ACTESV) in Zanjan Province. A descriptive- survey method was used for collecting the data. The statistical population of the study consisted of all the members of ACTESV in Zanjan Province (N= 301). Based on the Morgan and Krejcie Table, a sample size of 170 was selected using a stratified random sampling method (n=170). A questionnaire was used to collect the data. A panel of experts established the validity of the questionnaire. Cronbach Alpha's Coefficient was calculated to establish the reliability of the instrument with a value being equal to 87%. The factor analysis was applied for analyzing the data. According to the findings, five factors, namely: structural, environmental, psychological, skill and educational explain 68.86 percent of total variances of barriers in the way of corporate entrepreneurship development in ACTESV in Zanjan Province.

In the knowledge-based economy, the most successful companies and organizations will be those that use the intellectual capital effectively to improve their performance. However, achievement of high levels of organizational performance will require the development of entrepreneurial orientation. The main purpose of this study is investigating the impact of intellectual capital on entrepreneurial orientation and business performance. In this research, information is collected through a survey of the records of 202 nano-businesses managers in Iran. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) illustrated that the effect of Human Capital, Structural Capital and Relational Capital on entrepreneurial orientation was significant. Additionally, only Human Capital has a direct effect on nano-businesses performance in Iran. Therefore, the findings indicate that entrepreneurial orientation acts as a moderator variable between intellectual capital and organizational performance.

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of the total new SMEs established during 1995–2002 and their life cycles in job turnover up to 2005. The focus of this paper is on textile industry (ten employees and more) as a major industry in Iran. Proportionate hazard model is made and the findings show that, although small and medium-sized firm, plays an important role in job generation, most of the existing SMEs have had more share in job failure. The results also revealed that only a few SMEs can survive during the first three years after their startup and a small number of them are able to grow and create employment. From the policy making point of view, these findings have emphasized that SMEs have to be supported during their infancy.

The main objective of this phenomenological study is to understand how students perceive their entrepreneurial experience in the College of Agriculture at Razi University. For this purpose a group of seven undergraduate students participated in this qualitative study. These nascent entrepreneurs were interviewed using semi-structured interview process. Data was analyzed using the Colazzi methodology. The results showed five core concepts as students revealed their experiences in producing mushrooms. These emergent concepts were: facing hardships in venture creation, stresses and challenges, and experiencing socio-psychological strain. However, students believed that a change in knowledge, attitude, and psychomotor skills significantly enhanced their self confidence.

Entrepreneurship education is a formal systematic exchange of information and entrepreneurial knowledge. In recent years, universities acting as the main custodians of education and development of professional human resources have turned to entrepreneurship education. Although entrepreneurship education is currently being offered in many universities, the key issue in any educational program is its evaluation. The criteria used in evaluating entrepreneurship education could be related to the knowledge, skills, level of interest, class participation and entrepreneurial intention. The main purpose of this paper is to identify the effect of the optional course of the “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship” on student's entrepreneurial intention. This research has been done through a combination of descriptive-survey research methods using questionnaires among 105 students in the Faculty of Arts, and in the Faculty of Literature and Humanities of the University of Tehran. Data have been collected in two phases: pretest (at the beginning of the semester) and post-reviewing (at the end of the semester) from both experimental group and control group. Data analysis shows that student's entrepreneurial intention and its determinants including behavioral attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are affected by the training given in the course of the "Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship” course.

The aim of this research is reviewing the impact of individual competences (self-management, self-motivation and self-awareness) and social competences (social skills and social awareness) on the entrepreneurial traits of the employees of the Exports Development Bank of Iran. The research methodology was survey-correlation based on the structural equations model. Approximately,700 employees of EDBI participated in this study. About 240 questionnaires were collected from all the 700 employees. The experts analyzed the validity of the questionnaire items and its reliability was measured by Cronbach Alpha. Data was analyzed by Lisrel Software. Additionally, a conceptual model (path analysis) was used and the obtained results indicated that self-motivation and social skills could reinforce the entrepreneurial traits of the social skills affected much more than self-motivation. Therefore, these two factors (self-motivation and social skills) were retained and other independent variables were excluded from the model.

This descriptive –correlative research was conducted to investigate the relationship between students’ problem¬¬¬¬-solving styles and their entrepreneurial personality traits at Shahid Chamran University. For this purpose, 374 undergraduate students (2010 – 2011) were selected by a classified random sampling whereby they completed two questionnaires for assessing their problem solving styles and entrepreneurship characteristics. The results indicated that: all of the four problem solving styles have positive relationship with student's entrepreneurial features. Also the regression results indicated that the rational and pragmatic styles, predicted about 33 percent of the total variance of the entrepreneurial features of students. Beta coefficient of rational style of problem solving for predicting entrepreneurship features was 0.56%. We believe that reinforcement of this style, by including the texts and exercises in textbooks, can help develop the students’ entrepreneurial personality.

Nowadays, knowledge and technology are considered as two main factors in creating wealth for and capability of countries and are regarded as powerful tools in national development. Therefore, a university, as a knowledge-producing institution, must fulfill its responsibility toward national development and adapt its structure to national development plans. One of the most important entrepreneurial aspects at a university is the entry of academic activities in the field of business and knowledge commercialization. The main purpose of this research is to identify the obstacles in the way of commercializing knowledge in the university entrepreneurship through a qualitative study. To this end, the qualitative method of content analysis has been implemented. The findings illustrate that the main obstacles are: lack of competition at universities, negative attitude to commercial thinking, inefficiency of laws and regulations, weaknesses in educational system, lack of trust between university and industry, financial problems, lack of skilled workforce, lack of familiarity with the real environment and lack of facelities for research purposes. Finally, some suggestions have been presented to develop the university entrepreneurship and knowledge commercialization.

This study investigated the role of transformational leadership in turning the university to an entrepreneurial organization. The research method for this study was descriptive- correlational. The statistical population consisted of the staff of the faculties and departments of Shahid Beheshti University in which 103 people were randomly selected as sample. The data were collected using two types of questionnaires on the transformational leadership and entrepreneurial organization. Research findings indicate that the rate of assessing transformational leadership in the university was at an average and the university status in terms of promoting to an entrepreneurial organization was mediocre. Accordingly, the results survey of correlation coefficients showed a positive and significant relationship between transformational leadership and promoting the university to an entrepreneurial organization. The results of stepwise regression analysis showed that "intellectual stimulation" and "inspirational motivation" components had a greater predictive power for promotion of the university to an entrepreneurial organization respectively.