Volume 6 ISSN 1099-9264 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP An official Journal of the Academy of Entrepreneurship ®, Inc. Reagan McLaurin Editor University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Academy Information is published on the Allied Academies web page www.alliedacademies.org The Academy of Entrepreneurship®, Inc. is a non-profit corporation chartered under the laws of North Carolina in the United States. The Academy is an association of scholars and practitioners whose purpose is to advance the knowledge, understanding, and teaching of entrepreneurship throughout the world. W hitney Press, Inc. Printed by Whitney Press, Inc. PO Box 1064, Cullowhee, NC 28723 www.whitneypress.com Authors retain copyright for their manuscripts and provide the Academy with a publication permission agreement. Neither the Academy of Entrepreneurship nor the Allied Academies is responsible for the content of the individual manuscripts. Any omissions or errors are the sole responsibility of the individual authors. The Editorial Board is responsible for the selection of manuscripts for publication from among those submitted for consideration. The Editors accept final manuscripts in digital form and the Publishers make adjustments solely for the purposes of pagination and organization. The Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal is owned by the Academy of Entrepreneurship®, Inc., and published by the Allied Academies, Inc., PO Box 2689, 145 Travis Road, Cullowhee, NC 28723, USA, (828) 293-9151, FAX (828) 293-9407. Those interested in subscribing to the Journal, advertising in the Journal, or otherwise communicating with the Journal, should contact the Executive Director at [email protected]. Copyright 2002 by the Academy of Entrepreneurship, Inc., Cullowhee, NC, USA iii INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ......................................................................................................v WHAT CHALLENGES DO INTERNATIONALENTREPRENEURS FACE? ............................1 William Perry, Western Carolina University ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY:EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROMNIGERIAN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS ..........................................................9 Linus Osuagwu, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria EFFECT OF NURSE WORK CLIMATE ON PATIENTQUALITY OUTCOMES: AN ENTREPRENEURIALTHEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................33 Thomas F. McIlwain, Medical University of South Carolina David S. Snyder, Medical University of South Carolina INTERSECTORAL INTEGRATION ANDDEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FOR LARGE AND SMALLMANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES INDEVELOPING ECONOMIES.............45 Charles Jabani Mambula, Suffolk University FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS INTHE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:AN UNTAPPED ECONOMIC RESOURCE ................................................................................................67 Kathryn Dobie, North Carolina A&T State University BACKGROUND DIFFERENCES ANDENTREPRENEURIAL TRAITS AMONGWOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ..........................................................................................................75 R. Ganesan, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi Sujata Satapathy, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi SOCIOECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL FACTORSAFFECTING THE EXPECTED LIFE TERM OF MICROENTERPRISES IN MEXICO.............................................................89 Heikki Heino, Governors State University International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Volume 6, 2002 iv THE BOYS IN THE BUBBLE:INTERNET ENTREPRENEURS ANDSTOCK MARKET VALUE ............................................................................................................................109 William Forbes, Riijk Universiteit Groningen, The Netherlands International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Volume 6, 2002 v LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the International Journal of Entrepreneurship. We are extremely pleased to be able to present what we intend to become a primary vehicle for communication of entrepreneurship research throughout the world. The Academy of Entrepreneurship® is a non-profit association of scholars and practitioners in entrepreneurship whose purpose is to encourage and support the advancement of knowledge, understanding and teaching of entrepreneurship throughout the world. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship is a principal vehicle for achieving the objectives of the organization. The editorial mission of this journal is to publish empirical and theoretical manuscripts which advance the entrepreneurship discipline. To learn more about the Academy, its affiliates, and upcoming conferences, please check our website: www.alliedacademies.org. Manuscript submissions will be handled through our website, as described in the Submission Instructions included in this volume. We would like to express our appreciation for the financial support provided to this Journal by the American University of Sharjah and its Dean of Business. We look forward to having you share your work with us. Reagan McLaurin American University of Sharjah United Arab Emirates International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Volume 6, 2002 vi MANUSCRIPTS International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Volume 6, 2002 1 WHAT CHALLENGES DO INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURS FACE? William Perry, Western Carolina University INVITED COMMENTARY An entrepreneur who wishes to operate in the international arena faces numerous challenges. Among them are varied political environments, cultural differences, and incongruity between legal environments, language differences, diverse financial structures as well as conflicting perceptions and expectations. Gaining access to foreign markets and taking advantage of economic dis-intermediations can produce tremendous profits. However, the entrepreneur must avoid being blinded by opportunity and be realistic. The intensity of the problems faced by an international entrepreneur is directly related to the degree of familiarity the entrepreneur has with the with the host nation(s) in which business is to be conducted. BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND A CASE IN POINT The Chinese American Commercial Agency began its operations in the early 1990's. The primary purpose of the business venture was to introduce Chinese enterprise group managers to American business practices and to promote trade. Formal training, on-site visits to industry and government sites in the U.S. and tours were among the methods used to promote business goals. The agency hoped to bring together potential investors from both sides of the Pacific and to foster trade. The people of China experienced a tragedy in the latter part of the 1980's when student protests on Tiananmin Square escalated into a violent confrontation with the government. An immediate cooling of relations between Western democracies and the Peoples Republic of China resulted but soon normal relations resumed. A movement was initiated by various organizations in the PRC to analyze the business systems and practices of two modern industrial giants, the United States and Japan. The Chinese government wished to supercharge its economy and to improve the cumbersome operations of its giant state-owned enterprises. A government edict was issued that state owned enterprise groups were to become more efficient. A delegation from both Japan and the United States was invited to Beijing to lecture at the Advanced Institute for Enterprise Group Managers. Among the group of Americans was the founder of the Chinese American Commercial Agency. The founder quickly discovered the learning process was destined to be a significant two-way street. The experience of the Chinese International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Volume 6, 2002 2 American Commercial Agency might well serve as an illustration of the unique challenges faced by a fledgling organization attempting to conduct business across international boundaries. The challenges can be roughly grouped into the following categories. The Political Structure An entrepreneur could hardly expect to experience success in a foreign country without being familiar with the host country's political system. The Chinese American Commercial Agency knew little of the intricate structure of the Chinese political system. Many lessons were hard won yet the surface was hardly scratched. Among the lessons learned was the stark realization that when doing business with China an entrepreneur is doing business with "China, Inc.". In the early 90's a foreigner didn't conduct business with a private or autonomous business entity. The entrepreneur did business with a branch office of the Communist Chinese Government. Regardless of protestations to the contrary, all levels of commercial activity were accountable to the Chinese Government. The Chinese American Commercial Agency came to refer to the system used by the Chinese as "Retail Communism". It's main objective was to bolster China's foreign exchange reserves and to acquire technical knowledge and "know how" at the expense of nation(s) with whom China had commercial dealings. All agreements and arrangements had to be approved by multiple levels of government bureaucracy. Employees, Raw Materials and Suppliers Consider that you want to manufacture electronic circuit boards in China. You would only have one source for employees. China. Unless circumstances change radically, manufacturers' in China would be allowed to enter into a "joint venture". Or the newly established joint venture would be allowed to outsource, Chinese-style. The entrepreneur would be allowed to