FEATURE
PAPER
Revitalization
of Appalachian Communities Through Entrepreneurship: An
Innovative Model to Produce Service Leaders for Appalachia
and Beyond
The
following paper was presented at the 2007 USASBE/SBI Conference.
It was written by Debbi D. Brock of
Berea College.
Abstract
According to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the best hope for stabilizing and
diversifying Appalachia’s economy lies in the creation and expansion of businesses that provide
jobs, build local wealth and contribute broadly to economic and community development. The
research on Appalachian communities, specifically, how entrepreneurship can be used as a tool
to revitalize the region, is the focus of this paper. Exploring the need for understanding rural
communities, the culture and climate for entrepreneurial activity and how educating the region’s
youth can limit out migration will be covered. The need to expand and support entrepreneurial
activity as a means for revitalizing Appalachian communities led to the creation of an
entrepreneurship program to teach students about entrepreneurship in an effort to make a positive
impact on the Appalachian region and beyond.
Read
the Entire Paper...
TIP
OF THE WEEK
Gathering Competitive Intelligence
Finding
Information About Competitors
Collecting information on competitors is one of the most difficult parts of researching the market. It is easy to gain superficial information from the competitor's advertising, website, or facility. However, amassing the less obvious types of information, such as revenues and long-term strategies, are another matter. Information on publicly held competitors can be found in annual reports and other filings required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Unfortunately, however, most start-up companies are competing against other private companies that are not willing to divulge these sensitive data.
Although it is helpful to gather as much "hard data" as possible about competing companies, it is also important to collect information on their current market strategies, management style and culture, pricing strategy, customer mix, and promotional mix. Competitive intelligence can be found by visiting competitors' websites or the outlets where their products are sold and evaluating appearance, number of customers coming and going, what they buy, how much, and how often in addition to talking to customers and employees. Buying competitors' products to understand the differences in features and benefits and to learn much about how they treat their customers is also valuable. Public companies can be investigated through Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com), the SEC (www.sec.gov), and One Source (www.onesource.com).
Looking for the Less Obvious
Competitors can threaten a new or existing business by possessing a core competency that is not readily visible in the typical facts that are reported, especially if those competitors come from outside the entrepreneur's industry and market. For example, suppose that the entrepreneur's business concept is a company that trains unskilled workers for well-paying jobs in industry. The entrepreneur looks at all the competitors in the training market and decides that he or she can compete because a unique niche has been created in the market. What the entrepreneur has failed to do is look outside the market to companies that might have the same core competency and might have the resources to shift to the entrepreneur's niche very rapidly. Those companies are not always obvious. For example, one of Marriott's core competencies is training unskilled workers in the language and work skills that they need to perform the various jobs in Marriott's hotel chain. It certainly has the resources to take this competency into any niche it desires. To make sure that they are not missing a potential threat, entrepreneurs should determine:
• What the competitor has to do to be successful in its own core business. Are there any core competencies that is must acquire?
• Which of the competitor's core competencies are transferable to the entrepreneur's business.
• Whether the competitor has a competency in the same area as the entrepreneur.
If the competitor is a large company, the entrepreneur may strategically position his or her company to be acquired because most large companies acquire core competencies rather than develop them.
| Kathleen
R. Allen.
Growing and Managing a Small Business: An Entrepreneurial
Perspective.
2007. Houghton Mifflin Company. p254-255. |
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CONFERENCES
AA
|
| Who: |
Allied
Academies
|
| What: |
2007
International Conference
|
| Where: |
Jacksonville,
Florida, USA |
| When: |
April
11-14, 2007 |
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EFP
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| Who: |
Eye
For Procurement
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| What: |
Supplier
Management Forum 2007
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| Where: |
Miami,
Florida, USA |
| When: |
April
17-18, 2007 |
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AACSB
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| Who: |
AACSB
Communications
|
| What: |
World
Class Practices in Management Education
|
| Where: |
Beijng,
China |
| When: |
May
20-22, 2007 |
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CS
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| Who: |
Creativity
Seminars
|
| What: |
Creativity
Workshop - 2007 Educator Fellowships
|
| Where: |
Florence,
Italy |
| When: |
July
13-22, 2007 |
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ISBE
|
| Who: |
Institute
for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
|
| What: |
30th
Annual ISBE Conference
|
| Where: |
Heriot-Watt
University, Glasgow, Scotland |
| When: |
November
7-9, 2007 |
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CALLS FOR PAPERS
SMA
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| What: |
Annual
Meeting
|
| Where: |
Nashville,
Tennessee, USA |
| When: |
November
7-10, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
April 14, 2007
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AMA
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| Who: |
Atlantic
Marketing Association
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| What: |
Annual
Meeting
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| Where: |
New
Orleans, Louisiana, USA |
| When: |
September
26-29, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
April 17, 2007
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ASBBS
|
| Who: |
American
Society of Business
and Behavioral Sciences
|
| What: |
10th
International Conference of the American Society
of Business
and Behavioral Sciences
|
| Where: |
Waikiki
Beach, Hawaii, USA |
| When: |
June
28-30, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
May 20, 2007
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FBD
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| Who: |
Federation
of Business Disciplines
|
| What: |
Annual
Meeting
|
| Where: |
Hyatt
Regency, Houston, Texas, USA |
| When: |
March
4-8, 2008 |
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