FEATURE
PAPER
Open Source Knowledge Network of Core Business Practices for Small Business:
Why Pay for Gold When Copper Will Do?
The
following paper was presented at the 2007 USASBE/SBI Conference.
It was written by Robin D. England of Two Hills Ltd and William D. Schulte of Shenandoah University.
Abstract
Most business theory
and research is for corporate enterprise. Open source models
of
knowledge management and communities of practice drive “democratisation
of knowledge”,
(one of the primary trends of the “emergent internet” or “Web
2.0”), a mechanism that can
make that body of knowledge available to SMEs. The challenge
is in sorting out that which
is acceptable, applicable and achievable for small business,
or which can be transformed to
meet those criteria. The technical infrastructure for one such
community includes sixteen
rules for the transformation of knowledge into small business
form, derived from published
papers, general theory, and practice.
Executive Summary
Most best practices theory and research
has been for the corporate enterprise. This body of knowledge has delivered
limited value to SMEs. This area has had less attention due
to the lack of commercial return. The emergence of open source models of knowledge
management and communities of practice (which is being called “Web 2.0”) provide
a
mechanism to make that body of knowledge available to SMEs in a useful form.
Read
the Entire Paper...
TIP
OF THE WEEK
The Role of Ideas
Ideas as Tools
A good idea is nothing more than a tool in the hands of an entrepreneur. Finding a good idea is the first step in the process of converting an entrepreneur's creativity into an opportunity.
The importance of the idea is often overrated at the expense of underemphasizing the need for products or services, or both, that can be sold in enough quantity to real customers.
Further, the new business that simply bursts from a flash of brilliance is rare. Usually a series of trial-and-error iterations, or repetitions, is necessary before a crude and promising product or service fits with what the customer is willing to pay for. Howard Head made 40 different metal skis before he finally made the model that worked consistently. With surprising frequency, major businesses are built around totally different products than those originally envisioned. Consider these examples:
When 3-M chemist Spence Silver invented a new adhesive that would not dry or permanently bond to things, he had no idea what to do with it. It wasn't until another 3-M chemist, Arthur Fry, needed a bookmark for his choir book that the idea for applying the glue to small pieces of paper was found, and Post-it Notes were born.
Polaroid corporation was founded with a product based on the principle of polarized light. It was thought that polarized lamps would prevent head-on collisions between cars by preventing the "blinding" glare of oncoming headlights. But the company grew to its present size based on another application of the same technology: instant photography.
William Steere, CEO of Pfizer, described the discovery of Viagra, the fastest selling drug in history, as having "a certain serendipity" behind it. The drug was originally developed by Pfizer to treat angina - its real "potency" was discovered as a side effect.
As one entrepreneur expressed it: Perhaps the existence of business plans and the language of business give a misleading impression of business building as a rational process. But, as any entrepreneur can confirm, starting a business is very much a series of fits and starts, brainstorms and barriers. Creating a business is a round of chance encounters that leads to new opportunities and ideas, mistakes that turn into miracles.
| Jeffry
A. Timmons and Stephen Spinelli.
New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st
Century 7th Edition.
2007. McGraw-Hill Irwin. p121-122. |
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CONFERENCES
AACSB
|
| Who: |
AACSB
Communications
|
| What: |
International
Conference and Annual Meeting
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| Where: |
Tampa,
Florida, USA |
| When: |
April
22-24, 2007 |
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IIT
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| Who: |
Illinois
Institute of Technology
|
| What: |
IIT
Interprofessional Education
Conference
|
| Where: |
Chicago,
Illinois, USA |
| When: |
April
26-27, 2007 |
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IIEE
|
| Who: |
Illinois
Institute for Entrepreneurial Education
|
| What: |
2007
Youth Entrepreneurship Conference
|
| Where: |
Lincolnshire,
Illinois, USA |
| When: |
May
3-5, 2007 |
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ISM
|
| Who: |
Institute
for Supply Management
|
| What: |
92nd
Annual International Supply Management Conference & Educational
Exhibit
|
| Where: |
Las
Vegas, Nevada, USA |
| When: |
May
6-9, 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
AMA
|
| Who: |
Atlantic
Marketing Association |
| 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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AGB
|
| Who: |
Association
for Global Business
|
| What: |
Nineteenth
International Conference
|
| Where: |
Marriott
Key Bridge, Washington D.C., USA |
| When: |
November
15 - 18, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
June 15, 2007
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FBD
|
| Who: |
Federation
of Business Disciplines
|
| What: |
Annual
Meeting
|
| Where: |
Hyatt
Regency, Houston, Texas, USA |
| When: |
March
4-8, 2008 |
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