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Dispelling the ‘Theory vs. Practical Experience’ Debate

It’s unfortunate how the word ‘theory’ has been misused in everyday speech such that it has lost its original meaning. These days ‘theory’ is considered synonymous to ‘impractical’, ‘unrealistic’, and even ‘speculation’. The result of this misunderstanding is significant: Students take important lessons for granted by discounting them as mere theory, preferring, instead, to find part-time work that provides practical experience. Employers tend to favour applicants with substantial practical experience because mere academic background, they reason, does not add much value to the company. Also, businessmen have an affinity towards advice from well known CEOs and high-ranking individuals because these are based on practical experience and thus are more reliable than textbooks.

I believe that such reasoning is largely uninformed, ignoring the true definition of theory as well as the processes involved in formulating theory. The “Theory vs. Practical Experience” debate is a result of this ignorance, and I believe that such a debate is missing the point and should not exist in the first place. Continue reading “Dispelling the ‘Theory vs. Practical Experience’ Debate”

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The Incubation Process

This is part three of my studies in business incubation. In case you missed the first two, here are Part 1 and Part 2.

Despite the growing literature on business incubators, very little existing research focus on the incubation process (Hackett and Dilts 2004a) even when the NBIA identified it as a more important factor than the physical facility and the incubator’s configuration in determining success rate (2006b). Campbell et al. (1985) implicitly described the incubation process as being composed of four major activities, namely the diagnosis of needs, selection and monitoring, capital investment, and the provision of access to expert networks. Unfortunately, they did not elaborate further on each of the major activities nor did they propose a set of theories for it. Continue reading “The Incubation Process”

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Classifying Business Incubators

This is the second part of my studies in business incubators. The first part may be found here.

To aid in the analysis of business incubators, particularly in identifying issues related to incubator evaluation and recommended practices, a classification system needs to be adopted (Albert and Gaynor 2001). Various researchers have provided different means for categorizing business incubators. Some researchers propose to classify them according to a) their primary financial sponsors (Kuratko and LaFollette 1987; Smilor 1987b; and Temali and Campbell 1984), b) the business focus of the incubator (i.e. property development or business assistance) (Brooks 1986), c) the business focus of the incubatees (Plosila and Allen 1985; Sherman 1999), or d) whether the incubatee is a spin-off or a start-up (Plosila and Allen 1985). However, because the configuration of an incubator is highly dependent on the social, cultural, and economic environments that they are in (Albert and Gaynor 2001), using existing classification systems as a predictor of a particular incubator’s success is not advisable. Continue reading “Classifying Business Incubators”

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Defining Marketing

The American Marketing Association states that: “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.” However, a common mistake that I observe among marketing practitioners is the failure to realise that it … Continue reading Defining Marketing

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What is a Business Incubator?

This is an excerpt from my paper on business incubation. From this point on, I will post the results of my studies in smaller, more manageable parts.

Extant literature is yet to provide a standard definition of business incubators and business incubation. Definitions can be as all-encompassing as that of Kuratko and LaFollete where they state that

“the business incubator seeks to effectively link talent, technology, capital, and know-how in order to leverage entrepreneurial talent and to accelerate the development of new companies” (1987).

This definition, however, classifies organisations such as chambers of commerce as incubators thus widening the field of incubator-incubation research to a nearly unmanageable point. Continue reading “What is a Business Incubator?”

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Absorptive Capacity

Absorptive capacity refers to an organisation’s ability to acquire and internalise new knowledge. Absorptive capacity is said to be composed of two elements: prior knowledge and intensity of effort. When a firm has a large knowledge base, acquiring additional related knowledge will be easier for a firm. However, if the firm is trying to acquire … Continue reading Absorptive Capacity

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Beyond “Technokapihan”

According to an article in BusinessWorld, the reason for the minimal-to-zero growth of technology commercialisation in the Philippines is that investors do not understand the value of technological start-ups. Thus, various forums are being set-up to encourage communication between technology entrepreneurs and potential investors. My thoughts: Is it really because the investors do not understand/appreciate … Continue reading Beyond “Technokapihan”

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Adopting a Service-Dominant Logic in Marketing

Vargo and Lusch (2004) have caused renewed interest in the reformulation of marketing through their paper titled ‘Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing’ in which they provide a new perspective that redefines the discipline’s long-standing concept of goods and services. In their paper, they contend that services are more prevalent than goods and that goods should instead be viewed as a medium for the firm’s service.

This paper will discuss the new definitions that Vargo and Lusch provide. First, it will take a look, in better detail, at how they define goods and services as well as provide an example for clarification; second, it will take a look at how the new logic redefines the relationship between the firm and the customer; and third, it will briefly look at the developments that have caused this shift in perspective. The paper will then identify potential benefits of the new logic and then proceed to provide some criticisms about it. Finally, this paper will provide some suggestions on how industries may use it at its present state. Continue reading “Adopting a Service-Dominant Logic in Marketing”