Entrepreneurs in resource-constrained communities often lack time and support to translate ideas into actionable business plans. While generative AI promises assistance, most systems assume high digital literacy and overlook community infrastructures that shape adoption. We report on the community-centered design and deployment of BizChat, an AI-powered business planning tool, introduced across four workshops at a feminist makerspace in Pittsburgh. Through log data (N=30) and interviews (N=10), we examine how entrepreneurs build resilience through collective AI literacy development-encompassing adoption, adaptation, and refusal of AI. Our findings reveal that while BizChat lowered barriers to accessing capital by translating ideas into "business language," this ease raised questions about whether instant AI outputs undermine sensemaking essential to planning. We show how peer support helped entrepreneurs navigate this tension. We contribute design implications, including productive friction, communal scaffolds, and co-optability, for strengthening resilience amid technological change.
Large Language Models achieve remarkable performance but incur substantial computational costs unsuitable for resource-constrained deployments. This paper presents the first comprehensive task-specific efficiency analysis comparing 16 language models across five diverse NLP tasks. We introduce the Performance-Efficiency Ratio (PER), a novel metric integrating accuracy, throughput, memory, and latency through geometric mean normalization. Our systematic evaluation reveals that small models (0.5--3B parameters) achieve superior PER scores across all given tasks. These findings establish quantitative foundations for deploying small models in production environments prioritizing inference efficiency over marginal accuracy gains.
While entrepreneurship in education continues to grow, the arts and arts administration fields are trailing behind new, innovative, and enterprising curriculum development and progress. The continued rise of online learning environments creates opportunities for dynamic partnership development that democratizes the current structures of entrepreneurship education within the arts. This article presents the case of creative social entrepreneurship curriculum development as an opportunity to democratize arts administration education, highlighting the innovative online learning approach of the Department of Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky. It outlines the background of the emerging arts and entrepreneurship education landscape and specifically highlights the opportunity gap to develop an enterprising culture across arts and arts administration curriculum and in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which presently lack arts administration and entrepreneurship curricula in their art and design programs. Importantly, the article illustrates the possibilities of transdisciplinary curriculum development through the creation of an online certificate series in creative social entrepreneurship and provides the concepts, context, and framework for curriculum development. The value of democratizing curriculum development is through innovative approaches within cross-institutional partnerships within and between institutions. As such, this article highlights the possibilities of building partnerships with HBCUs as part of the development process for the creative social entrepreneurship certificate program series.
Arts in general, Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades
Muhammad Zohaib, Muhammad Azeem Akbar, Sami Hyrynsalmi
et al.
The emergence of agentic AI systems in 6G software businesses presents both strategic opportunities and significant challenges. While such systems promise increased autonomy, scalability, and intelligent decision-making across distributed environments, their adoption raises concerns regarding technical immaturity, integration complexity, organizational readiness, and performance-cost trade-offs. In this study, we conducted a preliminary thematic mapping to identify factors influencing the adoption of agentic software within the context of 6G. Drawing on a multivocal literature review and targeted scanning, we identified 29 motivators and 27 demotivators, which were further categorized into five high-level themes in each group. This thematic mapping offers a structured overview of the enabling and inhibiting forces shaping organizational readiness for agentic transformation. Positioned as a feasibility assessment, the study represents an early phase of a broader research initiative aimed at developing and validating a layered maturity model grounded in CMMI model with the software architectural three dimensions possibly Data, Business Logic, and Presentation. Ultimately, this work seeks to provide a practical framework to help software-driven organizations assess, structure, and advance their agent-first capabilities in alignment with the demands of 6G.
This study examines how WhatsApp has evolved from a personal communication tool to a professional platform, focusing on its use by small business owners in India. Initially embraced in smaller, rural communities for its ease of use and familiarity, WhatsApp played a crucial role in local economies. However, as Meta introduced WhatsApp Business with new, formalized features, users encountered challenges in adapting to the more complex and costly platform. Interviews with 14 small business owners revealed that while they adapted creatively, they felt marginalized by the advanced tools. This research contributes to HCI literature by exploring the transition from personal to professional use and introduces the concept of Coercive Professionalization. It highlights how standardization by large tech companies affects marginalized users, exacerbating power imbalances and reinforcing digital colonialism, concluding with design implications for supporting community-based appropriations.
Small and medium-sized businesses are widely recognised as the cornerstone of growth in emerging and middle-class countries, and South Africa is no different. They generate many job possibilities and salaries for many individuals who live in cities, making them an essential component of average national production. The main objective of the research was to examine the level to which Small and Medium-sized businesses in the eThekwini Municipality used financial management. The research project used a quantitative method to collect and analyse data from the field. The survey included 60 participants from various small and medium-sized businesses in eThekwini. Proprietors and managers of small and medium-sized businesses were among those who responded. The rate at which organisations implement systems that effectively organise their money was a crucial component in analysing the financial management engagements of small and medium-sized businesses. This can be assessed in various ways, including distributing closed-ended surveys to responders. As a result, the proprietors of small and medium-sized businesses were prompted to score their companies based on the level to which financial preparation strategies were implemented and the funding sources. The research found that small and medium-sized businesses in the research areas did not develop long-term financial strategies that included investments in non-current assets, shares, stocks, and real estate initiatives. Small and medium-sized businesses must establish trustworthy systems for accounting information, disclose and analyse their financial challenges regularly, and advocate for laws that make it simpler for small and medium-sized businesses to obtain inexpensive financing. Since small and medium-sized businesses are recognised as contributing significantly to national economic growth, they must keep growing.
Vera Ferrón Vílchez, María Eugenia Senise Barrio, Rocío Llamas Sánchez
This paper examines the reciprocal relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and employee engagement within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this crisis, a positive association was observed: SMEs that committed to their employees tended to see a corresponding engagement from their employees. To assess how performance influenced this relationship, the study also explored whether this reciprocal pattern varied with different levels of business performance—decreased, unchanged, or improved—relative to pre-crisis economic performance. An empirical analysis was conducted on a sample of 114 SMEs from the Andalusian region (Spain) using a regression model with mediating effects. The findings reveal that reciprocity between POS and employee engagement was evident during the pandemic and was particularly strong among SMEs belonging to the sub-sample with negative economic results.
Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades, Business
In order to theoretically understand dust properties in the circum-galactic medium (CGM), we construct a dust evolution model that incorporates the evolution of grain size distribution. We treat each of the galaxy and the CGM as a one-zone object, and consider the mass exchange between them. We take into account dust production and interstellar dust processing for the galaxy based on our previous models, and newly incorporate sputtering in the hot phase and shattering in the cool phase for the CGM. We find that shattering increases the dust destruction (sputtering) efficiency in the CGM. The functional shape of the grain size distribution in the CGM evolves following that in the galaxy, but it is sensitive to the balance between sputtering and shattering in the CGM. For an observational test, we discuss the wavelength dependence of the reddening in the CGM traced by background quasar colors, arguing that, in order to explain the observed reddening level, a rapid inflow from the CGM to the galaxy is favored because of quick dust/metal enrichment. Small grain production by shattering in the CGM also helps to explain the rise of dust extinction toward short wavelengths.
Konark Jain, Jean-François Muzy, Jonathan Kochems
et al.
Tick-sizes not only influence the granularity of the price formation process but also affect market agents' behavior. We investigate the disparity in the microstructural properties of the Limit Order Book (LOB) across a basket of assets with different relative tick-sizes. A key contribution of this study is the identification of several stylized facts, which are used to differentiate between large, medium, and small-tick assets, along with clear metrics for their measurement. We provide cross-asset visualizations to illustrate how these attributes vary with relative tick-size. Further, we propose a Hawkes Process model that {\color{black}not only fits well for large-tick assets, but also accounts for }sparsity, multi-tick level price moves, and the shape of the LOB in small-tick assets. Through simulation studies, we demonstrate the {\color{black} versatility} of the model and identify key variables that determine whether a simulated LOB resembles a large-tick or small-tick asset. Our tests show that stylized facts like sparsity, shape, and relative returns distribution can be smoothly transitioned from a large-tick to a small-tick asset using our model. We test this model's assumptions, showcase its challenges and propose questions for further directions in this area of research.
Valentin Haag, Maximilian Kiessler, Benedikt Pittl
et al.
Cloud resources have become increasingly important, with many businesses using cloud solutions to supplement or outright replace their existing IT infrastructure. However, as there is a plethora of providers with varying products, services, and markets, it has become increasingly more challenging to keep track of the best solutions for each application. Cloud service intermediaries aim to alleviate this problem by offering services that help users meet their requirements. This paper aims to lay the groundwork for developing a cloud portfolio management platform and its business model, defined via a business model canvas. Furthermore, a prototype of a platform is developed offering a cloud portfolio optimization service, using two algorithms developed in previous research to create suitable and well-utilized allocations for a customer's applications.
Diana Benito-Osorio, Alberto Colino-Fernández, Luis Ángel Guerras-Martín
et al.
This study explores the potential effects of different combinations of growth-seeking strategies on performance in SMEs during long times of economic boom and crisis. Our hypotheses are tested on a representative sample of Spanish SMEs between 1994 and 2014. During these years Spain suffered one of the periods of greatest economic stability/growth in recent years (1994-2008), followed immediately by a period of severe crisis (2009-2014). Using dynamic panel data models, our findings reveal that four combinations exhibit a positive and statistically significant effect on performance in times of economic boom: a related product strategy combined with low, moderate, or high levels of internationalization, and an unrelated one combined with a moderate level of internationalization. Meanwhile, we find only two combinations with a positive impact on SME performance in times of crisis: a related product strategy combined with low and moderate levels of internationalization, respectively
Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades, Business
Purpose – This study examines the impact of college education on incorporated and unincorporated self-employments. It specifically compares the effects on African Americans and Hispanics with the effects on Whites. Design/methodology/approach – The study sample was drawn from the US Current Population Survey between 1989 and 2018. Based on a sample size of 1,657,043 individuals, this study employed logit regression models to test the hypotheses. Racial variations were examined using African Americans and Hispanics as moderators. Findings – The results suggest that college education increases incorporated self-employment and reduces unincorporated self-employment. The impact of college education on incorporated self-employment is stronger for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites. In contrast, its effect on unincorporated self-employment is stronger for Whites than for African Americans and Hispanics. Research limitations/implications – The findings provide empirical evidence of how college experience changes the motivation of starting an incorporated or unincorporated business. The results suggest that college education impacts African Americans and Hispanics differently than Whites in pursuing their career path of entrepreneurship. Originality/value – It is the first study that examines the relationship between college education and incorporated/unincorporated self-employment. It also sheds light on radical variations.
Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades, Business
Strong Parallel Repetition for Unique Games on Small Set Expanders The strong parallel repetition problem for unique games is to efficiently reduce the 1-delta vs. 1-C*delta gap problem of Boolean unique games (where C>1 is a sufficiently large constant) to the 1-epsilon vs. epsilon gap problem of unique games over large alphabet. Due to its importance to the Unique Games Conjecture, this problem garnered a great deal of interest from the research community. There are positive results for certain easy unique games (e.g., unique games on expanders), and an impossibility result for hard unique games. In this paper we show how to bypass the impossibility result by enlarging the alphabet sufficiently before repetition. We consider the case of unique games on small set expanders for two setups: (i) Strong small set expanders that yield easy unique games. (ii) Weaker small set expanders underlying possibly hard unique games as long as the game is mildly fortified. We show how to fortify unique games in both cases, i.e., how to transform the game so sufficiently large induced sub-games have bounded value. We then prove strong parallel repetition for the fortified games. Prior to this work fortification was known for projection games but seemed hopeless for unique games.
The article presents the results of research of the support practices of local governments for small and medium-sized businesses in a rural municipal district — the Tyumentsevsky District in the Altai Territory. Based on the analysis of the target indicators of the municipal program for the development and support for small and medium-sized businesses in 2014-2019, of the data from the reports of the Tyumentsevsky District Administration on its implementation and the expert survey results, the effects of the entrepreneurship development and its municipal support are shown. A weak correlation is found between the implementation of the target indicators plan and the actual municipal support practices. According to the results of a survey of local entrepreneurs, the level and dynamics of the development of small and medium-sized businesses and the practices of the local government for their support are assessed. Institutional barriers to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, a low level of their self-organization, insufficient information and consulting business support, and a number of other problems are identified. Conclusions are drawn about the relatively low effects of the implemented practices of municipal support for small and medium-sized businesses. Low quality of planning the targets, small opportunities and results financial security of the municipal program are shown. Proposals are made to improve the quality of planning in the development and implementation of municipal programs to support small and medium-sized businesses in rural areas, and to improve the municipal practices for their support, including distance learning and information support, businesses self-organization stimulating and development of their integration connections.
Purpose – Traditional feasibility analysis is focused on the immediate and urgent needs of a new venture start-up. All four parts of the feasibility analysis (product/service, industry/market, organizational, and financial) are valuable and essential, but what is missed is a part that provided attention to the longer-term requirements for success and sustainability. A fifth strategic feasibility analysis is needed, focused on the long-term sustainability of the new venture. This strategic/contingent context-dependency lens considers the organization's long-term survival, confirming that organizational success depends on the new venture's ability to emphasize its uniqueness and fit with its external environment. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes advantage of the decades-long literature review in Strategy to combine known data with entrepreneurial practice in undertaking the feasibility analysis. Findings – This enhanced feasibility analysis adds a strategic lens beyond the traditional four-part feasibility analysis, resulting in identifiable value-added benefits and awareness of potential opportunities or threats in the longer term. Research limitations/implications – This research is conceptual and theoretical at this point, without field implementation. Practical implications – New venture failure is an ongoing concern for many. This suggested strategic lens, especially the sustainability aspect (beyond the “what-do-we-need-to-do-to-open-the-doors” of much feasibility analysis) may prove very useful. Competitive advantage is examined in the traditional feasibility analysis, but this strategic lens suggests a longer term examination, and engages with competitor response. Social implications – If adopted, this enhanced analysis may lead to greater success for new venture start-ups, thus less wasted time, energy and money. Originality/value – This is the first attempt at adding a focused strategic lens to the traditional entrepreneurial feasibility analysis. This may seem like a simple and elementary shift of perspective, but the implications are huge, and take advantage of the decades-long research stream in strategic thinking and planning.
Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades, Business
Urban systems, composed of households, businesses, and infrastructures, are continuously evolving and expanding. This has several implications because the impacts of disruptions, and the complexity and interdependence of systems, are rapidly increasing. Hence, we face a challenge in how to improve our understanding about the interdependencies among those entities, as well as their responses to disruptions. The aims of this study were to (1) create an agent that mimics the metabolism of a business or household that obtains supplies from and provides output to infrastructure systems; (2) implement a network of agents that exchange resources, as coordinated with a price mechanism; and (3) test the responses of this prototype model to disruptions. Our investigation resulted in the development of a business/household agent and a dynamically self-organizing mechanism of network coordination under disruption based on costs for production and transportation. Simulation experiments confirmed the feasibility of this new model for analyzing responses to disruptions. Among the nine disruption scenarios considered, in line with our expectations, the one combining the failures of infrastructure links and production processes had the most negative impact. We also identified areas for future research that focus on network topologies, mechanisms for resource allocation, and disruption generation.
Faustino Prieto, José María Sarabia, Enrique Calderín-Ojeda
In this paper, we analyzed how business age and mortality are related during the first years of life, and tested the different hypotheses proposed in the literature. For that, we used data on U.S. business establishments, with 1-year resolution in the range of age of 0-5 years, in the period 1977-2016, published by the United States Census Bureau. First, we explored the adaptation of classical techniques of survival analysis (the Life Table and Peto-Turnbull methods) to the business survival analysis. Then, we considered nine parametric probabilistic models, most of them well-known in reliability analysis and in the actuarial literature, with different shapes of the hazard function, that we fitted by maximum likelihood method and compared with the Akaike information criterion. Our findings show that newborn firms seem to have a decreasing failure rate with the age during the first five years in market, with the exception of the first months of some years in which the risk can rise.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine innovative practices and emphasize the mechanism of knowledge transfer across knowledge boundaries. By comparing and discussing the emerging boundary issues in knowledge transfer among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered in the incubation centers in China, this paper identified the main knowledge transfer approach and several contextual and organizational factors impacting knowledge transfer. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct 39 semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees working within business incubation centers in China. The study uses thematic analysis for data analysis. Findings – Our results contribute to the literature of knowledge transfer and in particular to our understanding of boundary conditions and knowledge transfer approaches in emerging economies. The results also highlight several contextual and organizational factors which impact knowledge transformation across the pragmatic boundary in the context of China. Practical implications – First, organizations need to establish an effective process with tools to accommodate novelty; second, organizations should be aware of the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovative performance; and third, it will help organizations if they adopt and integrate information-rich media in managing innovative practices. Originality/value – This research highlights the impact of contextual and organizational factors of SMEs on knowledge transfer in emerging markets and chooses incubation centers as study subjects, which is an organizational context that has not been thoroughly studied due to its unique nature and emerging complexity.
Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades, Business
Digital technologies offer new possibilities to entrepreneurs in cultural industries in linguistic minority societies. Paradoxically, they also pose a threat by exacerbating the precariousness and uncertainty experienced by them. However, there is a lack of literature on the ways in which these entrepreneurs adapt to the paradoxes brought about by digital technologies. This study aims to address this gap in the literature through an analysis of 50 semi-structured interviews carried out in the music recording industry in Canadian francophone societies and in Catalonia (Spain). Using an abductive approach, we suggest that the attitudes and practices implemented by music entrepreneurs in these societies can be interpreted according to the four principles of the effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001): 1) by predetermining affordable losses; 2) by harnessing contingencies rather than avoiding them; 3) by relying on strategic alliances rather than competition; and 4) by drawing on the means rather than the ends, these entrepreneurs are able to take advantage of the possibilities offered by digital technologies while mitigating the threats. Thus, our research contributes to the literature on cultural entrepreneurship by highlighting these practices and attitudes using the effectuation theory.
Arts in general, Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades