E-Learning Solution for Enhancing Entrepreneurship Competencies in the Service Sector

The chapter proposes an e-Learning solution for the entrepreneurship education, based on several simulation modules integrated into a classical learning management system. The originality of the approach is that the solution is domain independent and applied advanced IT technologies, such as agent-based simulations and extended graphical support. Using this e-learning solution, the students can learn how to choose characteristics/aspects for particular type of business and how important is each of them according specific criteria; how to set realistic values for different characteristics/aspects of the business, how a business scenario can be changed in order to fit better to the business context (business reality), modeled through by the scenario pattern and how to assess/evaluate business scenarios.

Use of New Innovative Technologies in Business by All Age Groups

This paper makes a foray into the new innovative business technologies by presenting several important aspects of the Digital Economy, Business models, Entrepreneurship, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), ICT4D, Innovation Technology. The second part of the paper consists of an analysis of new innovative technologies results in business, using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), thus presenting the conceptual framework GEM, How GEM Defines Entrepreneurship, Measures of Entrepreneurial Activity, Entrepreneurial Aspirations, Entrepreneurial Attitudes. Based on this analysis, empirical results of new innovative business technologies in Romania are configured, highlighting the key indicators for Romania (2015), Entrepreneurial Activity rates in efficiency-driven EU Countries in 2014 (% of population aged between 18-64 years), distribution of entrepreneurs by gender, age, education and household income in Romania 2014 (%), both individually and overall. The paper concludes with key findings and proposals for the following questions to be explored in future research.

The Benefits of New Online (Digital) Technologies on Business

This chapter explores how digital technologies are impacting the businesses – challenging the industry leaders while enabling entrepreneurs to do so. The overall findings have been bucketed under three broad sections – Customer Experience, Process Optimization, and Business Innovation. The Customer Experience section captures the way companies are using the data from digital technologies to enhance the way they interact with the customers. The section on Process Optimization highlights the significant improvements achieved by using digital technologies for existing business processes. Business Innovation captures the transformation power of digital, through new business models, business areas, and data monetization.

Online Facial Symmetry and Achieving Success in a Digital Entrepreneurship World

The second most used page on a newly found website from which a client might buy an item is the ABOUT US page. Using real images of real employees has an overall positive effect on the outcome of that visit. However, it is not always as simple as that. Subtle differences in the content of the pictures may have more of an impact than previously thought. Online advertising has long been considered as a media where creativity is not needed, with the advertising agencies focusing on a few basic rules for displaying ads: call to action, numbers, colors, human figures or symbols and so on. The results are analyzed only on their conversion rate value, this being one of the main reasons why online advertising is being regarded as the future of advertising worldwide. This study is focusing on the Click Through Rate (CTR) impact of different ads using different Facial Symmetry Indices (FSI) on the human figures used. The hypothesis proposed is that a person with a higher FSI, noticeable only at a subconscious level, will generate more clicks on an online ad.

Universities Fostering Business Development

Universities play a fundamental role in promoting entrepreneurship and directly contributing to the economic development of the country. This chapter presents the case of EAN University, an institution that from its foundation has focused on entrepreneurship as its mission. Over time the university has taken concrete actions to develop its three mission areas: training, research and social outreach. At EAN University, the entrepreneur training model is mandatory for all programs, making it part of the student's core education. In addition, the university promotes and creates a culture of entrepreneurship in its community through permanent business incubation and acceleration services, which are available to all students and graduates. EAN's accompaniment model begins with a diagnostic which determines the stage the company is in: preincubation, incubation or acceleration. The university's effort is focus on directing and accompanying companies in the preincubation and incubation stages.

Digital Entrepreneurial Charity and Solidarity for Social Change

Microcredit has been studied from many perspectives. In this chapter, we analyze KIVA, the most important Person-to-Person microfinance organization from the perspective of social change, and we study how it has impacted on the nascent of a new wave of entrepreneurs known as digital entrepreneurial charity. Applied to KIVA, we analyze the impact of the digital space and its Internet-based Peer-to-Peer Lending to create social change in the poor, while alleviating the poverty thanks to solidarity and charity. This work concludes affirming that banking the poor and education, with the intensive use of Internet-based devices, is the best way to alleviate poverty in our digital and globalized economic world.

A Neuromarketing Perspective on Measuring Marketing Influence at the Unconsciousness Level

In a context characterized by an inflation of marketing messages, it is imperious to understand how consumers succeed in making the buying decision. Starting by briefly describing the structure and the role of the brain and the differences between consciousness and unconsciousness, the paper aims to investigate the way neuromarketing can help in comprehending the feelings of the consumers, the way products or services match the consumers' needs, and the way companies can discover the insights of decision-making process. This paper can be perceived either as a guide for the companies that aim to find more on the way people manage information and make decisions or as a comprehensive description on human being marketing behavior that can serve both business, academic environments and consumers.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Latin American Family Firms

This chapter examines the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in the development of family businesses in Latin America. The socio-economic dynamics of such region is an interesting field for research, mainly because: it is a major manufacturing hub with growing importance in retail; it experienced a huge economical shift in the last ten years causing the growth of the middle class (an increase of 50 million people); family firms in the region are the main driver of growth and employment. The authors focused the analysis on Mexico due to its singular characteristics, making it a representative example of the region. Based on secondary sources, a characterization of the entrepreneurship and innovation in family owned and managed firms in the region is reviewed. Moreover, based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor database, the authors present some recent data related with entrepreneurship levels in the region and its impact in terms of innovation. Finally, public policy implications are provided in order to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in family businesses.

Intercloud

Cloud computing is considered the next step in the evolution of technological applications, services and products development, in the Future Internet and Internet of Things context. The permanent connection of users to the Internet has become widespread, so almost all available resources (data, software) can be placed on the Internet, shared between users - sometimes completely independently of others, and brought from the Internet to the user's computer on demand. The chapter highlights the benefits of using hybrid technology with a focus towards entrepreneurs and business innovators. Intercloud systems are built of heterogeneous services, offered by different providers of cloud computing. To emphasize the business opportunities offered by innovative Intercloud approaches, an architecture for the interconnection of cloud services offered by multiple cloud providers, with applications to e-health, is presented. The main concepts and business benefits of using Intercloud systems and an architecture for interconnecting cloud services from multiple cloud providers is described.

Open Collaborative Innovation

Open innovation is a way that allows the incorporation of external knowledge into a company (Chesbrough, 2003). Open collaborative innovation allows to add an external point of view from different interinstitutional and transdisciplinary entities which look the common goal of provide practical solutions to business challenges that arise in a globalized world (Ramirez, 2016). There are seven components in the Open innovation collaborative model: 1) Innovation challenges, 2) Internal-external knowledge, 3) Paradigm change, 4) Leadership, 5) Interinstitutional and transdisciplinary teams, 6) Storytelling, 7) Creative solutions. It also contains six principles which become thirteen interactive variables: 1) Identity, 2) Agreements, 3) Flexibility, 4) Commitment, 5) Recognition, 6) Trust. This research has identified, among the previously mentioned variables, that in order to be more successful leading projects (taking into consideration the “millennials” generation), it is necessary to strength creativity and communication as essential factors.