Call for Papers Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

Call for Papers

Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management “Shortages of Resources, Routines, Reputation or Regulations:

Threats or Opportunities for Tech Entrepreneurs”

 Guest Editors: Moren Lévesque, York University & Nitin Joglekar, Boston University Deadline for first-round submission: September 1, 2016

Resources in the form of human (e.g., talented engineers or scientists) or financial capital (e.g., through in-kind, government grants, private individuals or financing institutions) are often at the root of new business ventures within established firms or as independent startups. Routines in the form of organizational and technical processes or knowhow are often at the root of building these new ventures. Reputation in the form of one’s accomplishments or network is often at the root of acquiring needed resources and developing the necessary routines to initiate, commit to, organize and grow the resulting business startups. Moreover, regulations in the form of public policies or incentive structures at private firms are often at the root of spurring efforts in entrepreneurial or corporate venture settings.

In either developed or emerging economies, technology entrepreneurs are often being credited and praised for creating innovative solutions to be the foundation for new business ventures that can drive economic growth. But at one time or another, independent or corporate entrepreneurs face shortages of resources, routines, reputation or regulations, which can hamper firm or industry growth potential. However, the constant praising of technology entrepreneurs may not be without foundation, because their ingenuity can play an even more crucial role when resources are lacking, routines are nonexistent, reputation has not been established or regulations are inadequate.

In fact, such ingenuity can transform many issues associated with shortages of resources, routines, reputation or regulations from being a threat to becoming an opportunity. Not only can this take place because the shortages are internal to the business enterprise being formed, but also when the shortages are triggered by events external to the entrepreneur and the business venture. A crisis like September 11, for instance, created a shortage of routines to effectively process people through more rigorous security at airports, which created an opportunity for technology entrepreneurs to use their ingenuity to find new ways to screen people. The shortage of a natural resource like oil has also become an opportunity for technology entrepreneurs to develop bolt-on features to 18-wheeled trailer trucks and road trains to reduce wind resistance and increase gas mileage. In some countries, public policies have addressed such shortages by offering early-stage funding for basic sciences and technology commercialization efforts, either through funding bodies such as the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) or through the release of health data to encourage business startups. However, it is not clear if such policies create more impactful technological entrepreneurship than in settings where such polices are lacking. We can thus debate whether these shortages are bad, because they limit the ease of starting businesses and thus economic prosperity, or they are good, because they rely on people being more socially responsible, more ingenious, or forced to start in a leaner manner. Policymakers, practitioners and researchers need to better understand this threat vs. opportunity debate.

The purpose of the special issue is to compile a body of emerging work that explores the impacts of shortages of resources, routines, reputation or regulations all broadly defined, and how these shortages create threats or opportunities for new business ventures, or their emergence, within established firms or as independent startups. The topics of these studies are expected to be interdisciplinary and fill gaps in existing research. We welcome studies that address multiple aspects of technology and engineering management from a diverse set of methodologies ranging from analytical, empirical and experimental. The work should contribute to theory and create practical insights for managers in the technology arena.

Review Process: The special issue’s guest editors, the journal’s editorial review board members, and ad hoc reviewers will referee the submitted papers. We anticipate no more than 3 months each for the first two rounds of review, and 1 month for the final round. If invited to revise their manuscript, the authors will be given 3 months for the first revision, 2 months for the second revision, and 1 month for the final submission.

Submission Process: Please prepare the manuscript according to IEEE-TEM’s guidelines (http://ieee-tmc.org/tem-guidelines) and submit it by September 1, 2016. Please submit your manuscript at the journal’s Manuscript Central site (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tem-ieee), select both Moren Lévesque and Nitin Joglekar as preferred editors, and clearly state in the cover letter that the submission is for this special issue. Questions regarding this special issue can be sent to mlevesque@schulich.yorku.ca or joglekar@bu.edu.