International business scholars are increasingly calling for more awareness of the local context in which international entrepreneurs pursue business opportunities. In this paper, we respond to this call, arguing that an entrepreneur’s business network engenders self-sustaining dynamics that bear upon the entrepreneurial opportunity itself. We conclude that the dynamics that we observe can be interpreted as ‘multidimensional embeddedness’. Through a qualitative inquiry, we study how a Korean entrepreneur seeking to establish an agri-business venture in Cambodia embeds himself in the local business environment as a means to create an opportunity structure. We analyze how the international business venture initially thrived but ultimately failed, attributing these outcomes to the entrepreneur’s multidimensional embeddedness in the wider business environment. In so doing, we contribute a critical perspective to entrepreneurship research, widening the prevailing individualistic focus on entrepreneurship by engaging with the societal context within which an opportunity structure develops. We also extend international business studies by explaining how the opportunity structure underlying international ventures impacts upon opportunity pursuit, beyond the entrepreneur’s control.
Background: Parents of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) have extensive care duties. This study describes the phenomenon “parenting a child with PIMD.” Method: We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 Dutch parents. A reflective lifeworld research. Findings: The essential meaning of the phenomenon was understood as “continuously struggling to create and maintain new equilibriums that protect the child and the family from hardship; changing in context through time.” The following eight constituents were identified: (1) medical complexity; (2) multidimensional weariness; (3) care for siblings; (4) social connectedness; (5) uncertainty about the future; (6) wrecking bureaucracy; (7) dependency on healthcare delivery; and (8) financial concerns. Conclusions: Healthcare services should provide families with easy access to assistive technology and services needed to manage family life. Responsiveness to parents’ challenges offers them the possibility to participate in society. Healthcare professionals should address the parents’ perspectives related to the child’s quality of life.
The level of work engagement is an important aspect of organizational culture. In this empirical study the relation between engagement and experienced professionalism of probation officers is investigated. Starting from ideal-typical theories on professionalism, a psychometric instrument for measuring experienced professionalism was developed and administered to a sample of Dutch probation officers. Two reliable scales could be constructed that account for 64% of the variance in work engagement. Of these, professional ethos (humanistic values) is the most important predictor of work engagement in probation. Professional facilitation (support from the surroundings), however, also contributes to engagement.
