CAMDEN — A successful business can set off a chain reaction for
revitalizing a city by bringing in revenue, creating jobs, and meeting the
needs of the community.

Students at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden are conducting
research to identify successful inner city business ventures around the world,
discover what makes them successful, and encourage similar ventures in Camden.

There are 49 Rutgers MBA students and doctoral students in public
affairs conducting research this semester as part of a “Strategic Management”
course offered by the Rutgers School of Business–Camden.

Last fall, 34 undergraduate
students did the same for their class, “Entrepreneurship: New Venture
Creation.”

“There are various resources available in inner cities that would
support ventures and it is important to uncover what they are,” says Briance
Mascarenhas, a professor of management at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden
who teaches both courses. “The businesses which are successful in inner cities
around the world identify and utilize these resources. If they work in other
cities, why can’t they work here? They can serve as a role model for businesses
here. Camden can be revitalized by attracting and developing similar
businesses.”

Examples of business ventures the students are researching that
could be successful in Camden include parking service and security, organic
food services, urban gardens and ecological design, urban restoration,
renewable energy systems, and home health care.

Ashley Nickels, a Ph.D. student in public affairs at
Rutgers–Camden, is taking a look at what makes Avalon Bakery successful in
Detroit. The company has successfully integrated itself into the
regional economy by selling wholesale to more than 40 restaurants and markets
in Michigan.

“Like Detroit, Camden has a need for access to healthy
food and for a business committed to the people of the city,” Nickels says.
“Camden also offers some important opportunities that would reduce risk and
costs if someone were to launch a business venture of this type. For example,
Respond Inc.’s vocational training for culinary arts offers an opportunity for
hiring a skilled, local workforce.”

Kate Mills, an MBA student from Haddonfield, is researching Park,
Inc., a parking, shuttle, and security service in Charlotte. N.C.

“A similar business could work in Camden by forming a partnership
with the local organizations like Cooper University Hospital, Rutgers–Camden
and the Susquehanna Bank Center to ensure business,” Mills says. “New
businesses may not want to come to Camden due to the many issues plaguing the
city, however, a business similar to Park, Inc. could lead to growth.”

Beginning with the undergraduate course last fall and continuing
with the MBA course this spring, Mascarenhas asked students to research one
venture that is successful in another city. The students identify the company’s
business model, how it is utilizing the resources of its host city, and how the
business model could be introduced to Camden.

Using companies listed in Bloomberg’s
“Inner City 100,” and Fortune’s
“Fastest Growing Companies,” as a starting point, the students examine the
context of the inner cities in which the businesses operate, common problems
encountered, and possible solutions.

Ethan Rhinehart, a junior management major from Glassboro, took
the undergraduate “Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation” course during the
fall semester and researched the business model of Trenton-based
TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that takes used products and turns
them into products people can use every day. 

“New business ventures are extremely important to cities
like Camden,” Rhinehart says. “The benefits are pretty straightforward, in my
opinion: job creation, paying taxes, and spending money at local restaurants
and stores are just a few examples.”

Mascarenhas says entrepreneurship plays an important role in
revitalizing inner cities through employment, job training, and revenue
generation.

“Being a research university, we can combine our research
capability, intellectual power, student energy, and creativity to engage in
open innovation,” Mascarenhas says. “This open innovation model is what
companies are increasingly practicing instead of developing new ventures
internally from scratch.”

Introducing proven ideas from somewhere else is a quicker, less
risky, and lower-cost approach, he explains.

“It builds on the existing approach of developing ground-up
ventures that has been developed at Rutgers and extended to the Camden youth
through high schools with the support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation,”
Mascarenhas says. “If we identify the business models that work, we can bring
them to the attention of students and aspiring entrepreneurs. They might adopt
the model to establish a business in Camden and that would benefit our
community.”

Other universities are increasingly utilizing their resources to
improve inner city communities. Research suggests that inner cities have unique
contexts that can potentially provide firms with competitive advantages. 
The research at Rutgers–Camden seeks to clarify what unique advantages are
being capitalized on by successful inner city firms. Students have been
contacting these successful firms and inviting them to introduce their
successful business models to Camden. 

The successful inner city ventures uncovered by the student-faculty
joint research will be posted on a website for public access for would-be
community entrepreneurs, local governments, and financiers to encourage similar
ventures in Camden.

For more information on this initiative, contact Mascarenhas at
mascaren@camden.rutgers.edu.

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