This inductive study seeks to establish a conceptual background for theoretical development regarding talent misuse in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The two objectives for the goal were (1) to explore and build a list of unethical treatment practiced on young talents; (2) to establish new framework for the special context or refining the existing framework on employee mistreatment. For the first goal, an attempt was made to develop a list of mistreating behavior by collecting and analyzing cases of ethical disputes. Analyses on 64 cases of talent mistreatment, namely ‘passion pay’, was conducted to present a conceptual ground for further investigation. Then, for the second objective, this study has proposed an integrative approach for assessing these ethical elements. The ethical implications were discussed based on an assessment conducted using three theories of ethics. Finally, a cluster analysis further shows the emergence of three groups based on the mistreating behaviors. We observed seven different mistreatment behaviors under four categories of mistreatment practices. Additionally, the cluster analysis results imply that talent mistreatment may be rooted in work characteristics. Organizational size may provide some contextual reasoning, but the extent to which this factor interacts with work characteristics left unclear.

The paper aims to evaluate the combination of strategies that influence the success of New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs) located in isolated areas with resource constraints. We utilize the Kauffman Firm Survey to construct a subset of 224 firms operating in primary metal manufacturing industries and who are located in non-thriving areas. We focus on the impact of technological strategy, in the form of Inward Technology Licensing (ITL), combined with financial strategy, in the form of increased financial slack. Using a negative binomial-specification technique to model these relations, we find that ITL positively impacts internal innovation in the firm and this relation is strengthened by the presence of greater financial slack. This positive impact of financial slack supports the behavioral theory of the firm rather than agency theory in that financial slack enables further innovation rather than stifling it. This research confirms the importance of resource acquisition, suggesting that entrepreneurs may utilize external sources of knowledge in an effort to build a favorable situation when facing the challenges of location. Finally, by presenting evidence showing the compatibility of a financial strategy with a knowledge strategy (ITL), this study emphasizes the importance to entrepreneurs of choosing the proper combination of varying strategies.