nep-sbm New Economics Papers
on Small Business Management
Issue of 2016‒10‒23
seventeen papers chosen by
João Carlos Correia Leitão
Universidade da Beira Interior

  1. Entrepreneurship as a Driver of Economic Growth: Evidence from Enterprise Development in Nigeria By FARAYIBI, Adesoji
  2. Do ‘green’ employment effects vary across industries? Implications for green growth By Christine Mee Lie
  3. Pre-commercial Procurement, Procurement of Innovative Solutions and Innovation Partnerships in the EU: Rationale and Strategy By Elisabetta Iossa, Federico Biagi and Paola Valbonesi
  4. Access to finance and enterprise growth : evidence from an experiment in Uganda By Fiala, Nathan.
  5. Nanothechnology and the emergence of a general purpose technology By Stuart Graham; Maurizio Iacopetta
  6. Toward a Matching Approach to Support CBM (Collaborative Business Model) Processes between Regional Entrepreneurs within the RIS3 Policy By Jérémie Faham; Maxime Daniel; Jérémy Legardeur
  7. Grantbacks, Territorial Restraints and the Type of Follow-On Innovation: The "But for..." Defence By Ambashi, Masahito; Régibeau, Pierre; Rockett, Katharine
  8. Job Creation and the Role of Dependencies By Fornaro, Paolo; Luomaranta, Henri
  9. Emissions trading and productivity: Firm-level evidence from German manufacturing By Lutz, Benjamin Johannes
  10. Technology and Production Fragmentation: Domestic versus Foreign Sourcing By Teresa C. Fort
  11. The Origins and Dynamics of Export Superstars By Caroline Freund; Martha Denisse Pierola
  12. “Crowdfunding” et diasporas : l’apparition des plateformes modifie-t-elle la structure du marché et les stratégies des acteurs du financement diasporique ? By Cécile Fonrouge
  13. An anatomy of Italian cities: evidence from firm-level data By Andrea Lamorgese; Andrea Petrella
  14. Le politiche familiari della Regione del Veneto: un’analisi economica dell’intervento del policy maker regionale nell’ultimo decennio By Veronica Polin; Michele Bertani
  15. Patterns and determinants of inventors' mobility across European urban areas By Clément Gorin
  16. Predicting bankruptcy in European e-commerce sector By Janda, Karel; Moreira, David
  17. Louis Pasteur's entrepreneurship : an economic history of science. By Gabriel Galvez-Behar

  1. By: FARAYIBI, Adesoji
    Abstract: This study provides an econometric analysis of the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth in Nigeria. The study also assesses the areas where the country has developed enterprise and innovations. Findings from empirical analysis confirm the roles of entrepreneurs as good drivers of economic growth in the country. Specifically, results reveal that credit to SMEs is statistically significant in the determination of economic growth, implying that increase in entrepreneurial financing has significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria. Particularly, the increase in the operations and activities of SMEs in Nigeria remains indispensable to the pursuit of economic growth and development as a nation. However, the major hindrance inhibiting entrepreneurship as a growth driver in Nigeria include; poor infrastructural facilities, inadequate start-up process, financial management problems, lack of strategic planning and other socio-cultural problems. The study recommends building an in-country entrepreneurial capacity by incorporating requisite enterprise trainings and development progammes into the nation’s education system at all levels. Also, government, banking institutions and the organized private sector should increase financial support for entrepreneurial oriented initiatives.
    Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Development, SMEs, MSMEs, SMEDAN, YouWin
    JEL: L1 M2 M21
    Date: 2015–08–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:74591&r=sbm
  2. By: Christine Mee Lie (TIK Centre, University of Oslo)
    Abstract: This article investigates the impact of green innovation on employment growth, employing firm-level survey data from South Korea. We focus especially on the industry-dimension, investigating whether displacement or compensation effects vary across industries and according to subtypes of green process innovations. Results demonstrate that both green and non-green product innovations are associated with significant employment increases: a 1% increase in sales growth from new products is associated with a less than 1% increase in employment. Finally results are found to vary across industries, especially when simultaneously accounting for subtypes of green process innovations.
    Date: 2016–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20161014&r=sbm
  3. By: Elisabetta Iossa, Federico Biagi and Paola Valbonesi
    Abstract: We consider alternative European public procurement mechanisms for acquiring R&D services and innovative solutions, focusing on Pre-commercial Procurement, Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions and Innovation Partnerships. For each of these mechanisms, we identify conceptually strengths and weaknesses. We highlight the role played by (i) economies of scope and externalities between R&D and large-scale production; (ii) degree of specificity of the innovation; (iii) role of SMEs in the market and level of market competition; (iv) risk of market foreclosure and supplier lock-in. This article contributes to the literature on incentives in demand-side innovation policy by tapping into the contractual design features and by offering relevant implications for academics and policy makers.
    Keywords: Innovation, Demand-side policies, Incentives, Pre-commercial Procurement, Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions, Innovation Partnership.
    JEL: O31 O32 O38 H57
    Date: 2016
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcu:iefewp:iefewp89&r=sbm
  4. By: Fiala, Nathan.
    Abstract: The following paper Access to Finance and Enterprise growth: Evidence from an experiment in Uganda authored by Nathan Fiala sets out to understand the challenges to business growth in Uganda, relying on a sample of 1,550 micro- enterprise owners from the Northern and Central regions.
    Keywords: microfinance, access to credit, enterprise creation, men, women, model, Uganda, microfinance, accès au crédit, création d'entreprise, hommes, femmes, modèle, Ouganda, microfinanciamiento, acceso a créditos, creación de empresa, hombres, mujeres, modelo, Uganda
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994874063402676&r=sbm
  5. By: Stuart Graham (Georgia Institute of technology); Maurizio Iacopetta (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques)
    Abstract: This article examines how closely nanotechnology resembles a general purpose technology (GPT). Using patented nanotechnology inventions during 1975-2006, we test for characteristics of GPTs identified in the prior literature, and find evidence that nanotechnology shows both “pervasive” adoption and “spawning” of follow-on innovation. Offering a methodological contribution, we employ concentration indexes such as the Gini index and Lorenz curve to construct “knowledge dissemination curves” for different technologies, thereby providing evidence that nanotechnology shares relevant characteristics with other GPTs. Using an entirely new dataset, we use three different definitions of a “nanotechnology patent” and calculate patent generality indexes, finding that nanotechnology patents are significantly more likely to be referenced across technology space than are patents in information technology, another widely-adopted GPT. In another contribution, we suggest that innovative materials may demonstrate the characteristics of a GPT, and provide a historical parallel between the advancement of steel technology in the 19th Century with that of nanotechnology in the present day.
    Keywords: Nanotechnology; General Purpose Technology; Patent Analysis
    JEL: O30 O33 O34
    Date: 2014–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/etn9re5q89nsrvjl30tghl61u&r=sbm
  6. By: Jérémie Faham (ESTIA Recherche - Ecole Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA), IMS - Laboratoire de l'intégration, du matériau au système - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Maxime Daniel (ESTIA Recherche - Ecole Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA), LaBRI - Laboratoire Bordelais de Recherche en Informatique - Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2 - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, Informatique et Radiocommunications de Bordeaux (ENSEIRB) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Jérémy Legardeur (ESTIA Recherche - Ecole Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA), IMS - Laboratoire de l'intégration, du matériau au système - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
    Abstract: One of the objectives of the European Commission for 2014-2020 is to establish " Research and Innovation Strategies for the Smart Specialization " (RIS3). The originality of RIS3 is the " bottom-up " identification of regional priorities especially through the " Entrepreneurial Discovery " (ED) process. The Collaborative Business Models (CBM) approach has probably a role to play within this process as a suitable strategic tool to set up regional " value networks ". However, the preparatory stage of CBM and especially the identification and the matching processes among potential RE partners is often not addressed. This work is based on the need to support the discovering and the matching processes between " regional entrepreneurs " (companies, research , consulting, association, public authorities…) in order to improve the efficacy of CBM and RIS3. In this paper, we propose a review of the state of the art concerning the different dimensions linked to the matching processes.
    Keywords: Matching,RIS3,Entrepreneurial Discovery,Collaborative Business Models,Profile Comprehension,Entrepreneurs
    Date: 2016–04–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01332621&r=sbm
  7. By: Ambashi, Masahito; Régibeau, Pierre; Rockett, Katharine
    Abstract: We analyse the effect of grantback clauses in licensing contracts. While competition authorities fear that grantback clauses might decrease the licensee’s ex post incentives to innovate, a standard defence is that grantback clauses are required for the patent-owner to agree to license its technology in the first place. We examine the validity of this “but for†defence and the equilibrium effect of grantback clauses on the innovation incentives of the licensee for both non-severable and severable innovations. Under the 2004 EU Technology Transfer Guidelines , and the guidelines for some other jurisdictions, grantback clauses that apply to “non - severable†(read “infringing†) innovations are considered to be less controversial than clauses that apply to “severable†innovations. We show, to the contrary, that grantback clauses do not increase the patent- holder’s incentives to license when non-severable innovations are at stake but they do when severable innovations are concerned – suggesting that the “but for†defence might be valid for severable innovations but not for non-severable ones. Moreover we show that, for severable innovations, grantback clauses can increase the range of parameters for which follow-on innovation by the licensee occurs.
    Date: 2016–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:17805&r=sbm
  8. By: Fornaro, Paolo; Luomaranta, Henri
    Abstract: We contribute to the extensive literature on the relationship between firm size and job creation, by examining the effects of dependencies between enterprises. Using Finnish monthly data encompassing the population of Finnish private businesses, we calculate the gross job creation and destruction, together with the net job creation, for different size classes and industries. Importantly, we divide firms into a dependent (i.e. owned, at least partially, by a large company) and independent category. Due to the quality of the data, we are able to isolate the 'organic' growth of firms, disregarding the effects of mergers, split-offs and other legal restructuring. We find that independent companies have shown a considerably higher net job creation, regardless of their size class. However, dependent firms do not show particularly different behaviors with respect to the sensitivity to aggregate conditions, compared to their independent counterparts. Once we control for age, we find that independent firms generate more (net) jobs during the early years of their existence but destroy more jobs once they become older.
    Keywords: Dependencies, firm size, firm age, employment creation
    JEL: D22 E24 E32 L25
    Date: 2016–10–13
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:44&r=sbm
  9. By: Lutz, Benjamin Johannes
    Abstract: I study the causal effect of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on the productivity of German manufacturing firms. Using administrative firm-level data, I estimate robust production functions for narrowly defined industries. This approach allows for an endogenous dynamic productivity process and corrects for simultaneous changes in input use or productivity after a firm is regulated by the EU ETS. After estimating the firm specific productivity, I employ a difference-in-differences framework in order to identify and quantify the average treatment effect of the EU ETS on the productivity of regulated firms. The results suggest no significant negative effect of the EU ETS on productivity. In contrast, the EU ETS had a positive effect on productivity during the first compliance period. An alternative identification strategy based on a combination of the difference-in-differences framework and nearest neighbor matching supports this finding. A subsample analysis provides evidence that the effect of the EU ETS is heterogeneous across industries.
    Keywords: Control of Externalities,Emissions Trading,Robust Production Function Estimation,Productivity,Difference-in-Differences
    JEL: D22 D24 Q52
    Date: 2016
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16067&r=sbm
  10. By: Teresa C. Fort
    Abstract: This paper provides direct empirical evidence on the relationship between technology and firms’ global sourcing strategies. Using new data on U.S. firms’ decisions to contract for manufacturing services from domestic or foreign suppliers, I show that a firm’s adoption of communication technology between 2002 to 2007 is associated with a 3.1 point increase in its probability of fragmentation. The effect of firm technology also differs signifcantly across industries; in 2007, it is 20 percent higher, relative to the mean, in industries with production specifcations that are easier to codify in an electronic format. These patterns suggest that technology lowers coordination costs, though its effect is disproportionately higher for domestic rather than foreign sourcing. The larger impact on domestic fragmentation highlights its importance as an alternative to offshoring, and can be explained by complementarities between technology and worker skill. High technology firms and industries are more likely to source from high human capital countries, and the differential impact of technology across industries is strongly increasing in country human capital.
    Keywords: fragmentation, offshoring, technology, contract manufacturing services
    JEL: F14 F23 L23
    Date: 2016–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:13-35r&r=sbm
  11. By: Caroline Freund (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Martha Denisse Pierola (Inter-American Development Bank)
    Abstract: This paper uses firm-level data on manufacturing trade from 40 developing countries to explore how the five largest exporters in a country contribute to export growth and diversification. The origins of these firms are also studied. The data show that the top five exporters account for on average one third of exports, over half of export growth, and almost all of export diversification over a five-year period. Controlling for country and industry-fixed effects, the share of exports in the top five firms increases significantly as exports grow. Most top five exporters were already large five years ago or are new firms; it is extremely rare for these export super- stars to emerge from the bottom half of the firm-size distribution. They are producers, not traders, and are primarily foreign owned.
    Keywords: firm size distribution, power law, comparative advantage, export growth
    JEL: D22 L11 L25 F14
    Date: 2016–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp16-11&r=sbm
  12. By: Cécile Fonrouge (IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12)
    Abstract: Crowdfunding is an emerging form of entrepreneurial finance. Financial flows from migrants and their descendants to their homeland are important. Does crowdfunding platforms disrupt this diaspora financial flow? By studying this new literature and interviewing keys fintechs entrepreneurs of French platforms, we propose a unique description: Diasporas typologies, investment motivations that are applied to Diaspora and trends on business models evolution for this new digital industry. The main results are about the equilibrium between emotional and rational motivations for the new generation of migration; the cohabitation of " crowd pull " and
    Keywords: Crowdfunding,finance participative,entrepreneuriat ethnique,migration,start-up sociales,modèles d’affaires,rupture
    Date: 2015–10–30
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01365738&r=sbm
  13. By: Andrea Lamorgese (Bank of Italy); Andrea Petrella (Bank of Italy)
    Keywords: urban productivity premium, agglomeration, urban growth
    JEL: D24 O47 R30 A A A
    Date: 2016–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_362_16&r=sbm
  14. By: Veronica Polin (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Michele Bertani (Department of Economics (University of Verona))
    Abstract: This paper aims at monitoring and evaluating family policies in the Veneto Region, during a long period of time (2003-2013) in order to have an overview of regional welfare state approach. We analyse aims and social areas covered by family measures using legislative sources and financial data given by the Veneto Region. The total amount paid for different regional family policies is about 370 million Euros in eleven years. The paper presents also a focus on regional policies for childcare. The Region Veneto recognized childcare services as one’s of the main measures for the work-life balance and equal opportunity. This macro area of family policies is the main recipient of regional funds, with over 270 million Euros, in total of grants and contributions during the period 2003-2013. The measures adopted by the Veneto Region have contributed to the opening of 600 new structures and to the growing of childcare services offered by private sector. In 2013, the Region Veneto partially subsidies the operating costs of about 24,000 places of childcare services (more than 50% offered by private structures).
    Keywords: regional welfare state, family policy, childcare
    JEL: H53 H75 I38 J13
    Date: 2016–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:16/2016&r=sbm
  15. By: Clément Gorin (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - PRES Université de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
    Abstract: Highly skilled professionals are regarded as one of the main driver for the economic development of cities through their effect on innovative capabilities. Skilled individuals are mobile in space and tend to cluster within a limited number of urban areas, therefore a crucial question is what factors shape this flows and influence the divergent levels of economic development across urban areas. Building on these considerations, this paper takes advantage of a large-scale dataset to shed light on the patterns and determinants of inventors' mobility across European urban areas. First, a descriptive analysis is carried out to document the dynamics of inventors' mobility and their spatial dimension. Second, a gravity model is used to analyse how job opportunities and socio-professional networks influence the flows of inventors between urban areas. From a methodological perspective, this paper uses a spatial filtering variant of the Poisson gravity model, which accommodate the nature of the data, while controlling for multilateral resistance and spatial autocorrelation in mobility flows. The descriptive analysis suggest that inventors' mobility occurs primarily between relatively large and collocated urban areas, partly because of the high level of circular and intra-firm mobility. The econometric analysis shows that employment opportunities, social networks, as well as various forms of proximity are important determinants of inventors' mobility.
    Keywords: Inventors’ mobility, urban areas, job opportunities, socio-professional network, Poisson gravity model, spatial filtering
    Date: 2016
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01313086&r=sbm
  16. By: Janda, Karel; Moreira, David
    Abstract: In the current competitive and uncertain e-commerce environment, businesses have the need to predict in advance their likelihood of falling into bankruptcy. The central focus of this paper is to statistically model through different approaches the bankruptcy probability of e-commerce companies in Europe. The authors examine the econometric techniques twostep cluster, logistic regression, discriminant analysis, data mining tree, and roc curves to correctly classify these companies into bankrupt and not bankrupt. The paper finds evidences about the current credit underwriting inexperience among several financial institutions. The classification approaches included in this paper may be applied in real working practice whether by credit underwriters or by business decision makers. The research was developed using financial and accounting information available in the Bureau Van Dijk database. The paper suggests further analytical developments in the field of predictive bankruptcies, and recommends improvements on the credit evaluation scorecards such as the inclusion of advanced online metrics to increase the accuracy of the creditworthiness evaluation of an e-commerce company.
    Keywords: e-commerce, Europe, bankruptcy, econometrics, prediction
    JEL: G33
    Date: 2016–10–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:74460&r=sbm
  17. By: Gabriel Galvez-Behar (IRHiS - Institut de Recherches Historiques du Septentrion - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
    Abstract: For many studies, the current “commodification” of science ends with a period which started in the middle of the twentieth century. The scientific entrepreneur may renew old practices and reminds old figures like Louis Pasteur's one. Such an echo of the past justifies an historical approach. Thus this paper calls for a renewed economic history of science thanks to the study of Pasteur's scientific enterprise. Based on new approaches to entrepreneurship, he focuses here on the analysis of three very specific resources - money, patents and capital – in order to have a better understanding of Pasteur's entrepreneurial logic. This study uses sources, which were largely neglected or even unknown. At last, it highlights the accumulation process of Pasteur's enterprise, which allowed him to take more risk in his scientific activities.
    Abstract: De nombreux travaux considèrent que l’implication croissante de la science dans des formes de valorisation économique met fin à une parenthèse ouverte au milieu du XXe siècle. La figure actuelle du chercheur entrepreneur – ou de l’entrepreneur scientifique – renouerait avec des pratiques plus anciennes dont Louis Pasteur serait d’ailleurs l’un des symboles. Un tel constat appelle une histoire économique renouvelée des mondes savants à laquelle cet article entend contribuer à travers l’étude de l’entreprise scientifique de Louis Pasteur. S’inspirant d’approches nouvelles de l’entrepreneuriat, il se concentre ici sur l’analyse de trois ressources bien particulières – l’argent, les brevets d’invention et le capital – qui permettent de mieux saisir la logique entrepreneuriale de Louis Pasteur. Cette étude, qui repose sur l’exploitation de sources jusqu’alors largement négligées voire inexploitées, fait alors ressortir la logique d’accumulation de l’entreprise pasteurienne qui lui permet d’assumer des risques toujours croissants.
    Keywords: Economic History,History of science,Patents, Brevets,Pasteur (Louis), Histoire des sciences, Histoire économique
    Date: 2016–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01267638&r=sbm

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