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on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | Ron Jarmin; C.J. Krizan |
| Abstract: | Because the ability of entrepreneurs to start their own businesses is key to the success of the U.S. economy and to the economic mobility of many disadvantaged demographic groups, understanding why entrepreneurship activity varies across groups and geography is an increasingly important issue. As a step in this direction we employ a novel set of metrics of business success to the growing literature and find great variation across groups and metrics. For example, we find that black-owned firms grow slower than white or Asian-owned firms. However, once we condition on firm survival, the differences disappear. Interestingly, we also find differences across groups in their start-up histories. For example, Asian-owned firms are less likely than white-owned firms to have started-out as nonemployers but firms owned by all other minority groups, as well as women-owned firms, are more likely to start-out without employees. |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-24&r=ent |
| By: | stefano Colombo (DISCE, Università Cattolica); Luca Grilli (Department of Mangement, Economics and Industrial Engineering-Politecnico di Milano) |
| Abstract: | This article explores the possibility that under an intensely negative industry-specific shock, the commonly detected positive relationship between the human capital of founders and the survival prospects of start-up businesses may actually be reversed. Starting from an analysis of the issue from a theoretical perspective in order to derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for the emergence of these adverse selection phenomena in entrepreneurship, the study examines a sample of 179 Italian start-ups operating in the ICT services market created during the boom period from 1995 to early 2000. Econometric analyses provide evidence that, during an intense industry crisis (i.e., early 2000 to 2003), entrepreneurs with a substantial amount of human capital may pursue an exit strategy. |
| Keywords: | High-tech entrepreneurship; Adverse selection; Industry crises. |
| JEL: | L26 L86 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie3:ief0098&r=ent |
| By: | J. David Brown; John S. Earle |
| Abstract: | What role does new firm entry play in economic growth? Are entrants and young firms more or less productive than incumbents, and how are their relative productivity dynamics affected by financial constraints and the business environment? This paper uses comprehensive manufacturing firm data from seven economies (United States, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine) to measure new firm entry and the productivity dynamics of entrants relative to incumbents in the same industries. We contrast hypotheses based on “leapfrogging,” in which entrants embody superior productivity, with an “experimentation” approach, in which entrants face uncertainty and incumbents can innovate. The results imply that leapfrogging is typical of early and incomplete transition, but experimentation better characterizes both the US and mature transition economies. Improvements in financial markets and the business environment tend to raise both the entry rate and productivity growth, but they are associated with negative relative productivity of entrants and smaller contributions of reallocation to growth among both entrants and incumbents. |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-20&r=ent |
| By: | Russell S. Sobel (Department of Economics, West Virginia University); Nabamita Dutta (Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse); Sanjukta Roy (Department of Economics, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | In the economic development literature, cultural diversity (for example, ethnolinguistic fractionalization) has been shown to have a negative impact on economic outcomes in many underdeveloped countries. We hypothesize that the impact of diversity on economic performance depends on the quality of a country's institutions. Under bad institutions diversity leads to conflict and expropriation, while under good institutions diversity leads to economic progress. A culturally diverse society or interaction among different cultures encourages exchange of, and competition between ideas and different world views. Under good institutions, this amalgamation of ideas and views leads to greater entrepreneurial initiatives. We show that higher levels of cultural diversity increase the rate of entrepreneurship in the presence of good institutions using evidence from the United States. |
| Keywords: | Cultural Diversity; Entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | L26 P12 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:10-12&r=ent |
| By: | Pugno, Maurizio; Lisi, Gaetano |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a labour market matching model in order to address the problem of the persistence of the hidden sector and of its regional concentration, as in Italy and in the enlarged Europe. The main novel features of the model are that entrepreneurial ability affects job productivity, and that regular firms receive negative externalities from the hidden sector, which may capture the pressure typically exerted by corruption and organized crime, and positive externalities from the other regular firms. At least one interior equilibrium emerges, thus providing an explanation for the so-called “shadow puzzle”, with the possibility that tougher monitoring may reduce both the hidden sector and unemployment. If externalities are non-linear, two equilibria may emerge, thus accounting for regional dualism. The “better” equilibrium is in fact characterised by a smaller hidden sector, higher levels of overall productivity, output, entrepreneurial ability used, extra-profits, relative wages, and more favourable externalities. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; hidden economy; shadow economy; underground economy; multiple equilibria; matching models |
| JEL: | J63 J64 J24 E26 L26 J23 |
| Date: | 2010–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:25301&r=ent |
| By: | Massimo Cortili (Department of Economics, University of Insubria, Italy); Manuela Menegotto (Department of Economics, University of Insubria, Italy) |
| Abstract: | In a world characterized by hyper-competition (Gunther and D'Aveni 1994) and globalization (Knight 2000), the business model concept is becoming more and more popular. From the literature review arises a lack of a generally accepted definition of what it is, despite the growing importance of this concept. The paper is structured in five main sections. In the first one we present a review of the business model literature. The literature on business models is not exhaustive and moreover many authors often mixed up the business model with other concepts such as strategy and finance. Two main streams of literature are identifiable: the first one emerged in the mid Nineties and generally focused on e-business contexts; the second one emerged at the beginning of this decade and is not exclusively ascribable to high-tech companies. In the second paragraph we underline how relevant the decisions are about location; since in the literature on international entrepreneurship does not emerge a business model perspective of the matter the analysis is a lacking. In the third paragraph we focus our attention on Onetti and Zucchella’s business model (2008). The authors proposed a business model framework characterized by two main aspects: the clear separation among the business model, strategy and finance, and the emphasis on the relevance of location decisions. The outputs of the business model are the focus, locus and modus of companies activities. In the fourth section we try to apply this business model to Fi.Mo.Tec.’s business case, trying to explain the company’s past and to devise a way to manage the future. The conclusions complete the paper. |
| Keywords: | Business model - International Entrepreneurship |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ins:quaeco:qf1006&r=ent |
| By: | Manoel Bittencourt |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate the role of financial development, or more wide-spread access to finance, in generating economic growth in four Latin American countries between 1980 and 2007. The results, based on panel time-series data and analysis, con.rm the Schumpeterian prediction which suggests that finance authorises the entrepreneur to invest in productive activities, and therefore to promote economic growth. Furthermore, given the characteristics of the sample of countries chosen, we highlight the importance of macroeconomic stability, and all the institutional framework that it encompasses, as a necessary pre-condition for financial development, and consequently for sustained growth and prosperity in the region. |
| Keywords: | Finance, growth, Latin America |
| JEL: | E31 N16 O11 O54 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:191&r=ent |
| By: | Isabelle Agier; Ariane Szafarz |
| Abstract: | Microfinance institutions serve a majority of female borrowers. But do men and women benefit from same credit conditions? This paper investigates this issue by presenting an original model and testing its predictions on an exceptional database including 34,000 loan applications from a Brazilian microfinance institution over an eleven-year period. The model considers a lender that offers standardized loan contracts with a fixed interest rate, which is common practice in microfinance. It demonstrates that biased loan attribution may lead to three different outcomes, depending on the bias intensity: 1) denial of all applications from a given group, 2) a “glass ceiling” effect, namely loan downsizing of the largest projects from a given group, or 3) no impact. The empirical analysis detects no gender bias in approval rate, but uncovers a glass ceiling effect hurting female applicants. Moreover, this effect is insensitive to the credit officer's gender. In conclusion, the good news is that the microfinance practice does ensure a fair access to credit. The bad news is the presence of a glass ceiling faced by female entrepreneurs with larger projects. |
| Keywords: | Microcredit; Microfinance; Discrimination; Loan Size; Loan Approval; Gender |
| JEL: | O16 D82 J33 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/64289&r=ent |
| By: | Stéphane Foliard (COACTIS - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4161 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne) |
| Abstract: | Les Très Petites Entreprises représentent l'immense majorité des entreprises en France comme dans tous les pays développés. Les enjeux économiques et politiques que l'on peut leur associer sont particulièrement d'actualité, par leur capacité à générer de l'emploi et de la valeur quand les grandes entreprises sont à la peine. Une récente littérature s'attache aujourd'hui à spécifier ces organisations dans le but de leur offrir de meilleurs outils de gestion. S'inscrivant dans le cadre de ces travaux, cette communication conceptuelle a pour but d'apporter un éclairage particulier des TPE, malgré leur grande hétérogénéité. Après avoir repris les critères quantitatifs, opérationnels mais limités, nous retenons des caractéristiques générales issues de la littérature en insistant sur l'homologie entrepreneur – entreprise et l'attitude face à la croissance. Forcément limitée en interne en compétences et ressources, la TPE doit aller chercher à l'extérieur les éléments qui lui font défaut, sans que cela ne puisse relever d'une démarche stratégique volontaire. Les frontières de la TPE deviennent poreuses et elle s'inscrit dans une démarche organisationnelle de production de type réseau. La faiblesse de la communication externe formalisée conduit à privilégier les contacts « proches » et à agir sur un territoire spécifique. Nous utilisons alors le cadre théorique des réseaux sociaux et la psychologie de l'espace de MOLES et RHOMER adaptée par TORRES pour représenter ces interactions et mettre en évidence un socle commun de connaissances, animé par la réputation et le bouche à oreille, existant sur une zone géographique délimitée et comment les acteurs l'utilisent. L'omniprésence du dirigeant à tous les niveaux de la gestion de la TPE, les risques inhérents à ces entreprises et l'impact du territoire d'activité conduisent l'entrepreneur à privilégier une proximité issue de signaux forts, ce qui va le différencier de la PME utilisant davantage de signaux faibles pour développer ou renouveler son volume d'activité. Fortement dépendante des parties prenantes locales avec lesquelles l'entrepreneur traite en direct, nous avançons que la TPE classique borne sa croissance au profit de la fidélité au réseau qui apporte un équilibre sécurisant dans l'activité quotidienne. Cette fidélité explique le caractère non optimisant de la gestion des TPE classique. Ce travail est issu d'une large revue de littérature et de l'expérience professionnelle de l'auteur. Nous dépassons le cadre de la TPE pour aller puiser dans la littérature relative à la spécificité de la PME où se trouvent nombre de théories et de modélisations utiles pour appréhender la réalité des TPE. |
| Keywords: | très petite entreprise; proxémie; réseaux; fidélité |
| Date: | 2010–10–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00519024_v1&r=ent |