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on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | Bengtsson, Ola (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Sanandaji, Tino (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Johannesson, Magnus (Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | A striking fact about entrepreneurship is that the number of male entrepreneurs greatly exceed the number of female entrepreneurs. We use detailed survey data from Sweden to study to what extent this gender gap can be explained by gender differences in personality. We show that women have markedly different psyche than men (11 out of 14 traits differ), and that entrepreneurs have markedly different psyche than others (8 out of 14 traits differ). However gender differences in traits do not reduce women's likelihood of being an entrepreneur in a one-sided way. We find that, in aggregate, gender differences in personality traits can explain a modest part of the gender gap in entrepreneurship: our estimates suggest 21%–32%. We also document that personality traits that distinguish entrepreneurs from others are generally not more prevalent among the non-entrepreneurial self-employed. This finding highlights that entrepreneurship is distinct from other types of self-employment. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Self-employment; Gender differences; Personality traits |
| JEL: | J16 L26 |
| Date: | 2012–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0944&r=ent |
| By: | Pfeifer, Christian (Leuphana University Lueneburg and IZA); Wagner, Joachim (Leuphana University Lueneburg, CESIS) |
| Abstract: | This empirical research note documents the relationship between composition of a firm's workforce (with a special focus on age and gender) and its performance with respect to innovative activities (outlays and employment in research and development (R&D)) for a large representative sample of enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany using unique newly available data. We find that firms with a higher share of older workers have significantly lower proportions of R&D outlays in total revenues and of R&D employment in total employment, whereas firms with a higher share of female employment seem to be more active in R&D. |
| Keywords: | Ageing; firm performance; gender; Germany; innovation; R&D |
| JEL: | D22 D24 J21 J24 L25 |
| Date: | 2012–12–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0291&r=ent |
| By: | Sander Hoogendoorn (University of Amsterdam); Simon C. Parker (University of Western Ontario, Richard Ivey School of Business); Mirjam van Praag (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of diversity in cognitive ability among members of a team on their performance. We conduct a large field experiment in which teams start up and manage real companies under identical circumstances. Exogenous variation in - otherwise random - team composition is imposed by assigning individuals to teams based on their measured cognitive abilities. The setting is one of business management practices in the longer run where tasks are diverse and involve complex decision-making. We propose a model in which greater ability dispersion generates greater knowledge for a team, but also increases the costs of monitoring necessitated by moral hazard. Consistent with the predictions of our model, we find that team performance as measured in terms of sales, profits and profits per share first increases, and then decreases, with ability dispersion. Teams with a moderate degree of ability dispersion also experience fewer dismissals due to few er shirking members in those teams. |
| Keywords: | Ability dispersion; team performance; field experiment; entrepreneurship; knowledge pooling; moral hazard |
| JEL: | C93 D83 J24 L25 L26 M13 M54 |
| Date: | 2012–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20120130&r=ent |
| By: | Chang, Simon; Zhang, Xiaobo |
| Abstract: | As sex ratio imbalances have become a problem in an increasing number of countries, it is important to understand their consequences. With the defeat of the Kuomintang Party in China, more than one million soldiers and civilians, mainly young males, retreated to Taiwan in the late 1940s. Initially, the soldiers from mainland China were not allowed to marry. The ban was relaxed in 1959, however, suddenly flooding the marriage market with a large number of eligible bachelors. The operational ratio of males to females at marriageable age peaked at nearly 1.2 in the 1960s. Using data from multiple sources, we find that during times of high marriage competition, young men are more likely to become entrepreneurs, work longer hours, save more, and amass more assets. The findings highlight the important role of biological forces in shaping human economic behavior. |
| Keywords: | Sex ratio, Entrepreneurship, Gender, Demography, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1203&r=ent |
| By: | Neil Lee; Andrés Rodríguez-Pose |
| Abstract: | One of the key benefits of cities is that they allow the exchange of knowledge and information between economic actors. This may have two effects: it may create the conditions for entirely new innovations to emerge, and it may allow firms to learn innovations from those nearby. Yet few studies have considered the impact of an urban location on whether innovations are original or learnt. This paper tests these hypotheses using large-scale survey evidence for over 1,600 UK SMEs. We show that while urban firms tend to be both product and process innovators, urban firms are disproportionately likely to introduce process innovations which are only new to the firm, rather than entirely original. Instead, the urban advantage in product innovation appears to come from a combination of the effects. The results highlight a need for a nuanced view of the link between cities and innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Cities, SMEs, Learning, United Kingdom |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O38 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1223&r=ent |
| By: | Ton Kwaak |
| Abstract: | Labour productivity differs significantly between small, medium-sized and large enterprises in the private enterprise sector. This holds both for the level of labour productivity as well as its development. Size-class differences regarding the level of labour productivity are only to a limited extent dependent on differences in sectoral structure. A model of the production structure has been developed and estimated to shed some light on these phenomena explaining various aspects of labour productivity of (average) small, medium-sized and large enterprises and applied to four economic sectors in Dutch private enterprise (in a separate paper (Kwaak, (2012), the model is tested for private enterprise as a hole). It should be stressed that the analysis refers to the 'representative' or average enterprise in the small, medium-sized or large enterprise segment of the economy; it does not refer to individual enterprises. |
| Date: | 2012–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h201215&r=ent |
| By: | Wouter Jacobs; Hans R.A. Koster; Frank van Oort |
| Abstract: | It has been argued that the relationship between knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) and multi-national enterprises (MNEs) within the regional economy is advantageous for urban and regional dynamics. It is likely that KIBS aim to locate proximate to (internationally operating) MNEs because of agglomeration externalities. The impact of MNEs on the birth of KIBS has rarely been examined, and the research on the new formation of KIBS has mainly adopted a case study approach, thus limiting the opportunity for generalisation. We have taken a more quantitative approach using a continuous space framework to test whether proximity is important for the co-location of KIBS and MNEs in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Our results, controlled for other location factors, indicate that KIBS are co-agglomerated with MNEs and that the presence of a MNE significantly influences the birth of KIBS nearby, but the effect on such start-ups is considerably smaller than the positive effect of the presence of already established KIBS. We discuss the implications for urban and regional development strategies and policy initiatives. |
| Keywords: | knowledge intensive business services, multi-national enterprises, start-ups, point pattern methodology, Amsterdam. |
| JEL: | F23 L84 L25 R12 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1225&r=ent |
| By: | Kim, Younjun; Orazem, Peter |
| Abstract: | The availability of broadband Internet service should have increased firm productivity and lowered firm entry costs. However, validating the broadband effect is complicated by the rapid deployment of broadband Internet service across metropolitan areas, removing meaningful variation in broadband availability. Deployment in rural markets was much more uneven, suggesting that the presence or absence of broadband service may have altered the site selection of firms targeting rural markets. We investigate the effect of broadband availability on firm location decision in rural Iowa. We establish a counterfactual baseline firm entry rate for each zip code area in rural counties by showing how the presence of broadband service in a ZIP code in 2001 affected firm entry in 1990-1992 before Broadband was available. We then measure how the actual presence of broadband service in the same ZIP code affected firm entry in 2000-2002. We show that the difference in estimated probability of entry between the counterfactual baseline and the actual response ten years later is the Difference-in-Differences estimate of the effect of broadband deployment on firm start-ups. We find that broadband availability in a rural ZIP code has a positive and significant effect on firm entry in the ZIP code but only in rural markets adjacent to a metropolitan area or with a larger urban population. Broadband access does not affect new firm entry in more remote rural markets |
| Keywords: | Internet; Rural; urban; : broadband; firm entry; metropolitan area |
| JEL: | M13 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2012–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:35696&r=ent |
| By: | Giorgio Barba Navaretti (University of Milan and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano); Davide Castellani (University of Perugia and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano); Fabio Pieri (Universitat de València) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new insights on the firm age and growth nexus along the entire distribution of (positive and negative) growth rates. Using data from the EFIGE survey, and adopting a quantile regression approach we uncover evidence for a sample of French, Italian and Spanish manufacturing firms in the period from 2001 to 2008. After controlling for several firms’ characteristics, country and sector specificities we find that: (i) young firms grow faster than old firms, especially in the highest growth quintiles (ii) young firms face the same probability of declining than their older counterparts; (iii) high growth is associated with younger CEOs and other attributes which capture the attitude of firm toward growth and change, i.e. the number of employees involved in R&D activities and the number of graduate employees; (iv) results are robust to the inclusion of other firms’ characteristics like labor productivity, capital intensity, and the financial structure. Overall, our results are consistent with several theoretical arguments, like love for risk and learning. |
| Keywords: | firm growth, age, quantile regression |
| JEL: | L21 L25 L26 L60 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:1217&r=ent |
| By: | Andrés Rodríguez-Pose; Eduardo I. Palavicini-Corona |
| Abstract: | Local economic development (LED) strategies are increasingly being recommended as an alternative or a complement to traditional development strategies. However, beyond a limited number of areas where ‘best practices’ have been identified, there has been little systematic monitoring of whether LED really works. This paper uses a purpose-built database of 898 municipalities in Mexico in order to assess, using a quantitative approach, whether the implementation of seven different components of LED – development plan, sustainability, entrepreneurship, capacity building, participation mechanisms, development links, and autonomy – has delivered greater human development across Mexican local governments. The results of the analysis indicate that municipalities engaging in LED during the last two decades have witnessed significant improvements in human development, relative to those which have overlooked LED strategies. The increase in human development has been greatest for those local authorities which have pursued capacity building, the establishment of additional development links and which have drafted a development plan. Greater independence from federal or state initiative has, by contrast, been detrimental for changes in human development at the local level. |
| Keywords: | local economic development (LED), human development, capacity building, participation, local authorities, local autonomy, Mexico |
| JEL: | H76 O11 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1224&r=ent |
| By: | Hervé Goy (COACTIS - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4161 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne) |
| Abstract: | Afin de faire face à l'évolution rapide des caractéristiques des systèmes d'enseignement supérieur, certains auteurs affirment que les universités n'ont d'autre choix que de devenir davantage entrepreneuriales. Mais comment caractériser la nature entrepreneuriale d'une université ? Partant d'une revue de littérature dans les domaines de l'entrepreneuriat universitaire comme de l'entrepreneuriat organisationnel, un mode opératoire est proposé. |
| Keywords: | Université ; Entrepreneuriat |
| Date: | 2012–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00704627&r=ent |