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on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | David, Audretsch (Indiana University); Donald, Kuratko (Indiana University); Albert, Link (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The term “entrepreneurship” apparently means different things to different people including scholars and thought leaders. Because entrepreneurship is multifaceted, it is studied from many different perspectives, yet, that has fostered a multitude of definitions. Even the scholarly literature (where normally the deepest understanding would be found) is rife with disparities and even contradictions about what is and is not entrepreneurship. Some have suggested a narrower and more defined focus on entrepreneurship where only bona fide entrepreneurship research theories would explain entrepreneurial phenomena. We believe that constricting the field may the wrong approach. Our purpose then is to try and make sense of the disparate meanings and views of entrepreneurship prevalent in both the scholarly literature as well as among thought leaders in business and policy. We reconcile the seemingly chaotic and contradictory literature by proposing a coherent approach to structure the disparate ways that entrepreneurship is used and referred to in the scholarly literature. We examine three coherent strands of the entrepreneurship literature and identify an emerging eclectic view of entrepreneurship, which combines several of the views prevalent in the main approaches discussed. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; conceptual; behavioral; performance; eclectic |
| JEL: | L25 L26 L29 |
| Date: | 2015–04–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2015_004&r=ent |
| By: | Backman, Mikaela (Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE), Jönköping International Business School, & Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS)); Karlsson, Charlie (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), Jönköping International Business School, Blekinge Institute of Technology, & University of Southern Denmark) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyse where people who become self-employed actually start their firms. In the entrepreneurship literature, it is generally assumed that individuals who start a firm start it where they live. We question this general assumption and show that this does not hold for commuters. Our results show that of those individuals that were short-distance commuters in 2007 and become self-employed in 2008, 90.1 percent started their firm in their work munici-pality. Only 9.4 percent started their firm in their residence municipality. For long-distance commuters, the figures were 93.6 and 6.4 percent, respectively. Our econometric estimations show that the probability to start a firm in the work municipality increases with the number of years as a commuter, with commuting to a larger municipality, and with the relative size of the work municipality compared to the municipality of residence. Our results indicate that the entrepreneurship literature must reconsider its general statement that individuals start firms where they live. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; self-employment; location; commuting; networks; micro-level data |
| JEL: | C21 J24 L26 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0404&r=ent |
| By: | Kühn, Christopher J.; Eymann, Torsten; Urbach, Nils |
| Abstract: | Professional Service Firms (PSFs) such as accounting, consulting, law, engineering or advertising firms increasingly face changing attitudes and fluctuation among young high potentials that question traditional career and human resource (HR) concepts. In this context, it seems vital to foster a spirit of corporate entrepreneurship in PSFs to create an attractive environment that satisfies the autonomy-striving professionals. Our research is based on a multiple case study design that investigates how corporate entrepreneurship in the fields of elite accounting/consulting and law firms can be enabled by HR practices. Specifically, we analyse how contemporary PSFs manage to identify, select, build, reward, keep and let go of entrepreneurial professionals. Our findings imply that there are still open issues in the identification, selection and reward practices, while promising approaches for training and retention exist and the low risk perception by professionals provides fertile grounds for entrepreneurial behaviour to prosper. Based on these findings, we present HR-related recommendations for fostering corporate entrepreneurship in PSFs and highlight some promising avenues for future research. |
| Keywords: | Professional Service Firms,Corporate Entrepreneurship,Entrepreneurial Orientation,HRM |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bayism:61&r=ent |
| By: | Giuseppe Arbia; Giuseppe Espa; Diego Giuliani; Rocco Micciolo |
| Abstract: | The presence of knowledge spillovers and shared human capital is at the heart of the Marhall-Arrow- Romer externalities hypothesis. Most of the earlier empirical contributions on knowledge externalities, however, considered data aggregated at a regional level so that conclusions are based on the arbitrary definition of jurisdictional spatial units: this is the essence of the so-called Modifiable Areal Unit Problem. A second limitation of these studies is constituted by the fact that, somewhat surprisingly, while concentrating on the effects of agglomeration on firm creation and growth, the literature has, conversely, largely ignored its effects on firm survival. The present paper aims at contributing to the existing literature by answering to some of the open methodological questions reconciling the literature of Cox proportional hazard with that on point pattern and thus capturing the true nature of spatial information. We also present some empirical results based on Italian firm demography data collected and managed by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration, Firm survival, Spatial econometrics |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwpem:2015/05&r=ent |
| By: | Kellee Tsai (Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Division of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University; Institute for Emerging Market Studies, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent the backbone of China's economy, yet they lack access to bank credit. SMEs thus rely on a wide range of alternative sources, including informal finance, online peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, registered non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), and underground financiers. This paper distinguishes among different types of 'shadow banking' to clarify popular misconceptions about the nature of risks associated with informal financial intermediation in China. The evolution of SME finance in other contexts suggests that regulated and well-managed NBFCs provide an enduring foundation for commercialised financial intermediation even in advanced industrialised economies. |
| Keywords: | China, shadow banking, informal finance, financial development |
| JEL: | G23 G21 O17 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:wpaper:201524&r=ent |
| By: | Schilirò, Daniele |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on innovation as the main driver of the competitiveness and market success of small and medium enterprises in the United Arab Emirates. The study overviews the still limited literature dedicated to innovation in SMEs in the UAE. It also analyzes the innovation model of small and medium enterprises in the UAE, and focuses particularly on Dubai’s SMEs. The paper highlights the need to strengthen the entrepreneurial culture and promote the development of innovative SMEs with high value added in the UAE. The general purpose of this study is to contribute to the business and innovation literature on SMEs in the context of an emerging economy, namely the United Arab Emirates. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; SMEs; Firm Strategy; Business Model; UAE’s Economy |
| JEL: | L0 L53 M21 O31 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64309&r=ent |
| By: | Jahn, Vera (Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | Politicians frequently emphasize the importance of Mittelstand firms for the economy, thereby parti- cularly referring to their enormous engagement in training apprentices. However, there is yet almost no empirical evidence on the question whether Mittelstand firms are in fact excessively active in trai- ning apprentices. This paper contributes to the literature by studying whether the relative importance of owner-managed SMEs has an effect on firms’ apprenticeship activity. Using a cross section of West German NUTS-3-regions, we find a significantly positive relation between the relative importance of Mittelstand firms and apprenticeship activity on the regional level. However, on the national level an increase in the share of Mittelstand firms turns out to be without effect on apprenticeship activity. |
| Keywords: | apprenticeship; Mittelstand firms; owner-management; SMEs; Germany; regional spillovers |
| JEL: | C21 D23 I21 |
| Date: | 2015–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:vhsuwp:2015_158&r=ent |