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on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | Patrick Cohendet; Patrick Llerena |
| Abstract: | This chapter aims to address the paradoxical portrayal of entrepreneurs in the Schumpeterian tradition. While entrepreneurs are portrayed as key players in economic development in Schumpeter's early works, they essentially disappear in neo-Schumpeterian literature, where their role is replaced by 'routines' as the primary operational component of organizations. This chapter re-establishes the entrepreneur as a producer of ideas, as well as an initiator and orchestrator of creative destruction, by reintegrating what we consider to be the primary “function of entrepreneurship”: generating and proposing new ideas and introducing novelty into the economic system. From this perspective, we argue that ideas, viewed primarily as processes, are the essence of the Schumpeterian entrepreneur’s role at the core of the 'entrepreneurial function', which orchestrates the ideation process by attracting, mobilizing and aligning allies around their vision. This entrepreneurial function takes different forms — from the 'heroic' entrepreneur of early capitalism, to a more 'depersonalized, routinised and automated' entity within large organizations, and, more recently, to an orchestrator within an innovative ecosystem. |
| Keywords: | Schumpeter, Creativity, Ideas |
| JEL: | B15 L26 L21 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2026-05 |
| By: | Talatu Jalloh (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University); David Wolf (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University); Keijiro Otsuka (Kobe University) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurs play critical roles in driving economic growth, and recent evidence suggests that entrepreneurial skills can be developed through job training. Yet little is known about the conditions under which such training shapes entrepreneurial mindsets. This study examines how management and work environment factors influence entrepreneurial aspiration. We draw on a novel survey dataset collected from participants in the African Business Education Initiative—a program that aims to develop Africa’s industrial human resources. Our findings consistently demonstrate that task clarity, role-match, and mentorship positively influence entrepreneurial aspiration, whereas facing adaptability challenges has no meaningful effect. Jointly, task clarity and role-match exerted greater influence on entrepreneurial aspiration than either factor alone, highlighting their complementarity relationship. Furthermore, mentorship appeared to play a compensatory role by offsetting any potential negative effect of adaptability challenges on entrepreneurial aspiration. Further analysis showed that management factors played a larger role in promoting entrepreneurial aspirations than work environment factors. These findings suggest that a well-structured internship program that emphasizes clear responsibilities, role alignment, and strong mentorship can cultivate future entrepreneurial leaders who can foster entrepreneurship and drive innovation in Africa. |
| Keywords: | management factors, work environment factors, entrepreneurial aspiration |
| JEL: | L26 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koe:wpaper:2603 |
| By: | Evgeny Kagan; Kyle Hyndman; Anyan Qi |
| Abstract: | To grow their businesses, entrepreneurs often rely on equity funding. This paper focuses on two elements of entrepreneur-investor equity negotiations: the number of potential investors and the contractual complexity surrounding investor protection. Our approach involves a theoretical model and a series of laboratory experiments that analyze the effects of different bargaining conditions and contractual terms on the equity (ownership) split between entrepreneurs and their investors. We show that the conventional wisdom that entrepreneurs should seek to negotiate with as many investors as possible, while consistent with the theoretical model, is not true in the data. Indeed, negotiating with multiple investors reduces the entrepreneur's profits under most conditions. We also show that investor downside protections may disadvantage early-stage startups, but can be beneficial to later-stage startups. A refinement of belief modeling in multi-party bargaining, as well as a stylized risk allocation framework, reconcile these results with theory predictions. Our findings provide a decision framework for entrepreneurs to optimize their approach to investors and negotiate favorable contractual terms. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.00706 |
| By: | Cowgill, Bo (Columbia Business School); Hernandez-Lagos, Pablo (Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University); Wright, Nataliya (Columbia Business School) |
| Abstract: | Screening human capital based on signals such as job applications or entrepreneurial pitches is crucial for organizations. Signals are often informative insofar as they require differential knowledge and effort to produce. Generative AI (GAI) complicates screening by lowering the cost of producing impressive signals. We model the informational effects of GAI, showing that applicants' access to GAI can increase---but also decrease---an evaluator's screening mistakes. This result depends on how GAI affects experts' signals compared to non-experts'. Using experiments in hiring and startup investing, we estimate that senders' access to GAI (ChatGPT) lowers screening accuracy by 4-9% for employers and startup investors. Consistent with our model, senders' access to GAI also improves screening accuracy in some settings---in our case, among senders from non-English-speaking countries. These results show that GAI can profoundly shape screening accuracy. |
| Keywords: | screening, Artificial Intelligence, entrepreneurship, human capital |
| JEL: | D82 M51 L26 D83 O33 M13 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18442 |
| By: | Celine (Yue) Fei; Ulrich Hege; Xiao Jia |
| Abstract: | We study how IPO reforms transmit to venture capital (VC) markets using the introduction of China’s entrepreneurial boards, ChiNext and the registration-based STAR. We document that both boards attract younger, higher-growth firms with weaker fundamentals in levels, but post IPO growth persists for ChiNext firms while decelerating sharply for STAR firms. VC backing plays different roles across regimes: on ChiNext it aligns with valuation premia and long-run outperformance, whereas on STAR it mainly predicts higher first-day returns. To identify causal effects on VC allocation, we construct novel text-based regulatory exposure measures from listing documents using keyword matching and Sentence-BERT semantic similarity, and show that VC financing reallocates toward firms more aligned with “supported” activities. |
| Keywords: | IPO Reforms; IPO Listing Requirements; Venture Capital; Business Description; BERT; China |
| JEL: | G24 G28 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_736 |
| By: | J. Anderson, Stephen; Grover, Arti; Kankanhalli, Shreya; Ramani, Nandini |
| Abstract: | Business upgrading programs in developing economies often generate substantial gains for male entrepreneurs but limited average impacts for women, raising concerns about both efficiency and equity. This study develops a Program Readiness Scorecard (PRS)—a transparent, scalable tool based on 10 observable factors capturing both entrepreneurial resources and capabilities—to identify those most likely to benefit from such programs. Using pooled experimental data from firms in Uganda, South Africa, and Mexico, this paper shows that without targeting, firms led by men experience large and statistically significant gains, while those led by women have near zero average returns. Targeting that screens out entrepreneurs with the lowest scores on the PRS irrespective of gender improves women’s outcomes but leaves a significant gap. Applying a higher PRS threshold—specifically, restricting eligibility to women in the top quartile of the PRS distribution—closes the gap entirely, as women with high scores achieve returns that are statistically indistinguishable from men’s. These results are robust to multiple sensitivity checks. The findings have two broad policy implications. First, targeting based on the PRS can strengthen program outcomes for women-led firms while also identifying the cohort in need of remedial support prior to joining high-value initiatives. Second, beyond gender-focused programs, the PRS can be applied in a wider range of settings where scarce program resources must be directed toward enterprises with the greatest potential for sustained growth. |
| Date: | 2026–03–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11327 |
| By: | Etheridge, Ben |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates Artiï¬ cial Intelligence (AI) adoption and its labour market conse-quences among UK small and medium enterprises, using novel data from the British Cham-bers of Commerce Business Outlook Survey, collected in early 2026. AI adoption is increas-ingly widespread, with over half of responding ï¬ rms currently using AI, up from around a third in 2025. Most users rely on generic tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot, but around one in ten ï¬ rms have adopted bespoke AI implementations. We ï¬ nd that bespoke adoption in par-ticular is associated with a coherent bundle of workforce adjustment. Approximately one-ï¬ fth of bespoke users report stafï¬ ng reductions attributable to AI, and bespoke adopters are roughly three times more likely to have restructured job roles. Restructuring is in turn strongly associated with headcount reductions and shifts in skills requirements. Surprisingly, ï¬ rms investing in AI-related training are signiï¬ cantly more likely to anticipate headcount reductions than those not investing in training. We also ï¬ nd that current AI users are substan-tially more optimistic about future productivity gains than non-users. Our ï¬ ndings provide a novel ï¬ rm-level picture of how SMEs are reorganising work, adjusting workforces, and in-vesting in skills in response to AI. |
| Date: | 2026–03–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2026-01 |
| By: | Jevan Cherniwchan; Nouri Najjar |
| Abstract: | Decompositions are a common method for quantifying within- and across-agent contributions to aggregate economic dynamics. We show that the standard practice of applying decompositions to sample data yields biased estimates of these contributions, and for common sample designs, these biases can be addressed by reformulating the decomposition as an estimation problem and applying standard statistical techniques. An application to India suggests sample bias meaningfully changes our understanding of how firm dynamics contribute to productivity growth. We also demonstrate our method enables the study of settings traditionally impeded by data limitations, such as productivity and firm dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Decomposition; Sample Bias; Economic Dynamics; Firm Dynamics; Productivity |
| JEL: | C18 D24 E24 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2026-02 |
| By: | José Luis (Stanford University); Ernesto (School of Government and Public Transformation, Tecnológico de Monterrey); Stella (Orbit Ventures) |
| Abstract: | Este trabajo histórico reconstruye la formación del ecosistema emprendedor mexicano (1982-2023) a partir de entrevistas y fuentes documentales. Muestra cómo la apertura económica, NAFIN, BID/FOMIN y cambios regulatorios impulsaron el capital de riesgo y las startups tecnológicas; también examina límites, reconfiguraciones recientes y el papel persistente de la política pública en su evolución útil. |
| Keywords: | Ecosistema emprendedor, México, Capital de riesgo, Política pública, Startups tecnológicas, Apertura económica, Innovación, Financiamiento, Regulación, Emprendimiento tecnológico |
| JEL: | H83 K42 C38 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gnt:wpaper:27 |