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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2012‒11‒17
eight papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Stephan, Andreas (Jönköping International Business School, CESIS Stockholm, DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the paper is to analyze whether research spin-offs, that is, spinoffs from either research institutes or universities, have greater innovation capabilities than comparable knowledge-intensive firms created in other ways. Using a sample of about 1,800 firms from high-innovative sectors, propensity score matching is used to create a sample of control firms that are comparable to the group of spin-offs. The paper provides evidence that the investigated 123 research spin-offs have more patent applications and more radical product innovations on average compared to similar firms. The results also show that research spin-offs’ superior innovation performance can be explained by their high level of research cooperation activities and by location effects. Being located in an urban region and proximity to parent institutions is conducive for innovation productivity. |
| Keywords: | Spin-Offs; Innovation Performance; Propensity Score Matching; Locational Factors; Cooperation |
| JEL: | M13 O18 R30 |
| Date: | 2012–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0287&r=sbm |
| By: | Holl, Adelheid; Rama, Ruth |
| Abstract: | Firms acquire external technological knowledge via different channels. In this paper we compare the technology sourcing via R&D outsourcing, R&D outsource offshoring, domestic cooperation for innovation and international cooperation for innovation of foreign subsidiaries and domestic firms. Because the different technology sourcing choices are potentially correlated we apply a multivariate probit specification which allows for systematic correlations among the different choices. The results show that the different technology sourcing choices are indeed interdependent and that foreign subsidiaries show a different pattern of external technology sourcing. Compared to affiliated domestic companies, foreign subsidiaries show a smaller propensity for external technology sourcing via R&D outsourcing from independent firms in the host country, for R&D outsource offshoring, and for international cooperation for innovation. In contrast, foreign subsidiaries show a greater propensity for domestic cooperation for innovation. |
| Keywords: | Multinational enterprise; foreign subsidiaries; R&D outsourcing; cooperation for innovation; multivariate probit model |
| JEL: | F23 O32 |
| Date: | 2012–10–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42328&r=sbm |
| By: | Julie Hermans (University of Namur); Marcus Dejardin (University of Namur, Catholic University of Louvain); Johanna Vanderstraeten (University of Antwerp); Dendi Ramdani (University of Namur); Erik Stam (Utrecht University); Arjen van Witteloostuijn (University of Antwerp, University of Tilburg) |
| Abstract: | In the recent literature on entrepreneurship, a growing body of knowledge recognizes that some entrepreneurs have higher ambitions than others and that these entrepreneurial ambitions are an important antecedent of actual firm success. Consequently, it is not surprising that ambitious entrepreneurship gradually becomes a topic of high interest for policy makers and scholars (e.g., Gundry and Welsch, 2001; Van Gelderen, 2006). Nevertheless, there does not yet exist a clearly defined overview of what is known (and not known) about this topic. Moreover, although authors advocate that the difference between high and low entrepreneurial ambitions should be recognized (Cassar 2007), few studies actually distinguish between ambitious entrepreneurs and their less-ambitious counterparts. In this paper, we address this gap and provide a structured overview of existing literature on ambitious entrepreneurship. Our analysis confirms that ambitious entrepreneurs might be an interesting population for the research community as well as for policy makers and other practitioners. Indeed, it suggests that ambitious entrepreneurs have a specific impact upon the economy and contribute to the quality of entrepreneurial activity. From a conceptual point of view, the review reveals that there is no consensus with regard to the operationalization of ambitious entrepreneurship and growth ambitions in general. As outcomes of this review, we indentify promising paths for future research and we propose the concept of a projecting process to clarify the link between growth attitude, growth intention and growth expectation. |
| Keywords: | ambition, motivations, growth, entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | D84 L25 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nam:wpaper:1210&r=sbm |
| By: | Mathijs De Vaan; Ron Boschma; Koen Frenken |
| Abstract: | Explanations of spatial clustering based on localization externalities are being questioned by recent empirical evidence showing that firms in clusters do not outperform firms outside clusters. We propose that these findings may be driven by the particularities of the industrial settings chosen in these studies. We argue that in project-based industries, negative localization externalities associated with competition grow proportionally with cluster size, while positive localization externalities increase more than proportionally related to cluster size. By studying the survival patterns of 4,607 firms and 1,229 subsidiaries in the global video game industry, we find that the net effect of clustering becomes positive after a cluster reaches a critical size. We further unravel the subtleties of the video game industry by differentiating between exits by failure and exit by acquisition, and conclude that being acquired is best considered as a sign of success rather than as a business failure. |
| Keywords: | localization externalities, survival analysis, acquisition, spinoff, cluster, video game industry |
| JEL: | L25 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1221&r=sbm |
| By: | Roxana Gutiérrez Romero (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of human capital, individual entrepreneurial traits and the business environment on firms’ life cycle and on job creation in Spain. For this purpose, we have constructed a pseudo-panel, by using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey over the period 2001-2008. We have found that the creation, maturity and survival of firms were aided by the availability of bank credit and the large immigration inflows that Spain received over this period. However, of these two factors, only bank credit had a positive effect on the creation of jobs and on improving expectations of job expansion. The relatively high levels of youth unemployment experienced even before the crises of 2008 hurt the firm’s chances of maturity and survival. The results also suggested that the gender gap in entrepreneurial activities had narrowed. In relative terms, women with higher levels of education were more likely to create mature firms than men. Based on the empirical findings and those of related literature, the paper offers policy recommendations to foster a sustainable entrepreneurial sector capable of contributing to the recovery of the Spanish economy. |
| Keywords: | firm's life cycle, job creation, credit, immigration, pseudo-panel, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | D22 D92 O16 R23 C23 C26 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea1209&r=sbm |
| By: | A. Arrighetti; F. Landini; A. Lasagni |
| Abstract: | We study the adoption of different intangible investment strategies in manufacturing firms. Contrary to most of the previous literature, we find such strategies to be highly differentiated. In particular we identify three types of investment behaviour: high and persistent, low and persistent, discontinuous. Using as a reference the capability-based view of the firm, we define and provide support for a set of hypotheses on the determinants of such behaviours. We obtain the following results: first, absorptive capacity led by R&D expenditures is a key competence in sustaining the adoption of an intangible investment strategy, which may be either persistent or discontinuous; second, the implementation of a persistent intangible investment strategy necessarily requires specific investments in the quality of human resources to be made; third, firms with a greater propensity to operate in international markets are more likely to adopt a persistent intangible investment strategy than they are to adopt a discontinuous one; fourth, firms that undertake a growth path that is based on highly uncertain demand segments and high organisational flexibility are likely to adopt a discontinuous intangible investment strategy; and five, the historical intangible asset base represents an important constraint on firms’ investment behaviour. |
| Keywords: | : intangibles, firm behaviour, asset accumulation, organisational capabilities, R&D, investment strategy |
| JEL: | D22 L21 L25 O32 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:par:dipeco:2012-ep05&r=sbm |
| By: | Bernard Dussuc (EA3713 - Centre de Recherche Magellan - Université de Lyon - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon III); Sébastien Geindre (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - CNRS : UMR5820 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II) |
| Abstract: | Les pôles de compétitivité constituent un outil aux services des entreprises qui les composent, à savoir essentiellement des PME. Ils se doivent de favoriser le développement de l'innovation et donc la performance des organisations membres. Nous nous attacherons à envisager comment un pôle de compétitivité peut aborder cette mission première portant sur l'innovation. Pour traiter de cette question essentielle pour les PME, nous reprendrons les travaux relatifs au courtage de connaissances. Le recours à un courtier de connaissances (" knowledge broker ", défini par Hargadon, 1998) est présenté comme une voie praticable et adaptée pour favoriser le développement de l'innovation. La structure d'animation d'un pôle de compétitivité peut-elle agir comme un véritable courtier en connaissances au profit des entreprises qui compose ce pôle ? Nous nous appuierons sur une étude réalisée pour le compte du pôle de compétitivité de la plasturgie, à savoir Plastipolis. L'enquête qualitative présentée permettra d'appréhender le rôle tenu par la structure d'animation du pôle et l'éventuelle activité de courtage de connaissances mise en oeuvre. |
| Keywords: | stratégie, innovation, accompagnement, conseil, pôle de compétitivité. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00747914&r=sbm |
| By: | Huong Vu (University of Waikato); Steven Lim (University of Waikato); Mark Holmes (University of Waikato); Tinh Doan (Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment) |
| Abstract: | This study examines linkages between the export participation of firms and employee benefits in terms of wages and employment quality. Based on a uniquely matched firm-worker panel dataset for 2007 and 2009, we find evidence that export participation by firms in Vietnam has a positive impact on wages when taking into account firm characteristics alone. However, the exporter wage premium falls when both firm and worker characteristics are controlled for, and it decreases further when controlling for time-invariant unobservable factors by spell fixed effect estimation. While there are many studies on the export wage premium, the role of export participation on the quality of employment remains largely unexplored. By using a firm-level balanced panel dataset for the same period, our results suggest that export participation has a negative effect on employment quality. Nevertheless, the impact of export participation on both wages and employment quality vary greatly with respect to levels of technology. |
| Keywords: | exporting; wages; employment; Vietnam |
| JEL: | J21 J31 F14 F16 F19 |
| Date: | 2012–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:12/12&r=sbm |