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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2025–04–07
twenty-two papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | David, Alexandra; Terstriep, Judith |
| Abstract: | Microaggressions, subtle yet pervasive forms of discrimination, undermine migrant entrepreneurs by adversely affecting their psychological well-being and hindering their business development. Through a qualitative multiplecase approach, we show how microaggressions - such as avoidance and pathologisation - impact the business success of migrant entrepreneurs in Germany. Our study highlights the compounded challenges of intersecting marginalised identities, urging targeted interventions for inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems. We call for diverse research and strategies to mitigate microaggressions, urging action by policymakers and practitioners to foster an equitable entrepreneurial landscape. |
| Keywords: | migrant entrepreneurship, minority entrepreneurship, ethical microaggressions, entrepreneurial ecosystems |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iatfor:313552 |
| By: | Nobuaki Hamaguchi (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University and Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, JAPAN); Joao Carlos Ferraz (Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this article is to determine and analyse the factors behind the growth of Japanese startups. The framework of reference is derived from the Resource Based View of the firm (Penrose 2009) and the quantitative analysis relies on data from a survey carried out in 2022 with 753 Japanese startups. The article assesses internal (entrepreneur, workforce, innovation) and external (finance, knowledge access and location) resources under uncertainty. Econometric findings suggest that larger but younger firms with a domestic market orientation, and experienced entrepreneurs drive growth, while intellectual property ownership and equity financing for fixed capital investment positively impact economic success. Market-product mismatches and weak supplier quality hinder growth, and Tokyo's location benefits ICT start-ups but not others. Employment growth, though weakly linked to sales growth is strongly influenced by business confidence and access to skilled labour and investors. These findings provide strategic insights to inform policies to foster start-up success in Japan. |
| Keywords: | Internal resource; External resource; Uncertainty |
| JEL: | M13 O32 G32 R58 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2025-05 |
| By: | Durkin, Patrick; Keogh, Colin; O'Sullivan, Pat; Rainbird, Jenny; Trifkovic, Kata; Frizzell, Ronan |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a novel commercialization methodology, The Commercial Pathway Methodology, tailored specifically for EU funded Research and Development (R&D) projects, integrating the principles of the Lean Startup methodology. Leveraging the unique challenges and opportunities presented by EU funded projects, this approach aims to enhance the commercial viability of R&D outcomes while optimizing resource allocation. By adopting iterative processes, customer-centric validation, and agile market entry strategies, this Commercial Pathway Methodology offers a new perspective on driving innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace within the context of EU R&D initiatives. |
| Date: | 2023–08–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:675sc_v1 |
| By: | , Jumrah; Sardi, Ahmed (STKIP Darud Da'wah Wal Irsyad Pinrang) |
| Abstract: | An entrepreneur is usually someone who wants to try their luck in the corporate world when they are tired of working in a company or because someone is just tired of looking for work but never got a call. Entrepreneurs are economic actors, especially activities that can add value to a product or service through change, creativity, innovation and environmental sensitivity. An entrepreneur contributes to economic growth by introducing innovative technologies, products and services. Entrepreneurs also provide new jobs, which in turn help the economy by increasing national income. Entrepreneurship is the overall process of developing, launching and running a business. There are many different types of entrepreneurship. People have different aspirations and visions for the type of business they want to create. |
| Date: | 2023–08–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:2rwsk_v1 |
| By: | Wu, Qiang; Zhou, Peng (Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University) |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial in achieving the carbon peak and neutrality goals and mitigating climate change. Although previous studies have explored cross-sectional differences in corporate carbon emissions, temporal heterogeneities in firm lifecycles have been overlooked. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of AI adoption on carbon emission intensity over firm lifecycles and the micro-level mechanisms of this effect. This study examines panel data from Chinese listed companies (2010–2021) using a two-way fixed-effects model and the difference-in-differences method. The empirical results demonstrate that AI significantly reduces enterprises’ carbon emission intensity. However, this effect is mainly observed in growth-stage enterprises and not in decline-stage enterprises. The mechanism analysis reveals that AI primarily reduces enterprises’ carbon emission intensity by improving productivity and promoting innovation. The effect on productivity is particularly evident in growth-stage enterprises, whereas the effect on innovation is dominant in decline-stage enterprises. Heterogeneity tests indicate that the effect on state-owned enterprises, medium-sized enterprises, the manufacturing sector, heavily polluting industries, non-high-tech industries, and capital-intensive industries is more pronounced than that on other enterprises. These findings suggest that enterprises should actively adopt AI, and differentiated AI adoption strategies should be formulated based on the needs of enterprises at different lifecycle stages. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence; carbon emission intensity; firm lifecycle; productivity |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2025/9 |
| By: | Cosa, Marcello; Urban, Boris |
| Abstract: | Social enterprises (SEs) aim to optimise social value and financial performance, posing unique challenges for performance measurement. While performance measurement systems (PMSs) have been extensively studied in for-profit firms, they have not been widely taken up in SEs, potentially reflecting perceived difficulties in balancing social and financial goals. To better understand the evolution of the adoption, use, and effectiveness of PMSs in SEs, we conducted a systematic review encompassing 24 papers identified through comprehensive searches in Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO. Through thematic analysis, we classified the scholarly research into three key themes: ‘adoption’, ‘usability’, and ‘effectiveness’. Overall, our study confirmed that PMS uptake in SEs has been limited. We identified multiple barriers, but among the most prominent reasons were a lack of sufficient financial or human resources to implement them and cultural barriers whereby social entrepreneurs seek to distance themselves from seemingly traditional business practices. Future research should focus on practical applications of these tools in addressing specific social entrepreneurship sectors’ challenges. |
| Date: | 2023–07–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:6ft2p_v1 |
| By: | Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde (University of Pennsylvania); Yang Yu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University); Francesco Zanetti (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | Defensive hiring of researchers by incumbent firms with monopsony power reduces creative destruction. This mechanism helps explain the simultaneous rise in R&D spending and decline in TFP growth in the US economy over recent decades. We develop a simple model highlighting the critical role of the inelastic supply of research labor in enabling this effect. Empirical evidence confirms that the research labor supply in the US is indeed inelastic and supports other model predictions: incumbent R&D spending is negatively correlated with creative destruction and sectoral TFP growth while extending incumbents’ lifespan. All these effects are amplified when ideas are harder to find. An extended version of the model quantifies these mechanisms’ implications for productivity, innovation, and policy. |
| Keywords: | Productivity growth, innovation, R&D, patents, creative destruction |
| JEL: | E22 L11 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–03–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:25-007 |
| By: | A.C. Pinate; M. Dal Molin; M.G. Brandano |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relationship between institutional quality and green innovation in Italian regions (NUTS2). We examine how varying levels of institutional quality influence the regional capacity to generate green innovation, disentangling the effects related to economic institutions (corruption, government effectiveness, and regulatory quality) from the impacts associated with political institutions (rule of law and voice and accountability). Using a panel of data for 2004–2018 on green patents, we use an instrumental variable IV approach to control for endogeneity and several robustness checks. Our results show that the most important drivers of green innovation are related to the quality of political institutions. These findings remain robust, even when checking for economic and environmental controls, demonstrating that green innovation is more related to political decisions and social capital than innovation in general is. |
| Keywords: | regional green innovation;green patents;Institutional Quality;italy |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202508 |
| By: | Abbas, Asad |
| Abstract: | The Role of Marketing Strategy on Market Performance: A Study on Small and Medium Enterprises in Ethiopia, Jimma Town |
| Date: | 2023–08–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:wa2cb_v1 |
| By: | World Bank |
| Keywords: | Private Sector Development-Social Entrepreneurship and Business Clusters Science and Technology Development-Innovation |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:39831 |
| By: | Flavio de Carolis; Vinzenz Peters |
| Abstract: | We investigate how leverage and the debt maturity structure of SMEs influences their resilience to floods. Using a dataset of six million geo-coded firm-year observations across nine European countries and granular flood maps, we employ dynamic difference- in-differences estimators to assess the economic impacts of floods and the mediating effects of leverage and debt maturity. Our findings highlight a non-linear relationship between leverage and resilience. SMEs with high levels of short-term debt and low levels of long-term debt show more severe reductions in their post-flood employment growth. |
| Keywords: | Economic Resilience; Climate Change; Floods; Leverage; Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises |
| JEL: | G32 J21 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:832 |
| By: | Brüggemann, Immo; Buse, Stephan; Villarreal, Nohemi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated into the strategic management process to strengthen the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The strategic management process is divided into three phases: First, the collection and structuring of unstructured data from the macro- and microeconomic environment takes place. Here, AI provides support by efficiently collecting and clustering relevant information, enabling decision-makers to better assess current trends and developments. In the second phase, the evaluation of internal resources, AI helps to capture implicit knowledge within the company and systematically analyze it in order to uncover strengths and weaknesses. In the final phase of strategy development, AI combines internal and external data, generates new strategic approaches and thus supports the derivation of concrete fields of action. AI acts as a partner that significantly improves decision-making and strengthens the company's resilience through sound strategic planning. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuhtim:313609 |
| By: | Wielga, Jenny; Enste, Peter; Schellenberger, Lennard |
| Abstract: | Microaggressions, subtle yet pervasive forms of discrimination, undermine migrant entrepreneurs by adversely affecting their psychological well-being and hindering their business development. Through a qualitative multiplecase approach, we show how microaggressions - such as avoidance and pathologisation - impact the business success of migrant entrepreneurs in Germany. Our study highlights the compounded challenges of intersecting marginalised identities, urging targeted interventions for inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems. We call for diverse research and strategies to mitigate microaggressions, urging action by policymakers and practitioners to foster an equitable entrepreneurial landscape. |
| Keywords: | Soziale Ungleichheiten, Ruhrgebiet, Gesundheitsförderung und -prävention, GeVoR-Initiative, GeVoR-Kriterien |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iatfor:313575 |
| By: | World Bank |
| Keywords: | Information and Communication Technologies-ICT Data and Statistics Information and Communication Technologies-ICT Policy and Strategies |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:40928 |
| By: | Dieter Van Esbroeck |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses whether the persistence of firm dominance reflects Schumpeterian dynamism or socialization. A cross-country comparison encompassing Europe, North America and Asia using the Forbes Global 2000 reveals comparable levels of dynamism. The evolution over time is examined for the United States based on Compustat and the Fortune 500, finding an increase in dynamism since 1950. An analysis of the Brussels Stock Exchange shows that the survival probability at the top has remained fairly stable in Belgium for almost two centuries. Generally, firms have a similar chance of survival at the top irrespective of their ranking and firms that have been present longer at the top have a slight advantage for persistence. Multiple mechanisms are identified as potential drivers. The empirical results suggest a Poisson process to model large firm dynamics which, combined with geometric Brownian motion, leads to power-law behavior in the tail of firm size. |
| Keywords: | Firm dynamics; superstar firms; business dynamism; creative destruction. |
| Date: | 2025–02–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:vivwps:760653 |
| By: | World Bank |
| Keywords: | Science and Technology Development-Technology Innovation Finance and Financial Sector Development-Mutual Funds |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:40932 |
| By: | Sandström, Christian (Linnaeus University); Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This paper critically evaluates the European Union’s shift towards large-scale green industrial policies. It highlights the risks of government-directed resource allocation, such as inefficiencies, misaligned incentives, rent-seeking, and lobbying. Politicians and bureaucrats at the EU level lack the ability to identify the future industries, products, and technologies for this policy to work effectively. The EU is not designed to operate large top-down interventions successfully. There is a substantial risk that large amounts of resources will be spent on initiatives that ultimately fail. Instead, this paper emphasizes competition- and technological-neutral frameworks, emissions trading systems, and general policy incentives. The paper concludes that a decentralized, market-driven approach is more sustainable for fostering innovation. |
| Keywords: | New industrial policy; Green investments; Innovation policy; Mission-oriented policies |
| JEL: | H50 L52 O38 P16 |
| Date: | 2025–02–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1523 |
| By: | Rojab, Ahmad |
| Abstract: | The intricate relationship between business, information technology (IT), and education, exploring their convergence. The primary issue addressed is the dynamic interaction among these fields, emphasizing the transformation of education and business practices. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of interdisciplinary approaches in education and their implications for business and IT. Employing a systematic literature review methodology, the findings reveal that interdisciplinary models, collaboration between academia and industry, and the integration of IT are pivotal in fostering innovation and adaptability. Furthermore, emerging trends in technology adoption and pedagogical strategies for effective interdisciplinary learning are identified as promising research directions. The article underscores the significance of interdisciplinary education in preparing individuals for the evolving landscape of the digital age, while providing insights for educators, researchers, and practitioners navigating this dynamic terrain. |
| Date: | 2023–10–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:z239u_v1 |
| By: | Enriques, Luca; Nigro, Casimiro A.; Tröger, Tobias |
| Abstract: | Venture capital ("VC") has built a solid reputation for spurring innovation and economic growth, thus emerging as a crown jewel of the U.S. economy since the 1980s. The development of the U.S. VC market has benefited from the enabling nature of U.S. (Delaware) corporate law, which allows parties to devise a complex contractual framework that economists consider the best realworld solution to the market frictions bedeviling the finance of high-tech innovative projects. The law and finance literature has paid attention to corporate law as one of the determinants of VC investments by examining how variations in shareholder protection shape VC contracting. It has underscored the importance of flexible corporate law to enable the tailor-made arrangements that define VC-backed firms' unique governance structure. Vice versa, it has also documented anecdotally how mandatory corporate laws can impede the adoption and use of some specific components of the U.S. contractual framework. This article contributes to this literature, first, by conceptualizing, in a general theoretical framework, the role that flexible or rigid corporate law in action plays in supporting or hindering VC. Second, it identifies the channels through which mandatory corporate law constrains VC contracting. Third, it documents the real-world significance of these phenomena by illustrating how the constraints stemming from the corporate law regimes in force in two European jurisdictions, namely Germany and Italy, impact the transplant of the contractual framework governing VC deals in the U.S. |
| Keywords: | Comparative Corporate Law, Comparative Corporate Governance, Entrepreneurship, Financial Contracting, Private ordering, Start-ups, Venture Capital |
| JEL: | G38 K22 L26 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:313649 |
| By: | Enriques, Luca; Nigro, Casimiro A.; Tröger, Tobias |
| Abstract: | Policymakers around the globe have sought to stimulate Venture Capital (VC) investments, and an extensive literature has inquired into the institutional determinants of a vibrant VC market, including corporate law. We contribute to that literature by exploring the significance of corporate law for VC contracting and hence VC investments. Corporate law's relative rigidity or flexibility is key to the efficiency of the contractual technology governing VC deals. Importantly, it can hamper such transactions through a number of "constraints, " which we have identified in a companion paper. To illustrate our point, in another companion paper, we take German and Italian corporate laws as two case studies and show how they are largely averse to VC contracting. In addition, we show that the regulatory constraints they impose stem from blackletter corporate law much less often than from scholarly constructs and courts' interpretations. This chapter anticipates two objections that cast doubt over the importance of our findings as to the construction of vibrant VC markets in Germany and Italy. Specifically, the first of these objections is that VC funds and entrepreneurs planning to run their startups in Germany and Italy can circumvent the strictures of local corporate laws by incorporating abroad, and the other is that formal contracts are inconsequential in VC deals, meaning that the regulatory constraints we document are irrelevant. Meanwhile, the chapter also shows that the detailed understanding of regulatory constraints unveiled by our research can inform more effective policymaking. Ultimately, we make two policy recommendations: first, we propose the adoption of a statutory provision that would explicitly insulate the arrangements that typically shape U.S. VC deals from undue interventions; and, second, we argue in favor of a standard charter aligned with U.S. VC transactional practice that the law itself should declare entirely enforceable. |
| Keywords: | Comparative Corporate Law, Comparative Corporate Governance, Entrepreneurship, Financial Contracting, Private Ordering, Startups, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurial Finance |
| JEL: | G38 K22 L26 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:313650 |
| By: | World Bank |
| Keywords: | Private Sector Development-Private Sector Economics |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:40694 |
| By: | Travis Baseler (University of Rochester); Thomas Ginn (Center for Global Development); Ibrahim Kasirye (Economic Policy Research Centre); Belinda Muya (International Rescue Committee); Andrew Zeitlin (Georgetown University) |
| Abstract: | Constraints that inhibit small business growth are potentially amplified for groups with limited access to existing business networks like refugees and women. Programs that facilitate intergroup contact, in addition to capital, could potentially raise welfare, especially if incentives are aligned for participants to share information and invest effort in each other's outcomes. In a randomized trial with microentrepreneurs, we vary business grants, inclusion in a mentorship group, the gender and nationality composition of groups, and a "shared fate" component that compensates group members for the success of other members’ businesses. We find that grants substantially improve business outcomes for men, women, refugees, and hosts. Combining mentorship with cash has an additional positive effect for refugee men, but a negative effect relative to cash alone for women who run higher-profit firms. Mentors with higher baseline profits significantly improve mentees' business outcomes, while differences across group gender and nationality compositions are small. The shared fate addition worsens early outcomes in aligned groups but does not affect mixed groups. |
| Keywords: | Microentrepreneurship, Networks, Mentorship, Refugees |
| JEL: | D22 D74 D83 L14 L26 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–03–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:716 |