Creating opportunities. Policies aimed at increasing openings for immigrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands

Since the 1980s, subsequent Dutch governments have promoted self-employment of immigrants to reduce their unemployment rates. These policies have been focused on the (potential) actors themselves, i.e. the immigrants who have started or who may want to start a business. Taking mixed embeddedness as a point of departure, entrepreneurship and self-employment cannot be solely understood by focusing on the micro-level but has to include the larger macro and meso structures that impact on these actors' choices. In this paper, therefore, the focus is on the opportunity structure and on the policies that affect this set of options for starting a (small) business. A typology of policies that may alter this opportunity structure is offered.     

University training for entrepreneurial competencies: Its impact on intention of venture creation

This study tests the effect of entrepreneurship education programmes on the entrepreneurial competencies and intention of university students in order to confirm (or disconfirm) conventional wisdom that entrepreneurial education increases the intention to start a business. We address the following research question: Do entrepreneurship education programmes raise the entrepreneurial competencies and intention of students? We used a pretest-post-test quasi-experimental design. Data were collected from 864 university students of Castilla & León (Spain), from 863 students (403 taking the programme and 460 in a control group). The results showed that students in the ‘programme’ group increased their competencies and intention towards self-employment, whereas students in the control group did not. The findings contribute to the theories of planned behaviour and to the literature of entrepreneurship education itself, by revealing the effect of specific benefits for the students derived from the entrepreneurship ‘programme’.     

Business students’ attitudes toward innovation and intentions to start their own businesses

This research integrates perspectives from models of entrepreneurial intentions and attitude theory to examine the nature of the relationship between business students’ attitudes toward innovation and their intentions to start their own businesses. Multiple regression analysis revealed a positive association between attitude toward the distal and broad object of innovation and intentions of US business students to engage in the specific behavior of starting a business. Multiple mediation analysis revealed this association is partially mediated by attitudes toward the proximal and specific object of starting a business, operationalized as perceived desirability and feasibility of starting a business. As attitudes are open to change, opportunities exist for educators and practitioners to affect entrepreneurial intentions by affecting attitudes toward relevant, broad objects, such as innovation.     

中小企业成长及模式研究进展

中小企业与大型企业在成长路径和成长方式等方面存在不同之处,但从发展规律来看,中小企业仍然具有一般企业的成长特征。中小企业要获得持续快速的成长,必须选择适合自身的成长模式,实现规模从小到大素质由低到高不断发展壮大。     

Long-term analysis of technologically focused smaller manufacturing enterprises

This study examines the operations of technologically focused SMEs over the past 20 years. A panel of SMEs was studied in 1975, 1985, and again in 1995 to determine (1) whether or non-technologically focused SMEs changed over time and (2) if it was possible to identify the differences between those SMEs that perceived themselves to be technologically focused and those that did not. The panel consisted of over 800 SMEs operating in a single Midwestern State business climate. In 1975 the panel generated almost 500 responses to a research instrument that had been designed in a two-stage process. In the first stage, 23 case studies were developed to generate a conceptual and theoretical understanding of SMEs’ operations. The results of the case studies and available theory were used to design a mail questionnaire that was mailed to the original panel. The study suggests that technologically focused SMEs have changed significantly over the 20-year period from 1975 to 1995. Over this period of time, they have responded to the business conditions and competition around them, but have also changed how they view their own internal planning and operation needs.     

Self-employment and job generation in metropolitan areas, 1969–2009

Many regional development policy initiatives assume that entrepreneurial activities promote economic growth. Empirical research has presented rationale for this argument showing that small firms create proportionally more new jobs than large firms. However, little research has been performed on the issue of net job generation at the urban level, particularly when self-employment is considered as an indicator of entrepreneurial activities. This paper investigates to what extent US metropolitan areas in the 1969–2009 period characterized by relatively high rates of self-employment also have shown relatively high rates of subsequent total employment growth. The analysis corrects for the influence of sectoral composition, wage level, educational attainment, presence of research universities and size of the metropolitan area to measure the extent to which the number and quality of self-employed in a region contribute to total employment growth. It finds the relationship between self-employment rates and subsequent total employment growth to be positive on average during the 40-year period but to weaken over time.     

Are self-employment training programs effective? Evidence from Project GATE

We examine the efficacy of providing self-employment training to unemployed and other individuals interested in self-employment using data from Project GATE. This experimental design program offered self-employment training services to a random sample of individuals who expressed a strong interest in self-employment. We find that Project GATE was effective in helping unemployed participants to start their own business, leading to significant impacts in self-employment and overall employment soon after program entry. The program also helped unemployed participants remain self-employed and avoid unemployment even five years after program entry. However, the program was not effective in improving the labor market outcomes of participants who were not unemployed.     

Taxes,economic conditions and recent trends in male self-employment: a Canada–US comparison

North American workers have increasingly turned to self-employment since the 1970s. Using microdata for the period 1983–1994 from Canada and the United States, I assess the importance of macroeconomic conditions and the tax environment in explaining the trends in male self-employment in these two countries. My findings suggest that higher income tax and unemployment rates are associated with an increase in the rates of self-employment among North American men. Changes in the tax environment account for a considerable amount of the secular trends in male self-employment over this period, while changing economic conditions played a smaller role in determining these trends.     

Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs: Evidence of themes and activities in practice

Recently, innovation processes towards sustainable development have received increasing attention in academic literature. This research introduces the combination of insights from innovation theory, sustainable development practice and small business characteristics to unlock new knowledge on factors that influence the translation of sustainable innovation within small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) into practice. The sustainability themes and activities as described for large companies (i.e. in the sustainability reporting and management literature) were used as starting point in this study. It presents empiric results of the PRIMA Project conducted within the rubber and plastics industry (RPI) on sustainable innovation activities. It will show that many sustainable innovations are directed at the improvement of technological processes (eco‐efficiency) and to lower costs of production. These innovations can be seen as incremental. Companies with sustainability integrated in their orientation and innovation processes show value creation: the development of products new to the market (radical innovations) and cooperation with stakeholders. The PRIMA project shows that more insight in SME innovative characteristics and (e)valuation of sustainable innovation efforts provides opportunities to improve the sustainability performance of SMEs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Influence of a culture-based entrepreneurship program on student interest in business ownership

This paper reports the results of a study that examined the impact of a culture-based entrepreneurship study abroad program on student interest in business ownership. Ninety-six students were asked to complete a pre-and post-study abroad program questionnaire that asked about their understanding of a variety of program activities and to gauge their interest in starting a business. Little similar research has been reported in the literature. Pre- and post- program mean rankings of the variable are reported. The results indicated that post-program mean ranking of knowledge, understanding, and skill ability variables tend to be higher than pre-program mean rankings. Fifteen of the 22 post-program mean values of the measured variables are significantly different from pre-program mean values. Logit regression analysis indicated that the language and program structure variables were positively associated with interest in starting a business while the Spanish business and entrepreneurial skills were negatively associated with business ownership. The results of this study may be of interest to educators involved in developing entrepreneurship and study abroad courses and programs. The study may be of special interest to those involved in developing integrative entrepreneurship programs.     

关于我国中小企业国际化的人力资源管理思考

随着改革开放的不断深化,我国已经有不少中小企业走上了国际化发展道路,然而,人力资源的匮乏,尤其是国际经营人才的严重不足已经成为中小企业进一步国际化的障碍。本文试图分析我国中小企业的人力资源现状,并结合本人对中小型国际企业的访谈资料,提出加强我国中小企业国际化人力资源管理的思考。     

Perceptions and attitudes towards entrepreneurship. An analysis of gender among university students

The present article analyzes the existence of gender differences in the perceptions and attitudes of university students towards entrepreneurship. It measures perceptions of the public image of the entrepreneur, along with the desirability, viability and intentionality of students towards creating their own business. The empirical data for this research comes from a sample of university students who have attended a Business Creation program run by the venture capital association known as Fostering Entrepreneurs hip in Extremadura, Spain. Data analysis using bivariate and multivariate techniques reveal significant results, indicating that gender plays a significant role in how the figure of the entrepreneur is perceived and on the intention to generate new business.     

基于中小企业战略规划的战略能力研究

通过对辆外研究现状的梳理,根据企业能力理论和战略管理理论,从支撑企业战略的能力的角度上分析中小企业的发展规律.本研究主要是结合中小企业战略规划和战略能力的关系来研究识别、培育和提升中小企业的战略能力,使企业具有持续竞争优势,并不断做大做强,确保中小企业可持续发展,对于充分发挥中小企业的中坚力量作用,促进国民经济健康发展,具有重要的理论与现实意义.     

基于北部湾经济发展的广西高校大学生创业软环境体系构建

创业已经成为当今大学生的一种职业选择,这与当前良好的创业环境密不可分。文章立足于对广西北部湾经济区发展大环境的思考,从研究影响大学生创业的软环境入手,探索构建基于北部湾经济发展的广西高校大学生创业软环境体系,以期更好地为广西高校大学生创业服务。     

债务融资对中小上市公司绩效影响的实证研究——基于创业板2010-2012面板数据

2009年中国创业板的正式开通,对中小企业尤其是科技型中小企业的融资和发展具有重要意义。文章以2009年底已在创业板上市且到目前都正常运行的36家公司的面板数据为样本,利用主成分分析公司的经营绩效,并运用回归分析模型对研究假说予以相关性检验。研究表明,资产负债率、银行借款率、商业信用率等因素与中小上市公司的经营绩效都呈现出负相关关系。中小企业应加强盈利能力、征信制度建设以提高市场竞争力,同时健全中小企业融资服务体系、加快债券市场发展,以发挥出对中小企业经营绩效的正效应。     

基于北部湾经济发展的广西高校大学生创业软环境体系构建

创业已经成为当今大学生的一种职业选择,这与当前良好的创业环境密不可分.文章立足于对广西北部湾经济区发展大环境的思考,从研究影响大学生创业的软环境入手,探索构建基于北部湾经济发展的广西高校大学生创业软环境体系,以期更好地为广西高校大学生创业服务.     

May business mentors act as opportunity brokers and enablers among university students?

Networks are recognized as a central component of the entrepreneurial process, in particular with regard to opportunity identification and exploitation. In this study, we specifically analyze the role of mentors who are in business as opportunity brokers and enablers among university students with entrepreneurial intentions. Our investigation on 1022 students from 13 French-language universities based in Canada, France, Belgium and Algeria indicates that mentors in business, contrary to other mentors, support opportunity identification and exploitation among university students. Although student gender, entrepreneurial experience and education have a more pronounced effect, mentoring is the only element that can be controlled for through the creation of formal support programs. These results call on public authorities, and universities in particular, to implement formal mentoring programs to support students who are interested in starting their own business, and who would not otherwise have access to business mentors in their environment.     

Product Innovation,Credit Constraints,and Trade Credit: Evidence from a Cross‐country Study

This paper studies the relationship between trade credit and innovation. Although trade credit is well researched in the finance literature, its link to innovation has been neglected in prior research. We argue that innovative small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to use trade credit than non‐innovative SMEs because of credit constraints and that business partners may have incentives to offer trade credit especially to SMEs with product innovations. The relationship between product innovation and trade credit is empirically examined using a sample of SMEs from 15 European countries. The results of an econometric analysis confirm a positive relationship between innovation and trade credit. In particular, SMEs with product innovations have a higher probability of using trade credit than other SMEs. Moreover, the results suggest that the effect of product innovation is only statistically significant if SMEs report that access to financing or cost of financing are obstacles for the operation and growth of their businesses. Hence, the results point to the relevance of trade credit as a source of short‐term external finance for innovative SMEs that are credit constrained. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

金融危机下中小企业融资问题刍探

中小企业成为一国经济发展中不可忽视的经济力量。随着世界金融危机的蔓延,作为世界上人口最多的发展中国家,我国中小企业将在稳定经济、吸纳就业、提供社会服务等方面发挥非常特殊的作用。我国中小企业遭遇了近年来最严重的一次困难,无论在发达国家还是在发展中国家,中小企业的融资问题一直是它们发展中面临的最大困难。从企业发展的外部环境讲,中小企业面临突出问题首先就是融资难问题。解决中小企业的融资难问题要多条措施并进。     

Transitions to and From Self-employment in Spain: An Empirical Analysis

This paper investigates the influence of individual characteristics and the business cycle on the probability of entry into self-employment and on self-employment duration. We estimate multinomial logit and discrete competing risks models using data from a longitudinal sample of Spanish men for the period 1985–1991. The results indicate that unemployment raises the probability of entering self-employment, but also increases the hazard of leaving self-employment, especially into unemployment. Moreover, receiving unemployment benefits significantly reduces the probability of entering self-employment. Liquidity constraints are important in determining enterpreneurial selection, but only for those who become self-employed with employees.