The Effect of Business Regulations on Nascent and Young Business Entrepreneurship

We examine the relationship, across 39 countries, between regulation and entrepreneurship using a new two-equation model. We find the minimum capital requirement required to start a business lowers entrepreneurship rates across countries, as do labour market regulations. However the administrative considerations of starting a business – such as the time, the cost, or the number of procedures required – are unrelated to the formation rate of either nascent or young businesses. Given the explicit link made by Djankov et al. [Djankov et al. 2002, ‹The Regulation of Entry’, Quarterly Journal of Economics 117(1), 1–37] between the speed and ease with which businesses may be established in a country and its economic performance – and the enthusiasm with which this link has been grasped by European Union policy makers – our findings imply this link needs reconsidering. Prepared for: Small Business Economics (2007), Special issue GEM conference 2005     

Internationalisation and its determinants:A hierarchical approach

This study builds a hierarchical model to examine how country-level institutional dimensions impact the individual-level factors on the internationalisation by early stage entrepreneurial firms. Drawing on multiple datasets, cross-level analysis is used to explicate the influence of a country’s institution on the effects of the individual-level determinants on the internationalisation by early stage entrepreneurial firms, and this method enables the study of country-level specific effects. The results of the empirical research confirm the role of resource-based explanatory variables (i.e. innovative competence, business scale, technological commitment, and technological newness) in predicting internationalisation and also identifiy the positive moderating effects of institutions on this association.     

Entrepreneurial aspirations, motivations, and their drivers

Several drivers of entrepreneurial aspirations and entrepreneurial motivations are investigated using country-level data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the years 2005 and 2006. We estimate a two-equation model explaining aspirations using motivations and socioeconomic variables, and explaining motivations using socioeconomic variables. We find that countries with a higher incidence of increase-wealth-motivated entrepreneurs tend to have a higher prevalence of high-job-growth and export-oriented entrepreneurship and that a country’s level of social security relates negatively to the prevalence of innovative, high-job-growth, and export-oriented entrepreneurship. We also find that the increase-wealth motive mediates the relationship between socioeconomic variables and entrepreneurial aspirations.

The effect of new business formation on regional development over time: the case of Germany

We investigate the effects of new business formation on employment change in German regions. A special focus is on the lag-structure of this effect and on differences between regions. The different phases of the effects of new business formation on regional development are relatively pronounced in agglomerations as well as in regions with a high-level of labor productivity. In low-productivity regions, the overall employment effect of new business formation activity might be negative. The interregional differences indicate that regional factors play an important role.

Informal Investment in Transition Economies: Individual Characteristics and Clusters

This paper investigates the factors driving informal investment in Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data, we find that the low rates of informal investment activity and the small amounts of investments in these countries are driven by entrepreneurial behaviors consistent with limited market economy experience. We extend prior studies by investigating the role of business ownership, and identify significant differences between individuals with and without business ownership experience in terms of having start-up skills, knowing an entrepreneur and fearing failure. Cluster analysis identifies seven distinct groups of informal investors, and reveals the heterogeneity in terms of investors’ age, gender, level of education, amount of investment, start-up skills, ownership status, income, opportunity perception and country of residence.      

Entrepreneurship: The Role of Clusters Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence from Germany

This paper is about the impact of clusters on entrepreneurship at the regional level. Defining entrepreneurship as the creation of new organisations and clusters as a geographically proximate group of interconnected firms and associated institutions in related industries, this paper aims to answer three research questions : first, do clusters matter to entrepreneurship at the regional level? Second, if clusters are associated with different levels of entrepreneurship, what explains those differences? Third, what do the answers to the previous questions imply for academics and policy makers? To answer these questions, this paper distinguishes between clusters and industrial agglomerations and advances a theoretical model and empirical research to explain the impact of clusters on entrepreneurship at the regional level. This paper uses the 97 German planning regions as units of analysis to test the hypotheses. Using hypotheses testing and OLS fixed-effects model, this paper finds that clusters do have an impact on entrepreneurship at the regional level, but industrial agglomerations do not. Implications for academics and policy makers and suggestions for future research are given in the concluding section.     

The changing consumer in Germany

Changes in economic, demographic, and cultural factors in West Germany during the past decades are briefly described, as well as changes in consumption patterns and the way the major marketing variables have been used and implemented. Special attention is paid to the upheavals caused by the German reunification. Implications for marketing management are drawn by proposing eight bipolar constructs.     

Cross-Country Differences in Entrepreneurial Activity: The Role of Cultural Practice and National Wealth

In this paper, we argue that national culture is important in interpreting the differences of entrepreneurial activities between countries. Furthermore, national wealth plays a moderating role between national culture and entrepreneurial activities. Datasets from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) project and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study were analyzed. We find that there are interaction effects between GDP, a proxy for national wealth, and several cultural dimensions on entrepreneurial activities. More traditional cultural variables (in-group collectivism, humane orientation, and power distance) enhance early-stage and established entrepreneurship in low- and medium-GDP countries, but hinder early-stage and established entrepreneurship in high-GDP countries. More modernistic cultural variables (performance orientation, future orientation, and uncertainty avoidance) promote high-growth and high-innovation entrepreneurship in some situations, especially in high-GDP countries. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

The Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research

The International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research was introduced in 1996, and it is now firmly established as the most prestigious award for outstanding research contributions in this subject area. Thanks to a generous donation from the Swedish entrepreneur Rune Andersson, it has been possible to make a number of changes aimed at strengthening global recognition of the Prize even further: the name is being changed to the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research, the financial side to the Prize is being roughly doubled to 100,000 euros, and the system for nomination, evaluation, and selection of future Award Winners is becoming more structured and transparent. We present here the background to and the organization(s) behind the Award, briefly categorize the winners in the 1996–2008 period, describe the present and the future system for nomination, evaluation, and selection of Award Winners, and discuss the criteria for the selection of Prize candidates and Award-winning contributions.     

Home country institutions,social value orientation,and the internationalization of ventures

We examined how home country formal institutions and the venture’s value orientation influenced the venture’s likelihood of internationalization based on a data set that was adapted from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data in the year 2009, covering 7668 individual ventures in 25 countries. Better-developed home country formal institutions are found to have a supportive impact on the venture’s likelihood of internationalization. The supportive impact is also found to be weaker for socially oriented ventures than for profit-oriented ventures. The venture’s social value orientation negatively moderates the home country formal institutions–likelihood of internationalization relationship. The negative moderating effects can be explained as follows: Socially oriented ventures in the better-developed home country institutional environment are less likely to develop coping skills against uncertain and risky institutional environments, which are common in their host countries. Besides the theoretical contributions, this paper also highlights the implications for both business researchers and policy makers.     

Entrepreneurship and innovation in Ghana: enterprising Africa

This study adopts a multi-level theoretical framework to examine data from 496 entrepreneurs in Ghana. Seven types of innovation activity are analysed against three categories of variables: the characteristics of the entrepreneur, the internal competencies of the firm, and firm location. Across all respondents, the incidence of incremental innovation was far greater than novel innovation. The extent of innovation was related to the education level of the entrepreneur. Firm size and involvement in exporting were positively related to innovation, but firm growth is less systematically so. Innovation was greater in firms located in conurbations compared to firms located in large and small towns. We conclude with suggestions for policy to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in Ghana.      

Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty

Individuals living in poverty remain a critical issue. This special issue focuses on how entrepreneurship can help to solve such poverty. Rather than viewing those in poverty as a market for goods, the solution lies in understanding how to help those living in poverty create their own businesses. Ultimately, entrepreneurship among those in poverty will create a long lasting solution to their poverty. Herein, we initially examine the extant knowledge about entrepreneurship. We then examine where future research on this important topic should move. Finally, we introduce the five articles that make up this special issue. These five articles came from the initial 71 submissions and enhance our knowledge about entrepreneurship as a pathway to reducing poverty.     

Perceptual Variables and Nascent Entrepreneurship

Using a large sample of individuals in 28 countries, we investigate what variables are significantly correlated with an individuals decision to become an entrepreneur. Following existing literature in economics, we link such a decision to demographic and economic characteristics. In addition, we argue that perceptual variables such as alertness to opportunities, fear of failure, and confidence about ones own skills are also important. Our results suggest that perceptual variables are significantly correlated with new business creation across all countries in our sample and across gender. Although our data do not allow the identification of causal relationships, our findings suggest that, when making decisions, nascent entrepreneurs rely significantly on subjective and often biased perceptions rather than on objective expectations of success. Thus, perceptual variables should be included in economic models of entrepreneurial behavior.JEL CODE: M13, J24, D01     

Entrepreneurship and competitiveness dynamics in Latin America

This study analyses the relationship between entrepreneurial dynamics and the level of competitiveness in Latin American countries. Based on a stage of economic development model, we demonstrate that Latin American countries under the model followed different paths related to competitiveness. These different paths can explain the effect of specific competitiveness conditions on entrepreneurial dynamics in Latin America.

Entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption

Efforts to control corruption increase levels of trust in the ability of the state and market institutions to reliably and impartially enforce law and the rules of trade. Such trust facilitates the development of arms-length trade and the coordination of complex economic activities. We posit that better control of corruption will also be associated with rising levels of innovation and entrepreneurship. Absent such trust, however, monitoring and other transactions cost should restrict the scale and scope of trade and thus, hamper productivity and investment in innovation and entrepreneurship. Longitudinal data from 64 nations lends support to our propositions, thus helping unpack the puzzling relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption.     

Scott A. Shane: winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research

Scott A. Shane is the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research. In this article we discuss and analyze Shane’s most important contributions to the field of entrepreneurship. His contribution is extraordinarily broad in scope, which makes it difficult to pinpoint one or a few specifics that we associate with Shane’s scholarship. Instead, they can be summarized in the following three points. First, he has influenced what we view as central aspects of entrepreneurship. Shane has been a leading figure in redirecting the focus on entrepreneurship research itself. Second, he has influenced how we view entrepreneurship. Shane’s research is arguably theory driven and it applies and develops theoretical lenses that greatly improve our understanding of entrepreneurship. Third, he has contributed to how we conduct entrepreneurship research. Shane has been a forerunner in examining relevant units of analysis that are difficult to sample; research designs and databases specifically designed for studying entrepreneurial processes; and sophisticated analytical methods. This has contributed to advancing the methodological rigor of the field. Summing them up, the contributions are very impressive indeed.

The Changing Face of Accounting Advertising

No abstract available for this article.     

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship and the Qualities of Moral Decision Making: Toward A Unifying Framework

At the heart of entrepreneurship are imagination, creativity, novelty, and sensitivity. It takes these qualities to develop a new product or service and bring it to market, to envision the possible impacts a new product may make and come up with novel and creative solutions to problems that may arise. These qualities go to make up what could be called the spirit of entrepreneurship, a spirit that involves the ability to handle the experimental nature of entrepreunerial activity. These same qualities are crucial for moral decision making, and an ethical approach which emphasizes imagination, creativity, and has an experimental thrust is much better adapted to the entrepreneurial activity and much more relevant to the unique situations that entrepreneurs face. In this sense, the process approach to ethics developed in this article is a unifying framework that brings together the activity of entrepreneurship and moral decision making.     

基于创新创业能力培养的投资项目评估课程教学体系研究

在实施创新驱动发展战略的背景下,我国对创新创业人才的需求空前迫切。投资项目评估课程作为一门理论性与实践性并重的经济与管理专业课程,在创新创业教育教学实践中存在专业教育与创新创业教育缺乏融合、教师创新创业教育教学能力欠缺、学校缺乏创新创业实践平台供学生实践等问题。基于投资项目评估课程在教育教学实践中所存在的问题,研究该课程与创新创业教育有机融合的教学模式,为提高该课程的应用性,激发学生学习的积极与创造性,满足投资项目评估行业的创新创业人才需求,促进经济高质量发展提供参考意见。     

Virtual Instant Global Entrepreneurship

International entrepreneurship must be hard, because so few firms attempt it. If true, perhaps it is hard because it requires knowledge about people and places far away. It is hard because it requires mastering processes to handle business across borders. And it is hard because it requires trust in the processes and eventually in the customers elsewhere. These three elements, knowledge, mastery and trust in international business are essential to the success of international entrepreneurship for SMEs.