Under the AEGIS of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship: employment growth and gender of founders among European firms

An increasing number of theoretical and empirical analyses address the role of innovation as one of the main sources of firm growth. More recently, studies have looked at the role of gender diversity as a possible determinant of innovation and entrepreneurial performance. However, the relationship between gender and employment growth—a dimension of entrepreneurial performance—still remains unexplored to a large degree. This paper contributes to the empirical literature on gender and entrepreneurial performance in several ways. First, it examines the role played by both innovation and gender ownership as determinants of employment growth rates of young, knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial (KIE) firms. Second, it investigates the indirect impact of contributing factors—such as the characteristics of the market, knowledge-based capital, and human capital—on employment growth. And third, it relies on a rich new cross-sectional data set on young, KIE firms across European Union (EU) countries. The data set contains information not only on the gender of the firm’s founders but also on the market environment, business strategy, and innovative and economic performance of firms.     

The Persistence of Profits,Sectoral Heterogeneity and Firms’ Characteristics

The analysis of the persistence of profits has long been a controversial issue within empirical industrial organisation literature. The aim of our paper is to provide new empirical findings that may account for patterns of both sectoral and firm profit persistence. The distinctive feature of our study is that we analyse a number of firms’ ergodic distribution in each sector according to their profit level; we then calculate the difference between such a distribution and that prevailing in manufacturing as a whole. Finally, we break down this distribution; the resulting breakdown highlights the impact of each transition probability on inter‐sectoral differences clearly, and it also emphasises the role of intra‐sectoral dynamics in determining different persistence patterns. We then apply this methodology to both innovating and non‐innovating firms, and conclude that among surviving firms innovation is indeed crucial to the persistence of profits. In addition, we set up an econometric test which enables us to estimate the impact of firm and sectoral characteristics on a firm’s profit condition.     

Introduction: Economic performance and small business

This paper introduces the special issue of Small business Economics on Performance. The concept of economic performance refers to the degree to which society's resources are being used as efficiently as possible. Where the field of industrial organization has emphasized the influence of market concentration on economic performance, the papers of this special issue zoom in on the link between firm size and economic performance.     

Introduction to the Special Issue — Social Computing and Service Innovation: A Framework for Research

ABSTRACT

Recently, we more and more observe service innovations emerging from social interactions among a network of actors inside and outside of organizations. Social computing technologies are the main facilitators of social interactions, hence increasingly play a vital role in the service innovation. Yet, research on the role of social computing in service innovation lacks clear theoretical and empirical basis. This special issue was designed to stimulate research on the intersection of social computing and service innovation. In this paper, we outline a broad research framework in this regard, including the papers in this special issue and areas for future research.     

Anatomy of entrepreneurial marketing

The motivation for this special issue came from the growing attention and debate on what constitutes Entrepreneurial Marketing (EM). Research in EM was first pursued collectively by the Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association about three decades ago. Recently, there is widespread recognition of the significance of entrepreneurship and innovation to marketing, and indeed the importance of marketing in successful entrepreneurship. Whereas many scholars view that EM is more suitable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), there is also now a growing recognition of the important role of entrepreneurs in any marketing activities including at the corporate, community and social level. In light of this, it is not surprising that the government, industry and academics are recognising the contribution of EM to explain a range of issues. Although entrepreneurship and marketing are individually acknowledged as a major element in improving firm performance, their dynamics are still an area with limited theory and empirical work being undertaken. These issues have been highlighted in many international marketing and entrepreneurship conferences in the last 10 years. Indeed this special issue was proposed after EM special sessions held at the 2013 AMS WMC (Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress) in Melbourne and ANZMAC 2013 (Australia and New Zealand Marketing Association Conference) in Auckland, New Zealand. The collection of papers presented in this Special Edition of Journal of Strategic Marketing was selected from the papers submitted at the close of the call for papers and following double blind review process. From the review process, authors of five submissions were selected and compiled into this [special issue on the Anatomy of Entrepreneurial Marketing]. It is our intention that this special issue becomes a valuable resource for both scholars and practitioners alike.     

Introduction: Innovation and small business

This paper introduces the special issue of Small Business Economics on Innovation. What binds the papers together is either their focus on the effect of firm size on the causes and consequences of innovation or their focus on the role small firms play in reshaping the industrial landscape.     

The Effect of Normative Expectations on Employees’ Intrinsic Interest in Creativity: Is There also a Mediating Mechanism?

As the core element of a firm’s innovation capabilities and the source of firm growth, increasing employee creativity is a primary goal of organizations. Based on social cognitive theory, role theory, and creativity theory, this paper investigates the relationship between perception of normative expectations and employees’ intrinsic interest in creativity, as well as explores the role of self-efficacy in this relationship. We use data from a survey questionnaire of 2,035 employees from 185 firms in different geographic locations across China. Our empirical findings reveal that when employees perceive a normative expectation coming from leaders, family or customers, coupled with the fear of failing to satisfy the expectations of those referent groups, it positively and significantly affects their intrinsic interest in creativity. In addition, self-efficacy not only positively and significantly affects employees’ intrinsic interest in creativity, but also plays a partially mediating role in the relationship between the perception of expectation and employees’ intrinsic interest in creativity.     

Entrepreneurial activity and regional competitiveness: an introduction to the special issue

An important goal of this special issue is to gain a better understanding of the linkage between the entrepreneurial activity of a region and its level of competitiveness. Comparative studies across countries abound in the literature, but much still remains to be investigated on the role played by entrepreneurship in transforming local economies. The set of papers included in this special issue aims to fill this conceptual and empirical gap. In general, besides acknowledging the existence of a bi-directional relationship between entrepreneurship and regional competitiveness, the papers shed some light on the endogenous process of wealth creation in local economies.     

How young firms achieve growth: reconciling the roles of growth motivation and innovative activities

This special issue focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation and enterprise dynamics, as these key components of any prospering economy are at the heart of the current policy discussion. It gathers the latest national and comparative cross-country evidence about: new business venture formation and the role of framework conditions in fostering entrepreneurial activities; the determinants and outcomes of firms’ innovative activities and, more generally, of business and innovation dynamics; and the determinants and patterns of post-entry firm growth performance. The contributions synthesised in this introductory piece all rely on sound micro-level data and robust econometrics and propose novel findings that are relevant for policy making. Among them, that risk aversion encourages individuals to invest in balanced skill profiles, making them more likely to become entrepreneurs; and that while micro firms may grow when they are young, they are less likely to do so when old.     

High‐Growth Women’s Entrepreneurship: Fueling Social and Economic Development

High‐growth firms, often referred to as “gazelles,” are equated with entrepreneurial success and celebrated as the key to growing economies, and women’s entrepreneurship is a vehicle of economic and social development. This special issue publishes papers that address the general lack of research on high‐growth women’s entrepreneurship. In this introduction paper, we offer an adapted framework for the factors driving high growth across multiple levels: individual (entrepreneur and entrepreneurial team characteristics), venture (strategy, organizational structures, and systems), resources, location, and environment. We also introduce the papers in this special issue and present an overview of the contributions to this issue.     

Innovation management in retailing: From consumer perspective to corporate strategy

This special issue of the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services on innovation management in retailing from a consumer and corporate perspective includes seven papers. The papers cover a variety of interesting topics focusing on consumers׳ viewpoints and corporate strategies towards new advanced systems introduced at the points of sale. The issue is organised into two sections: (i) impact of new technologies on consumer behaviour (which includes new approaches for managing shopping experience), and (ii) corporate strategies (which includes retailers׳ actions and strategies). This introduction summarises the papers and identifies some empirical insights and contributions to the growing body of knowledge on innovation management that has appeared in the recent retailing literature.     

Corporate Social Performance and Innovation with High Social Benefits: A Quantitative Analysis

This article analyses the link between innovation with high social benefits and corporate social performance (CSP) and the role that family firms play in this. This theme is particularly relevant given the large number of firms that are family-owned. Also the implicit potential of innovation to reconcile corporate sustainability aspects with profitability justifies an extended analysis of this link. Governments often support socially beneficial innovation with various policy instruments, with the intention of increasing international competitiveness and simultaneously supporting sustainable development. In parallel, firms pursue corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental management activities partly in the hope that this will foster such innovation in their organisation (alongside their main aim of improving CSP). Hence, the main research question of this article is about the association of CSP with innovation with high social benefits and the determinants of the potential moderation of this association. Based on panel data, the article analyses the link between CSP and innovation, and the effect of being a family firm using panel estimation techniques. The results point to a moderating role of family firms on the link between innovation with high social benefits and CSP. The article concludes by assessing the policy implications of this insight.     

Unveiling the global focus-performance relationship in family firms: The role of the board of directors

Drawing on the resource-based view, this study examines how board composition and board tasks affect the relationship between the firm’s global focus and performance in private family firms. Based on a sample of 234 Belgian private family firms, our empirical analyses reveal that nonfamily involvement in the board attenuates the negative relationship between the firm’s global focus and performance. Furthermore, our results show that the global focus-performance link turns positive at higher levels of board networking and advisory tasks, whereas board control task has no significant effect. Ultimately, these findings underscore the board of directors as a key governance contingency, highlighting its important role in overcoming the challenges of global expansion in private family firms.     

What makes a successful exporter? An introduction

The papers in this issue continue with the tradition of adding puzzles pieces to the overall picture of the impact and importance of firm international activities. In "What makes a successful exporter?", we have collected twelve papers, the majority of which were presented at the 13th annual ISGEP workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 20–21 September 2018. The common thread linking these papers is that they explore both what it means to be an exporter and the ramifications of exporting on firms and the economy as a whole. On the one hand, this special issue addresses the role of foreign sourcing, export experience in the board of directors and credit supply shocks on the propensity to export, as well as the factors that affect firms' overall readiness to export. On the other hand, it investigates various measures of performance in the export markets, such as export duration, markups, quality upgrading and product mix.     

Firm Size,Source of Finance,and Growth - Evidence from China

Using a comprehensive firm-level data set from China spanning the period 1998–2005, this study investigates the relationship between firm size, financing sources, and total factor productivity growth. Controlling for the endogeneity of financing sources, we find that firm size plays an important role in the way financial structure affects the growth process. Domestic bank loans are more effective for bigger firms, while self-raised finance is more beneficial to smaller firms’ growth. We also uncover evidence that ownership mediates the relationship between firm size, finance, and growth.     

New and future research in corporate finance and governance in China and emerging markets

This paper briefly surveys the literature on finance, growth, and policy in China and emerging markets. We introduce the papers that comprise this special issue of Emerging Markets Review. The papers comprise themes in corporate social responsibility, innovation, insider trading, financial reporting behaviours, and financial openness. Also, we discuss research trends and offer suggestions for future research on corporate governance and finance in China and emerging markets.     

Reassessing the relationships between private equity investors and their portfolio companies

The scope and purpose of this special issue is to reassess the relationships between private equity (PE) investors and their portfolio companies in the light of the need for venture capital/ private equity (VC/PE) firms to adapt their strategies for value creation in the light of the recent financial crisis. We particularly focus upon VC/PE characteristics that differently contribute to portfolio firm performance. The papers presented in this special issue capture this aim in various ways, reflecting the heterogeneity of VC/PE investors and the firms in which they invest. We begin this introductory paper by providing a brief overview of each paper’s contribution. We articulate themes for an agenda for future research relating to the heterogeneity of investor types and the contexts in which they invest.     

Entrepreneurship and innovation networks

In this paper, we give a general introduction to the notion of entrepreneurship and how it has many complex meanings. Entrepreneurs in new firms but also in incumbent firms have a key role in local, regional and national economic development by taking risks to get things done by developing new combinations of ideas and/or doing things differently. In view of this, two of the main questions that are dealt with are: (1) which features make structural differences in institutions and innovation networks remain invariant between decades, and (2) how knowledge about such features can be employed in policy at the national and the regional level. The research questions highlighted in this special issue relate to many pertinent national and regional policy issues. The most apparent concerns conditions conducive for entrepreneurship in the form of new firms and firm growth. In this paper, we also introduce the different contributors to this special issue.     

The California Electricity Crisis: Editors’ Introduction

This short piece introduces the papers in the special issue on the California Energy Crisis of 2000/2001. The papers illustrate aspects of the crisis, such as the role of the gas market, future trends for investment, and the crisis’ impact on consumers. Three papers analyze policy-makers’ responses to the crisis, with case studies of over-lapping regulation, the trade-off between prices, reliability and the environment, and policies that helped achieve demand reductions in the summer of 2001. Two papers consider lessons for other countries, in Latin America and Europe.     

Are Exporters More Likely to Introduce Product Innovations?

A firm’s export status may improve its ability to introduce product innovations (learning by exporting). We explore this idea using very rich firm‐level data on Italian manufacturing, which enables us to control for many confounding factors in the exporting–product innovation link (i.e. selection on observable variables). We also make an attempt to address the potential self‐selection of firms into exporting according to unobservable characteristics using an industry–province specific measure of firm distances from their most likely export markets, and of these export markets’ potentials as sources of presumably exogenous variations in export status using an instrumental variables strategy. We find that export status significantly increases the likelihood of introducing product innovations and that this effect is not fully captured by the channels commonly stressed by the theoretical literature, such as larger markets (and accordingly firm size) or higher investments in R&D. We argue that heterogeneity in foreign customers’ tastes and needs may explain our findings.