When Do Employees Leave Their Job for Entrepreneurship?*

Existing firms are argued to be an important source of new entrepreneurs. Yet, relatively little is known about the characteristics of firms that breed new entrepreneurs. We use a large linked employee–employer dataset to trace and characterize the types of firms which generate new entrepreneurs in Finland. We find that such transitions are rare and that smaller firms spawn new entrepreneurs more frequently than larger firms. We also find that firms' R&D intensity and, to a lesser extent, their productivity are negatively related to the probability that employees transit into entrepreneurship. These results are robust to controlling for a number of employee and employer attributes.     

Corporate ownership and managerial short-termism: Results from a Finnish study of management perceptions

Increased media exposure to layoffs and corporate quarterly financial reporting have created arguable a common perception—especially favored by the media itself—that the companies have been forced to improve their financial performance from quarter to quarter. Academically, the relevant question is whether companies themselves feel that they are exposed to short-term pressure to perform even if it means that they have to compromise company's long-term future. This paper studies this issue using results from a survey conducted among the 500 largest companies in Finland. The results indicate that companies in general feel moderate short-term pressure, with reasonable dispersion across firms. There seems to be a link between the degree of pressure felt, and the firm's ownership structure, i.e. we find some support for the existence of potentially short-term versus long-term owners. We also find significant ownership related differences, in line with expectations, in how such short-term pressure is reflected in actual decision variables such as the investment criteria used.     

A relationship value perspective of social capital in networks of software SMEs

Utilizing theories on social capital, business networks, social networks and relationship value, we explore the aspects that provide specific value in relationships with different actors in the software industry. The motive for the study is the assumption that some relationships are regarded as more important than others, and companies strive to focus on fewer relationships with greater outcomes. The study is guided by the premise that social capital is a foundation for relationship value, and its identified elements differ among relationships. We take the perspective of software companies and classify their relationships with business partners into three distinctive types according to their function in the value creation process. The findings of our empirical analysis, based on a qualitative case study of eight software SMEs indicate that the aspects of social capital, like the sources of relationship value, vary systematically by the types of relationships. Thus, we are able to provide some theoretical and managerial implications on the management of small- and medium-sized companies.     

Sources of Capital Market Segmentation: Empirical Evidence from Finland

Because Finland has experienced profound economic changes and financial deregulation since the mid‐1980s, we use it as a laboratory to explore issues related to time‐varying global equity market integration. Using a Finnish perspective, we construct two different portfolios of Finnish firms and a conditional one‐factor international asset pricing model. We examine whether the segmentation varies over time and across assets. We use time‐series variables for changing market integration (lagged foreign equity ownership, difference between Finnish and German short‐term interest rates, and a portfolio‐specific liquidity measure) and crosssectional variables (size and book‐to‐market ratios and industry sector) to show variation in integration.     

Valuing environmental factors in cost-benefit analysis using data envelopment analysis

Environmental cost-benefit analysis (ECBA) is used for the social evaluation of investment projects and policies that involve significant environmental impacts. Economic valuation of environmental impacts forms one of the critical steps of ECBA. We develop a new method for this purpose, which does not require price estimation for environmental impacts using stated or revealed preference methods. Our approach is based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), which is modified to ECBA by using absolute shadow prices instead of relative prices. We also discuss how the method can be used for sensitive analysis in ECBA. We illustrate the method by means of a hypothetical numerical example.     

A dual theory approach to estimating risk preferences in the parimutuel betting market

This paper introduces an alternative empirical approach to estimating risk preferences in the parimutuel betting market using a dual theory model which is amended to include bettors’ misperceptions of probabilities. We replicate previous empirical results and test our alternative empirical approach using parimutuel horse race betting data. Our results suggest that while bettors are risk-averse, they are also prone to misperceiving probabilities by overweighting low probabilities and underweighting high probabilities. As an application, these results replicate the choice patterns consistent with the Allais paradox.     

Work-on-demand in patchwork capitalism: The peculiar case of Uber's fleet partners in Poland

In recent years, global corporations entering Central and Eastern European (CEE) markets have begun to adapt to existing legal regulations through innovative means. Uber's entry into Polish market, for example, involved the use of a supplementary entity—a fleet partner. Based on 42 interviews with Uber drivers in Poland (conducted between 2018 and 2020) and two in-depth interviews with fleet partners (2021), this article investigates the prerequisites necessary for the emergence of fleet partners within a work-on-demand platform and their role in the relationships between different stakeholders. Using the concept of patchwork capitalism adapted for CEE countries, this study shows that additional entities took advantage of institutional hybridity, situating themselves as the intermediary between a global giant and a local regulator, and thereby creating a patchwork gig economy.