Asymmetric information as a barrier to knowledge spillovers in expert markets

This paper investigates barriers to effective knowledge spillovers for markets in which the product can be characterized as a credence good, i.e. its complexity impedes the evaluation of quality by customers both ex-ante and ex-post. We focus on the German market for energy efficiency consultants, as an emerging and subsidized sector in which the service offered has strong credence good properties. Based upon in-depth interviews with stakeholders, we analyze the determinants and barriers to knowledge spillovers. We find that the incentive to foster spillovers to increase suppliers’ knowledge is limited by the difficult commercialization of additional capabilities. The implementation of a public certification scheme has failed to increase the sectoral knowledge spillovers. By contrast, the participation in formal knowledge networks has been more effective in prompting companies to foster knowledge spillovers, which has also led to a higher degree of specialization. We conclude that access to certification schemes should be further restricted to increase market transparency and private networks should be supported to achieve the aim of increasing knowledge spillovers.     

An input–output virtual laboratory in practice – survey of uptake,usage and applications of the first operational IELab

ABSTRACT

The Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (IELab) is a collaborative cloud-computing platform for compiling large-scale, high-resolution, enviro-socio-economic accounts based on multi-region input–output tables and for conducting integrated sustainability assessment projects. These include, for example, assessments of biofuels and low-carbon construction materials or high-resolution waste modelling. This contribution provides a structured review of IELab applications that were published in either peer-reviewed journal papers or in the form of conference proceedings. The main research question posed is ‘What are the specific features of IELab that were used in the research and could the research have happened without them?’ It is investigated whether the IELab has actually and truly enabled new research. A detailed analysis of IELab characteristics and their usage is presented. The results can help with the design of new research projects and inform existing and prospective users of the IELab about the options for academic research and practical applications.     

A mixed-mode sensitive research on cannabis use and sexual addiction: improving self-reporting by means of indirect questioning techniques

In this article, we describe the methods employed and the results obtained from a mixed-mode “sensitive research” conducted in Spain to estimate certain aspects concerning patterns of cannabis consumption and sexual addiction among university students. Three different data-collection methods are considered and compared: direct questioning, randomized response technique and item sum technique. It is shown that posing direct questions to obtain sensitive data produces significantly lower estimates of the surveyed characteristics than do indirect questioning methods. From the analysis, it emerges that male students seem to be more affected by sex addiction than female students while for cannabis consumption there is no evidence of a predominant gender effect.     

The influence of entrepreneurs’ social referents on start-up size

This paper uses social comparison theory to explore the effect that the average size of established businesses at the regional (provincial) level may have on start-up size. It is argued that established entrepreneurs at the regional level become referents of new entrepreneurs, influencing not only the decision to become entrepreneurs but also the characteristics of the new venture, such as its initial size. Specifically, the greater the average size of established businesses at the provincial level, the bigger the start-up size of new ventures. This paper further considers how this effect is moderated by two key individual level variables: knowing an entrepreneur personally (i.e., close social referent), and being the owner and manager of an existing business (i.e., past entrepreneurial and managerial experience). Predictions are tested using data that combine individual- and provincial-level information in Spain over the period 2008–2014. The results show the positive relationship of the average size of established businesses on new venture start-up size, and that this effect decreases when the entrepreneurs have previous entrepreneurial experience.     

Dimensional effects of Korean SME’s entrepreneurial orientation on internationalization and performance: the mediating role of marketing capability

This study examines how three different dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk-taking) each determine internationalization strategies and enhance international performance among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the mediating role of marketing capabilities. An integrative theoretical framework built on international entrepreneurship and a resource-based approach was tested in the context of Korean SMEs. Analyses of 401 survey data collected from Korean exporting SMEs revealed the differential effects of each entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of marketing capability on internationalization strategies and performance. Proactiveness and risk taking appeared to function as significant antecedents of marketing capability. Marketing capability, in turn, significantly decreased internationalization scope and increased the financial performance of Korean SMEs, though it did not influence internationalization scale. This study further confirms that the mediating role of marketing capability in entrepreneurial orientation-performance relationships vary by entrepreneurial orientation dimensions. Taking the direct and indirect roles of the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions together, this study recommends the critical prioritization of risk-taking over proactiveness. It extends previous approaches to the triad of resource–capability–performance. Theoretical contributions and insightful managerial implications are also provided.     

Conceptualizing social entrepreneurship in the context of emerging economies: an integrative review of past research from BRIICS

Social entrepreneurship is well practiced and talked about in emerging economies. However, till date, no dedicated review and conceptual framework exists, synthesizing and integrating past social entrepreneurship research in the fast growing emerging economies, commonly known as BRIICS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa). The purpose of this article is to bridge that gap by conducting an integrative review of 123 most relevant peer-reviewed scholarly articles, filtered out of 1779 search results in six different research databases. Country-specific conceptual perspectives have been extracted and integrated to formulate a novel social entrepreneurship framework that is inclusive of five key social entrepreneurship dimensions emerging from these economies: (a) Social Welfare, (b) Social Capital, (c) Social Entrepreneur, (d) Economic Value Creation, and (e) Collective Endurance. This exercise was an initiative to facilitate the global community of social entrepreneurship researchers and practitioners in understanding the diversity, meaning, and evolution of the social entrepreneurship phenomenon in the context of emerging economies. They can advance research in this domain with the aid of the proposed framework and the research questions proposed for future research.     

Competition and cooperation in the exploitation of the groundwater resource

We study the exploitation of a common groundwater resource, first as a static and then as a differential game, in order to take into account the strategic and dynamic interactions among the users of the resource. We suppose that firms can form coalitions or can decide not to cooperate. The non-cooperation regime is characterized by pumping that lead to depletion of the aquifer; the cooperation preserves the resource. Open-loop and feedback equilibria have been computed and compared in order to characterize the existence of cooperators and defectors in water resources management.