Identifying and analysing the drivers of heterogeneity among ecosystem builder accelerators

In response to convergent and dynamic market developments, established firms use corporate accelerators to open their innovation processes to start‐ups. Among different accelerator themes, the ecosystem builder theme introduced by recent research plays a crucial role in furthering our understanding of the heterogeneity of accelerators due to its broad objectives. By interviewing 20 leading experts from 16 German corporate accelerators, we first identify heterogeneity among different ecosystem builder accelerators based on the differences in the process of selection, business support, and graduation. Second, we further structure the observed heterogeneity by depicting five different ecosystem builder accelerator types instead of a single ecosystem builder theme. These ecosystem builder accelerator types show important differences and similarities in terms of strategies, design elements, and processes within each of the process steps. Our findings hold meaningful research and managerial implications by providing (1) a consistent and systematic conceptual understanding about ecosystem builder accelerators, their strategies, design elements, and processes and (2) guidance to design and position ecosystem builder accelerators with regard to a long‐term corporate strategy.     

The trilemma of a monetary union: Another impossible trinity

A monetary union among autonomous countries cannot simultaneously maintain an independent monetary policy, national fiscal sovereignty and a no-bailout clause. These three features make up an impossible trinity, and attempts to preserve all three concurrently will ultimately end in failure. In order to save EMU, one of these three must be abandoned.     

When arm's length is too far: Relationship banking over the credit cycle

We conduct face-to-face interviews with bank chief executive officers to classify 397 banks across 21 countries as relationship or transaction lenders. We then use the geographic coordinates of these banks’ branches and of 14,100 businesses to analyze how the lending techniques of banks near firms are related to credit constraints at two contrasting points of the credit cycle. We find that while relationship lending is not associated with credit constraints during a credit boom, it alleviates such constraints during a downturn. This positive role of relationship lending is stronger for small and opaque firms and in regions with a more severe economic downturn. Moreover, relationship lending mitigates the impact of a downturn on firm growth and does not constitute evergreening of loans.     

Black-Scholes Revisited: Some Important Details

The traditional derivation of the Black-Scholes formula is mathematically unsatisfactory. In this paper, the problems associated with the traditional derivation are pointed out and an alternative, more rigorous derivation is presented.     

Institution building and growth in transition economies

Drawing on the recent literature on economic institutions and the origins of economic development, we offer a political economy explanation of why institution building has varied so much across transition economies. We identify dependence on natural resources and the historical experience of these countries during socialism as major determinants of institution building during transition. Using natural resource reliance and the years under socialism to extract the exogenous component of institution building, we also show the importance of institutions in explaining the variation in economic development and growth across transition economies during the first decade of transition.     

Eine allgemeine kommunale Wohnungsteuer als Alternative zu kommunalen Bagatellsteuern

Die Kommunen leiden nicht erst seit der Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise unter zunehmenden Finanzierungsproblemen. Sie versuchen, diese durch die Erhebung von Bagatellsteuern zu l?sen. Erfolgversprechender w?re eine Steuer, die beitrags?hnlichen Charakter hat und an Konsumausgaben mit hoher Einkommenselastizit?t ansetzt. Deshalb schlagen die Autoren eine Steuer auf die Bruttokaltmiete vor.