|
on Entrepreneurship |
|
Issue of 2014‒01‒17
nine papers chosen by Marcus Dejardin University of Namur and Universite' Catholique de Louvain |
| By: | Rietveld, C.A.; Groenen, P.J.F.; Koellinger, Ph.D.; van der Loos, M.J.H.M.; Thurik, A.R. |
| Abstract: | Overconfidence has been proposed as an explanation for excess market entry by entrepreneurs and low returns in entrepreneurial activities. However, establishing that entrepreneurs are more overconfident than non-entrepreneurs requires the use of representative population samples; in addition, econometric endogeneity issues in survey data must be addressed. To overcome these methodological challenges, we use a measure of overconfidence that employs self-reports of life expectancy. These self-reports are compared to actual life spans in a large sample of the US population. We show that entrepreneurs are indeed more overconfident than non-entrepreneurs. By using fixed-effects panel regression—and thus by exploiting the longitudinal nature of our data—we provide evidence that changes in entrepreneurial status are not associated with changes in subjective life expectancy. These two findings in combination offer evidence that overconfident individuals self- select into entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, life expectancy, overconfidence, selection, self-employment |
| JEL: | D21 L20 |
| Date: | 2013–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureri:40673&r=ent |
| By: | Verheul, I.; Block, J.H.; Burmeister-Lamp, K.; Thurik, A.R.; Tiemeier, H.; Turturea, R. |
| Abstract: | Little is known about the relation between validated psychiatric symptoms scores and the entrepreneurial decision. Building on the Person-Environment (P-E) fit literature and using data of over 10,000 students, we test whether individuals with higher levels of attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD) have higher entrepreneurial career intentions compared to others. We find that students reporting higher levels of ADHD-like behavior (assessed with a symptom score on an ADHD screening scale) are more likely than their peers to display entrepreneurial intentions and become student entrepreneurs. This can be partly explained by their high need for independence and their risk tolerance. |
| Keywords: | ADHD-like behavior, entrepreneurial intentions, innovative drive, need for independence, risk tolerance |
| JEL: | J24 L26 |
| Date: | 2013–10–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureri:37266&r=ent |
| By: | Rietveld, C.A.; van Burg, E. |
| Abstract: | Religious beliefs affect the economic behavior of individuals. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between religious beliefs and entrepreneurship. Empirical evidence that entrepreneurship rates differ among religions suggests that religious beliefs influence the pursuit of entrepreneurship. However, how and which specific religious beliefs play a role in this relationship remains unknown. Therefore, we study the relation between two key religious beliefs and entrepreneurship within one specific branch of Christianity, namely, Protestantism. Using a unique sample of 756 Christian protestant entrepreneurs and employees from the Netherlands, we show that protestant entrepreneurs have a stronger belief than comparable protestant employees that their work is a calling from God and that protestant entrepreneurs are more likely to perceive a duty to add value to society through their occupational work. These results indicate that research on the relation between religion and entrepreneurship is instrumental in explaining the engagement of people in entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | Christianity, beliefs, entrepreneurship, protestantism, religion |
| JEL: | D21 L20 L26 Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureri:41554&r=ent |
| By: | Claudia Trentini (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development); Malinka Koparanova (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) |
| Abstract: | Corruption is a significant factor which determines the quality of the “doing business” environment at large. The aim of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of entrepreneurs’ corrupt behavior by looking at two questions: (1) does gender matter in corrupt behavior and (2) can corruption be an explanatory factor for gender gaps in firm growth. While it is often argued that female entrepreneurs face gender-specific challenges and might have different behaviors based on different ethics and moral standards, it is crucial to seek for empirical evidence at microeconomic level. Our results indicate that women entrepreneurs do have a significant lower propensity to bribe as compared to men entrepreneurs. Looking at the impact of corruption on employment growth, we do find a general negative impact of administrative corruption especially for micro enterprise but a positive one for women entrepreneurs. This is consistent with the fact that the majority of women are micro entrepreneurs; for them it is easier to escape the attention of corrupt officials, but greasing the wheels of state bureaucracy might become necessary and facilitate their firm’s growth. |
| Keywords: | gender, corruption, entrepreneurship, transition economies, development |
| JEL: | D73 J16 L26 O17 O57 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ece:dispap:2013_1&r=ent |
| By: | Koene, B.A.S.; Ansari, S.M. |
| Abstract: | The intersection of entrepreneurship research and institutional theory has begun to attract increasing scholarly attention. While much recent research has studied "institutional entrepreneurs" credited with creating new or transforming existing institutions to support their projects, less attention has been paid to the institutions that constitute the menus from which choices are made, and delineate resources for entrepreneurial or other agentic activities. While models of institutionalization frequently break down the process into different categorical stages, how an evolving context affords changing agentic latitude for actors merits more attention. We study the institutionalization of 'temporary work', a new employment practice led by temporary work organizations, a new organizational form in the Netherlands from the 1960s to 2008. Our account suggests an 'ecological' imagery of institutionalization; rather than entrepreneurs' with predetermined agendas shaping and reshaping institutions, we observed distributed institutional entrepreneurship – entrepreneurs seeking change in concert and in conflict with other interdependent actors simultaneously creating, disrupting and maintaining institutions. By examining how an evolving context influences the role of "actor configurations", whose actions, interactions and counteractions can collectively lead to change, but also unintended outcomes, we highlight the non-teleological nature of institutionalization. Finally, our findings suggest that while the legitimacy of a novel practice grows with increasing institutionalization, legitimacy contests may recur and that increasing institutionalization may provide the backdrop for novel practices to emerge. |
| Keywords: | change, context, institutional entrepreneurship, institutional work, institutionalization, labor market, organizational fileds, temporary work |
| JEL: | J40 M10 M12 M50 Z1 |
| Date: | 2013–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureri:40359&r=ent |
| By: | Sophie Pommet (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis [UNS]) |
| Abstract: | Using a sample of 212 IPOs, this paper analyzes the impact of venture capital involvement on the survival time of French IPOs. We find that the ability of venture capitalists to improve the survival of companies is related to the duration of their investment. We show that venture capitalists do not create additional value if investment duration is too short while longer duration allows venture capitalists to monitor the firm efficiently. Our paper provides some interesting results that qualify the findings from empirical studies that highlight the absence of a positive effect of this financing on firm performance in France. |
| Keywords: | Venture Capital, IPO, Survival, France |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00923957&r=ent |
| By: | de Vries, A.G.B.; Pennings, H.P.G.; Block, J.H. |
| Abstract: | We analyze the initial intellectual property (IP) right of 4,703 start-up entrants in the US, distinguishing between trademark and patent applications. The results show that start-ups are more likely to file for a trademark instead of a patent when entering into more competitive market structures. Further, we find that start-ups with a focus on distribution that serves end-consumers are more likely to file for a trademark and that start-ups that operate upstream and sell to other businesses are more likely to file for a patent. Lastly, the external influences on a start-up‟s management, such as the involvement of a venture capitalist (VC), affect IP applications. The increased incentive of VC-backed start-ups to become operational on the market makes them more likely to file initial IP in the form of a trademark rather than a patent. Among other factors, we control for R&D and advertising intensity in the industry and distinguish between more technical and more service-driven industries. |
| Keywords: | competition, intellectual property, patents, trademarks, venture capital |
| JEL: | D21 L10 L20 M00 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–04–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureri:39515&r=ent |
| By: | Corradi, A.A. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates critical learning episodes as landmarks in the evolution of business start-ups. A framework that combines individual learning processes with the Penrosian resource-based theory of the firm, and the concepts of search and routines from evolutionary economics provides the theoretical ground on which this study is developed. Multilevel factors, ranging from entrepreneurial agency to the institutional setting of business development services, represent different levels of analysis. These levels are connected through critical learning episodes, which are triggered by endogenous or exogenous factors and culminate in the creation of new or in the change of current organizational routines. These episodes were narrated by 43 entrepreneurs-founders through semi-structured interviews. Their business start-ups were operating for an average of 4 years (s.d.=1,9) and were linked to business incubation programmes in the two most resource-rich regions in Brazil. These start-ups were in three sectors: a) manufacturing, b) information and communication, and c) professional, scientific and technical activities. The analysis of these narratives combined qualitative (i.e., grounded theory principles) and quantitative (i.e., social networks analysis) techniques. This paper focusses on the most common type of critical learning episode: entry and survival in the market (n=36 start-ups). Results show how micro-processes of learning influence access and creation of resources at the firm level. A temporal analysis of networks configurations shows how processes of embeddedness in market relations influence intra- and inter-organizational dynamics. It is argued that critical learning episodes, for combining multiple factors and levels of analysis, are a useful theoretical and analytical tool to better understand the evolution of these businesses. In addition to this, issues of path-breaking and innovation are discussed in light of institutionalized practices of business development services. |
| Keywords: | critical learning episodes, evolution of business start-ups, mixed methods, organizational learning, organizational routines, social networks |
| Date: | 2013–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:euriss:40110&r=ent |
| By: | Christophe Nordman (IRD, UMR 225 DIAL); Julia Vaillant (World Bank, Université Paris Dauphine, LEDa UMR 225 DIAL, IRD) |
| Abstract: | (english) We use a representative sample of informal entrepreneurs in Madagascar to add new evidence on the magnitude of the gender performance gap. After controlling for business and entrepreneur characteristics, female-owned businesses exhibit a value added 28 percent lower than their male counterparts. Correcting for endogenous selection into informal self-employment raises the gap by 5 percentage points. We then investigate the role of sharing norms and gender-differentiated allocation of time within the household in the gender performance gap, by estimating their effect on the technical inefficiency of female and male entrepreneurs. Only male entrepreneurs seem subject to pressure to redistribute from the distant network. Our findings are consistent with situations where women working at home would essentially feel negatively the burden of their own community due to intense social norms and obligations in their workplace but also of domestic chores and responsibilities. We find evidence of females self-selecting themselves into industries in which they can combine marketoriented and domestic activities._________________________________ (français) Nous utilisons un échantillon représentatif d’entrepreneurs informels à Antananarivo, Madagascar, pour mesurer et expliquer l'existence d'un écart de performance entre les unités de production informelles dirigées par des hommes et celles dirigées par des femmes. Une fois pris en compte les niveaux des facteurs de production, de capital humain, le secteur d'activité, l'année et la sélection endogène dans l'entreprenariat, l'écart de valeur ajoutée entre les entreprises féminines et masculines est d’environ 33%, au détriment des femmes. Nous étudions ensuite l’impact différencié des normes de partages au sein de la communauté et de la répartition des tâches au sein du ménage sur la capacité des hommes et des femmes entrepreneurs à atteindre leur frontière de production. Notre analyse suggère que seuls les entrepreneurs masculins sont sujets à la pression à la redistribution de la part du réseau distant. Pour les femmes, opérer une activité à domicile n’est pas un handicap en soi, mais cela agit plutôt comme un vecteur de transmission des effets négatifs des normes sociales et de répartition des tâches sur la gestion de l’entreprise. Nos résultats sont compatibles avec des situations dans lesquelles les femmes entrepreneures opérant une activité à domicile ressentiraient davantage le poids de leur propre communauté, sans doute à cause de normes de solidarité contraignantes, mais aussi à cause de leurs responsabilités domestiques. |
| Keywords: | Gender, entrepreneurship, informal sector, sharing norms, household composition, Madagascar, Genre, entreprenariat, secteur informel, normes de partage, allocation du temps au sein des ménages. |
| JEL: | D13 D61 O12 J16 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt201315&r=ent |