I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jena, Germany and a research fellow at the DFG Graduate School “Economics of Innovative Change” (DFG-GRK 1411), funded by the German Research Foundation. I received my PhD in Economics from the University of Jena, studying determinants and effects of technology entrepreneurship. My research interests include digital innovation, labor mobility, and economic inequality. My current research focuses on determinants of the fear of automation as well as the diffusion of robot technology as driver of labor mobility. Address: Jena, Thüringen, Germany
ABSTRACT What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneur... more ABSTRACT What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneurship? It was expected that social identity affects the cognitive processes that, according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), underlie the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on academic scientists' intentions to commercialize research knowledge, we investigated social identity (scientists' group identification with their workplace peers in academia) as a moderator in the TPB model. Our hypotheses were tested in a sample of 488 German scientists. The data revealed that entrepreneurial intentions were predicted by attitude, social norms, and perceived control and that group identification was negatively associated with perceived control. Multi-group structural equation modeling further showed that group identification moderated the TPB-intention link. Scientists with low group identification based their entrepreneurial intentions not so much on social norms and attitudes but on their self-initiative and control beliefs. Among scientists with high group identification, in turn, entrepreneurial intentions were mainly a function of social norms. These results, in sum, illustrate the long-neglected importance of identification with, and social cohesion within, peer groups at the workplace for the transition to entrepreneurship.
Unternehmensausgründungen (Spin-Offs) aus Hochschulen oder Forschungsorganisationen werden intens... more Unternehmensausgründungen (Spin-Offs) aus Hochschulen oder Forschungsorganisationen werden intensiv gefördert, weil sie als innovativ gelten, Wissen und Technologien direkt in den Markt umsetzen und strukturverändernd wirken können. Bei Fallstudien mit 20 deutschen akademischen Spin-Offs fanden die Autoren zwar erfolgreiche Ausgründungen, aber nur wenige, die zum schnellen Strukturwandel betragen könnten. Aus Interviews mit Gründern, Investoren, Beratern oder mit Vertretern der Wissenschaftsorganisationen entwickelten die Autoren Erklärungen, Kriterien und Indikatoren für Erfolg und Misserfolg der Ausgründungen. Die Gründer selbst verfolgen zwar oft technologisch anspruchsvolle, meistens jedoch nur bescheidene wirtschaftliche Ziele. Sie streben häufig langsames, stetiges Wachstum an, möglichst ohne Venture Capital oder Bankkredite. Die Firmengründer - zumeist hochkarätige Naturwissenschaftler oder Ingenieure - bringen selten kaufmännisches Know-how mit und entwickeln nicht immer rea...
There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people ... more There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people than by individuals (Francis & Sandberg 2000). Moreover, team started businesses account for a disproportionately larger number of fast-growing firms (Bird 1989). Despite its obvious importance to entrepreneurship research, a sizeable gap exists in the normative and empirical literature on the subject of start-up
Previous research on entrepreneurial teams has failed to settle the controversy over whether team... more Previous research on entrepreneurial teams has failed to settle the controversy over whether team heterogeneity helps or hinders new venture performance. Reconciling this inconsistency, this paper suggests a new conceptual approach to disentangle differential effects of team heterogeneity by modeling two separate heterogeneity dimensions, namely knowledge scope and knowledge disparity. Analyzing unique data on functional experiences of the members of
We analyze longitudinal data on innovative start-up projects and apply Lazear’s jack-of-all-trade... more We analyze longitudinal data on innovative start-up projects and apply Lazear’s jack-of-all-trades theory to investigate the effect of nascent entrepreneurs’ balanced skills on their progress in the venture creation process. Our results suggest that those nascent entrepreneurs who exhibit a sufficiently broad set of skills undertake more gestation activities towards an operational new venture. This supports the notion that a
Are heterogeneous new venture teams more successful than homogenously compounded teams, or is it ... more Are heterogeneous new venture teams more successful than homogenously compounded teams, or is it the other way around? Some scholars regard heterogeneous teams as more effective in solving non-routine problems because of the broader knowledge scope. However, heterogeneous teams may suffer from disparity, which leads to communication problems and poor strategic decision making. Therefore, heterogeneity is often regarded as a
► We investigate scientists’ intentions to found a new business and founding behavior. ► Ef... more ► We investigate scientists’ intentions to found a new business and founding behavior. ► Effects of economic variables via the theory of planned behavior are tested. ► Human and social capitals exert both direct and indirect effects on intentions. ► Expected entrepreneurial benefits exert only indirect effects on intentions. ► Intentions forecast entrepreneurial behavior but certain barriers play a role.
This study investigates academic entrepreneurial intentions (AEI), which we define as scientists&... more This study investigates academic entrepreneurial intentions (AEI), which we define as scientists' intentions to start their own business in order to market their research knowledge. Applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we develop and test a path model consisting of proximal and distal predictors of AEI. Entrepreneurial attitudes, norms, and control perceptions are examined as proximal predictors. Taking into account potential background factors described in the TBP, scientists' human and social capital variables are studied as distal predictors. Findings are derived from a path analysis utilizing archival and survey data on German scientists (N = 496). We find that attitudes and perceived control predicted AEI, whereas subjective norms have no effect. Human and social capitals exhibit indirect effects on AEI via entrepreneurial attitudes and control perceptions. In addition, direct effects of both capitals on AEI show up significantly. Our study contributes to the ...
There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people ... more There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people than by individuals (Francis & Sandberg 2000). Moreover, team started businesses account for a disproportionately larger number of fast-growing firms (Bird 1989). Despite its obvious importance to entrepreneurship research, a sizeable gap exists in the normative and empirical literature on the subject of start-up teams (Cooney 2005). As yet, our knowledge about the relationship between team heterogeneity and firm performance is sparse and inconsistent. Heterogeneous teams are regarded as more effective in solving complex, non-routine problems (Chowdhury 2005), while at the same time scholars suggest that homogeneity of venture teams may lead to better outcomes given that team members are more likely to share a common language and knowledge base (Jackson et al. 1991). We add to this burgeoning literature by focusing on the influence of four indicators of a team’s functional heterogeneity ...
ABSTRACT What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneur... more ABSTRACT What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneurship? It was expected that social identity affects the cognitive processes that, according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), underlie the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on academic scientists' intentions to commercialize research knowledge, we investigated social identity (scientists' group identification with their workplace peers in academia) as a moderator in the TPB model. Our hypotheses were tested in a sample of 488 German scientists. The data revealed that entrepreneurial intentions were predicted by attitude, social norms, and perceived control and that group identification was negatively associated with perceived control. Multi-group structural equation modeling further showed that group identification moderated the TPB-intention link. Scientists with low group identification based their entrepreneurial intentions not so much on social norms and attitudes but on their self-initiative and control beliefs. Among scientists with high group identification, in turn, entrepreneurial intentions were mainly a function of social norms. These results, in sum, illustrate the long-neglected importance of identification with, and social cohesion within, peer groups at the workplace for the transition to entrepreneurship.
Unternehmensausgründungen (Spin-Offs) aus Hochschulen oder Forschungsorganisationen werden intens... more Unternehmensausgründungen (Spin-Offs) aus Hochschulen oder Forschungsorganisationen werden intensiv gefördert, weil sie als innovativ gelten, Wissen und Technologien direkt in den Markt umsetzen und strukturverändernd wirken können. Bei Fallstudien mit 20 deutschen akademischen Spin-Offs fanden die Autoren zwar erfolgreiche Ausgründungen, aber nur wenige, die zum schnellen Strukturwandel betragen könnten. Aus Interviews mit Gründern, Investoren, Beratern oder mit Vertretern der Wissenschaftsorganisationen entwickelten die Autoren Erklärungen, Kriterien und Indikatoren für Erfolg und Misserfolg der Ausgründungen. Die Gründer selbst verfolgen zwar oft technologisch anspruchsvolle, meistens jedoch nur bescheidene wirtschaftliche Ziele. Sie streben häufig langsames, stetiges Wachstum an, möglichst ohne Venture Capital oder Bankkredite. Die Firmengründer - zumeist hochkarätige Naturwissenschaftler oder Ingenieure - bringen selten kaufmännisches Know-how mit und entwickeln nicht immer rea...
There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people ... more There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people than by individuals (Francis & Sandberg 2000). Moreover, team started businesses account for a disproportionately larger number of fast-growing firms (Bird 1989). Despite its obvious importance to entrepreneurship research, a sizeable gap exists in the normative and empirical literature on the subject of start-up
Previous research on entrepreneurial teams has failed to settle the controversy over whether team... more Previous research on entrepreneurial teams has failed to settle the controversy over whether team heterogeneity helps or hinders new venture performance. Reconciling this inconsistency, this paper suggests a new conceptual approach to disentangle differential effects of team heterogeneity by modeling two separate heterogeneity dimensions, namely knowledge scope and knowledge disparity. Analyzing unique data on functional experiences of the members of
We analyze longitudinal data on innovative start-up projects and apply Lazear’s jack-of-all-trade... more We analyze longitudinal data on innovative start-up projects and apply Lazear’s jack-of-all-trades theory to investigate the effect of nascent entrepreneurs’ balanced skills on their progress in the venture creation process. Our results suggest that those nascent entrepreneurs who exhibit a sufficiently broad set of skills undertake more gestation activities towards an operational new venture. This supports the notion that a
Are heterogeneous new venture teams more successful than homogenously compounded teams, or is it ... more Are heterogeneous new venture teams more successful than homogenously compounded teams, or is it the other way around? Some scholars regard heterogeneous teams as more effective in solving non-routine problems because of the broader knowledge scope. However, heterogeneous teams may suffer from disparity, which leads to communication problems and poor strategic decision making. Therefore, heterogeneity is often regarded as a
► We investigate scientists’ intentions to found a new business and founding behavior. ► Ef... more ► We investigate scientists’ intentions to found a new business and founding behavior. ► Effects of economic variables via the theory of planned behavior are tested. ► Human and social capitals exert both direct and indirect effects on intentions. ► Expected entrepreneurial benefits exert only indirect effects on intentions. ► Intentions forecast entrepreneurial behavior but certain barriers play a role.
This study investigates academic entrepreneurial intentions (AEI), which we define as scientists&... more This study investigates academic entrepreneurial intentions (AEI), which we define as scientists' intentions to start their own business in order to market their research knowledge. Applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we develop and test a path model consisting of proximal and distal predictors of AEI. Entrepreneurial attitudes, norms, and control perceptions are examined as proximal predictors. Taking into account potential background factors described in the TBP, scientists' human and social capital variables are studied as distal predictors. Findings are derived from a path analysis utilizing archival and survey data on German scientists (N = 496). We find that attitudes and perceived control predicted AEI, whereas subjective norms have no effect. Human and social capitals exhibit indirect effects on AEI via entrepreneurial attitudes and control perceptions. In addition, direct effects of both capitals on AEI show up significantly. Our study contributes to the ...
There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people ... more There is a general consensus that high-tech start-ups are more often created by groups of people than by individuals (Francis & Sandberg 2000). Moreover, team started businesses account for a disproportionately larger number of fast-growing firms (Bird 1989). Despite its obvious importance to entrepreneurship research, a sizeable gap exists in the normative and empirical literature on the subject of start-up teams (Cooney 2005). As yet, our knowledge about the relationship between team heterogeneity and firm performance is sparse and inconsistent. Heterogeneous teams are regarded as more effective in solving complex, non-routine problems (Chowdhury 2005), while at the same time scholars suggest that homogeneity of venture teams may lead to better outcomes given that team members are more likely to share a common language and knowledge base (Jackson et al. 1991). We add to this burgeoning literature by focusing on the influence of four indicators of a team’s functional heterogeneity ...
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