The characterization of how entrepreneurial a region or country is, has generally been shaped by a narrow view of what actually constitutes entrepreneurship. In the case of Germany, this has led to a characterization of Germany as not... more
The characterization of how entrepreneurial a region or country is, has generally been shaped by a narrow view of what actually constitutes entrepreneurship. In the case of Germany, this has led to a characterization of Germany as not being particularly entrepreneurial. Such a view is at odds with the remarkable, high-performing family business, widely held to be the backbone of the economy. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the interpretation prevalent in entrepreneurship literature is problematic due to a too narrow operationalization of the entrepreneurship concept. As Zahra (2007; 2014) emphasized, context matters for entrepreneurship, especially on a local or spatial level. One particular organizational manifestation of entrepreneurship, family business, may be congruent in specific spatial and institutional contexts but not in others. Other geographic and institutional contexts may be congruent with the contrasting startups. Thus, an important and novel contribution...
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The question why venture capitalists syndicate their deals has been attracting growing attention. The paper analyses how the motives of two types of venture capitalists do differ. Focusing on information costs it expects that venture... more
The question why venture capitalists syndicate their deals has been attracting growing attention. The paper analyses how the motives of two types of venture capitalists do differ. Focusing on information costs it expects that venture capitalists with the standard basic know-how in founding and financing new enterprises syndicate to get access to specific knowledge while venture capitalists with specific knowledge concerning a certain industry or financing stage syndicate to get access to deal flow. Hypotheses are tested via a dataset of 103 venture capitalists in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Carola Jungwirth, Chair of Strategic Management and Business Policy, Plattenstrasse 14, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland. E-mail: carola.jungwirth@isu.unizh.ch
Im Kontext wirtschaftlicher Globalisierungsprozesse wird das Auslandsstudium als immer wichtiger erachtet. Fachspezifische Unterschiede werden in der Literatur hierbei haufig uber Einstellungsdifferenzen erklart. Systematische empirische... more
Im Kontext wirtschaftlicher Globalisierungsprozesse wird das Auslandsstudium als immer wichtiger erachtet. Fachspezifische Unterschiede werden in der Literatur hierbei haufig uber Einstellungsdifferenzen erklart. Systematische empirische Uberprufungen finden sich indes selten. In dem Beitrag wird mithilfe einfacher handlungstheoretischer Uberlegungen argumentiert, dass fachspezifische Unterschiede im Auslandsstudium auf unterschiedlichen Nutzenerwartungen beruhen. Mithilfe von Daten aus einer PAPI-Umfrage unter Studierenden der Wirtschafts- und Ingenieurwissenschaften der Universitat Siegen werden die Annahmen vorlaufig gepruft. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass die fachspezifischen Unterschiede in der Intention zum Auslandsstudium auch auf unterschiedliche Nutzenerwartungen der Studierenden zuruckzufuhren sind.
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Innovativen Wachstumsunternehmen steht mit dem Crowdinvesting in Deutschland seit 2011 eine neuartige Finanzierungsmethode zur Verfugung. Hierbei versuchen die meist jungen Unternehmen durch einen gezielten offentlichen Aufruf eine breite... more
Innovativen Wachstumsunternehmen steht mit dem Crowdinvesting in Deutschland seit 2011 eine neuartige Finanzierungsmethode zur Verfugung. Hierbei versuchen die meist jungen Unternehmen durch einen gezielten offentlichen Aufruf eine breite Masse privater Investoren anzusprechen. Basierend auf einer umfangreichen Datenbank sowie einer Unternehmensbefragung zeigen wir erste Entwicklungslinien eines im Wachstum begriffenen Marktes auf. Dabei wird deutlich, dass Unternehmer sich im Vorfeld bewusst fur das Crowdinvesting entscheiden, obwohl ihnen Alternativen zur Verfugung stehen. Allgemein harmoniert die Finanzierungsform dabei mit etablierten Arten der Fruhphasenfinanzierung. Zudem ist festzustellen, dass die Bestandsfestigkeit der Unternehmen zwar oberhalb des Bundesdurchschnitts liegt, die zum Finanzierungszeitpunkt getroffenen Prognosen jedoch verfehlt werden.
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Signaling theory has been widely used to explain phenomena in personnel selection processes. The present study adds to this perspective on personnel selection by applying signaling theory to personnel selection processes in family firms,... more
Signaling theory has been widely used to explain phenomena in personnel selection processes. The present study adds to this perspective on personnel selection by applying signaling theory to personnel selection processes in family firms, focusing on the selection of internal successors. We investigate if and how signaling takes place in these processes. We apply a multiple case study approach using interview data from twenty German family firms. We find that signaling does take place in these processes and build propositions related to the signals sent, the signaling frame, and the signaling game. We find that predecessor and potential successors exchange signals over a long period of time to reduce information asymmetries and legitimate the selection of a successor. Moreover, we show that signals are sent in the family context as well as in business context and change over time. We identify hard to fake and costly signals and discuss how these signals and the signaling game influence the internal successor selection process. We further discuss implications and limitations of the present study.
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Aus der Analyse des Forschungsstandes und aus den theoretischen Uberlegungen kann angenommen werden, dass eine Beziehung zwischen Investitionen in Humankapital und dem Grundungserfolg besteht. Im Folgenden widmet sich daher das... more
Aus der Analyse des Forschungsstandes und aus den theoretischen Uberlegungen kann angenommen werden, dass eine Beziehung zwischen Investitionen in Humankapital und dem Grundungserfolg besteht. Im Folgenden widmet sich daher das vorliegende vierte Kapitel der Analyse, ob empirische Befunde die Evidenz fur die aufgestellte Vermutung des Zusammenhangs von Investitionen in Humankapital und Grundungserfolg liefern und somit die Humankapitaltheorie einen erkenntnissteigernden Beitrag innerhalb der Grundungs- und Erfolgsfaktorenforschung liefern kann. Daruber hinaus ist es von grosem Untersuchungsinteresse, welche partiellen und komplementaren Effekte sich in Bezug auf unterschiedliche Erfolgsindikatoren zeigen, d.h., welche Investitionen in Humankapital und vor allem welche Kombinationen den starksten Einfluss generieren und welche von geringerem Belang sind. Nachfolgend wird daher zunachst auf die Datenbasis fur die empirische Untersuchung eingegangen. Im Anschluss daran folgen die Operationalisierung der zu untersuchenden Variablen und schlieslich die empirische Uberprufung der aufgestellten Hypothesen.
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Das Thema Unternehmensgrundungen von Akademikern wurde in der Vergangenheit bereits von zahlreichen Autoren u ntersucht. Der uberwiegende Teil der Studien legt den Fokus der Analyse auf die personlichen und umfeldbedingten... more
Das Thema Unternehmensgrundungen von Akademikern wurde in der Vergangenheit bereits von zahlreichen Autoren u ntersucht. Der uberwiegende Teil der Studien legt den Fokus der Analyse auf die personlichen und umfeldbedingten Einflussfaktoren, das Existenzgrundungsangebot an Hochschulen und den beruflichen Verbleib der Absolventen. Unter Studien werden in diesem Kontext isolierbare Einzelerhebungen verstanden. Insgesamt wurden 21 Erhebungen in die Betrachtung miteinbezogen, deren Ergebnisse in vielerlei Hinsicht betrachtliche Varianzen aufweisen.
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The paper presents two computer-supported learning environments which are built on top metadata defined in XML; a comprehensive study environment for a Talmudic tractate and a video based learning environment called Virtual... more
The paper presents two computer-supported learning environments which are built on top metadata defined in XML; a comprehensive study environment for a Talmudic tractate and a video based learning environment called Virtual Entrepreneurship lab used in entrepreneurship education. While expressive metadata standards like MPEG-7 help us technically to implement multimedia learning environments by offering comprehensive coverage of all needed aspects, the century spanning editing process of knowledge ...
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... literature. An overview about the literature addressing religious economics in ... However, Elvira was a local council which affected only the Iberian part of the church. A more general ... Up to the fifth century Roman culture... more
... literature. An overview about the literature addressing religious economics in ... However, Elvira was a local council which affected only the Iberian part of the church. A more general ... Up to the fifth century Roman culture dominated the Catholic Church. The ...
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Entrepreneurship has been claimed to matter and deserve priority because it has been linked to some of the most compelling economic and social issues of our time. This paper suggests that entrepreneurship is also inextricably linked to a... more
Entrepreneurship has been claimed to matter and deserve priority because it has been linked to some of the most compelling economic and social issues of our time. This paper suggests that entrepreneurship is also inextricably linked to a fundamental value common among the western developed economies, democracy. Three distinct contexts are examined to link democracy to entrepreneurship, two historical and one contemporary. The first is National Socialism in Germany, which emerged by suppressing both entrepreneurship and democracy. The second is the rise of the Trusts, or dominant large corporations and concomitant decline of small business in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Finally, both measurement and perception suggest a decline in democracy as well as entrepreneurship in the contemporary era. These concerns are only exacerbated in the current Covid-19 crisis. The paper concludes that an important policy mandate for entrepreneurship may be to ensure the ind...
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Die Papier GmbH ist ein Familienunternehmen, das sich in vielerlei Hinsicht im Umbruch befindet. Einerseits fuhren Probleme innerhalb der Familie zu Streitigkeiten im Nachfolgeprozess, andererseits fuhrt ein veraltetes Produktportfolio... more
Die Papier GmbH ist ein Familienunternehmen, das sich in vielerlei Hinsicht im Umbruch befindet. Einerseits fuhren Probleme innerhalb der Familie zu Streitigkeiten im Nachfolgeprozess, andererseits fuhrt ein veraltetes Produktportfolio und der steigende Druck der Digitalisierung zu sinkendem Umsatz. Das Unternehmen wird bis jetzt durch den konservativen und patriarchal gepragten Vater gefuhrt, welcher eigentlich den Ruhestand antreten mochte. Eine interne Ubergabe an die Kinder ware moglich, wird jedoch durch unterschiedliche Zielsetzungen und Verhaltensweisen der einzelnen Parteien erschwert. Die Tochter, motiviert das Unternehmen weiterzufuhren, wunscht sich aufgrund ihres akademischen Hintergrunds radikale Anderungen, welche nicht mit dem Unternehmensleitbild des Vaters ubereinstimmen. Der Sohn, bereits im Betrieb etabliert, geniest eine komfortable Stellung im Unternehmen und hinterfragt den Status Quo nicht. Die Familiensituation und das Unternehmen sind gezeichnet durch den Ko...
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We follow the general extension of agency theory discussion concerning family businesses to gain deeper insights into the underlying information asymmetries in family businesses. By doing so, we ob...
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Kaficho is the youngest of three Ethiopians, from an outspoken family who were engaged in political clashes with the government. His journey to refuge is unique in the sense that he undertook postgraduate studies in Germany, returning to... more
Kaficho is the youngest of three Ethiopians, from an outspoken family who were engaged in political clashes with the government. His journey to refuge is unique in the sense that he undertook postgraduate studies in Germany, returning to Ethiopia with the intention of starting a family there with his wife. As his tourism company grew, when he returned to it in 2010, he entered into partnership. He also held a position at a university near Addis Ababa, but soon started to face political pressure to join the ruling party or suffer the consequences. In 2013, this pressure led him to abandon the idea of staying in Ethiopia, and he fled the country, successfully immigrating into Germany. Not being able to find employment in Heidelberg, he established “Kaficho Trading” in 2015, which is a transnational business-to-business sole proprietorship for small machinery and coffee.
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This study examines the influence of organizational psychological capital on the performance of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) during crises. We argue that SMEs use their intangible resources to cope with difficult situations... more
This study examines the influence of organizational psychological capital on the performance of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) during crises. We argue that SMEs use their intangible resources to cope with difficult situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we investigate how organizational psychological capital impacts performance and creative innovation through such intangible resources, namely, organizational citizenship behavior, solidarity, and cooperation. Methodologically, we combine structural equation modelling and regression analysis on a dataset of 379 SMEs. Our results support the notion that organizational psychological capital positively influences creative innovation of SMEs and thus performance during crises. Our research contributes to the organizational behavior literature by showing that psychological resources of SMEs can strengthen performance in times of crisis and help to prepare for future ones.
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PurposeDrawing on human capital (HC) and social capital (SC) as well as the Jack-of-all-trades theory, this paper aims to clarify the relationship between international assignments (IAs) of employees and their entrepreneurial intentions.... more
PurposeDrawing on human capital (HC) and social capital (SC) as well as the Jack-of-all-trades theory, this paper aims to clarify the relationship between international assignments (IAs) of employees and their entrepreneurial intentions. The study proposes that such IAs provide specific environmental features which may enable employees to build up diverse skills and network relations conducive to entrepreneuship.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data using an online survey, targeting professionals and managers in Germany and Switzerland. They used 223 complete responses. Before data collection, they ensured the suitability of their questionnaire by employing well-tested scales and consulted independent experts in survey design and methodology. They tested their hypotheses by applying multiple mediation modeling.FindingsAs hypothesized, the authors find empirical evidence that diverse skills and network relationships as well as poor career prospects, positively mediate...
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University spin-offs (USOs) are an important driver for innovation, along with economic and social development. Hence, understanding which factors help them perform successfully is crucial, especially regarding their peculiarities in a... more
University spin-offs (USOs) are an important driver for innovation, along with economic and social development. Hence, understanding which factors help them perform successfully is crucial, especially regarding their peculiarities in a scientific environment. This study focuses on essential factors such as team composition and diversity in USOs in the biotech sector in 64 founding teams in Switzerland and Germany. By identifying the team composition, and going beyond the usual team characteristics, along with checking in parallel for network and financing effects, the paper adds empirical evidence to the ongoing debate if and how team diversity in USOs affects the performance of this special group of newly founded firms. We test our hypotheses with the partial least squares method (PLS). Our results from the mediation model show how the diversity of teams is related to networks and financial resources and affects the performance. In addition, our study reveals the direct and indirec...
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This study examines the influence of individual owner-manager values on the different dimensions of socioemotional wealth in family firms. We argue that values of owner-managers in family firms are one of the underlying motivators for... more
This study examines the influence of individual owner-manager values on the different dimensions of socioemotional wealth in family firms. We argue that values of owner-managers in family firms are one of the underlying motivators for socioemotional wealth behavior and used structural equation modeling to test the assumed connection. The results of our data set with 1,003 cases show, in accordance with Schwartz’s value dimensions, that social- and person-oriented values influence different dimensions of the FIBER scale. Our findings help understand the importance of individual values, advance socioemotional wealth research, and contribute to the understanding of family firm behavior.
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The often long-lasting process of intrafamily business succession involves contracts for management and ownership transfer that unfold in a complex series of stages. The older and larger a family business, the more heterogeneous the... more
The often long-lasting process of intrafamily business succession involves contracts for management and ownership transfer that unfold in a complex series of stages. The older and larger a family business, the more heterogeneous the involved family members’ interactions and interests can become. These differences become obvious in the succession process. Also, in entrepreneurial families, information is not easy to obtain and is neither perfect nor unlimited, for example, with regard to expectations regarding the duration or the type of business succession. Information asymmetries can arise. This article investigates the drivers of information asymmetries and provides insight into the current research by investigating information asymmetries and their impact during different phases of intrafamily business succession. Data from 215 German firms reveal the occurrence of specific information asymmetries during different phases of intrafamily business succession. JEL CLASSIFICATION M1; ...
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ABSTRACT The advantage of specialisation in venture capital financing makes the presence of generalists perplexing. In order to understand their function, the authors investigate the knowledge resource bases of both generalists and... more
ABSTRACT The advantage of specialisation in venture capital financing makes the presence of generalists perplexing. In order to understand their function, the authors investigate the knowledge resource bases of both generalists and specialists, the types of enterprises they select, and their corresponding support strategies. Arguing that differences in strategy can be attributed to differences in knowledge, the authors hypothesise that specialists select high-tech projects — generalists, on the other hand, select low-tech projects. Specialists support ‘hands-off’ — generalist support ‘hands-on’. These hypotheses are tested with a dataset of 103 venture capitalists in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The empirical results from OLS-regressions show a close relationship between knowledge and selection as well as support strategies. These results invite further research on differences in venture capitalists’ strategies as they relate to differences in knowledge.
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1. Current situation and basic idea Constant growth in economic internationalisation prompts major corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alike to recruit adequate ranks of qualified employees. Moreover, companies have... more
1. Current situation and basic idea Constant growth in economic internationalisation prompts major corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alike to recruit adequate ranks of qualified employees. Moreover, companies have to retain these employees - in the bids to survive in the marketplace and in the face of competition. In this context, companies vie for with one another for
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ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of German labour market regulations on the willingness of labour market entrants to start their own business. We study the legal situation, the actual and the perceived constraints imposed on... more
ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of German labour market regulations on the willingness of labour market entrants to start their own business. We study the legal situation, the actual and the perceived constraints imposed on businesses as well as the actual flexibility available of start-ups. We find strong evidence that labour market regulations are often misperceived in Germany. Furthermore, these misperceptions distort the willingness to become selfemployed. Start-ups are de jure hardly affected by labour market regulations because of a large number of exemptions. They are able to use a number of flexibility measures and thereby avoid regulatory restrictions. However, perceptions are quite the opposite, particularly in legal areas with high media coverage. This leads to a strong reluctance of labour market entrants to consider a start-up. Thus, measures aiming at increasing entrepreneurship should place strong emphasis on accurate knowledge of regulatory constraints and particularly in Germany, on less sceptical media coverage.
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The focus of the paper is on human capital as the key factor for the success and growth of a newly founded company. The findings suggest that investments in human capital have significant influence on the growth of start-ups. The results... more
The focus of the paper is on human capital as the key factor for the success and growth of a newly founded company. The findings suggest that investments in human capital have significant influence on the growth of start-ups. The results should lead universities, politicians as well as individuals to a better education for potential founders to generate more successful
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Die Zahl der Personen im Alter zwischen 30 und 50 Jahren wird zwischen 2010 und 2020 um etwa 15% zurückgehen. Da Unternehmensnachfolger bislang vor allem aus dieser Altersgruppe stammen, ist fraglich, ob zukünftig genügend Personen... more
Die Zahl der Personen im Alter zwischen 30 und 50 Jahren wird zwischen 2010 und 2020 um etwa 15% zurückgehen. Da Unternehmensnachfolger bislang vor allem aus dieser Altersgruppe stammen, ist fraglich, ob zukünftig genügend Personen vorhanden sein werden, die Interesse an der Übernahme von mittelständischen Unternehmen haben werden. Diese Frage stand im Zentrum der Studie. Aufbauend auf einer Analyse des Existenzgründungs- und Nachfolgegeschehens in den Jahren 2000 bis 2009 wurden die bis 2020 anstehenden Existenzgründungen, Übergaben und Übernahmen im Mittelstand und im Handwerk mit unterschiedlichen Prognoseverfahren geschätzt. Dabei kommen die Autoren zu dem Ergebnis, dass sich die Zahl der vor der Übergabe stehenden Unternehmen bis zum Jahr 2020 erhöhen wird, mit einer generellen Nachfolgelücke jedoch kaum zu rechnen ist.
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... entrepreneurs/employers and the willingness to become self-employed. As other studies show, individuals' early entrepreneurial intention or willingness is the single best predictor for later realentrepreneurial behaviour and... more
... entrepreneurs/employers and the willingness to become self-employed. As other studies show, individuals' early entrepreneurial intention or willingness is the single best predictor for later realentrepreneurial behaviour and action like starting a business, (Villanueva et al. ...
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ABSTRACT The role of team size and dynamics in the internationalisation process of new ventures has received little attention in entrepreneurship literature so far. We hope to fill this gap by investigating how team formation and the... more
ABSTRACT The role of team size and dynamics in the internationalisation process of new ventures has received little attention in entrepreneurship literature so far. We hope to fill this gap by investigating how team formation and the intertemporal dynamics of teams in the first years of new ventures affect their propensity for early-stage-internationalisation. Using the resource-based view and matching theory, our study generates new insights in this field regarding productivity effects. Using regression models for binary outcome variables, we test our hypotheses with a data set of start-ups that are either internationalised or not (Cologne Founder Study). We find that new ventures with productive matched teams will overcome barriers to internationalisation easier than single person start-ups. In particular, we can show that a variation in team size (a decrease) enhances the productivity of the management and increases the probability to internationalise.
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I modify the uniform-price auction rules in allowing the seller to ration bidders. This allows me to provide a strategic foundation for underpricing when the seller has an interest in ownership dispersion. Moreover, many of the so-called... more
I modify the uniform-price auction rules in allowing the seller to ration bidders. This allows me to provide a strategic foundation for underpricing when the seller has an interest in ownership dispersion. Moreover, many of the so-called "collusive-seeming" equilibria disappear.
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The question why venture capitalists syndicate their deals has been attract-ing growing attention. The paper analyses how the motives of two types of venture capitalists do differ. Focusing on information costs it expects that venture... more
The question why venture capitalists syndicate their deals has been attract-ing growing attention. The paper analyses how the motives of two types of venture capitalists do differ. Focusing on information costs it expects that venture capitalists with the standard basic know-how in founding and financing new enterprises syndicate to get access to specific knowledge while venture capital-ists with specific knowledge concerning a certain industry or financing stage syndicate to get access to deal flow. Hypotheses are tested via a dataset of 103 venture capitalists in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
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ABSTRACT This article analyzes the requirements that family successors must fulfill to be considered suitable successors from three perspectives. We identify the recommended attributes and exigencies of family successors in the... more
ABSTRACT This article analyzes the requirements that family successors must fulfill to be considered suitable successors from three perspectives. We identify the recommended attributes and exigencies of family successors in the literature, generate a general requirement profile and compare this profile with predecessors’ expectations and successors’ perceptions of requirements based on data extracted from 106 interviews with 53 families. Our results for all three perspectives indicate that hard skills constitute a necessary but insufficient attribute for suitable successor candidates. Soft skills are at least as strongly appreciated as hard skills. Furthermore, because predecessors have an implicit rather than explicit understanding of family successor requirements, they often leave potential successors in the dark regarding their expectations; thus, descendants may need to guess which attributes they should contribute to the firm. We observe a systematic order of and importance ranking attached to predecessors’ expected skills that closely overlap with scholarly recommendations. We thus conclude that the process of recruiting and selecting family successors is systematic and well considered.
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Venture capitalist are intermediaries with strong advantages in financing risky investments (Leland/Pyle 1977, Chan 1983, Diamond 1984; Bygrave 1988). Being specialized in one industry, venture capitalists can control risk at lower cost... more
Venture capitalist are intermediaries with strong advantages in financing risky investments (Leland/Pyle 1977, Chan 1983, Diamond 1984; Bygrave 1988). Being specialized in one industry, venture capitalists can control risk at lower cost compared to other players in the market (e.g. banking houses) because they have accumulated specific know-how, experience, as well as ac-cess to networks and information. Norton and Tenenbaum
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... des vorbörslichen Handels mit Unternehmensanteilen ist die Expertenbefragung die geeignete ... ENGEL (2001) 222 VC-finanzierte Unter-nehmen in Deutschland; Kontrollgruppe: 222 ... IfM Bonn Quelle: Eigene Zusammenstellung Trotz... more
... des vorbörslichen Handels mit Unternehmensanteilen ist die Expertenbefragung die geeignete ... ENGEL (2001) 222 VC-finanzierte Unter-nehmen in Deutschland; Kontrollgruppe: 222 ... IfM Bonn Quelle: Eigene Zusammenstellung Trotz uneinheitlicher Ergebnisse spricht vieles ...
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Da in Deutschland im Jahr 1989 letztmalig eine großzahlige, bundesweite Unternehmensbefragung zum Thema Nachfolge durchgeführt wurde, bestand Bedarf an aktuellen Daten. Deshalb hat der Stiftungslehrstuhl für allgemeine BWL, insbesondere... more
Da in Deutschland im Jahr 1989 letztmalig eine großzahlige, bundesweite Unternehmensbefragung zum Thema Nachfolge durchgeführt wurde, bestand Bedarf an aktuellen Daten. Deshalb hat der Stiftungslehrstuhl für allgemeine BWL, insbesondere Unternehmensnachfolge an der Universität Siegen in Kooperation mit dem IfM Bonn im Winter 2008/2009 eine Befragung von bundesweit 14.203 Unternehmen durchgeführt, an der sich letztlich 1.171 Unternehmer beteiligten. Die Unternehmer, bei denen zukünftig eine Übergabe des Unternehmens ansteht, wurden um Auskunft zu ihren Vorkehrungen für die geplante und die ungeplante Nachfolge gebeten. Die Unternehmer, die ihr Unternehmen übernommen haben, wurden zu den Modalitäten der Übernahme befragt. -- The last substantial, nationwide survey among German businesses with regard to the topic of business succession took place back in 1989. Therefore, the strong need for more recent data emerged. Thus, in winter 2008/09 the Chair for Entrepreneurship and Family Busi...
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Academic entrepreneurship is believed to contribute to the rapid movement of scientific ideas into the commercial arena and to provide a critical contribution to the national economy. Therefore, most governments of highly industrialized... more
Academic entrepreneurship is believed to contribute to the rapid movement of scientific ideas into the commercial arena and to provide a critical contribution to the national economy. Therefore, most governments of highly industrialized countries like Switzerland and Germany, encourage academic scientists to become more entrepreneurial: their research activities should be more readily applicable, they should seek closer cooperation with industrial partners, there should be an increase in commercialization (patenting or licensing), and researchers should create spin-offs. The transfer of academic knowledge and technology is seen as the third “new” assignment to researchers - besides the traditional creation and transmission of knowledge (research and teaching). Instead, academic scientists, very often act “non-entrepreneurially”. Whether academic entrepreneurship is considered good or bad, it is clearly not evenly distributed. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research investigatin...
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ABSTRACT This paper studies how an individual's composition of human and social capital affects his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur. Our theoretical analysis is an extension of Lazear's (2005)... more
ABSTRACT This paper studies how an individual's composition of human and social capital affects his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur. Our theoretical analysis is an extension of Lazear's (2005) jack-of-all-trades theory in combination with the idea of bricolage of experiences and their effectuation in the disposition to become an entrepreneur. Our primary conclusion is that it is not individuals with a higher level of human or social capital but rather individuals with a more balanced and combined portfolio of human capital, social capital and experiences that are more disposed than others to become entrepreneurs. We use survey data from a sample of more than 2000 German students to test this hypothesis and find that the jacks-of-all-trades, i.e., individuals who are more balancing and combining different skills rather than specializing in a few, are more likely to become entrepreneurs. On the other hand, the masters-of-one, i.e., the specialists, are better off being employees and rightly prefer to do so.
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ABSTRACT This paper employs the concept of "social capital" to empirically investigate the role of social capital in the occupational choice process about whether to become self-employed. We demonstrate that the... more
ABSTRACT This paper employs the concept of "social capital" to empirically investigate the role of social capital in the occupational choice process about whether to become self-employed. We demonstrate that the willingness to become self-employed depends on a person's social capital and hypothesize that women invest differently in social capital than men and therefore exhibit different levels of willingness to become self-employed. We test our hypotheses by using three ordered probit estimates on a data set with 5,000 students. We find that the more social capital an individual obtains, the more willing he or she is to start his or her own business and that women invest less in social capital than men and are thus less willing to become self-employed.
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ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of German labour market regulations on the willingness of labour market entrants to start their own business. We study the legal situation, the actual and the perceived constraints imposed on... more
ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of German labour market regulations on the willingness of labour market entrants to start their own business. We study the legal situation, the actual and the perceived constraints imposed on businesses as well as the actual flexibility available of start-ups. We find strong evidence that labour market regulations are often misperceived in Germany. Furthermore, these misperceptions distort the willingness to become selfemployed. Start-ups are de jure hardly affected by labour market regulations because of a large number of exemptions. They are able to use a number of flexibility measures and thereby avoid regulatory restrictions. However, perceptions are quite the opposite, particularly in legal areas with high media coverage. This leads to a strong reluctance of labour market entrants to consider a start-up. Thus, measures aiming at increasing entrepreneurship should place strong emphasis on accurate knowledge of regulatory constraints and particularly in Germany, on less sceptical media coverage.
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ABSTRACT Family firms seem to be different from non-family firms. They might be less entrepreneurial and more family oriented or have an own family-specific strategy. Question in this context is why we can observe this phenomenon. In this... more
ABSTRACT Family firms seem to be different from non-family firms. They might be less entrepreneurial and more family oriented or have an own family-specific strategy. Question in this context is why we can observe this phenomenon. In this explorative study we explain that the individual orientation of previous, current and future owners of a family business might be the key to those differences. To find evidence for this assumption we researched six family businesses and all involved family members. The sixteen interviews show that , the owners as individuals and their orientations drive the differentiated strategy and orientation of family businesses.
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ABSTRACT This contribution raises the question as to whether repatriates may pursue entrepreneurship and aims to theoretically determine if repatriates are particularly suitable candidates for venturing into self-employment. To address... more
ABSTRACT This contribution raises the question as to whether repatriates may pursue entrepreneurship and aims to theoretically determine if repatriates are particularly suitable candidates for venturing into self-employment. To address this research question, the Jack-of-all trades view and the human and social capital theories are employed. Research shows that insufficient repatriation strategies in international firms, lead these usually qualified, skilled and experienced employees to change employers after an international assignment. Clear insights into whether they also opt for self-employment as a career path are unavailable. To investigate this prospect, the opportunity recognition and development approach is applied because the realisation and exploitation of market opportunities is a precondition for venturing into self-employment. The above named theories are also employed to compare repatriates and start-up entrepreneurs as they have been found to facilitate the identification and exploitation of ideas. Profile similarities are found to prevail thus supporting our proposition.
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ABSTRACT During their life cycles many companies are confronted with the phenomenon of a crisis. Research distinguishes between the causes, management and prevention of crisis. The aim of this paper is to test empirically the theoretical... more
ABSTRACT During their life cycles many companies are confronted with the phenomenon of a crisis. Research distinguishes between the causes, management and prevention of crisis. The aim of this paper is to test empirically the theoretical approaches in the case of small and me- dium sized enterprises (SMEs), also because of the limited number of research studies in this field. The presented explorative study contributes to gain a deeper insight how SMEs deal with a crisis. 30 representatives from SMEs of different industries were interviewed in using an interview guideline. The texts were analysed by the qualitative method GABEK (GAnzheitliche BEwältigung von Komplexität) that transforms abstract individual unstruc- tured und unorganized texts onto a collective level. The results show that crisis prevention is more difficult for SMEs in comparison to larger corporations because of their limited re- sources. It has been identified that the personal contact to stakeholders is an added value of SMEs because of their size in order to manage and overcome a crisis. Finally it is shown that a crisis can be best overcome in focusing on the core business and growth, in addition to job cuts and reduction of working time. Based on the research findings the authors discuss the results with the existing theory and develop prepositions for further research.
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The paper presents two computer-supported learning environments which are built on top metadata defined in XML; a comprehensive study environment for a Talmudic tractate and a video based learning environment called Virtual... more
The paper presents two computer-supported learning environments which are built on top metadata defined in XML; a comprehensive study environment for a Talmudic tractate and a video based learning environment called Virtual Entrepreneurship lab used in entrepreneurship education. While expressive metadata standards like MPEG-7 help us technically to implement multimedia learning environments by offering comprehensive coverage of all needed aspects, the century spanning editing process of knowledge ...