Ratio is an interdisciplinary research institute, with a research focus on the conditions of business and enterprise.

+4684415900

info@ratio.se

802002-5212

Sveavägen 59 4trp

Box 3203

103 64 Stockholm

Bankgiro: 512-6578

About

  • About us
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Media
  • News archive
  • Cooperations
  • Eli F. Heckscher Lectures

Research

  • Areas
  • Labour Market Research
  • Competitiveness Research
  • Climate and Environmental Research
  • Ongoing research
  • Working Paper Series

Selected publication

Absolute income mobility and the effect of parent generation inequality: An extended decomposition approach
Liss, E., Korpi, M., & Wennberg, K.
People

Publications

  • Publications
  • Publications

Selected publication

No evidence of counteracting policy effects on European solar power invention and diffusion
Grafström, J., & Poudineh, R.
Swedish flag iconSV
Swedish flag iconSV

About

  • About us

    • About
    • Contact us

  • Media

    • News archive

  • Cooperations

    • Eli F. Heckscher Lectures

Research

  • Areas

    • Labour Market Research
    • Competitiveness Research
    • Climate and Environmental Research

  • Ongoing research

    • Working Paper Series
  • People

    • Publications

    • Publications

      • Publications

    Are high-growth firms overrepresented in high-tech industries?

    PublicationArticle (with peer review)
    Dan Johansson, Entreprenörskap, Företagandets villkor, Företagstillväxt, Gaseller, Innovation, Niklas Elert, Snabbväxande företag, Sven-Olov Daunfeldt

    Abstract

    It is frequently argued that policymakers should target high-tech firms, i.e., firms with high R&D intensity, because such firms are considered more innovative and therefore potential fast-growers. This argument relies on the assumption that the association among high-tech status, innovativeness and growth is actually positive. We examine this assumption by studying the industry distribution of high-growth firms (HGFs) across all 4-digit NACE industries, using data covering all limited liability firms in Sweden during the period 1997–2008. The results of fractional logit regressions indicate that industries with high R&D intensity can be expected to have a lower share of HGFs than can industries with lower R&D intensity. The findings cast doubt on the wisdom of targeting R&D industries or subsidizing R&D to promote firm growth. In contrast, we find that HGFs are overrepresented in knowledge-intensive service industries, i.e., service industries with a high share of human capital.

    Daunfeldt, S.-O., Elert, N., & Johansson, D. (2016). Are high-growth firms overrepresented in high-tech industries?Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(1), 1-21. DOI: 10.1093/icc/dtv035

    Details

    Author

    Daunfeldt, S.-O., Elert, N., & Johansson, D.

    Publication year

    2016

    Published in

    Industrial and Corporate Change

    Similar content

    Do Targeted R&D Grants toward SMEs Increase Employment and Demand for High Human Capital Workers?
    Book chapterPublication
    Daunfeldt, S. O., Halvarsson, D., Tingvall, P. G., & McKelvie, A.
    Publication year

    2022

    Published in

    Springer.

    Abstract

    Most previous studies on the employment effects of government R&D grants targeting SMEs are characterized by data-, measurement-, and selection problems, making it difficult to construct a relevant control group of firms that did not receive an R&D grant. We investigate the effects on employment and firm-level demand for high human capital workers of two Swedish programs targeted toward growth-oriented SMEs using Coarsened Exact Matching. Our most striking result is the absence of any statistically significant effects. We find no robust evidence that the targeted R&D grant programs had any positive and statistically significant effects on the number of employees recruited into these SMEs, or that the grants are associated with an increase in the demand for high human capital workers. The lack of statistically significant findings is troublesome considering that government support programs require a positive impact to cover the administrative costs associated with these programs.

    The book can be downloaded here for free.

    Third-Generation Innovation Policy: System Transformation or Reinforcing Business as Usual?
    Book chapterPublication
    Bergkvist, J. E., Moodysson, J., & Sandström, C.
    Publication year

    2022

    Published in

    Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, 201.

    Abstract

    There has been a shift in innovation policy in recent years toward more focus on systemic transformation and changed directionality. In this chapter, we describe a collection of challenges that such policies need to address. Based on a review of dominant frameworks regarding socio-technical transitions, we compare these theories with examples of innovation policy in different countries. Systemic transformation across an economy usually requires a process of creative destruction in which new competencies may be required, actors need to be connected in novel ways, and institutions may need to be changed. Our empirical illustrations show that support programs and initiatives across Europe do not always seem to result in such a process, as they include mechanisms favoring large, established firms and universities. These actors have often fine-tuned their activities and capabilities to the existing order, and therefore have few incentives to engage in renewal. As the incumbent actors also control superior financial and relational resources, there is a risk that they captivate innovation policies and thus reinforce established structures rather than contributing to systemic transformation.

    Government-sponsored entrepreneurship education: Is less more?
    Article (with peer review)Publication
    Sjöö, K., Elert, N. & Wennberg, K.
    Publication year

    2020

    Published in

    International Review of Entrepreneurship

    Abstract

    Entrepreneurship research suggests that entrepreneurship education and training can bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship, but little empirical research exists assessing the validity and impact of such initiatives. We examine a large government-sponsored entrepreneurship education program aimed at university students in Sweden. While a pre-study indicates that longer university courses are associated with short-term outcomes such as increased self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions, results from a more comprehensive study using a pre-post design suggest little effect from these extensive courses on long-term outcomes such as new venture creation and entrepreneurial income. In contrast, we do find positive effects on these long-term outcomes from more limited but more specific training interventions, especially for women. Our study suggests that less extensive but more tailored interventions can be more beneficial than longer or more extensive interventions in promoting entrepreneurship in general, and entrepreneurship of underrepresented groups in particular. We discuss implications for theory, education, and policy.

    Show more
    Search
    Search