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

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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.
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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

    Growth in first- and second-generation immigrant firms in Sweden

    PublicationArticle (with peer review)
    Företagandets villkor, Företagstillväxt, Karl Wennberg, Nedim Efendic

    Abstract

    This article contributes to the research exploring the social and economic factors shaping the performance of immigrant-run firms. Drawing upon human and social capital theory and assimilation theory, we investigate differences in performance measured as revenue growth in a comparative study of native and immigrant CEOs. Following 50,002 small firms in Sweden over 4 years, we find distinct patterns in both firm size and revenue growth between firms managed by immigrants and by natives. While firms run by second-generation immigrants from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries exhibit higher growth rates than natives, the reverse is true for second-generation immigrants from non-OECD countries, suggesting that economic integration in terms of small business growth immigrants in Sweden is characterized by segmented rather than universal assimilation.

    Related content: Working paper No. 265

    Efendic, N., Andersson, F. W., & Wennberg, K. (2016). Growth in first- and second-generation immigrant firms in Sweden. International Small Business Journal, 34(8), 1028-1052. DOI: 10.1177/0266242615612533

    Details

    Author

    Efendic, N., Andersson, F. W., & Wennberg, K.

    Publication year

    2016

    Published in

    International Small Business Journal

    Related

    Karl Wennberg
    Professor

    +46705105366

    karl.wennberg@ratio.se

    Similar content

    Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research
    Article (with peer review)Publication
    Rönkkö, M., Maula, M., Wennberg, K.
    Download
    Publication year

    2025

    Published in

    Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (ETP)

    Abstract

    Configurational research has great promise in entrepreneurship. There are few universal laws or relationships that hold under all circumstances. More often, optimal entrepreneurial outcomes are contingent on many factors. Consequently, configurational analysis using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) has become increasingly popular. However, methodological research in sociology and political science has raised concerns about possible false positive findings produced by this method. In this editorial, we explore the potential and the common pitfalls of QCA in entrepreneurship research, as well as guidelines for its use.

    Seeking opportunity or socio-economic status? Housing and school choice in Sweden
    Article (with peer review)Publication
    Andersson, F. W., Mutgan, S., Norgren, A., & Wennberg, K.
    Publication year

    2025

    Published in

    Urban Studies, 62(2), 367-386.

    Abstract

    Residential choices and school choices are intimately connected in school systems where school admission relies on proximity rules. In countries with universal school choice systems, however, it remains an open question whether families’ residential mobility is tied to the choice of their children’s school, and with what consequences. Using administrative data on all children approaching primary-school age in Sweden, we study to what extent families’ financial and socio-economic background affects mobility between neighbourhoods and the characteristics of schools chosen by moving families. Our findings show that families do utilise the housing market as an instrument for school choice over the year preceding their firstborn child starting school. However, while families who move do ‘climb the social ladder’ by moving to neighbourhoods with more households of higher socio-economic status, their chosen schools do not appear to be of higher academic quality compared to those their children would otherwise have attended.

    Read the article here.

    Does local government corruption inhibit entrepreneurship?
    Article (with peer review)Publication
    Wittberg, E., Erlingsson, G. Ó., Wennberg, K.
    Download
    Publication year

    2024

    Published in

    Small Business Economics, 62(2), 775-806

    Abstract

    The dominant ‘sand in the wheels’ view holds that entrepreneurship is strongly inhibited by corruption. Challenging this, the ‘grease the wheels’ view maintains that corruption might increase entrepreneurship in highly regulated economies. We extend the basic predictions of these theories by examining entrepreneurs’ start-up decisions, as well as their location choices, in a seemingly low-corruption environment: Swedish municipalities. Combining a validated index of corruption perceptions in local government with population data on new entrepreneurs, nested logit models reveal that even in a low-corruption setting such as Sweden, perceptions of corruption can deter latent entrepreneurs. We also find that a minority of entrepreneurs relocate from their home municipalities to establish their start-ups elsewhere. Surprisingly and contrary to expectations, these relocating entrepreneurs often relocate from relatively low-corruption municipalities to others that are more corrupt. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.

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