Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship

PublicationBook

Entreprenörer, Entreprenörprocesser, Företagandets villkor, Frédéric Delmar, Karl Wennberg

Abstract

How and why are firms created, expanded and terminated by entrepreneurs in the knowledge intensive economy? The authors show these entrepreneurship processes are firmly embedded in a given social and economic context, that shapes the process by which some individuals discover entrepreneurial opportunities, creating new firms that sometimes grow to remarkable size, but more often stay mundane or eventually exit.

The authors expertly provide a theoretical and empirical examination of new knowledge intensive firms over their whole life cycle using a unique set of matched employee–employer data containing over three million individuals and over 200,000 firms. With theoretical pillars anchored in industrial organization economics, evolutionary organization theory, and entrepreneurship research, this book presents a detailed investigation of the entrepreneurial processes of firm entry, growth, and their eventual demise.

This insightful book will prove to be invaluable for business policymakers as well as postgraduate students and researchers in management, economics, and entrepreneurship.

Delmar, F. & Wennberg, K. (2010). Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship – The Birth, Growth and Demise of Entrepreneurial Firms. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Description
‘Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship taps into a growing trend of entrepreneurship research which recognises that not all start-ups are the same – and specifically that knowledge-intensive firms are important drivers of economic development. By focusing on the birth, growth and exit of knowledge-intensive firms, this book is a valuable addition to the literature which should be of vital interest to scholars and policy-makers alike.’
– Simon C. Parker, The University of Western Ontario, Canada

Does local government corruption inhibit entrepreneurship?

Article (with peer review)Publication

Wittberg, E., Erlingsson, G. Ó., Wennberg, K.

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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.

The state of the entrepreneurial state: Empirical evidence of mission-led innovation projects around the globe. In Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy (pp. 125–143)

Book chapterPublication

Batbaatar, M., Larsson, J. P., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2024

Published in

In Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy (pp. 125–143). Springer.

Abstract

This chapter reviews theoretical rationales for mission-oriented innovation policy and provides an empirical overview of extant 28 papers and 49 cases on the topic. We synthetize varieties of mission formulations, actors involved, and characteristics of missions described as more or less failed or successful. Fifty-nine percent of the studied missions are still ongoing, 33 percent are considered successful, and 8 percent as failures. Sixty-seven percent of the studied missions have taken place in Europe, 24 percent in North America, and 8 percent in Asia. The majority of innovation projects referred to as missions do not fulfill the criteria defined by the OECD. Results suggest that missions related to technological or agricultural innovations are more often successful than broader types of missions aimed at social or ecological challenges. Challenges regarding the governance and evaluation of missions remain unresolved in the literature. We find no case that contains a cost-benefit analysis or takes opportunity cost into account.

How Fares the Entrepreneurial State? Empirical Evidence of Mission-Led Innovation Projects Around the Globe

Article (with peer review)Publication

Batbaatar, M., Larsson, J. P., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2024

Published in

Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship, 19(8), 664-772.

Abstract

While considerable efforts have been made to conceptualize and outline the theoretical and normative logic of mission-oriented innovation policies and the role of the entrepreneurial state, there is a stark lack of empirical studies concerning how missions are designed and executed, and when they may work or do not. This monograph reviews theoretical rationales for mission-oriented innovation policy and provides an empirical overview of 30 articles which together cover 51 concluded or ongoing missions from around the world. We synthetize varieties of mission formulations, actors involved, and analyze characteristics of missions described as more or less failed or successful. Among the projects analyzed, many do not fulfill common definitions of “innovation missions.” Missions related to technological or agricultural innovations seem more often successful than broader types of missions aimed at social or ecological challenges, and challenges in the governance and evaluation of missions remain unresolved in the literature. None of the mission cases contain a cost-benefit analysis or takes opportunity cost into consideration.

Abstract

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