Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

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.

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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.

Abstract

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

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 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

Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

Abstract

Similar content

Seeking opportunity or socio-economic status? Housing and school choice in Sweden

Does local government corruption inhibit entrepreneurship?

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)

Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

Abstract

Similar content

Seeking opportunity or socio-economic status? Housing and school choice in Sweden

Does local government corruption inhibit entrepreneurship?

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)