Ratio Working Paper No. 342: Business Angels and Firm Performance: First Evidence from Population Data

Abstract

Business angels dominate early stage investment in firms but research on the effects of their investment is scarce and limited by sample selection. We therefore propose an algorithm for identifying business angel investment in total population data. We apply the algorithm to study the effects of business angels on firm performance, using detailed and longitudinal total population data for individuals and firms in Sweden. Employing these data and a quasi-experimental estimator, we find that business angels engage in firms that already perform above par but that there also is a positive effect on subsequent growth, comparing with control firms. Firms with business angel investment perform better in terms of sales and employment growth and likelihood of becoming a high-growth firm. Contrary to previous research, we cannot find any impact on firm survival, however. Overall, our results underline the need to address sample selection issues both in identifying business angels and in evaluating their effects on firm performance.

Working Paper No. 332: Are New Shopping Centers Drivers of Development in Large Metropolitan Suburbs? The Interplay of Agglomeration and Competition Forces

Working paperPublication

Mihaescu, O., Korpi, M. & Öner, Ö.

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Publication year

2020

Published in

Ratio Working Paper

Abstract

We investigate to which extent shopping centers drive local economic development by studying how distance to newly established shopping centers affects the performance of incumbent firms, located in the suburbs of the three Swedish major metropolitan areas Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, 2000-2016. We use a regression setup with around 27,000 firm-year observations and explore the possible heterogeneity imposed on the results from two main elements of spatial economics theory: the size of the new retail area and the distance from the new retail area to the analyzed incumbents. We observe a clear difference in the direction of the effects of large versus small shopping centers. While competition forces are much stronger in the case of the establishment of large shopping centers, yielding a negative 5% on incumbent firm revenue and negative 3% on firm employment, results indicate the opposite pattern for smaller shopping centers; with firm revenue and firm employment increasing 4% and 3%, respectively. Moreover, we also observe that both agglomeration and competition effects attenuate sharply with distance from the new entrant, confirming one of the central premises of retail location theory. Finally, we observe that the geographical scope of the effects is much wider in the case of larger shopping centers, with estimates becoming statistically insignificant at about 9-10 km from the new entry, as compared to 3-4 km in the case of smaller retail centers.

Are female leaders more efficient in family firms than in non-family firms?

Article (with peer review)Publication

Bjuggren, P-O., Nordström, L., & Palmberg, J.

Publication year

2018

Published in

Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate whether female leaders are more efficient in family firms than in non-family firms.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a unique database of ownership and leadership in private Swedish firms that makes it possible to analyze differences in firm performance due to female leadership in family and non-family firms. The analysis is based on survey data merged with micro-level data on Swedish firms. Only firms with five or more employees are included in the analysis. The sample contains more than 1,000 firms.

Findings: The descriptive statistics show that there are many more male than female corporate leaders. However, the regression analysis indicates that female leadership has a much more positive impact on the performance of family firms than on that for non-family firms, where the effect is ambiguous.

Originality/value: Comparative studies examining the impact of female leadership on firm-level performance in family and non-family firms are rare, and those that exist are most often either qualitative or focused on large, listed firms. By investigating the role of female directors in family and non-family firms, the study adds to the literature on management, corporate governance and family firms.

Do Selective Industrial Policies Cause Growth? – Experiences from Sweden

ReportsPublication

Gustavsson Tingvall, P. & Deiaco, E.

Publication year

2015

Published in

Tillväxtanalys, Tillväxt genom stöd – en bok om statligt stöd till näringslivet

Abstract

Questions regarding economic growth are at the top of the economic and political agenda in Sweden today. This report provides an analysis of how selective policies supporting innovation and entrepreneurship have been implemented and their impact on firm performance, growth and competitiveness.

The report is edited by Patrik Gustavsson Tingvall and Enrico Deiaco, Director of innovation and global meeting places at Growth Analysis (Tillväxtanalys), and is largely based on ”Tillväxt genom stöd – en bok om statligt stöd till näringslivet” (Tillväxtfakta 2015).

Ratio Working Paper No. 342: Business Angels and Firm Performance: First Evidence from Population Data

Ratio Working Paper No. 342

Abstract

Ratio Working Paper No. 342: Business Angels and Firm Performance: First Evidence from Population Data

Ratio Working Paper No. 342

Abstract

Absolute income mobility and the effect of parent generation inequality: An extended decomposition approach

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Working Paper No. 332: Are New Shopping Centers Drivers of Development in Large Metropolitan Suburbs? The Interplay of Agglomeration and Competition Forces

Are female leaders more efficient in family firms than in non-family firms?

Do Selective Industrial Policies Cause Growth? – Experiences from Sweden