Showing papers by "Roy Thurik published in 2002"

Economic Development and Business Ownership: An Analysis Using Data of 23 OECD Countries in the Period 1976–1996

Abstract: In the present paper we address the relationship between business ownership and economic development. We will focus upon three issues. First, how is the equilibrium rate of business ownership related to the stage of economic development? Second, what is the speed of convergence towards the equilibrium rate when the rate of business ownership is out-of-equilibrium? Third, to what extent does deviating from the equilibrium rate of business ownership hamper economic growth? Hypotheses concerning all three issues are formulated in the framework of a new two-equation model. We find confirmation for the hypothesized economic growth penalty on deviations from the equilibrium rate of business ownership using a data panel of 23 OECD countries. An important policy implication of our exercises is that low barriers to entry and exit of businesses are necessary conditions for the equilibrium seeking mechanisms that are vital for a sound economic development.

An Eclectic Theory of Entrepreneurship: Policies, Institutions and Culture

Abstract: textThe level of entrepreneurship differs considerably across countries and periods Both the causes and consequences of entrepreneurship are a matter of extensive scientific debate as well as of great policy importance A high level of entrepreneurial activity is assumed and shown to contribute to innovative activities, competition, economic growth and job creation The present paper deals with the determinants of entrepreneurship An eclectic theory of entrepreneurship is introduced This eclectic theory provides an integrated framework, drawing on disparate strands of literature, to create a better understanding of the different role that entrepreneurship plays in different countries and time periods This framework is designed to guide future empirical research in this area and to provide insights for policymakers striving to promote entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship : determinants and policy in a European-US comparison

Abstract: 1. Understanding Entrepreneurship across Countries and over Time D. Audretsch, R. Thurik, I. Verheul, S. Wennekers. 2. An Eclectic Theory of Entrepreneurship: Policies, Institutions and Culture I. Verheul, S. Wennekers, D. Audretsch, R. Thurik. 3. Determinants of Entrepreneurship in France C. Henriquez, I. Verheul, I. Van der Geest, C. Bischoff. 4. Determinants of Entrepreneurship in the Netherlands I. Verheul, N. Bosma, M. Van Ginkel, D. Longerbone, R. Prins. 5. Determinants of Entrepreneurship in Germany I. Verheul, G. Leonardo, S. Schuller, J. Van Spronson. 6. Determinants of Entrepreneurship in the United States of America I. Verheul, N. Bosma, F. Van der Nol, T. Wong.

Entrepreneurship and its Conditions: a Macro Perspective

Abstract: textThe rate of entrepreneurship, a multidimensional concept including both the percentage of existing business owners in the labor force as well as the start-up rate of new enterprises, varies substantially across countries and over periods of time. Data for several modern Western nations including the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands suggest a U-shaped recovery in rate of entrepreneurship (as measured by business ownership) toward the end of the 20th century. However, the timing, pattern and extent of this recovery vary substantially across nations. The reasons for this large variation in rate of entrepreneurship across time and by country are by no means straightforward. This paper provides a framework explaining the causes of the variation in rate of entrepreneurship across countries. The last part of the paper illustrates the framework with two historical case studies: the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century and Britain’s First Industrial Revolution (1760-1830). The approach taken is eclectic, integrating various research streams in the social sciences. Policy implications are also proposed.

Impeded Industrial Restructuring: The Growth Penalty

Abstract: This paper documents that a process of industrial restructuring has been transforming the developed economies, where large corporations are accounting for less economic activity and small firms are accounting for a greater share of economic activity. Not all countries, however, are experiencing the same shift in their industrial structures. Little is known about the cost of resisting this restructuring process. The goal of this paper is to identify whether there is a cost, measured in terms of forgone growth, of an impeded restructuring process. The cost is measured by linking growth rates of European countries to deviations from the "optimal" industrial structure. The empirical evidence suggests that countries impeding the restructuring process pay a penalty in terms of forgone growth.

Impeded industrial restructuring : the growth penalty

Abstract: textThis paper documents that a process of industrial restructuring has been transforming the developed economies, where large corporations are accounting for less economic activity and small firms are accounting for a greater share of economic activity. Not all countries, however, are experiencing the same shift in their industrial structures. Very little is known about the cost of resisting this restructuring process. The goal of this paper is to identify whether there is a cost, measured in terms of forgone growth, of an impeded restructuring process. The cost is measured by linking growth rates of European countries to deviations from the optimal industrial structure. The empirical evidence suggests that countries impeding the restructuring process pay a penalty in terms of forgone growth.

Post-Materialism as a Cultural Factor Influencing Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations

Abstract: textThe study of the determinants of entrepreneurship at the country level has been dominated by economic influences. The relative stability of differences in levels of entrepreneurship across coun-tries suggests that other forces such as certain institutional and/or cultural factors are at play. The objective of this paper is to explore how post-materialism explains differences in entrepreneurial activity across countries. Entrepreneurial activity is defined as the percent of a country?s popula-tion that is self-employed, using a broad definition that also includes CEOs of both unincorporated and legally incorporated establishments. The measure for post-materialism is based upon Ingle-hart?s four-item post-materialism index. Because of the known interactions between economic and cultural factors found in previous research, a set of economic and cultural factors is included to provide a clearer picture of the independent role post-materialism plays in prediction of self-employment levels. In particular, education, life satisfaction, church attendance and political (left or right) extremism are used as control variables in our analyses using data of 14 OECD countries over in recent period. Findings confirm the significance of post-materialism in predicting self-employment even when controlling for economic and cultural factors. However, strong covariation between post-materialism and other cultural factors makes it difficult to clearly discriminate be-tween the effects.

Setting up a business in the netherlands: who starts, who gives up, who is still trying

Abstract: Because of poor economic growth and high unemploymentin many European countries, including the Netherlands, entrepreneurialendeavors have begun to increase.The behavior of nascent entrepreneursduring the pre-startup and startup phases of a new firm is important for firmsuccess.However, little is known about what types of behaviors orcharacteristics predict pre-startup success or failure. Pre-startup performanceis examined, including the entrepreneur's personal characteristics, the firmenvironment, utilized strategies, and capital resources. To understand the characteristics of Dutch nascent entrepreneurs in thepre-startup phase, random phone surveys were initiallyconducted.Participants were separated into three groups:nascententrepreneurs (pre-startup), entrepreneurs (startup), and controls (no currentbusiness plans).Follow-up surveys were completed to track the progressand success of the participants. Among nascent entrepreneurs, the results indicated that success wasdetermined by the following factors: in a manufacturing business,thinking of oneself as an entrepreneur, industry experience, and utilizingpersonal capital. The results also indicate that women need more startup time;third party loans and higher startup capital are correlated to failure; andprevious industry experience yields a higher rate of success. (AKP)

Understanding Entrepreneurship Across Countries and Over Time

Abstract: The Eclectic Theory of entrepreneurship isintroduced.The purpose of the theory is to provide a coherent,interdisciplinary framework for understanding and analyzing what determinesentrepreneurship.The determinants of entrepreneurship in Europeancountries are compared with those in the United States in order to test theusefulness of the Eclectic Theory. Although Europe has generally been slow to follow the United States' lead inexploring entrepreneurial opportunities, the European stance toward theentrepreneurial economy has indeed evolved and may be divided into fivestages.These stages include denial of the benefits of entrepreneurialpursuits, recognition of those benefits, envy of the American entrepreneurialeconomy, consensus regarding the superiority of the entrepreneurial economy,and attainment of that economy. The Eclectic Theory has uncovered at least two important insights about theprevalence and the determinants of entrepreneurship in the countriesstudied.First, three of the four countries (Germany, the Netherlands, theUnited States) experienced a decline in entrepreneurial activity that wasfollowed by revival.Also, entrepreneurship policies created jobs andpromoted international competitiveness and economic growth in all fourcountries. It remains to be seen whether the Eclectic Theory will be a usefultool for analyzing entrepreneurial behavior in other countries. (SAA)

Post-Materialism as a Cultural Factor Influencing Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations

Abstract: The study of the determinants of entrepreneurship at the country level has been dominated by economic influences. The relative stability of differences in levels of entrepreneurship across coun-tries suggests that other forces such as certain institutional and/or cultural factors are at play. The objective of this paper is to explore how post-materialism explains differences in entrepreneurial activity across countries. Entrepreneurial activity is defined as the percent of a country?s popula-tion that is self-employed, using a broad definition that also includes CEOs of both unincorporated and legally incorporated establishments. The measure for post-materialism is based upon Ingle-hart?s four-item post-materialism index. Because of the known interactions between economic and cultural factors found in previous research, a set of economic and cultural factors is included to provide a clearer picture of the independent role post-materialism plays in prediction of self-employment levels. In particular, education, life satisfaction, church attendance and political (left or right) extremism are used as control variables in our analyses using data of 14 OECD countries over in recent period. Findings confirm the significance of post-materialism in predicting self-employment even when controlling for economic and cultural factors. However, strong covariation between post-materialism and other cultural factors makes it difficult to clearly discriminate be-tween the effects.

Entrepreneurship and economic performance : A macro perspective

Abstract: The present paper provides a theoretical framework of the relationship between rate of entrepreneurship and n ational economic performance. The first part deals with some aspects of the recent economics literature on the relation between entrepreneurship and small business, on the one hand, and economic growth, on the other. In particular, it gives a summary of some work of the EIM/CASBEC research group in the Netherlands. In the second part a framework is presented link- ing entrepreneurship and growth at different levels of aggregation. The last part of the paper illus- trates the framework with some historical case studies. The present paper supplements Wennekers, Uhlaner and Thurik (2002) which is concerned with the causes of the rate of entrepreneurship.

Human Resource Management within small and medium-sized firms

Abstract: Human resources are recognised as one of the main sources of economic growth. The management of these resources (HRM) is therefore an important issue. However, while roughly half of all employees are employed in small and medium-sized enterprises, scientific studies on HRM are to a large extent limited to large enterprises. This thesis is an attempt to increase our understanding of how small and medium-sized enterprises manage their employees. The thesis examines main determinants of HRM practices within small and medium-sized enterprises, and how certain differences in HRM practices may affect an enterprise's performance and size.

The Value of Human and Social Capital Investments for the Business Performance of Start-ups

Abstract: We investigate the manifold posed question: To what extent does investment in human and social capital, besides the effect of talent, enhance entrepreneurial performance? We distinguish between three different performance measures: survival, profits, and generated employment. On the basis of the empirical analysis of a rich Dutch longitudinal data set of firm founders, we conclude that specific investments indeed affect the three performance measures substantially and significantly. Specific attention is paid to the unobserved talent bias. Moreover, the effect of the emergence of so called "knowledge industries" is explored. This discussion paper has resulted in a publication in Small Business Economics , 2004, 23(3), 227-36.

Entrepreneurial activity, self-perception and gender

Abstract: textDrawing on Bem's psychological theory of self-perception, this paper presents and tests a model that examines the impact of gender and entrepreneurial activity on entrepreneurial self-perception. Based on a sample of alumni of a large Midwestern U.S. university, regression techniques are used to identify those activities associated with self-perceptions of entrepreneurship, as well as direct and indirect effects of gender. Results support the model of both direct and indirect effects of gender. The paper provides insights into gender issues in entrepreneurship as well as the definition of entrepreneurship in general.

Gibrat's Law and the Firm Size / Firm Growth Relationship in Italian Services

Abstract: Several surveys on intra-industry dynamics have recently reached the conclusion from a large body of evidence that Gibrat's Law does not hold, i.e., the main finding is that firm growth decreases with firm size. However, almost all of these studies have been based on manufacturing. In this paper - in search of further evidence supporting the results recently obtained for a large sample of Dutch firms in the hospitality industry - we examine whether the assumption that growth rates are independent of firm size can be rejected for the services, as it has been for manufacturing, also in the case of Italy. Based on a large sample of Italian new-born firms in five business groups in the hospitality industry, the evidence suggests that growth rates are, in fact, independent of firm size in two business groups, while Gibrat's Law is rejected for the remaining three business groups and for the industry as a whole. These mixed results concerning Gibrat's Law in the services are consistent with the hypothesis that the dynamics of industrial organisation for services may not simply mirror that for manufacturing. Besides, the findings in this paper support the hypothesis that any general conclusion concerning Gibrat's Law cannot be reached without considering heterogeneity, at least among firms of different industries.

Gibrat's Law: Are the Services Different?

Abstract: Several noted surveys on intra-industry dynamics have reached the conclusion from a large body of evidence that Gibrat's Law does not hold. However, almost all of these studies have been based on manufacturing. There are compelling reasons to doubt whether these findings hold for the services. In this paper we examine whether the basic tenet underlying Gibrat's Law - that growth rates are independent of firm size - can be rejected for the services as it has been for manufacturing. Based on a large sample of Dutch firms the evidence suggests that growth rates are, in fact, independent of firm size. Validation of Gibrat's Law in the services suggests that the dynamics of industrial organisation for services may not simply mirror that for manufacturing. This report includes a full survey of more than 50 empirical studies on firm growth rates.

Entrepreneurship and economic performance: a macro perspective

Abstract: The present paper provides a theoretical framework of the relationship between the rate of entrepreneurship and national economic performance. The first part deals with some aspects of the recent economics literature on the relation between entrepreneurship and small business on the one hand, and economic growth on the other. In particular, it gives a summary of some work of the EIM/CASBEC research group in The Netherlands. In the second part, a framework is presented linking entrepreneurship and growth to different levels of aggregation. The last part of the paper illustrates the framework with some historical case studies. The present paper supplements Wennekers, Uhlaner and Thurik (2002) and is concerned with the causes of the rate of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial Activity, Self-Perception and Gender

Abstract: Drawing on Bem's psychological theory of self-perception, this paper presents and tests a model that examines the impact of gender and entrepreneurial activity on entrepreneurial self-perception. Based on a sample of alumni of a large Midwestern U.S. university, regression techniques are used to identify those activities associated with self-perceptions of entrepreneurship, as well as direct and indirect effects of gender. Results support the model of both direct and indirect effects of gender. The paper provides insights into gender issues in entrepreneurship as well as the definition of entrepreneurship in general.

An Eclectic Theory of Entrepreneurship: Policies, Institutions and Culture

Abstract: The resurgence of entrepreneurship in the Westernworld is a multi-faceted phenomenon that may be studied according to the level of analysis--i.e., while micro level studies focus on the individual's choice to become self-employed, the macro perspective focuses on various environmental factors, including cultural variables and government regulation. Taken together, micro level and macro level analyses reveal that the individual's occupational choice depends on his or her own risk-reward profile of entrepreneurship versus that of other types of employment, as well as on hisor her institutional and cultural environment. This environment is shaped by the evolution of the private and informalsector, the government's willingness to promote entrepreneurship, and the culture's general attitude toward entrepreneurship. (SAA)

Globalization and the Strategic Management of Regions

Abstract: Perhaps one of the less-understood phenomena accompanying the increased globalization at the close of the 21st century has been a shift in the comparative advantage of high-wage countries towards knowledge-based economic activity. An important implication of this shift in this comparative advantage is that much of the production and commercialization of new economic knowledge is less associated with footloose multinational corporations and more associated with high-tech innovative regional clusters, such as Silicon Valley, Research Triangle, and Route 122. Only a few years ago the conventional wisdom predicted that globalization would render the demise of the region as a meaningful unit of economic analysis. Yet the obsession of policy-makers around the globe to “create the next Silicon Valley” reveals the increased importance of geographic proximity and regional agglomerations. The purpose of this paper is to explain why and how geography matters in a globalizing economy, which has resulted in the emergence of the strategic management, not of the firm, but of the Standort, or location.