Dafna Schwartz

Gender differences in entrepreneurship

Purpose – In 2008, the world had undergone a global economic crisis. Since women always face greater difficulties in obtaining capital than men, the economic crisis had a greater effect on them. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the global crisis for womens entrepreneurship, from the perspective of equality, diversity and inclusion.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews studies on gender differences in entrepreneurship, focusing on 2007 and 2008 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) studies that examined the rates of entrepreneurship in 43 countries.Findings – The data show that in all 43 countries, the rates of womens entrepreneurship are lower than mens. Furthermore, the percent of women entrepreneurs is higher in countries where the general income per capita is small and where women have no other option for making a living.Research limitations/implications – This surprising finding has been explained as a result of the difference between “necessity” and “opportunit...

Now you see them, now you don't: gender differences in entrepreneurship

Purpose – While the numbers of, and research on, women entrepreneurs have accelerated radically in recent years, the rates of women entrepreneurs remain significantly lower than mens. Research has shown that subjective perceptual variables have a crucial influence on the entrepreneurial propensity of women and account for much of the gender differences in entrepreneurial activity. The paper aims to describe three studies that addressed gender differences in entrepreneurial perceptions, testing predictions derived from Schneiders Attraction Selection Attrition (ASA) model.Design/methodology/approach – Each study focused on a different subject population with different entrepreneurial activity. The first was a national telephone survey that involved 514 Israeli adults. The second involved 313 Israeli management students who responded to a self‐report questionnaire. The third involved interviews with 101 Israeli small business owners.Findings – The results of the first study showed few gender differences i...

Entrepreneurial High-tech Cluster Development: Israel's Experience with Venture Capital and Technological Incubators

ABSTRACT This study deals with policy instruments supporting high-tech start-up activity. It is based on the Israeli experience with two specific government programmes: Yozma, which triggered the emergence of the venture capital industry, and the technological incubators programme. These programmes had significant impact on the development of the high-tech cluster in Israel. While venture capital has positive impact on the growth and strength of high-tech clusters, it has also significant drawbacks, such as narrow geographical distribution of high-tech activities and narrow technological diversification. In this study we will analyse whether the interaction between Yozma programme and the technological incubators programme, reduced these drawbacks. We will examine whether the technological incubators in peripheral areas in Israel succeeded in attracting high-tech start-up activity as well as venture capital investments, and whether the incubators were supporting more diversified technological fields than the venture capital industry. In addition, we will try to determine whether cooperation between venture capitals and incubators led to more balanced investments patterns in terms of geographical distribution and technological diversification. Our empirical work is based on a population of 3747 Israeli high-tech firms, established between 1991 and 2004. In analysing this data we will attempt to determine whether venture capitals and incubators have dissimilar effectiveness in supporting start-ups and different technological and geographical preferences. The findings suggest that while venture capital-backed firms have higher success rates, their activities are more concentrated in central areas. In contrast, the technological incubators proved successful in attracting activity to peripheral areas and to less popular technologies, but their success rates are very low. Finally, the findings suggest that incubator graduates that received venture capital financing had significantly improved results.

Venture Investments in Israel—a Regional Perspective

Abstract This paper analyses the geographic distribution of venture investments in start-ups in Israel, using data for the period 1995–2004. The findings show that their location behaviour differs from that of high-tech activities: they show a pattern of “dispersed concentration” (as compared with a pattern of “concentrated concentration” of high-tech activity), with high levels of concentration in focal places, but at a commuting distance from the main metropolis. This is explained by the fact that venture investors also play the role of entrepreneurs and managers. The comparison between different types of venture investors shows that local venture capital funds lead to the heaviest concentration in the metropolis, in comparison with foreign venture investors. This heavy concentration of venture investments implies increasing regional gaps, with a minimal participation of peripheral regions, even those that enjoy some high-tech activity.

The Role of Location and Regional Networks for Biotechnology Firms in Israel

This article presents results of a study of the Israeli biotechnology sector. The findings of the study show that despite the small geographical size of the country, the Israeli biotechnology industry tends to a great extent to cluster around leading research institutes. Based on a survey of 109 high-tech projects, the study suggests that the relatively weak business background of the entrepreneurs, the fact that most of them have worked at research institutes and that most new biotechnology firms were originated from ideas that came out of universities or research institutes, can provide possible explanations for this geographical concentration. The research emphasizes the relative importance biotechnology entrepreneurs ascribe to networking, both in very early stages as well as in advanced stages of the firm development process. It is argued that although the focus of the network changes over time, both geographically and in content, its links to local research partners are maintained. It is suggested that earmarked regional support policies are crucial to the development of networks required by new biotechnology firms.

Targeted Consultancy Services as an Instrument for the Development of Remote SMEs A Brazilian Case

This article claims that traditional supply of public support programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in remote locations fails to achieve its objective: it is not met by ‘hidden’ demand. An experiment was conducted in SMEs that did not use available consultancy programmes in three remote regions in the state of Ceara in Brazil: a consultant was sent to each of them on a diagnosis mission. The results indicate that there is a ‘hidden demand’, in the sense that most of the enterprises need consultancy, but do not apply for the available services, and that they are generally incorrect in their assessments of the problems they face and how the issues identified should be prioritized. After benefiting from short-term diagnostic consultancy, they are better able to evaluate problems and, consequently, use available professional consultancy services more efficiently.

Networking: The “Missing Link” in Public R&D Support Schemes

ABSTRACT This article reviews the support tools available for young biotechnology firms in Israel and points out the need to expand these tools to the area of networks. Such a service would be of specific importance to biotechnology entrepreneurs who have a relatively low starting point in terms of relevant social capital, limited business, and managerial experience. If public support schemes are to support innovation they must broaden their range of services and not focus solely on R&D.

The Ineffectiveness of Location Incentive Programs

Many countries use location incentives programs to attract investment into a recipient country as a whole or to priority regions, with the goal of promoting growth. The authors focus on two cases, both involving location-related incentives programs, one to shift resources to disadvantaged regions within a country (Israel) and the other to shift investment flows from the United States to a possession (Puerto Rico). In both cases, the programs led to increased employment in the short run but did not alter the fundamental economic problems of these areas. The authors show that there is a governmental failure in their operation of location-related incentives programs and that these governments find it difficult to discontinue incentive programs once they have been introduced.

Structural Changes in Mature Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Israel

Abstract This article deals with the penetration of Venture Capital (VC) industry to a new geographical market and the changes that took place during its transition from the growth to the mature stage of development. We suggest that when VC industry enters a new geographical market, it will initially include very few, but extremely innovative agents. As the industry grows more agents enter the market, and it becomes on one hand more conservative and on the other more competitive. The first effect has a significant negative side effect — a decrease in industry innovativeness and barriers to industry renewal. We illustrate this argument using the Israeli case and present detailed quantitative analysis of the Israeli VC industry development between 1991 and 2007.

The Role of a Local Industry Association as a Catalyst for Building an Innovation Ecosystem: An Experiment in the State of Ceara in Brazil

We show that an industrial association can play the role of a catalyst for change where government intervention does not provide a sufficient response to market failure in the development of innovation activities, especially in less developed regions. This experimental study was conducted in the State of Ceara in Brazil by the UNIEMPRE program of the federation of industries (FIEC). The findings show the positive influence of the local association of industries as a catalyst for the innovation process, acting through five main channels: increasing the awareness of all actors, providing information and knowledge, assisting firms in developing their innovation capabilities, developing the milieu’s innovation capabilities, and establishing long-term sustainability of the process.