Elmar Lins

Inter-Generational Comparison of Social Media Use: Investigating the Online Behavior of Different Generational Cohorts

Today we cannot imagine our everyday life without the Internet. Some of us do not even remember the times, when we actually had to get outside to buy new clothes or book a vacation. Now, all these tasks can be managed, with the help of the Internet, comfortably from our homes. One of the most booming Internet offerings are the so-called social media. In our study we investigate the divergences in social media usage between different generations. The out-comes of our investigation might be a valuable guide for businesses focusing on online marketing, social shopping, or e-commerce in general, and desiring to reach the right target groups. Once the businesses identified services mostly used by their target customers, they can focus on building a relationship with them through the social network, committing them to the brand and, hence, influencing their decision-making.

Investigating the Generation- and Gender-Dependent Differences in Social Media Use: A Cross-Cultural Study in Germany, Poland and South Africa

In social media research, there is an ongoing debate about whether and how much cultural and geographical differences impact social media interaction. There has not been reached a consensus yet, which is why we apply an extensive statistic model based on a unique and large dataset of German, Polish, and South African social media users. We aim to answer the following questions: How do different generation use social media? Are there any gender-dependent differences? How do these differences vary between three different countries?

Public subsidies and new ventures’ use of bank loans

ABSTRACT Access to financial resources is crucial for young firms to strive. To foster innovation and growth in these firms, governments address financing constraints by initiating public support programs. For such financial support to be effective, it is, however, important that firms are able to augment publicly provided resources with additional means. This study examines the relationship between new ventures’ subsidy receipt and long-term bank loans. Studying new ventures founded between 2005 and 2009 in Germany, we test whether the subsidy itself facilitates use to bank financing. Applying econometric techniques that account for the endogenous nature of a subsidy receipt, we find that subsidized young firms are more likely to use bank loans and to have obtained a larger share of their financing mix from banks. We further show that this effect is stronger in highly information-opaque sectors. These results suggest that the effect may be attributed to an information value carried by the grant that is relevant to banks’ loan assessment procedures, especially when new venture value is difficult to judge.

Family involvement as a catalyst for female opportunity recognition

Do female and male entrepreneurs recognise and develop business opportunities differently, and is this gender gap in opportunity recognition still prevalent when family members are directly involved in business foundations? We refer to socialisation and human capital theory to examine whether male entrepreneurs are more likely to recognise business opportunities than female entrepreneurs are and how family involvement influences this relationship. Studying 12,009 new ventures founded between 2005 and 2009 in Germany, we find that women are, indeed, less likely to recognise entrepreneurial opportunities. Furthermore, family involvement increases opportunity recognition for both sexes and this effect is significantly stronger for women.

Effects of Impression Management Tactics on Crowdfunding Success

The aim of our study is to shed light on determinants that convince the crowd to fund a project on a crowdfunding platform. In particular, we examine whether self-promotion through positive language as well as emphasising innovativeness and supplication as impression management tactics drive crowdfunding success. Based on a sample of 221 Kickstarter campaigns and a total of 195,217 words embedded in their project descriptions, we develop and test hypotheses concerning linguistic behaviours affecting the likelihood of fundraising, the number of project backers and the amount raised. We find a nonlinear relation between innovativeness and crowdfunding success, that is, crowdfunders prefer moderate levels of self-promotion through innovativeness.