Frank Lasch

Entrepreneurship Research in Europe: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

With this article, as introduction to a special issue on entrepreneurship research in Europe, we hope to initiate a discussion about the importance of grounding entrepreneurship research in its national context. Different European researchers, all knowledgeable about the entrepreneurship research scene in their respective country, present the state of the research field for France, Germany, the United Kingdom (Blackburn & Smallbone, 2008); and Scandinavia. Two articles from U.S. authors complement this issue, reviewing differences in how entrepreneurship scholars measure the phenomenon and assessing the European approach(es). This special issue sets out to demonstrate the value of variety in the field—variety that very much depends on the different national, methodological, and thematic contexts entrepreneurship research takes place in.

Critical growth factors of ICT start‐ups

Purpose – The present study in this paper seeks to deal with the crucial topic of growth determinants for ICT start‐ups. In this emerging industry high firm birth rates go hand in hand with a great risk of failure and only one firm out of three survives the first three years.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes 220 start‐ups of the ICT service sector and verifies the influence of individual and organisational factors on growth.Findings – The paper finds that human capital and working experience have no significant impact on the success of young ICT firms.Originality/value – The paper shows that critical growth factors are mostly financing and customer related variables (firm size and capital at start‐up, customer structure, regional market orientation, etc.).

A new typology of micro-firm owner-managers

This article explores the extent to which the views of micro-firm owner-managers regarding growth and lifestyle issues affect their entrepreneurial behaviour. Semi-directed interviews were conducted with 79 owner-managers to inform a typology that consists of four owner-manager views associated with success, subsistence, hedonism and paternalism. This study investigates the differences in the behaviours associated with these four profiles. The representatives of only two types (success and paternalism) ‘want’ to grow; conversely, owner-managers of the other two types (hedonism and subsistence) do not. The findings show that micro-firm owner-managers are driven by varied and sometimes profoundly divergent views which will have substantial effects on a firm’s strategies and development.

Choosing the Best Partner for Product Innovation

Abstract: Innovation strategies are increasingly inter-organizational, and yet firms may find it difficult to choose the appropriate type of cooperation: with competitors (coopetition) or with non-competitors (suppliers, customers, universities, etc.). Coopetition is frequently considered to be a riskier venture, which may lead to the conclusion that this strategy is not the most appropriate for increasing a firm’s innovation. The literature on the topic is inconclusive so we try to clarify this issue by introducing a new dimension to the nexus of inter-organizational cooperation and innovation, namely, the geographical location of the cooperation partner. We analyze cooperation strategies with different types of partners and we test our hypotheses on 3,933 firms sampled from the French CIS 04 database. We find that the choice of cooperation strategy depends on the type of cooperation partner (non-rival or competitor), on the type of innovation (radical or incremental); and on the geographical location of the competitor.

The Nature and Focus of Entrepreneurship Research in France Over the Last Decade: A French Touch?

This article gives an overview of the specificities of entrepreneurship research in France, paying attention to its emergence, nature, and focus. Reviewing 253 articles and conference papers from two journals and two conferences, considered main outlets for research outcomes from French scholars, our findings reveal a distinctive “French touch” of entrepreneurship research. The main facets we were able to identify with our data for the 1995 to 2005 period are as follows. There is a preference for qualitative methods, conceptual contributions, and the entrepreneurial process as privileged research theme. A particular strength of the French approach is also a strong focus of small and medium–sized organizations. The “French touch” of entrepreneurship research could make a distinctive contribution to the international research community and the mainstream debate. However, mainly French–speaking dissemination of knowledge and (still) insufficient international journal–oriented output strategies limit the diffusion of French entrepreneurship research. Implications for academic institutions and future research are discussed.

Entrepreneurship, Tourism, and Regional Development: A Tale of Two Villages

The tourism potential of rural areas represents a source of opportunities for entrepreneurship that can enhance regional development. The impact of tourism is, however, complex, representing a combination of benefits and costs. Despite the necessity to evaluate and understand in depth the relationship between tourism, community life and regional development from a local perspective, many studies adopt a descriptive approach, focusing mainly on the perception and attitudes of local residents. Adopting a qualitative methodology, this article makes a comparative analysis of two rural communities in the south of France. Although the geographic distance between the two villages is only 12 km, the communities present unlike profiles in terms of attractions, entrepreneurial activities, community and regional development. The article provides a twofold contribution to the existing literature: first, it enriches the methodological perspective using an interpretative framework based on the specific functions of rural territories; and second, it applies this framework to explain the specific evolution of the investigated villages, as well as the existing tensions and challenges for regional development and management.

Human capital for successful entrepreneurial ventures: the profile of the top management team (TMT) in UK biopharmaceutical SMEs

A biopharmaceutical company is a knowledge-based organisation. Rapid change, increased competition, faster life cycles, globalisation, new process models, breakthrough technologies – all contribute to the complexity of the organisational and business context of modern biopharmaceutical firms. In this context, an appropriate structure and use of the human capital available within the organisation can help the organisation to obtain positive business results. An investigation of TMTs roles and capabilities can open the way for a better understanding of this critical issue. This study attempts to identify the TMT profile in UK biopharmaceutical SMEs and to investigate the link between the managerial human and social capital and the performance of the firm during the three main phases of the product development process. The results show that firm size influences the managerial areas of expertise, as well as their distribution between executive and non-executive directors. Some of these professional competencies are significantly correlated with the level of firm performance during the main phases of the firm development process.

Contrasting Contexts for Entrepreneurship: Capitalism by Kyrgyz Decree Compared to Gradual Transition in Uzbekistan

Abstract Both independent since 1991, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan have taken different paths of post-communism reflected by contrasting models of transition. The Kyrgyz Republic, with agriculture contributing half its GDP, has an open economy, encouraging foreign collaboration and reflecting the values of its secular society. In contrast, Uzbekistan is home to a religious society, its economy is more industrialised and relatively closed, and less than a third of its GDP comes from agriculture. Our findings show how different transition modelsreflect different levels of political stability and trigger unlike environments for entrepreneurship and economic evolution.

Beyond the concept of human and social capital: the impact of the regional environment on high-tech venturing

Emerging industries, like the information and communication technology (ICT), have become a major source of entrepreneurship and job generation. Most literature focuses on human and social capital approaches to explain the emergence of high-tech entrepreneurship, but little attention is given to the effect of the regional environment on new firm formation. The main objective of this study is to fill in this gap and compares the impact of human and social capital in a region with other supply and demand side factors. Another objective is to advance the knowledge of a very heterogeneous ICT sector. For this purpose, the three main divisions are analysed separately (high-tech industries; computer and telecommunication services; other knowledge intensive services). Supply and demand side factors are analysed and significant differences between the three subdivisions revealed. Our study is a longitudinal empirical analysis that covers all 84,535 newly created ICT firms between 1993 and 2001 in the 348 labour markets of France. Human capital and proximity effects are the main factors for the two service subdivisions. High-tech entrepreneurship in the industry shows a different pattern underlining the importance of industry specific environments (R&D facilities, diversified industry structure) drawing little competitive advantage from human capital variables. In all three subdivisions, proximity effects (localisation economies including dimensions of social capital like network opportunities and interaction) are the most important regional factor for ICT entrepreneurs.

Academic entrepreneurship in UK biotechnology firms: Alternative models and the associated performance

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to attempt to provide an insight into the individual aspects of academic entrepreneurship, defining a series of entrepreneurial profiles and investigating the challenges associated with each specific role as well as their impact on firms performance.Design/methodology/approach – The presented findings are based on the analysis of secondary and primary data. First, a series of articles and reports regarding academic entrepreneurship have been accessed in order to define the research framework. Second, primary data were collected through semi‐structured interviews conducted with 26 academic entrepreneurs working in UK biotech firms.Findings – The analysis of data revealed that academics choose mainly three forms of academic entrepreneurship: founder‐manager of an entrepreneurial firm; project manager in an existing firm; or scientific advisor to the board of directors of one or several firms. In each of these three situations, the personal responsibilities, the level ...