Karl Gratzer

Causes of selection amongst Swedish firms : a contribution to the development of a business demography

Abstract The macro- and micro-perspectives of the behaviour of firms (for example, business terminations) are complementary. Explanations that are structural and environmentally related often ignore or at least reduce the actions of individual managers. Micro studies on entrepreneurship have filled this void and can explain why some firms are successful and others fail. But the micro approach often disregards factors in the environment that limit or open up possibilities. By making these factors visible, we can contribute to integrating explanations from both levels. The article is based on an analysis of six populations of Swedish firms, a total of over 2,000 firms established in different years in the twentieth century and questions the scope of a microoriented perspective focused on the individual and on competency for explaining business terminations.

Linking Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth in Sweden, 1850–2000

Recent developments in entrepreneurship suggest a causal link between entrepreneurial activity and economic growth: entrepreneurship precedes economic growth. A positive effect from entrepreneurship on economic development in advanced, innovation-driven economies in the most recent decades is often maintained. Self-employment is one of the most common indicators of entrepreneurship. The present study uses very long series of non-interrupted data on self-employment in Sweden (1850–2000). It analyzes the relationship between variations in self-employment and economic growth. For the entire period, variations in self-employment had a significant, instantaneous positive correlation with GDP growth. However, no causal relationship could be discovered: variations in self-employment did not (Granger) cause GDP growth.

Agents of change: inventors, entrepreneurs, financiers, and small business owners in the beginning of the Swedish fast food industry

The study deals with an investigation of the introduction and evolution of the fast food industry in Sweden. After the turn of the 19th century, 121 small firms – all jointstock companies – origina ...

Interpreting Brand Development as Entrepreneurship : The Role of Brand Strategies

Our research has been driven by the apparent lack of rigorous theory within the branding literature. Theoretical concepts have seldom been linked to business theory. This article presents an approach to branding which links branding to different approaches to entrepreneurship and uncovers the essential role of brand strategies when connecting branding to the management literature. Strategy and branding overlap and strategy links contemporary branding and entrepreneurship literature. There are various approaches to entrepreneurship which is relevant to the analysis of brand strategies. For the sake of simplicity we have divided them into two strands, the business school approach and the Schumpeter school. Essential to our understanding of brands is the ability of brands to decrease the transaction cost and reduce the information asymmetries between consumers and producers in the market. By relying on brands the actors in the market can reduce their search and information cost and the total cost of performing a market transaction.