Poh Kam Wong

Entrepreneurial interest of university students in Singapore

Abstract This paper examines the level and determinants of interest in entrepreneurship among university undergraduate students in Singapore based on a large sample survey conducted in 1998. Although there have been past studies looking at entrepreneurial interest of students, this study is one of the first comprehensive studies of the attitudes of undergraduates toward entrepreneurship in Asia. While the study finds a high level of interest, inadequate business knowledge and perceived risk are found to be significant deterrents. Moreover, three background factors—gender, family experience with business and educational level—are found to affect entrepreneurial interests, but not family income status, ethnicity and citizenship. Of the significant factors identified, that pertaining to inadequate business knowledge has direct policy implications for university administrators, as it strongly suggests the need to provide students in engineering and science with educational programs that impart business knowledge. Furthermore, the government can also contribute by promoting more awareness of successful entrepreneurial role models, removing bureaucratic impediments to start-ups, and attenuating the social stigma of failure.

ICT production and diffusion in Asia : digital dividends or digital divide?

Abstract This paper examines the empirical evidence to determine whether Asian countries, despite having captured a disproportionately high share of global production of ICT goods, have as a group been laggard in the adoption of ICT in comparison to non-Asian countries. Using regression analysis, it is shown that as a group Asian countries have indeed had generally lower rates of ICT adoption relative to their levels of potential as predicted on the basis of their current level of development (GDP/capita) and competitiveness (world competitiveness index). In addition, disparities in ICT diffusion are found to be significantly higher among Asian countries than among non-Asian countries. In particular, a significant ‘digital divide’ is found to exist between the five more advanced countries of the region (Japan and the four Asian NIEs) and the other seven developing Asian countries. Policy implications of the findings for the Asian countries are highlighted.

An empirical study of the performance impact of computerization in the retail industry

This paper examines the relationships between the intensity of IT investment and four performance impact measures relating to computerization. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey of the retail industry in Singapore. Results suggested that the intensity of IT investment has negligible relationships with information quality and improvement in work environment. Information quality is positively related to improvement in work environment, managerial satisfaction and organizational impact. Improvement in work environment is positively related to organizational impact but not to managerial satisfaction. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Human and social capital explanations for R&D outcomes

This paper assesses the extent to which human capital (education, work experience, and training) and social capital (level of interconnectedness, relationship, and shared expectations with others) impact on research and development outcomes. Controlling for gender and type of industry, logistic regression analyses indicate that an individuals education level has a positive impact on patents/copyrights obtained, articles published/presented, and product/process improvements. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses show that an individuals level of interconnectedness with others has incremental impact over ones human capital in projects completed, internal technical reports generated, product/process improvements made, and products commercialized. Explanations for the incremental value of social capital are made in terms of Nahapiet and Ghoshals structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of social capital.

Attitude Towards Entrepreneurship Education and New Venture Creation

Does an individuals positive attitude towards entrepreneurship education promote the growth of new ventures? It appears that it does. The empirical results presented in this paper support a prima facie claim that a relationship exists between attitude towards entrepreneurial education and business start-up. The aim of this paper is to investigate the hypothesised positive relationship between new venture founding and attitude towards entrepreneurial education (AEE). Limited if any research on new venture founding in the past has explored the contribution of AEE in business start-ups. A survey is carried out on a large sample (more than 15,000) of tertiary students residing in Singapore. In analysing the dataset, we have controlled for various factors in the regression analysis. Due to the limitations of our study, we are cautious not to assert any causal link between these 2 variables. The implications of the results to policy makers and educators are discussed along with suggestions for future research in order to refine our present understanding of these relationships.

Leveraging multinational corporations, fostering technopreneurship: the changing role of S&T policy in Singapore

Since political independence in 1965, Singapore has achieved remarkable economic growth through continuous industrial re-structuring and technological upgrading. This paper presents a framework suitable for analysing the national innovation system of small, late-industrialising economies, and applies it to examine how Singapores national innovation system has transformed over the years, and how public S&T policy has changed in response to the changing needs of the innovation system. In particular, the paper highlights four generic stages in the evolution of Singapores national innovation system, with the emphasis of public S&T policy shifting from assimilation and diffusion of technology through leveraging foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) to include an increasing focus on promoting indigenous R&D and technopreneurial start-ups in recent years. Implications from the analysis for Singapores future public S&T policy challenges are discussed.

ANTECEDENTS TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN SINGAPORE: BELIEFS, ATTITUDES AND BACKGROUND

Extant studies on entrepreneurial success that focus on the process of resource acquisition and value creation have led to a deeper understanding of the resource requirements of entrepreneurs, but have shed less light on the antecedents to the propensity for entrepreneurial startups. Our study models the characteristics of university students as antecedents to startups. These are background and experience, beliefs about organizations and attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Background and attitudes are hypothesized to predict the propensity for entrepreneurship while beliefs are hypothesized to moderate the relationship between attitudes and the propensity to start a new business. Empirical data from a large survey of university students in Singapore provide support for the model.

A contingent model of network utilization in early financing of technology ventures

Most of the entrepreneurship literature has addressed the benefits and necessity of using social network ties as opposed to market methods in early venture finance, but it has largely understated the potential limitations and costs of doing so. Specifically, very sparse research has examined the factors that influence entrepreneurs’ choice between using networks versus market methods. In this study, we propose a contingent model of network utilization when approaching initial investors, based on the dimensions of human capital of the entrepreneurs. We test this model with primary field survey data from 226 new high–tech ventures in Singapore and Beijing. The results show that high occupational status and relevant industrial work experience are positively associated with the entrepreneurs’ propensity to utilize existing networks by enhancing the resourcefulness of their network ties (social capital); however, such influences are alleviated by entrepreneurs’ marketing or managerial experience, which increases the entrepreneurs’ ability to interact with strangers (an aspect of social competence).

Adapting a foreign direct investment strategy to the knowledge economy: the case of Singapore's emerging biotechnology cluster

The Singapore Government has identified biotechnology as one of the four pillars of the economy for the twenty‐first century. For the last forty years, Singapore has pursued a very successful economic growth strategy of attracting investment from leading multinationals through a combination of financial incentives, world‐class infrastructure, a highly literate workforce and a business‐friendly regulatory environment. In the biotechnology industry worldwide, however, the typical development pattern has been very different: new start‐up companies backed by venture capitalists clustered around leading research universities. This article examines the development of the biotechnology cluster in Singapore, showing how a modified version of Singapores traditional growth model is co‐existing with a more typical biotechnology development pattern.

Characteristics and determinants of informal investment in Singapore

Abstract Since Wetzel (1982, 1983) identified the business angel as a primary source of risk capital, there has been increased interest in the role of informal investors in the formation of new business ventures in the developed OECD countries. However, there remains little known about informal investors in developing or newly industrialized economies such as Singapore. Based on data collected using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) methodology (Reynolds et al., 2002), this paper examines the characteristics of informal investors in Singapore, and analyses the key determinant factors that differentiate individuals who become informal investors from those who do not make informal investments. In particular, we examine if these factors differ depending on the relationship between the investor and entrepreneur. We also investigate the differences between determinants of higher and lower value investment propensities. The findings reveal that knowing entrepreneurs personally was the factor with the strongest influence on informal investing propensity in Singapore. Other findings suggest that informal investing propensity in Singapore is less influenced by demographic factors and income, and more by prior entrepreneurial experience and self-perceived skills with new business formation.