This empirical study investigates the factors that influence firms' incentives to innovate. We st... more This empirical study investigates the factors that influence firms' incentives to innovate. We study the variables stimulating, enabling and conditioning the idea generation process in small and medium-sized service firms. The employees and their context determine the richness of the early stages of the innovation process, and thus the firms' incentives to innovate. Of the final set of explanatory variables, the most significant 'manageable' variable is the formulation of clear innovation objectives in the corporate strategy. Furthermore, fostering freedom to experiment and applying multifunctional teams have positive effects on the incentives to innovate. Besides, two factors (quality competition and high uncertainty of market demand) are market related. Finally, in contradiction to our expectations, having well-educated employees has a negative effect on the incentives to innovate.
This report provides an overview of recent facts and figures on start-ups in the Netherlands, tec... more This report provides an overview of recent facts and figures on start-ups in the Netherlands, techno start-ups in particular and the overall link between entrepreneurship and innovation.
Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship... more Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship, i.e. become renascent entrepreneurs? According to the theory of selection and passive learning (Jovanovic, 1982) there is no reason to re-enter into entrepreneurship following termination of a previous firm. In contrast, Ronstadt's (1988) corridor principle proposes that ex-entrepreneurs are very likely to maintain entrepreneurial preferences. Based on the empirical evidence from a database consisting of ex-entrepreneurs, this study shows that renascent entrepreneurship is a pervasive phenomenon in current society. Especially entrepreneurial human and social capital induce renascent entrepreneurship. In addition, the nature of the firm exit also effects the probability of renascent entrepreneurship.
How to Improve Innovativeness of Entrepreneurship "The innovation point is the pivotal moment whe... more How to Improve Innovativeness of Entrepreneurship "The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.
inclusion in Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Kno... more inclusion in Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Knowledge at Babson. For more information, please
Most recent EIM reports and much more on SMEs and Entrepreneurship can be found at: www.eim.nl/sm... more Most recent EIM reports and much more on SMEs and Entrepreneurship can be found at: www.eim.nl/smes-and-entrepreneurship. The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM bv. Quoting numbers or text in papers, essays and books is permitted only when the source is clearly mentioned. No part of this publication may be copied and/or published in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written permission of EIM bv. EIM bv does not accept
This study focuses on the prediction of three firm performance indicators, sales growth, innovati... more This study focuses on the prediction of three firm performance indicators, sales growth, innovation performance and profitability, on a sample of small and medium-sized firms in the Netherlands. Predictions from agency theory and the resource based view of organizations lead to alternate hypotheses regarding the direct and indirect effects of family ownership and management on firm performance. Other variables in the analysis include various organization structure variables including standardization, self coordination, team coordination, decentralization, departmentalization and specialization, and control variables such as firm size and age. Results suggest a direct effect of family orientation on innovation performance, even when controlled for other variables. The effect of family orientation on the other two dependent variables is quite limited.
The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM. Quoting numbers or text in pape... more The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM. Quoting numbers or text in papers, essays and books is permitted only when the source is clearly mentioned. No part of this publication may be copied and/or published in any form or by any means, or stored in ...
While a large literature has emerged focusing on nascent entrepreneurship, the propensity for ex-... more While a large literature has emerged focusing on nascent entrepreneurship, the propensity for ex-entrepreneurs to consider re-entering into entrepreneurship, or what we term here as renascent entrepreneurship, has been generally overlooked. According to the theory of selection and passive learning (Jovanovic, 1982), while there is a lot to be learned about the underlying but unobservable endowment of entrepreneurial skills from entering into entrepreneurship, there is virtually nothing that can be additionally learned from ...
Conference on Nascent Entrepreneurship: the Hidden Potential���Durham, UK, September, 2005
Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship... more Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship, ie become renascent entrepreneurs? According to the theory of selection and passive learning (Jovanovic, 1982) there is no reason to re-enter into entrepreneurship following termination of a previous firm. In contrast, Ronstadt's (1988) corridor principle proposes that ex-entrepreneurs are very likely to maintain entrepreneurial preferences. Based on the empirical evidence from a database consisting of ex-entrepreneurs, this ...
We develop and examine a framework for the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship in alli... more We develop and examine a framework for the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship in alliances. Our framework regards entrepreneurial opportunity as endogenous, and entrepreneurial firms as heterogeneous. The empirical findings show that partners’ knowledge protection, which is regarded as a knowledge filter, can increase knowledge spillovers in an alliance. Moreover, this relationship is contingent on the strength of a focal firm's entrepreneurial orientation and on alliance type (equity joint venture versus nonequity joint venture). Results also reveal that knowledge spillovers in an alliance enhance alliance performance more significantly than they enhance firm performance.
The subject of this report is spin-outs in the Netherlands compared to those in the Cambridge are... more The subject of this report is spin-outs in the Netherlands compared to those in the Cambridge area. The differences between the two areas have been found to be fewer than expected. The same type of initiatives are to be found in both areas, and the same type of problems are also encountered in both areas In general it seems that it would be advisable for universities to have spin-out stimulation added to the performance criteria to help the better facilitation of spin-outs.
This is a study into the general characteristics of spin-off start-ups in the Netherlands. We pro... more This is a study into the general characteristics of spin-off start-ups in the Netherlands. We provide insight into the occurrence and main features of spin-offs in the population of Dutch small business (<100 employees). We pay explicit attention to the parent firms, which gets us behind some of the dynamics of spin-off start-ups in the Dutch economy. Based on a review of literature, we have gathered empirical data among 1,734 Dutch SMEs. The subsample of firms that are spin-offs and parent companies were contacted again to get into further detail about the spin-off process. Next to this survey, a number of spin-offs and parent firms were interviewed face-to-face. In this study, we use the following definition of a spin-off: A spin-off is an individual or a group of individuals leaving a 'parent' firm to start up a new, independent business. The start-up occurs on the basis of specific knowledge and competences built up within the parent firm. The parent firm supports the spin-off by allowing the transfer of knowledge, competences and/or direct means. In our survey of SMEs, we find that 5-8% of all SMEs in the Netherlands is a spin-off. This means that there are about 6,000-7,000 new spin-offs per year. Most existing spin-offs are relatively young firms. Most spin-offs descend from other small firms. Large and medium-sized firms more frequently facilitate spin-offs explicitly. 34% of the spin-offs are supported by the transfer of knowledge. 34% are backed by some (initial) orders from the parent firm. 37% received other kinds of support, such as advice or an introduction to some of the members in the network of the parent. Financial support exists in 26% of cases. The knowledge transfer is seen as most critical by the spin-offs. Patents or licences hardly play a role in the SME spin-offs, but the transfer of product knowledge or knowledge of the market is very important in many cases. Most types of support from the parent firm occur only temporarily, although a number of spin-offs keep receiving advice or orders even after many years. Most support is clearly and only given in the start-up phase and a short period thereafter. There appear to be relatively many spin-offs in manufacturing, construction and business services. From the survey it can be concluded that spin-offs are not only overrepresented in these sectors, the spin-offs are also more innovative than other SMEs, especially in manufacturing and business services. Spin-off start-ups begin their venture with motives similar to other start-ups, but the pull factors are more dominant for spin-off entrepreneurs. Creating new and improved opportunities for products and people is a critical motive, next to the 'regular' independence motive. Dissatisfaction in the employment situation and the threat of unemployment are not as often mentioned by spin-offs as important motives. A motive quite specific to spin-offs is to utilize opportunities such as new products or technology that would otherwise have remained unused (within the parent firm). About a quarter of the spin-offs in the survey explicitly state this as a motive. The empirical data in our survey provide only limited information to really compare the success factors of spin-offs with the success factors of start-ups in general. From the limited information about sales growth, employment growth and profit growth, we may conclude, however, that the spin-offs are quite successful. 1 This is only one definition of spin-offs, in section 2 the choice of definitions is elaborated upon.
This empirical study investigates the factors that influence firms' incentives to innovate. We st... more This empirical study investigates the factors that influence firms' incentives to innovate. We study the variables stimulating, enabling and conditioning the idea generation process in small and medium-sized service firms. The employees and their context determine the richness of the early stages of the innovation process, and thus the firms' incentives to innovate. Of the final set of explanatory variables, the most significant 'manageable' variable is the formulation of clear innovation objectives in the corporate strategy. Furthermore, fostering freedom to experiment and applying multifunctional teams have positive effects on the incentives to innovate. Besides, two factors (quality competition and high uncertainty of market demand) are market related. Finally, in contradiction to our expectations, having well-educated employees has a negative effect on the incentives to innovate.
This report provides an overview of recent facts and figures on start-ups in the Netherlands, tec... more This report provides an overview of recent facts and figures on start-ups in the Netherlands, techno start-ups in particular and the overall link between entrepreneurship and innovation.
Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship... more Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship, i.e. become renascent entrepreneurs? According to the theory of selection and passive learning (Jovanovic, 1982) there is no reason to re-enter into entrepreneurship following termination of a previous firm. In contrast, Ronstadt's (1988) corridor principle proposes that ex-entrepreneurs are very likely to maintain entrepreneurial preferences. Based on the empirical evidence from a database consisting of ex-entrepreneurs, this study shows that renascent entrepreneurship is a pervasive phenomenon in current society. Especially entrepreneurial human and social capital induce renascent entrepreneurship. In addition, the nature of the firm exit also effects the probability of renascent entrepreneurship.
How to Improve Innovativeness of Entrepreneurship "The innovation point is the pivotal moment whe... more How to Improve Innovativeness of Entrepreneurship "The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.
inclusion in Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Kno... more inclusion in Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Knowledge at Babson. For more information, please
Most recent EIM reports and much more on SMEs and Entrepreneurship can be found at: www.eim.nl/sm... more Most recent EIM reports and much more on SMEs and Entrepreneurship can be found at: www.eim.nl/smes-and-entrepreneurship. The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM bv. Quoting numbers or text in papers, essays and books is permitted only when the source is clearly mentioned. No part of this publication may be copied and/or published in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written permission of EIM bv. EIM bv does not accept
This study focuses on the prediction of three firm performance indicators, sales growth, innovati... more This study focuses on the prediction of three firm performance indicators, sales growth, innovation performance and profitability, on a sample of small and medium-sized firms in the Netherlands. Predictions from agency theory and the resource based view of organizations lead to alternate hypotheses regarding the direct and indirect effects of family ownership and management on firm performance. Other variables in the analysis include various organization structure variables including standardization, self coordination, team coordination, decentralization, departmentalization and specialization, and control variables such as firm size and age. Results suggest a direct effect of family orientation on innovation performance, even when controlled for other variables. The effect of family orientation on the other two dependent variables is quite limited.
The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM. Quoting numbers or text in pape... more The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM. Quoting numbers or text in papers, essays and books is permitted only when the source is clearly mentioned. No part of this publication may be copied and/or published in any form or by any means, or stored in ...
While a large literature has emerged focusing on nascent entrepreneurship, the propensity for ex-... more While a large literature has emerged focusing on nascent entrepreneurship, the propensity for ex-entrepreneurs to consider re-entering into entrepreneurship, or what we term here as renascent entrepreneurship, has been generally overlooked. According to the theory of selection and passive learning (Jovanovic, 1982), while there is a lot to be learned about the underlying but unobservable endowment of entrepreneurial skills from entering into entrepreneurship, there is virtually nothing that can be additionally learned from ...
Conference on Nascent Entrepreneurship: the Hidden Potential���Durham, UK, September, 2005
Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship... more Why should individuals that have closed their business consider re-entering into entrepreneurship, ie become renascent entrepreneurs? According to the theory of selection and passive learning (Jovanovic, 1982) there is no reason to re-enter into entrepreneurship following termination of a previous firm. In contrast, Ronstadt's (1988) corridor principle proposes that ex-entrepreneurs are very likely to maintain entrepreneurial preferences. Based on the empirical evidence from a database consisting of ex-entrepreneurs, this ...
We develop and examine a framework for the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship in alli... more We develop and examine a framework for the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship in alliances. Our framework regards entrepreneurial opportunity as endogenous, and entrepreneurial firms as heterogeneous. The empirical findings show that partners’ knowledge protection, which is regarded as a knowledge filter, can increase knowledge spillovers in an alliance. Moreover, this relationship is contingent on the strength of a focal firm's entrepreneurial orientation and on alliance type (equity joint venture versus nonequity joint venture). Results also reveal that knowledge spillovers in an alliance enhance alliance performance more significantly than they enhance firm performance.
The subject of this report is spin-outs in the Netherlands compared to those in the Cambridge are... more The subject of this report is spin-outs in the Netherlands compared to those in the Cambridge area. The differences between the two areas have been found to be fewer than expected. The same type of initiatives are to be found in both areas, and the same type of problems are also encountered in both areas In general it seems that it would be advisable for universities to have spin-out stimulation added to the performance criteria to help the better facilitation of spin-outs.
This is a study into the general characteristics of spin-off start-ups in the Netherlands. We pro... more This is a study into the general characteristics of spin-off start-ups in the Netherlands. We provide insight into the occurrence and main features of spin-offs in the population of Dutch small business (<100 employees). We pay explicit attention to the parent firms, which gets us behind some of the dynamics of spin-off start-ups in the Dutch economy. Based on a review of literature, we have gathered empirical data among 1,734 Dutch SMEs. The subsample of firms that are spin-offs and parent companies were contacted again to get into further detail about the spin-off process. Next to this survey, a number of spin-offs and parent firms were interviewed face-to-face. In this study, we use the following definition of a spin-off: A spin-off is an individual or a group of individuals leaving a 'parent' firm to start up a new, independent business. The start-up occurs on the basis of specific knowledge and competences built up within the parent firm. The parent firm supports the spin-off by allowing the transfer of knowledge, competences and/or direct means. In our survey of SMEs, we find that 5-8% of all SMEs in the Netherlands is a spin-off. This means that there are about 6,000-7,000 new spin-offs per year. Most existing spin-offs are relatively young firms. Most spin-offs descend from other small firms. Large and medium-sized firms more frequently facilitate spin-offs explicitly. 34% of the spin-offs are supported by the transfer of knowledge. 34% are backed by some (initial) orders from the parent firm. 37% received other kinds of support, such as advice or an introduction to some of the members in the network of the parent. Financial support exists in 26% of cases. The knowledge transfer is seen as most critical by the spin-offs. Patents or licences hardly play a role in the SME spin-offs, but the transfer of product knowledge or knowledge of the market is very important in many cases. Most types of support from the parent firm occur only temporarily, although a number of spin-offs keep receiving advice or orders even after many years. Most support is clearly and only given in the start-up phase and a short period thereafter. There appear to be relatively many spin-offs in manufacturing, construction and business services. From the survey it can be concluded that spin-offs are not only overrepresented in these sectors, the spin-offs are also more innovative than other SMEs, especially in manufacturing and business services. Spin-off start-ups begin their venture with motives similar to other start-ups, but the pull factors are more dominant for spin-off entrepreneurs. Creating new and improved opportunities for products and people is a critical motive, next to the 'regular' independence motive. Dissatisfaction in the employment situation and the threat of unemployment are not as often mentioned by spin-offs as important motives. A motive quite specific to spin-offs is to utilize opportunities such as new products or technology that would otherwise have remained unused (within the parent firm). About a quarter of the spin-offs in the survey explicitly state this as a motive. The empirical data in our survey provide only limited information to really compare the success factors of spin-offs with the success factors of start-ups in general. From the limited information about sales growth, employment growth and profit growth, we may conclude, however, that the spin-offs are quite successful. 1 This is only one definition of spin-offs, in section 2 the choice of definitions is elaborated upon.
Uploads
Papers by Joris Meijaard