The Journey from Novice to Serial Entrepreneurship in China and Germany: Are the Drivers the Same?

While in general entrepreneurs in emerging economies are significantly different from entrepreneurs in mature markets on most dimensions, serial entrepreneurs demonstrate certain similarities in their goals and motivations, skills and competencies, resources, strategies and other characteristics. The drivers governing the journey from novice to serial entrepreneurship – while consistent with the arguments advanced by Casson and Lazear – appear to differ somewhat between emerging and mature economies. Based on a cross-sectional survey of Chinese and German entrepreneurs, the study contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurship in emerging markets and extends the knowledge of serial entrepreneurship by analyzing whether the differences between serial and novice entrepreneurs can be attributed to the types of skills and competences possessed by the individuals, and whether particular motives for starting new ventures are more conducive to multiple business founding than others.serial entrepreneurship, emerging economies, China, Germany

Companies profitability under economic instability: evidence from the manufacturing industry in Russia

This study analyzes factors affecting the efficiency (profitability) of enterprises in foreign, joint and domestic ownership in countries with unstable economy. The novelty of the study is that for the first time this kind of analysis has been carried out for the manufacturing industry in Russia, whose economy is characterized by the instability (crisis), external sanctions, and the internal trend for import substitution. Using a panel data on 6134 enterprises operating across several industries in Russia over the period of 2012–2016, the article suggests that generally production efficiency and scale efficiency positively affect profitability, whereas the share of borrowed capital, share of fixed assets and rising interest rates exert negative effects. The contribution of external financial factors is minimal, except for foreign and jointly owned firms. Production efficiency has a particularly pronounced effect for the automotive industry, machinery and equipment manufacturing, and in the metal industry. In contrast, in the chemical, electrical and optical manufacturing, and in food processing industries, internal financial factors emerge as a powerful predictor of performance. Firm ownership does not exert a significant effect on the relationship between the variables of interest when the share of borrowed funds is below 50%. When the share of borrowed capital exceeds 50%, internal financial factors emerge as a particularly prominent predictor of profitability

Spatiotemporal 3D image registration for mesoscale studies of brain development

Comparison of brain samples representing different developmental stages often necessitates registering the samples to common coordinates. Although the available software tools are successful in registering 3D images of adult brains, registration of perinatal brains remains challenging due to rapid growth-dependent morphological changes and variations in developmental pace between animals. To address these challenges, we introduce CORGI (Customizable Object Registration for Groups of Images), an algorithm for the registration of perinatal brains. First, we optimized image preprocessing to increase the algorithm's sensitivity to mismatches in registered images. Second, we developed an attention-gated simulated annealing procedure capable of focusing on the differences between perinatal brains. Third, we applied classical multidimensional scaling (CMDS) to align ("synchronize") brain samples in time, accounting for individual development paces. We tested CORGI on 28 samples of whole-mounted perinatal mouse brains (P0-P9) and compared its accuracy with other registration algorithms. Our algorithm offers a runtime of several minutes per brain on a laptop and automates such brain registration tasks as mapping brain data to atlases, comparing experimental groups, and monitoring brain development dynamics

?ccr5 Genotype Is Associated with Mild Form of Nephropathia Epidemica

Nephropathia Epidemica (NE), a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and linked to hantavirus infection, is endemic in the Republic of Tatarstan. Several genetic markers of HFRS severity have been identified previously, including human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complexes and nucleotide polymorphism in the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) gene. Still, our understanding of the genetic markers of NE severity remains incomplete. The frequency of the C–C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) gene wild type and gene with 32-base-pair deletion (Δ32CCR5) genotypes in 98 NE samples and 592 controls was analyzed using PCR. Along with the serum levels of 94 analytes, a lack of differences in the CCR5 genotype distribution between NE cases and the general population suggests that the CCR5 genotype does not affect susceptibility to hantavirus infection. However, in NE cases, significant variation in the serum levels of the host matrix metalloproteases between functional CCR5 homozygous and Δ32CCR5 heterozygous patients was detected. Also, the oliguric phase was longer, while thrombocyte counts were lower in functional CCR5 homozygous as compared to heterozygous NE cases. Our data, for the first time, presents the potential role of the CCR5 receptor genotype in NE pathogenesis. Our data suggests that NE pathogenesis in functional CCR5 homozygous and heterozygous NE patients differs, where homozygous cases may have more disintegration of the extracellular matrix and potentially more severe disease

Evolution des lois d'échelle dans les amas de galaxies à partir d'observations du satellite XMM (physique de la formation des grandes structures)

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Start-up rates and innovation: A cross-country examination

Despite the widespread assumptions of the positive relationship between start-up rates and innovation, the empirical support for this conjecture in the cross-country context is largely lacking. We draw upon recent advances in the entrepreneurship literature to propose that the relationship between start-up rates and innovation is not uniformly positive, as expected by the early scholars of entrepreneurship, but instead depends on the country's stage of development. The relationship is positive in the developed countries, but negative in countries in early development stages. On balance, there is a weak negative association between start-up rates and innovation. We test our hypotheses on a multi-source dataset that covers 35 countries over the period from 1996 to 2002. The relationships are robust to the choice of three moderators and two dependent variables, as well as a number of post-hoc tests. Our findings indicate that broad-strokes policy efforts that aim at promotion of entrepreneurship as a means to boost country innovativeness may be misguided, and instead suggest a contingency approach.

Entrepreneurial orientation and network board diversity in network organizations of Pages 18

This study extends the concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) to the network level to investigate how diversity among officers serving on network organization boards affects networklevel entrepreneurial orientation (NEO). Using data from 53 strategic network organizations across five years, we found that insider/outsider and functional diversity among network board members promotes NEO. The results also demonstrate that board group tenure moderates the influence of diversity in opposite ways. The impact of board insider/outsider diversity is stronger in networks in which board members lack long tenure. On the contrary, the effect of functional diversity on network entrepreneurial orientation is stronger in network organizations with tenured boards. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation Upper echelon Interfirm networks Diversity Board tenure Executive Summary Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) was first introduced as a firm-level concept, and scholars have analyzed EO exclusively at that level. We, however, suggest that EO should also be studied at other levels of analysis such as network organizations. This is a totally different setting for the pursuit of EO. The influence of firms on network-level strategies is limited, and the strategy-making power and authority is vested within network governing bodies-the so-called network boards. This creates conditions for EO to manifest at the network level. We refer to this as network-level entrepreneurial orientation (NEO) and define it as the promotion of collective routines and conditions to offer opportunities for the network's firms to engage in joint endeavors to develop new innovations; experiment with frame-breaking renewal; commit to uncertain projects that potentially use new and existing resources effectively; and facilitate engaging the network's companies in proactive initiatives. Development of NEO poses non-trivial challenges. For example, network member firms must accept that they have less power to influence entrepreneurial decisions than the collective governing body. The network board represents multiple stakeholders and aims to implement the best strategy for the entire body of participating firms. As such, board composition becomes a key factor that affects the development and promotion of NEO. Strategizing within networks is complex and could be further exacerbated by the complexities with the network boards themselves since boards have to reconcile political agendas of network members trying to protect their own interests. We outline how unique decision biases of network boards can influence NEO. This study investigates how diversity among officers serving on network organization boards influences NEO. We extend the mainstream upper echelons reasoning meant for traditional corporate boards and top management teams to develop and test a Journal of Business Venturing xxx (2013) theory of how network board decisions influence NEO. Specifically, we discuss in detail how functional background diversity and inside/outside diversity facilitate NEO. While doing so, we suggest a moderating influence of board group tenure on the relationship between the two aspects of board diversity. We argue that the different qualities of functional background diversity and inside/ outside diversity bring about divergence in thought and action. As a result, the influence of functional background diversity on NEO is strengthened in tenured board groups whereas the importance of inside/outside diversity for NEO is reduced in tenured boards. This highlights how the effects of different types of diversity change as boards attain tenure. Results obtained from a longitudinal analysis of strategic network organizations confirm our expectations. We conclude that board diversity is important for network boards and for entrepreneurial orientation at the network level. Several theoretical and practical implications emerge from our findings. For entrepreneurial orientation research, we introduce, define, and validate EO at a network level (NEO), study a peculiar governance device that operates at the meso-level and is distinct from the mechanisms typically investigated, enhance the understanding of different types of diversity as boards attain tenure, and re-evaluate the relevance of the upper echelons framework in the network board context with respect to incentives, role enactment, and the collective striving of board members. For practice, our study is particularly useful because it assists in establishing a foundation upon which well-grounded decisions regarding EO at the network level could be made. The study also emphasizes that the strategy making process ascends from the sole firm level to the network level and that NEO is different from EO. This means that management should acknowledge that not all network member firms have to be entrepreneurially oriented to make the network organization entrepreneurial, and vice versa. As a result, this suggests a novel way of looking at the extent to which individual organizations need to pursue EO. Introduction The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), which captures how decision makers build business routines and structural arrangements to support innovative ideas and creative projects, has been studied at the firm level The growing popularity of horizontal network relationships and the gradual shift of economic activity from the firm level to the network level bring to the fore the challenge of developing EO at the network level as well. We refer to EO conceptualized at this higher organizational level as network-level entrepreneurial orientation or NEO. Formal network organizations typically assign the task of developing strategy to the network-level's governing bodies (e.g., the network board group) rather than any single firm Previous research has demonstrated that top management and the composition of top management teams (TMTs) influence firm-level EO (see e.g., We contextualize the effects of network board diversity to show that the mechanisms driving the intentions and behavior of network boards differ distinctly from those at the corporate level. We advance To date, whether the upper echelons arguments apply to this novel context has not been ascertained; we believe this is a gap in the literature. We also take this line of reasoning one step further and suggest it is important to consider the moderating effects of board tenure. Specifically, extending the upper echelons theory in this contextually unique setting suggests that insider/outsider diversity has its strongest positive impact on NEO when board tenure is low. In contrast, we suggest that functional diversity has its strongest positive influence on NEO when board tenure is high. Hence, different forms of diversity will be more or less useful as board groups attain tenure. The conceptual development of the present study is tested in the empirical setting of network boards governing 53 strategic network organizations in Sweden over a 5-year period. We discuss the implications of this research for future studies of EO, elaborate on the effects of group diversity, and probe the boundary conditions of the upper echelons framework. We maintain that promoting NEO is an important area for future academic inquiry, because participating in network organizations opens new forms of EO. As such, a company's benefits from NEO and innovation, risk-taking, or proactiveness that are typically associated with entrepreneurial orientation can be found beyond corporate boundaries. The corollary of the present study is that understanding EO must be broadened to acknowledge the strategy-making processes that occur outside the traditional unit of analysis; that is, the firm. Theory Strategic network organizations, entrepreneurial orientation, and strategy-making Strategic network organizations, which link multiple partners that share common goals and accept network governance are common in practice, but are surprisingly under-researched In the present study, we examine the existence of EO in network organizations. In addition to the traditional firm or micro-level EO that has been studied widely, we suggest that EO may manifest at the network level as well. To date, however, prior research has neglected EO at the meso-and macro-levels. Although strategic choices with an entrepreneurial orientation can exist at many levels, in the present study we concentrate exclusively on the meso-level (network organizations). We define NEO as promoting collective routines and conditions to offer opportunities for the network's firms to engage in joint endeavors to develop new innovations; experiment with frame-breaking renewal; commit to uncertain projects that potentially use new and existing resources effectively; and facilitate engaging the network's companies in proactive initiatives. Unlike firm-level EO, network-level EO (i.e., NEO) captures an orientation for collective engagement in joint endeavors associated with dimensions such as innovation, risk-taking, and proactivness. In contrast to traditional firm-level EO actions, network-level innovation or renewal refers to creating new network business by re-working product offerings the network organization presents; identifying new markets for network-level offerings; exposing network offerings and member-owned technology based on new product developments or production facilities; and developing network units that own patents. Network-level risk-taking refers to boldness in promoting network experiments in which the outcomes are uncertain. These activities may invest substantially in entering new markets with the network organization or investing heavily in risky product development. Network-level proactiveness includes bold movements to explore new ideas that other network organizations or companies do not currently approach. Several perspectives can be adopted to explain NEO. The proponents of embeddedness theory suggest that as the network matures, knowledge and information about focal network actors, their competencies, and their actions will spread through the network (e.g., The strategic choices network boards execute are similar to those discussed in top management literature related to EO, which suggests that opportunities can be pursued by purposeful enactment Although the power to enact EO shifts from firm managers to network board officers, the strategic decisions to pursue entrepreneurship at the network-level are still likely to embrace innovation, risk-taking, and proactiveness (Covin and Slevin, As noted, network boards make the network-level strategic decisions. Firm-level management, however, determines strategic choices regarding firm-level innovation, risk-taking, and proactiveness. Importantly, firm-level decisions are unrelated, to a great extent, to the strategic choices at the network level. Network boards as upper echelons Network boards are typically instituted to coordinate and facilitate network operations Acknowledging similarities to corporate boards and TMTs suggests that upper echelons theory Similar to risk taking on a firm level, risk taking on a network level occurs when network management takes bold actions and/or commits significant resources in uncertain domains. It is different, however, in the sense that it is the network organization, not individual firms, that takes those bold actions and invests resources. The member firms may still share some of this risk, but it is only a fraction of the network's risk. One network organization took significant risks when investing resources to lobby for changes in the construction norms in the housing industry, which included hiring legal practitioners and people with connections to lobby for such changes on a national level. While no single firm would take such a risk with unknown outcomes, the network organization saw the opportunity and decided to invest network resources in an uncertain endeavor so that some network-level products to be launched. Proactiveness: When company-level management has an "opportunity-seeking, forward-looking perspective characterized by the introduction of new products and services ahead of the competition and acting in anticipation of future demand." On a network level, proactiveness relates to network managements' preference to strive for the network to stay ahead of competition and future demand. Thus, network-level proactiveness captures introducing products and services that the member firms in the network organization develop jointly and the ambition of the network organization to be the first mover in their industry. The network management in a network organization related to the timber industry decided to take pre-emptive action against the possible entry of new actors from low-wage countries. Whereas individually the firms could not outbid the low-cost entrants, as a network they were able to offer a comprehensive solution where member firms were adding smaller bits and pieces in a coordinated manner and thus changing the fundamental value proposition in their industry. They believed that such a solution, which was entirely new to the market, would be attractive to customers who make their purchasing decisions on more than just price. At the same time, the firms' could continue their individual production without changes. This endowed the network with the first mover advantages in that segment of the market. Regardless of the direction of these relationships, the central premise of upper echelons theory is that TMT members' experiences, values, and personalities greatly influence how they interpret the situations they face and, in turn, affect their choices and decisions Although the problems outlined above may not be present in all network boards, we suggest that they are highly likely to exist in a typical board. Drawing on the selection procedure through which network boards are composed, we reason that new members are What they are Although there are varieties, the board is considered the formal link between firms' shareholders and managers. The board has both a control function and a service function. It monitors management, but also provides advice and is active in formulating the firm's strategy. In SMEs, the board averages six directors, and in larger corporations it averages ten directors. The directors can be divided into insiders (those who are employed full-time in one of the firms) and outsiders (e.g., lawyers, bankers, venture capitalists, or current or retired executives of other firms). TMTs are teams of people holding top management positions in a firm. TMTs are responsible for making and implementing strategic decisions and for administrating day-to-day operations. The operationalizations of TMTs differ across studies. For example, whereas some only include executives serving on the board, others are broader in their measure by including all executives holding senior-most offices (VP level and higher). This makes it difficult to compare the sizes of TMTs. Network boards are a group of people that participates in the strategy making process for a network organization. Similar to corporate boards, they have both a control function and a service function. Moreover, they consist of both insiders (those representing network firms) and outsiders (those who do not represent network firms). Similar to TMTs, they are also responsible for implementing strategic decisions, but the decisions may be influenced by dominant members with strong self-interests. Law does not regulate their roles. Rather, each manager has a specific job description that the firm establishes, which details the responsibilities and expectancies. In contrast to corporate boards, their responsibilities are not imposed by legislation. Nor, however, do they have job descriptions as TMTs. This sometimes leads to difficulties replacing directors. Also, board members may only choose to be active in decision-making when they want to ensure their own agendas. likely to carry interests that conform to the current interests of the network board. Moreover, once on the board, members are not likely to drop their engagement and will try to protect their interests by picking new candidates whose interests do not conflict with theirs. Another interviewee mentioned: "I was on the board when we invested in this new technique of cutting timber. I now use it in my company. If the network sells this equipment as some suggested, the quality of the products I am selling will drop. Not all network members understand the benefits. They may want to spend resources and engage in competing alternatives, but simply for that reason, I think the network would make a mistake by selling … Sure, you may say that I protect my company, but nevertheless, I am glad that the committee [the network board] knows the value of our equipment." We posit that this problem could be reflected in lower NEO and that such board dynamics could create biases in strategic choices. Effectively, we assume that the prior experiences of each top manager represent a "bag of tricks" that manifest in different perceptions, values, and beliefs To this background, we suggest that carefully planning and composing the network board are an important issue. We do this in good faith that observable characteristics of TMTs such as background are proxies for psychological factors that have the potential to influence strategic choices. Next, we analyze the influences of two types of board heterogeneity-insider/outsider diversity and functional diversity-on NEO. We then develop the moderating effects of board tenure on these relationships to elaborate more clearly on how the key mechanisms manifest themselves in network boards. Insider/outsider diversity and NEO In the board literature, the distinction between insiders and outsiders refers to whether the board officer is employed by the board's organization Board composition in terms of insiders and outsiders significantly impacts the nature of board decisions Outsider-dominated boards, on the other hand, while seemingly free from self-interest-seeking behavior, risk making strategic choices that neglect internal conditions and could grow too distant from the actual network and the interests of member firms H1. Network board insider/outsider diversity is positively related to network entrepreneurial orientation. Functional diversity and NEO Functional diversity-wide representation of individuals within distinct functional areas, such as marketing, production, research and development, finance, accounting, and corporate planning-is applied frequently in TMT research (e.g., Bunderson 6 J. Wincent et al

Boards' advisory role in strategic SME networks

This study focuses on the advisory role of network boards in stimulating network-level entrepreneurial orientation. Results from a longitudinal analysis of boards governing 53 strategic small-firm networks support the positive role that board functional diversity and board insider/outsider diversity play in supporting entrepreneurship. Further, board group tenure and network age moderate the diversity relationships (functional and insider/outsider) in opposite ways. The effect of functional background diversity on network entrepreneurial orientation is stronger in younger networks and networks with tenured boards. The impact of board insider/outsider diversity is weaker in tenured board groups and stronger in more mature networks.Godkänd; 2011; 20110818 (andbra)CiiR-Centre for Inter-Organizational Innovation Researc

Boards' advisory role in strategic SME networks

This study focuses on the advisory role of network boards in stimulating network-level entrepreneurial orientation. Results from a longitudinal analysis of boards governing 53 strategic small-firm networks support the positive role that board functional diversity and board insider/outsider diversity play in supporting entrepreneurship. Further, board group tenure and network age moderate the diversity relationships (functional and insider/outsider) in opposite ways. The effect of functional background diversity on network entrepreneurial orientation is stronger in younger networks and networks with tenured boards. The impact of board insider/outsider diversity is weaker in tenured board groups and stronger in more mature networks.Godkänd; 2011; 20110818 (andbra)CiiR-Centre for Inter-Organizational Innovation Researc