Exploring the entrepreneur’s pivotal role : how creator capital affects organizational outcomes and underpins self-employment persistence

The objective of this dissertation is to determine how an entrepreneurial individual, either alone or as part of a team, contributes to the development and sustainability of a start-up venture. It is well-recognized that the entrepreneur or business owner is a powerful organizational driver, whose ideas and vision affect the start-up through the articulation of strategy, the allocation of resources, and the definition of organizational tasks. Conversely, relatively little empirical evidence directly corroborates business owner characteristics, such as human capital and social capital, as the mainstay of a new venture. Besides, prior research that does focus on the significance of powerful actors within the firm usually adopts a unilateral performance lens. There is much debate on what constitutes an adequate performance measure, especially when it comes to capturing start-up functioning. Consequently, research on start-ups within this strand of literature has been scant, while a clear need exists for other constructs that accurately reflect new venture operation. In order to examine a business owner s human and social capital contributions to start-up development and sustainability, we employ four distinct operationalisations: the start-up s ability to acquire, assimilate and exploit information; its volume of international sales; the strength of the entrepreneur s decision to remain self-employed; and the organization s capacity to generate value added. Flemish start-ups form this study s empirical setting.Our findings endorse specific business owner characteristics as basic levers of start-up development and sustainability. Evidence emerges that human capital mainly affects organizational outcomes if it is grounded in pertinent life-built experiences (start-up, industry, and management experience). This dissertation also shows that the impact of business owner human capital on start-up development and sustainability is context-contingent. Within our research design, the environmental situation of the start-up, the organization s accumulated knowledge base, and the distribution of experience within a founding team all add to the situated relevance of the owner s human capital. Apart from this human capital situatedness , we find proof of a positive impact of human capital relatedness , which determines the unique and inimitable character of the start-up s competitive advantage. From a policy-making perspective, we develop a human and social capital-induced definition of the term open entrepreneur , being a knowledge-driven entrepreneurial individual with an international state of mind that is expected to advance the knowledge-transformation of the Flemish economy. Additionally, evidence is provided on various distinct demographic and career-related obstacles to self-employment longevity, a recurrent stumbling block for the Flemish region. Summarizing our social capital findings, we can only marginally confirm the (often anticipated) direct organizational relevance of owner social capital. One could, therefore, argue that given the limited weight their social capital exerts on start-up development and sustainability, business owners should focus on building other entrepreneurial capital, such as expertise and know-how. However, social capital might function as a critical gateway for scarce, venture-related information which, in turn, could foster the further development of the business owner s human capital. Also, there exists a variety of organizational outcomes outside the scope of this dissertation, for which the business owner s social capital may actually be a robust predictor. Throughout this dissertation, we thus highlight avenues for future research while being mindful of a number of choices that had to be made.status: publishe

Compulsory Licensing of Patented Pharmaceutical Inventions: Evaluating the Options

In this Comment, the author traces the relevant legislative history pertaining to compulsory licensing of patented pharmaceuticals from the TRIPS Agreement of 1994 to the 2003 waiver to, and later proposed amendment of, article 31, which enables poor countries to obtain needed medicines from other countries that possess manufacturing capacity. The Comment then evaluates recent, controversial uses of the relevant legislative machinery as viewed from different critical perspectives. The Comment shows how developing countries seeking access to esential medicines can collaborate in ways that would avoid undermining incentives to innovation and other social costs attributed to compulsory licensing. It ends by defending the legality of recent measures taken to promote public health in developing countries, and by reminding developed countries that unilateral retaliation against such measures is demonstrably illegal under WTO foundational law and jurisprudence

Berger’s space

Introduction and Objective: The Berger’s space (BS) is a space located between the posterior capsule of the lens and the anterior hyaloid of the vitreous, structures that adhere in a circular manner by means of the Wieger ligament, for which the outer limit is defined by Egger´s line. The aim of this article is to perform a review of the BS, as well as to present three cases in which this BS could be demonstrated by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Material and Method: A total of 90 patients from a general ophthalmology clinic were studied, on whom an anterior pole OCT was performed (Cirrus Lumera 700 Carl Zeiss Medicte, Dublin, California, United States). All patients were included consecutively, with an analysis being performed on the cornea, anterior chamber, iris, lens, and anterior vitreous, but excluding those in which the test could not be performed. Results: The posterior lens capsule, the anterior hyaloid, and the BS between both structures were observed in three patients. This is the first time in the current literature that three cases have been described, together with their characteristics (one phakic –case 1- and two pseudophakic, one of them vitreous destructuring –case 2- and the other with opacification of the posterior capsule of the lens –case 3-), using this previous pole OCT technique. Conclusions: Knowledge of the BS is essential to understand the vitreo-lenticular junction and any complications in some cataract surgeries, as well as to also understand the pathological origin of pigment dispersion syndrome

Vsx1 and Chx10 paralogs sequentially secure V2 interneuron identity during spinal cord development

Locomotion is a complex behavior regulated by circuits, named central pattern generators, located in the ventral part of the spinal cord. These circuits are composed of motor neurons (MNs) and of different populations of interneurons: dorsal dI6 and ventral V0 to V3 cardinal populations. During development, they are produced from specific progenitor domains distributed along the dorso-ventral axis of the spinal cord. The p2 progenitor domain generates V2 interneurons that diversify at least into five populations: V2a, V2b, V2c, V2d and Pax6-V2 interneurons. This differentiation process involves fine genetic regulations and cross-repressive mechanisms that consolidate cell fate. Indeed, progenitor domains of V2 interneurons and of MNs are closely adjacent during development and share some molecular determinants. Cross and mutual repressions between Ceh-10 homeobox (Chx10) gene, expressed in differentiating V2a interneurons, and Homeobox 9 (Hb9), expressed in early MNs, participate in the consolidation of V2 interneuron versus MN identity by preventing the activation of inappropriate differentiation program. However, Chx10 starts to be expressed in differentiating V2a interneurons. Therefore, we could address the following question: which factor secures the identity of V2 interneurons at early stages of development. Studies demonstrate that the unique paralog gene of Chx10, the Visual System homeoboX 1 (Vsx1), is also present in V2 interneuron compartment in a more medial part of the spinal cord. The aim of my thesis project is to characterize the expression profile of Vsx1 in the spinal and determine whether it may, in collaboration with its paralog Chx10, contribute to the securisation of V2 interneuron identity. In this work, we show that Vsx1 transiently labels an intermediate V2 precursor compartment. We provide evidence that this transcription factor is not necessary for V2 interneuron production but contributes to their development. We show that the unique paralog factor of Chx10 identically prevents motor neuron differentiation in early V2 precursors. Furthermore, combined inactivation unveiled cooperativity between Vsx1 and Chx10 although they are not produced in the same cells.(BIFA - Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques) -- UCL, 201

Impact of TTIP on third parties and especially on Turkey from the European point of view

The terms “mega deal” or “mega regional agreement” have been broadly used in recent years in most trade deals between some of the developed countries around the world. Nowadays, countries and businesses benefit from international economic integration. The progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and the lowering of customs barriers increase competition and create a bigger market that rewards economies of scale (Van den Hengel, 2013). These mega-deals have significantly reshaped the global trade policy landscape. Usually, multilateral trade agreements are supposed to be concluded through the World Trade Organization (WTO). But since the latest Doha Development Round of trade negotiations in 2001, no decisive agreements have been reached. This rising influence of emerging countries has slowed the supremacy of the developed and industrialised countries and particularly the “Quad” (the US, Canada, the EU and Japan), based on the Western liberal economic order. Turkey sits in the middle of two contested regions: the Middle East and the East of Europe (Ukraine, Moldavia, Russia, Armenia...). For years Turkey has been a great ally of the West. It has always been a loyal Member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and one of the founders of many international (Western) institutions such as the GATT, the IMF, World Bank, the OECD and the Council of Europe. And even if scepticism has been raised about Turkey‘s domestic and foreign policy, since 2005, the country is also moving forward in the accession negotiation progress to join the EU. Turkey has grown sharply, joining the top 20 of the largest world economies. This swift rise gave hope and confidence to the Turkish government and businesses in its struggle to access TTIP discussion. It is in this context that we will analyse the impact of TTIP on third parties and especially on Turkey. Our studies is limited to the European point of viewMaster [120] en sciences de gestion, Université catholique de Louvain, 201

The Role of Entrepreneurship in the Context of Career Trajectories: Moving Back into Wage Employment or into Unemployment?

International audienceThis study investigates patterns of movement from self-employment to wage employment or to unemployment in Belgium. Non-parametric techniques and complimentary log–log analyses are used to determine the significance of stable individual traits (e.g. gender) and of time-dependent characteristics (e.g. family and organizational context, labour market mobility) in moving back to wage employment or to unemployment. Evidence is provided on the possibility of entrepreneurship acting as a ‘steppingstone’ between long-term unemployment and paid work. Yet, significant relationships also emerge between ex-ante time spent in unemployment and the possibility of continued unemployment upon self-employment exit

Start-up export intensity: An empirical investigation of the impact of absorptive capacity and business owner human and social capital

This study investigates the influence of business owner human and social capital on start-up export intensity. In addition, building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, we assume the relationships between owner characteristics and firm export activities to be moderated by the start-up’s absorptive capacity, which designates its ability to acquire, assimilate and exploit new information. Flemish start-ups form this study’s empirical setting. Our results indicate that start-up export intensity is (1) driven by the business owner’s formal education and start-up experience, while (2) weakened by his/her accumulated management experience. Furthermore, we find evidence that start-up absorptive capacity significantly moderates the export impact of the owner’s human capital. Finally, implications and opportunities for future research are suggested.status: publishe

Start-up absorptive capacity: Does the owner’s human and social capital matter?

This study investigates how business owner human and social capital affect start-up absorptive capacity under different environmental conditions. From our analysis of a sample of 199 Flemish start-ups, we observe that the owner’s start-up experience and bridging social capital are positively and significantly related to the new venture’s ability to acquire, assimilate and exploit external information. In addition, our findings reveal a positive but decreasing effect of owner specific human capital as a function of environmental turbulence. Furthermore, we find that management experience significantly stimulates start-up absorptive capacity within highly dynamic environments, whereas it hinders it within stable environments. Finally, implications and opportunities for future research are provided.status: publishe

La force majeure en matière contractuelle : actualité du concept, analyse de clauses et application particulière au contrat de voyage

Master [120] en droit, Université catholique de Louvain, 201