Aproximándonos a la relación entre el emprendimiento y la innovación desde diferentes ángulos

178 páginas.Tesis doctoral (Lectura 30/05/2019). Director: Dr. Dº José María Millán Tapia. Tribunal: Rui Miguel Loureiro Nobre Baptista (presidente); María Engracia Rochina Barrachina (secretaria); Máximo Cosme Camacho Alonso (vocal). Entrepreneurship and innovation can be viewed as different sides of the same coin. Innovation is more related to novelty creation whereas entrepreneurship is more related to value creation. In other words, innovation is the source of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship allows innovation to flourish and to realize its economic and social value (Zhao 2005). The challenge is to understand the whole process from initial ideas to lasting realisations but, unfortunately, there is no common sense about how such process shall look like (Brem 2011). This dissertation covers a wide variety of topics relevant to the research into innovation and entrepreneurship and aims to represent a step forward in the understanding of the relationship between both concepts. This dissertation is structured in 6 chapters, being Chapter 1 devoted to present the research focus, objectives and structure. The main body is organised in 4 chapters as follows: Chapter 2 investigates Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption/usage frequency by different entrepreneurship types and the impact of this adoption/usage frequency on their performance, which is captured by earnings. Chapter 3 explores the interrelation between the share of the self-employed workforce in a given country that can be considered ‘entrepreneurial’ –which is associated with the share of Kirznerian entrepreneurs– and trademark registration at the country level. Chapter 4 examines whether the innovative nature of an economy as expressed by its level of R&D expenditure, affects the relative weight of different self-employment types based on occupational status and start-up motive. Chapter 5 analyses how the interplay between country R&D expenditure and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws affect entrepreneurs’ performance at the individual-level. The final chapter presents a summary of the main findings and implications of the work, and gives an outlook on future research areas on the various topics investigated in this dissertation. The empirical analysis is based on microdata drawn from the Fifth and Sixth waves of the European Working Conditions Survey –EWCS 2010 and 2015– (Eurofound). Data on registered trademarks at the country-level is derived from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Data on R&D expenditure at the country-level is derived from Eurostat. Finally, data on IPR protection in each economy is derived from the World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey (WEF-EOS). As regards empirical methods, linear regressions and discrete choice models (binary, ordered and non-ordered) are used.El emprendimiento y la innovación pueden entenderse como dos caras de la misma moneda. La innovación está más relacionada con la creación de novedades, mientras que el emprendimiento está más relacionado con la creación de valor. Dicho de otro modo, la innovación es la fuente del emprendimiento, y el emprendimiento permite que la innovación emerja y genere su valor económico y social (Zhao 2005). El reto es poder comprender todo el proceso, desde las ideas iniciales hasta las realizaciones finales. Desafortunadamente, no se ha alcanzado todavía un consenso sobre el modo en que este proceso tiene lugar (Brem 2011). Esta tesis doctoral cubre una importante variedad de tópicos relevantes para la investigación en innovación y emprendimiento y aspira a ser un paso más en la comprensión de la relación existente entre ambos fenómenos. Esta tesis doctoral se estructura en 6 capítulos, estando el Capítulo 1 dedicado a presentar el enfoque, los objetivos y la estructura de la investigación. El cuerpo principal está organizado en 4 capítulos del siguiente modo: el Capítulo 2 investiga la adopción y frecuencia de uso de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC) según los diferentes tipos de emprendimiento y el impacto de esta adopción / frecuencia de uso en su desempeño, capturado este por las ganancias empresariales. El Capítulo 3 explora la interrelación entre el peso relativo del empleo por cuenta propia en un determinado país que puede considerarse "emprendedor" –que se asocia con el peso de emprendedores Kirznerianos– y el registro de marcas a nivel nacional. El Capítulo 4 examina si el carácter innovador de una economía, capturado este por su nivel de gasto en I+D, afecta al peso relativo de los diferentes tipos de trabajadores por cuenta propia según su situación ocupacional y sus motivaciones para emprender. El Capítulo 5 analiza cómo la interacción entre el gasto agregado en I+D y las Leyes sobre los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual (DPI) afecta al desempeño de los empresarios a nivel individual. El capítulo final presenta un resumen de los principales hallazgos e implicaciones de esta tesis doctoral, así como de las futuras líneas de investigación asociadas a los diferentes tópicos analizados. El análisis empírico está basado en los microdatos de las olas 5ª y 6ª de la Encuesta Europea de Condiciones de Trabajo (European Working Conditions Survey – EWCS 2010 y 2015; Eurofound). Los datos sobre marcas registradas a nivel nacional se obtienen de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI). Los datos sobre el gasto en I+D a nivel nacional se obtienen a través de Eurostat. Finalmente, los datos sobre la protección de los DPI en cada economía se derivan de la Encuesta de Opinión de Ejecutivos del Foro Económico Mundial (World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey – WEF-EOS). En cuanto a la metodología empírica empleada, se utilizan regresiones lineales y modelos de elección discreta (binarios, ordenados y no ordenados)

The moderating role of IPR on the relationship between country-level R&D and individual-level entrepreneurial performance

Using recent data drawn from the European Working Conditions Survey for 32 European countries, we explore the relationship between country-level expenditures on R&D, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and individual-level entrepreneurial performance as measured by earnings. Our results show that both R&D expenditures and IPR are positively associated with earnings (and hence the quality) of individual entrepreneurs. However, we also find an intriguing moderation effect in the sense that IPR reduces the positive relationship between country R&D and entrepreneurial earnings. This suggests that too strict IPR legislation may hamper the diffusion of knowledge created by R&D. Hence, governments need to carefully consider the level of IPR they want to install, especially in countries with high R&D expenditures.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyectos ECO2017-86305-C4-2-R y ECO2017-86402-C2-2-R. Junta de Andalucía: Grupo de investigación SEJ-487 (Spanish Entrepreneurship Research Group – SERG). Universidad de Huelva: Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia.Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Trademarks and their association with Kirznerian entrepreneurs

Although trademarks are the most widely used form of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by firms across all economic sectors worldwide, this indicator is a much less exploited information resource in empirical analysis compared with patents. Our work addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between trademark registration and entrepreneurial activity using data for 33 European countries. Our empirical results show a positive and significant relationship between the share of the self-employed workforce in a given country that can be considered ‘entrepreneurial’ –which we associate with the share of Kirznerian entrepreneurs– and trademark registration at the country level. These results have important implications for scholars, practitioners and policy makers, which are discussed in this work.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyectos de I+D+i ECO2017-86305-C4-2-R y ECO2017-86402-C2-2-R. Junta de Andalucía: Grupo de investigación SEJ-487 Spanish Entrepreneurship Research Group – SERG. Universidad de Huelva: Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia.Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

How do country R&D change the allocation of self-employment across different types?

We investigate the impact of country R&D on the allocation of self-employment across different types, where types are identified based on occupational status and start-up motive. We first conduct a literature review based on which we consider the self-employed with employees to be of higher ‘quality’ (in terms of their overall contribution to the economy) compared with independent own-account workers, who in turn may be considered of higher quality than dependent self-employed workers. Similarly, we also consider opportunity self-employed to be of higher quality than necessity self-employed. Our empirical analysis then shows that the level of a country’s R&D expenditures increases the share of self-employed with employees and that of opportunity self-employed (i.e. the self-employment types associated with higher quality) at the cost of the shares of dependent self-employed and necessity self-employed. Higher R&D expenditures at the country level thus increase the quality of self-employment in the country

‘Digital divide’ among European entrepreneurs: Which types benefit most from ICT implementation?

This paper explores the extent to which information and communication technology (ICT) is used by different types of self-employed individuals and how it affects their earnings. We investigate independent own-account workers (IOA), self-employed with employees (SEwE) and dependent selfemployed workers (DSEW). Using recent survey data for 35 European countries, we find that earnings rise with the level of ICT use but only from a threshold of utilisation accounting for at least 25 per cent of the time. Moreover, we find that the increase in earnings associated with ICT adoption and usage is larger for SEwE types when compared to both IOA and DSEW. Finally, we find an indirect negative inertia effect of job tenure (i.e., entrepreneurs who have been running their business for a relatively long period of time) on earnings (via low ICT adoption and use). Policy implications are also discussed

How IPR Can Shape Knowledge Diffusion Processes in Europe

Using recent data drawn from the European Working Conditions Survey for 32 European countries, we explore the relationship between two indicators of knowledge diffusion processes —country-level R&D and individual-level ICT usage at work by entrepreneurs—, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and individual-level entrepreneurial performance as measured by earnings. Our results show that country-level expenditures on R&D, entrepreneurs’ ICT use frequency at work, and IPR are all positively associated with earnings (and hence the quality) of individual entrepreneurs. However, we also find two intriguing moderation effects in the sense that IPR reduces both the positive relationship between country R&D and entrepreneurial earnings and the positive relationship between ICT usage and earnings. This suggests that too strict IPR legislation may hamper the diffusion of knowledge created by R&D, as well as limit the facilitating role of ICT usage in the exploitation of knowledge spillovers. Hence, governments need to carefully consider the level of IPR they want to install. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG