Why do Employees Leave Their Jobs for Self-Employment? – The Impact of Entrepreneurial Working Conditions in Small Firms

Based on the finding that entrepreneurs who found new firms tend to work as employees of small rather than large firms prior to start-up, we test how different working conditions, which enhance entrepreneurial learning, affect their decision to become entrepreneurs when moderated by firm size. Based on data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find a significant relationship between entrepreneurial learning (extracted in an orthogonal factor analysis based on twelve working conditions as proxy for entrepreneurial human capital and work experience) and firm size when predicting the probability of leaving paid employment for self-employment. We think, that this is a special kind of knowledge spillover. We also control for other aspects such as gender, age, wage, etc. – factors that may potentially influence the decision to become self-employed. Thus, our analysis sheds new light onto the black box of SMEs as a hotbed of new start-ups.Entrepreneurship, Occupational Choice, Working Conditions, Human Capital

Human capital and its influence on entrepreneurial success

Die Verfasserin fragt nach Humankapital als Schlüsselvariable für Erfolg und Wachstum eines neu gegründeten Unternehmens. Sie zeigt, dass Humankapitalinvestitionen einen bedeutenden Einfluss auf das Wachstum eines solchen Unternehmens haben. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung basieren auf Umfragedaten für fast 1000 Unternehmensneugründungen in Deutschland. Die Verfasserin fragt, ob eine bessere Humankapitalausstattung des Unternehmensgründers zu höheren Wachstumsraten führt. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass dies für die Entwicklung der Umsätze, Arbeitsplätze und Einkommen tatsächlich der Fall ist. (ICEÜbers)'The focus of the paper is on human capital as the key factor for the success and growth of a newly founded company. The findings suggest that investments in human capital have significant influence on the growth of start-ups. The results should lead universities, politicians as well as individuals to a better education for potential founders to generate more successful start-ups. The results are based on survey data for nearly 1.000 German start-ups. The paper analyzes whether higher human capital of the founder leads to higher growth-rates among start-ups. Results show that companies started by a founder who invested heavily in his human capital generate higher growth rates in sales, jobs and income differences than start-ups founded by a less educated individual.' (author's abstract

Why do Employees Leave Their Jobs for Self-Employment? – The Impact of Entrepreneurial Working Conditions in Small Firms

Based on the finding that entrepreneurs who found new firms tend to work as employees of small rather than large firms prior to start-up, we test how different working conditions, which enhance entrepreneurial learning, affect their decision to become entrepreneurs when moderated by firm size. Based on data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find a significant relationship between entrepreneurial learning (extracted in an orthogonal factor analysis based on twelve working conditions as proxy for entrepreneurial human capital and work experience) and firm size when predicting the probability of leaving paid employment for self-employment. We think, that this is a special kind of knowledge spillover. We also control for other aspects such as gender, age, wage, etc. – factors that may potentially influence the decision to become self-employed. Thus, our analysis sheds new light onto the black box of SMEs as a hotbed of new start-ups

Why do Employees Leave Their Jobs for Self-Employment? – The Impact of Entrepreneurial Working Conditions in Small Firms

Based on the finding that entrepreneurs who found new firms tend to work as employees of small rather than large firms prior to start-up, we test how different working conditions, which enhance entrepreneurial learning, affect their decision to become entrepreneurs when moderated by firm size. Based on data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find a significant relationship between entrepreneurial learning (extracted in an orthogonal factor analysis based on twelve working conditions as proxy for entrepreneurial human capital and work experience) and firm size when predicting the probability of leaving paid employment for self-employment. We think, that this is a special kind of knowledge spillover. We also control for other aspects such as gender, age, wage, etc. – factors that may potentially influence the decision to become self-employed. Thus, our analysis sheds new light onto the black box of SMEs as a hotbed of new start-ups

Die Bedeutung fachspezifischer Präferenzen für studienbezogene Auslandsaufenthalte

Im Kontext wirtschaftlicher Globalisierungsprozesse wird das Auslandsstudium als immer wichtiger erachtet. Fachspezifische Unterschiede werden in der Literatur hierbei häufig über Einstellungsdifferenzen erklärt. Systematische empirische Überprüfungen finden sich indes selten. In dem Beitrag wird mithilfe einfacher handlungstheoretischer Überlegungen argumentiert, dass fachspezifische Unterschiede im Auslandsstudium auf unterschiedlichen Nutzenerwartungen beruhen. Mithilfe von Daten aus einer PAPI-Umfrage unter Studierenden der Wirtschafts- und Ingenieurwissenschaften der Universität Siegen werden die Annahmen vorläufig geprüft. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass die fachspezifischen Unterschiede in der Intention zum Auslandsstudium auch auf unterschiedliche Nutzenerwartungen der Studierenden zurückzuführen sind

The geography of the continuum of entrepreneurship activities : a first glance based on German data

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch) ​The characterization of how entrepreneurial a region or country is, has generally been shaped by a narrow view of what actually constitutes entrepreneurship. In the case of Germany, this has led to a characterization of Germany as not being particularly entrepreneurial. Such a view is at odds with the remarkable, high-performing family business, widely held to be the backbone of the economy. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the interpretation prevalent in entrepreneurship literature is problematic due to a too narrow operationalization of the entrepreneurship concept. As Zahra (2007; 2014) emphasized, context matters for entrepreneurship, especially on a local or spatial level. One particular organizational manifestation of entrepreneurship, family business, may be congruent in specific spatial and institutional contexts but not in others. Other geographic and institutional contexts may be congruent with the contrasting startups. Thus, an important and novel contribution of this paper is to analyze the geography of family business as distinct from startups: two ends of the entrepreneurship continuum, embedded in different kinds of entrepreneurial ecosystems. We generate innovative maps working with official data, showing the distinct distribution of both kinds of entrepreneurship in different ecosystems. These findings are connected with spatial effects, living conditions and lead to recommendations for policy measures. The paper focuses on Germany, because startups as well as family business are prevalent and can be found in all regions

Responses to iron deficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana : The Turbo iron reductase does not depend on the formation of root hairs and transfer cells

Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Columbia wild type and a root hair-less mutant RM57 were grown on iron-containing and iron-deficient nutrient solutions. In both genotypes, ferric chelate reductase (FCR) of intact roots was induced upon iron deficiency and followed a Michaelis-Menten kinetic with a K m of 45 and 54 μM Fe III -EDTA and a V max of 42 and 33 nmol Fe 2+ ·(g FW) −1 ·min −1 for the wild type and the mutant, respectively. The pH optimum for the reaction was around pH 5.5. The approximately four fold stimulation of FCR activity was independent of formation of root hairs and/or transfer cells induced by iron deficiency. Iron-deficiency-induced chlorosis and the development of a rigid root habit disappeared when ferric chelate was applied to the leaves, while FCR activity remained unchanged. The time course of the responses to iron deficiency showed that morphological and physiological responses were controlled separately.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47479/1/425_2004_Article_BF00195707.pd

POLR3A variants with striatal involvement and extrapyramidal movement disorder

Biallelic variants in POLR3A cause 4H leukodystrophy, characterized by hypomyelination in combination with cerebellar and pyramidal signs and variable non-neurological manifestations. Basal ganglia are spared in 4H leukodystrophy, and dystonia is not prominent. Three patients with variants in POLR3A, an atypical presentation with dystonia, and MR involvement of putamen and caudate nucleus (striatum) and red nucleus have previously been reported. Genetic, clinical findings and 18 MRI scans from nine patients with homozygous or compound heterozygous POLR3A variants and predominant striatal changes were retrospectively reviewed in order to characterize the striatal variant of POLR3A-associated disease. Prominent extrapyramidal involvement was the predominant clinical sign in all patients. The three youngest children were severely affected with muscle hypotonia, impaired head control, and choreic movements. Presentation of the six older patients was milder. Two brothers diagnosed with juvenile parkinsonism were homozygous for the c.1771-6C > G variant in POLR3A; the other seven either carried c.1771-6C > G (n = 1) or c.1771-7C > G (n = 7) together with another variant (missense, synonymous, or intronic). Striatal T2-hyperintensity and atrophy together with involvement of the superior cerebellar peduncles were characteristic. Additional MRI findings were involvement of dentate nuclei, hila, or peridentate white matter (3, 6, and 4/9), inferior cerebellar peduncles (6/9), red nuclei (2/9), and abnormal myelination of pyramidal and visual tracts (6/9) but no frank hypomyelination. Clinical and MRI findings in patients with a striatal variant of POLR3A-related disease are distinct from 4H leukodystrophy and associated with one of two intronic variants, c.1771-6C > G or c.1771-7C > G, in combination with another POLR3A variant

Selection and support strategies in venture capital financing: high-techs or low-techs, hands-off or hands-on

ABSTRACT Venture capitalist are intermediaries with strong advantages in financing risky investments Their results seem quite plausible. However, practical evidence shows that we not only find "specialists" in the market but also other venture capitalists that are not specialized either in industries nor in finance stages. We call them "all-rounders". We are puzzled by the existence of all-rounders because it seems to be unclear what sort of advantages they could realize in the mar-ket. In attempting to answer that question we try to find out in how far allrounders differ from specialists. We assume that main differences are caused by the sort of knowledge that all-rounders and specialists own. Whereas specialists have knowledge or know-how concerning a certain field (e.g. biotech) plus important know-how in founding and financing activities, all-rounders only have know-how in founding and financing activities. In consequence allrounders are likely to choose a different sort of enterprise for their portfolio as well as a different sort of strategy to support their portfolio enterprises. Based on an agency theory rationale we estimate the information cost for specialists and all-rounders to choose a certain type of enterprise and to embark on a certain support strategy. We assume that all-rounders will support their portfolio enterprise very intensely (nurturing strategy) whereas specialists will focus on careful selection. With regard to support they will rather control than nurture (selection strategy). The rationale is the following: Compared to venture capitalists, entrepreneurs pursuing highly specialised tasks like bio or gene technology possess systematically superior know-how regarding the project. Nevertheless, the venture capitalist's specific knowledge provides effectual 'absorptive capacity' (in terms of 'enough knowledge to understand the business processes') to control the founder. Furthermore, it enables him to assess the market adequately. Consequently it is more efficient for him to allocate his specific knowledge on selection (and controlling) processes rather than on nurturing processes. Altogether, compared to other investors (private investors or banks), a specialist who chooses the selection strategy can handle investment risk in a superior way. In contrast, a venture capitalist possessing general knowledge like 'how-to-manage-an-enterprise' can offer nurturing as a complementary asset to the founder if the founding project is not too complex and easy enough to understand. We have tested our theoretical results empirically with our own dataset, which was collected from venture capitalists associated in the German Venture Capital Association