Towards an empirical methodology for the measurement of the quality entrepreneur: the case of sevillian entrepreneurs

Since the process of globalization increased its importance during the nineties, the entrepreneur's role in regional economic development is considered essential. This economic agents, besides their financial and entrepreneurial functions, carry out a 'booster' function that is manifested in the adoption of a series of strategic decisions (new investment projects, innovation in new products and processes, technological and marketing cooperation ...). The quality in the performance of these booster tasks, which depends basically on the psychological and sociological characteristics of entrepreneurs, is essential to increase the competitiveness of the regional economy and, through it, the employment and well-being levels. Local development policies have been implementing since the early eighties a wide variety of measures to promote entrepreneurship, without sufficiently favourable results. Those measures have tended to address the entrepreneur's financial and managerial functions, and not the booster one, which is where the entrepreneurial spirit lies. In this sense, the authorities -if they are to improve that entrepreneurial spirit with measures that raise the quality of the booster function- should previously have an appropriate diagnosis on the qualities of entrepreneurs in the area. The main objective of this paper is to elaborate an empiric methodology that allows measuring the quality of the entrepreneur's booster function. That is to say, it tries to establish the stages and instruments that are critical to globally value the qualities of entrepreneurs in a given region. Among the instruments, it is essential the elaboration of an index of entrepreneurial quality starting from partial indicators of several qualities. And among the stages, it is highlighted the possibility to establish an entrepreneurial typology with respect to quality levels, and a profile of each type of entrepreneur. As an example, this methodology is applied to determine the quality level of Sevillian (southern Spain) entrepreneurs, thus showing its validity

Convergencia, desarrollo y empresarialidad en el proceso de globalización económica

Las transformaciones que está imponiendo la globalización han devuelto desde la década de los ochenta del siglo XX el interés académico por la dinámica de la economía en el largo plazo. Por un lado, formando parte del mainstream de la Ciencia Económica, los investigadores de la “teoría del crecimiento” vienen insistiendo en el análisis de los procesos de convergencia a escala mundial y, por otro, siguiendo un enfoque multidisciplinar y negando en general la existencia de convergencia, los investigadores de la “teoría del desarrollo” están profundizando en el estudio de los factores que explican las diferencias de venta entre países y regiones. El primer objetivo de este trabajo es, por tanto, el análisis de las diferencias y similitudes entre estas dos corrientes de pensamiento económico, centrando la exposición posteriormente en la teoría del desarrollo y también en el papel de la empresarialidad como factor explicativo de las divergencias de la economía mundial. Además, se va a plantear una tipología de modelos de empresarialidad presentes en el mundo de la globalización._______________________________________________________________________The transformations imposed by globalization have restored the academic interest for long-run economic dynamics since the nineties of the twentieth century. On the one hand, belonging to mainstream economics, researchers within the “growth theory” are insisting on the analysis of convergence processes across the world economy. And, on the other hand, following a multidisciplinary approach and generally denying the existence of convergence, researchers within the “development theory” are deepening in the study of those factors which explain income differences between countries and regions. The first objective of this paper is, therefore, the analysis of the differences and similarities between these two branches of economic thought. Afterwards, the paper will focus on “development theory”, and also in the role that entrepreneurship plays as a factor explaining divergence across the world economy. Besides, a typology will be elaborated regarding the different entrepreneurship models present in this globalized world

Firm Size and Regional Linkages. A Typology of Manufacturing Establishments in Southern Spain

Regions with different levels of development are characterized by different enterprise compositions according to firm size and regional productive linkages. Using these two variables and two additional ones -the technological level and the position in the value chain-, the composition of the industrial sector in any region can be studied. In this respect, a new theoretical enterprise typology is proposed in this paper as a powerful analytical tool. Furthermore, an empirical work is carried out using a data set from the survey done to estimate the regional input-output table of Andalusia, a backward region in southern Spain. Thus, the theoretical enterprise typology is applied to the industry in Andalusia, so that some strengths and weaknesses of the regional economy are identified

Towards an empirical methodology for the measurement of the quality entrepreneur: the case of Sevillian entrepreneurs

Since the process of globalization increased its importance during the nineties, the entrepreneur's role in regional economic development is considered essential. These economic agents, besides their financial and entrepreneurial functions, carry out a ‘booster’ function that is manifested in the adoption of a series of strategic decisions (new investment projects, innovation in new products and processes, technological and marketing cooperation ...). The quality in the performance of these booster tasks, which depends basically on the psychological and sociological characteristics of entrepreneurs, is essential to increase the competitiveness of the regional economy and, through it, the employment and well-being levels. Local development policies have been implementing since the early eighties a wide variety of measures to promote entrepreneurship, without sufficiently favourable results. Those measures have tended to address the entrepreneur's financial and managerial functions, and not the booster one, which is where the entrepreneurial spirit lies. In this sense, decision-makers –if they are to improve that entrepreneurial spirit with measures that raise the quality of the booster function- should previously have an appropriate diagnosis on the qualities of entrepreneurs in the area. The main objective of this paper is to elaborate an empirical methodology that allows measuring the quality of the entrepreneur's booster function. That is to say, it tries to establish the stages and instruments that are critical to globally value the qualities of entrepreneurs in a given region. Among the instruments, it is essential the elaboration of an index of entrepreneurial quality starting from partial indicators of several qualities. And among the stages, it is highlighted the possibility to establish an entrepreneurial typology with respect to quality levels, and a profile of each type of entrepreneur. As an example, this methodology is applied to determine the quality level of Sevillian (southern Spain) entrepreneurs, thus showing its validit

Measuring entrepreneurial quality in southern Europe

The main objective of this paper is working out an empirical methodology to measure the quality of the entrepreneur’s booster function, so that policy makers have an appropriate diagnosis of the qualities of entrepreneurs in their area. In this sense, two essential elements are the construction of an explanatory model, and the establishment of an entrepreneurial typology with respect to quality levels. This methodology is then applied to determine the quality level of entrepreneurs in Seville province (southern Spain), using Partial Least Squares estimation technique on a survey of 278 entrepreneurs from various activity sectors and with firms of different size

Dimensión empresarial, encadenamientos productivos y calidad del tejido empresarial. Un análisis de la industria en Andalucía

En este trabajo se contrasta la influencia del tamaño empresarial sobre la intensidad de los encadenamientos productivos regionales a partir de datos procedentes de la encuesta realizada por el Instituto de Estadística de Andalucía entre los establecimientos industriales andaluces para la estimación de las tablas input-output regionales. Así mismo, se propone una tipología empresarial basada en la estructura espacial de los encadenamientos que permite identificar diversos modelos empresariales con diferente repercusión sobre el desarrollo endógeno del territorio. Finalmente, se aplica dicha tipología a los establecimientos industriales en Andalucía, obteniendo así una aproximación a la calidad del tejido empresarial andaluz.In this paper, we test the influence of firm size on the intensity of regional productive linkages. The study is based in data from the survey made by the Statistical Institute of Andalusia in order to estimate the regional input-output table. Furthermore, we propose an entrepreneurial typology based in the spatial structure of firm’s productive linkages. This classification makes possible to identify several entrepreneurial patterns with different impacts on endogenous development of a territory. Finally, we apply this typology to industrial plants in Andalusia, so that we can approach to the quality of the andalusian entrepreneurial tissue

Encadenamientos productivos, externalidades y crecimiento regional: Una tipología de comportamiento empresarial

La idea de articulación productiva se aplica en el estudio de las relaciones intersectoriales atendiendo a la importancia estratégica de ciertas ramas productivas dotadas de una particular capacidad de empuje o arrastre. No obstante, la observación de los encadenamientos productivos se puede realizar también a escala microeconómica, adoptando como unidad de análisis la empresa en lugar del sector productivo. Este enfoque permite identificar patrones diversos de comportamiento empresarial en función de la lógica espacial de sus aprovisionamientos y ventas. En este trabajo se propone una tipología de modelos empresariales, como herramienta conceptual aplicable en la caracterización del tejido empresarial en un ámbito espacial determinado, que aquí se identifica con una economía regional

Aspectos cognitivos de los empresarios potenciales en el sur y el norte de Europa: un análisis con datos del GEM

The entrepreneurial function has gained great relevance to explain the development process. From an individual’s cognitive perspective, entrepreneurial intentions are the most relevant elements leading to starting up a new venture . Therefore, the main objective of this paper is analysing if different perceptions affect entrepreneurial intentions and examining the possible differences between potential entrepreneurs of two European areas: the Southern countries (Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal) and the Scandinavian countries (Finland, Sweden and Denmark) .The empirical analysis, using logistic regression with Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data, shows that personal, opportunity and socio-cultural perceptions do help explaining entrepreneurial intention . The role of cultural and institutional differences is considered in the conclusionsLa función empresarial cobra especial relevancia en la explicación del proceso de desarrollo económico . Desde la perspectiva cognitiva, la intención empresarial es el elemento fundamental que lleva a la creación de una empresa . El objetivo fundamental de este artículo es, por tanto, analizar si diferentes percepciones influyen sobre las intenciones empresariales y examinar las posibles diferencias entre los empresarios potenciales de dos áreas europeas: los países del sur (España, Italia, Grecia y Portugal) y los países escandinavos (Finlandia, Suecia y Dinamarca) . El análisis empírico, mediante regresión logística con datos del Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, muestra que las percepciones personales, de oportunidad y socio-culturales contribuyen a explicar la intención emprendedora . El papel de las diferencias culturales e institucionales es considerado en las conclusione

Factores socioculturales e institucionales en el empresario sevillano

Los análisis cualitativos sobre la función que desarrolla el empresario en su entorno social están adquiriendo una gran relevancia en el campo de la investigación de las ciencias sociales. En este sentido, con el objetivo de seguir profuncizando en esta línea, hemos realizado una breve aproximación a cuales son los factores de carácter sociocultural o institucional que influyen en el comportamiento del empresario. Esta aproximación se ha realizado desde una perspectiva tanto teórica como empírica, recogiendo, en primer lugar, los factores del entorno global y personal que influyen en el comportamiento del empresario y, en segundo lugar, mostrando como estos se dan entre los empresarios del tejido productivo de la provincia de Sevilla. Los resultados constatan entre otras cosas como en relación al entorno global existe una positiva consideración social del empresario, una notable aceptación de las políticas de ayuda financiera y una escasa o casi nula importancia que tiene la red de comunicación. En cuanto a las características que se desprenden del entorno personal se constata que un elevado porcentaje de empresarios se ve fuertemente condicionado por la influencia de su familia cuando elige su actividad empresarial: la deficiente formación empresarial y, por último, el elevado grado de asociación entre la experiencia y la dimensión empresarial