Hybrid Entrepreneurship

In contrast to previous efforts to model the individual’s movement from wage work into entrepreneurship, we consider that individuals might transition incrementally by retaining their wage job while entering into self-employment. We show that these hybrid entrepreneurs represent a significant share of all entrepreneurial activity. Theoretical arguments are proposed to suggest why hybrid entrants are distinct from self-employment entrants, and why hybrid entry may facilitate subsequent entry into full self-employment. We demonstrate that there are significant theoretical and empirical consequences for this group and our understanding of self-employment entry and labor market dynamics. Using matched employee-employer data over eight years, we test the model on a population of Swedish wage earners in the knowledge-intensive sector.Hybrid entrepreneurship; Self-employment; Labour market dynamics; Transition determinants; Employee-employer data

Venture capital increases a startup’s chances of issuing stocks or finding a buyer

In contrast, angel investors spur innovation, but not commercialisation, write Supradeep Dutta and Timothy B. Folt

Rationalizing Organizational Change: A Need for Comparative Testing

Behavioral theory explains that organizational change is prompted by performance relative to a firm-specific aspiration. Although this explanation has been empirically confirmed, it has not been tested comparatively alongside other explanations, most notably rational choice. This lack of comparative study implies that prior research may be committing Type I errors—confirming aspiration-level decision making when it is not actually occurring. This paper contributes to behavioral theory in two specific ways. First, we show that several foundational studies purporting to provide empirical support for aspiration-level decision making may actually represent maximizing behavior. To consider this potential, we simulate a sample of subjectively rational agents who choose strategies by maximizing expectations. We show that it is possible and highly probable to diagnose satisficing when agents are, in fact, maximizing. Second, we develop and implement recommendations for comparative testing to demonstrate reliability. Analysis shows that the recommendations are effective at reducing Type I and II errors for both behavioral theory and rational choice. This paper is meant to inspire the design of future studies on aspirations and, indeed, all studies of organizational change

H++: a server for estimating pK(a)s and adding missing hydrogens to macromolecules

The structure and function of macromolecules depend critically on the ionization (protonation) states of their acidic and basic groups. A number of existing practical methods predict protonation equilibrium pK constants of macromolecules based upon their atomic resolution Protein Data Bank (PDB) structures; the calculations are often performed within the framework of the continuum electrostatics model. Unfortunately, these methodologies are complex, involve multiple steps and require considerable investment of effort. Our web server provides access to a tool that automates this process, allowing both experts and novices to quickly obtain estimates of pKs as well as other related characteristics of biomolecules such as isoelectric points, titration curves and energies of protonation microstates. Protons are added to the input structure according to the calculated ionization states of its titratable groups at the user-specified pH; the output is in the PQR (PDB + charges + radii) format. In addition, corresponding coordinate and topology files are generated in the format supported by the molecular modeling package AMBER. The server is intended for a broad community of biochemists, molecular modelers, structural biologists and drug designers; it can also be used as an educational tool in biochemistry courses

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Effect of National Culture on Partner Buyouts in Cross-Border Biotechnology Alliances

This study examines how national culture influences the likelihood and rate of buyouts amont R&D equity alliances and joint ventures in the biotechnology industry. We hypothesize that the interaction of specific national culture attributes and cultural differences between alliance partners bear upon: a) the amount of endogenous uncertainty surrounding the potential integration of the target firm and b) the marginal rate of learning in hierarchical versus collaborative governance. Applying a competing hazard model to a sample of 173 joint ventures and minority equity collaborations in the biotechnology industry, we found that investing firms from high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance countries are more likely to buy out their alliance partners. Furthermore, greater cultural distance between alliance partners increases the likelihood of partner buyout when investing firms are from high power distance countries

The Evolution of Hot Spots in the U.S. Biotechnology Industry

This study empirically tests Pouder & St. John\u27s propositions (1996) on the evolutions of geographic clusters, in the context of the U.S. biotechnology industry. We find that during the origination period of the cluster evolution clustered biotechnology firms exhibit higher cost economies and legitimacy in obtaining resources than non-clustered competitors. While, after the early period, such clustered firms\u27 advantage in resource access and innovations are statistically significantly declining. These findings evidence the decline of positive net benefits from geographic clustering over time. Given the inconsistent empirical results in the literature on whether there are positive net benefits to geographically clustered firms, this study sheds light on the importance of time dimension in geographic clustering to understand the net benefits of geographic clustering. Since economies and diseconomies of agglomeration change over time, the net benefits of geographic clustering can be time-variant, possibly leading to different empirical results if the evolution of geographic clustering is not appropriately considered. Accordingly, this study answers a call to empirical studies on dynamics of geographic clustering