Equity crowdfunding and governance : Toward an integrative model and research agenda

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Academy of Management via the DOI in this recordEquity crowdfunding markets have grown exponentially over the last few years. Despite this impressive growth, significant informational asymmetry problems may plague these markets, making them susceptible to difficulties and even market failure. In this paper, we depart from current equity crowdfunding research that focuses almost exclusively on the funding success and funding dynamics on platforms to study the effective governance of equity-crowdfunded (ECF) firms and how it relates to these firms’ success. We propose a conceptual model that identifies a multitude of governance mechanisms (e.g., internal or external and formal or informal) that potentially operate in equity crowdfunding markets to reduce adverse selection and moral hazard problems. Further, building on this framework, we offer a roadmap for future research that examines how different governance mechanisms may help in the selection and development of successful ECF firms.Research Foundation—Flander

Slack resources, firm performance, and the institutional context: Evidence from privately held European firms

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordResearch summary: Integrating the behavioral and institutional perspectives, we propose that a country's formal institutions, particularly its legal frameworks, affect managers' deployment of slack resources. Specifically, we explore the moderating effects of creditor and employee rights on the performance effects of slack. Using longitudinal data from 162,633 European private firms in 26 countries, we find that financial slack enhances firm performance at diminishing rates, whereas human resource (HR) slack lowers performance at diminishing rates. However, financial slack has a more positive effect on firm performance in countries with weaker creditor rights, whereas HR slack has a more negative effect on performance in countries with stronger employee rights. The results provide a richer view of the relationship between slack and firm performance than currently assumed in the literature. Managerial summary: A key dilemma managers often encounter is whether, on the one hand, they should build in excess resources to buffer their firms from internal and external shocks and to pursue new opportunities or whether, on the other hand, they should develop “lean” firms. Our study suggests that excess cash resources—which are usually viewed as easy to redeploy—benefit firm performance, especially when firms operate in countries with weaker creditor rights. However, excess human resources—which are usually viewed as more difficult to redeploy—hamper firm performance, particularly when firms operate in countries with stronger labor protection laws. Thus, the management of slack resources critically depends on the characteristics of these resources (e.g., redeployability) and the institutional context in which managers operate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Research Foundation—FlandersNational Bank of BelgiumHercules FoundationKU Leuve

The antiproliferative effect of mulberry (Morus alba L.) plant on hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2

This study aimed to investigate the antiproliferative effect of aqueous and organic extracts of mulberry leaves (Morus Alba L.) on human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line. Mulberry leaf extracts were prepared using the solvents: water, 50% aqueous MeOH, and 100% MeOH for different time intervals, while the cells treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) served as control. The effects of aqueous and organic extracts of M. alba L. leaves on HepG2 cell viability, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) gene expression, alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), albumin (ALB), gammaglutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured. The results of the cell viability assays showed that water, 50% aqueous MeOH, and 100% MeOH extracts exhibited a highly significant inhibitory effect on HepG2 cell proliferation which was evidenced by a reduction in viable cell count. The results were confirmed by microscopical examination of cell morphology. Furthermore, the mulberry leaf extracts suppressed the activity of NF-κB gene expression of HepG2 cells compared to the control. Also a highly significant depression occurred at the levels of AFP, γ-GT and ALP in HepG2 cells compared with that of controls in a time dependent manner. By contrast, the mulberry leaf extracts increased the secretion of ALB. Therefore, the conclusion was that the organic and aqueous extracts of mulberry leaves inhibit the growth of HepG2 cells through suppressing the activity of NF-κB gene expression and modulate the biochemical markers.Keywords: HepG2 cell line; Morus alba L.; NF-κB; Antiproliferative effect; Alfa-fetoprotei

Angoff anchor statements: setting a flawed gold standard?

http://www.mededpublish.org/manuscripts/120

Which SMEs seek external support? Business characteristics, management behaviour and external influences in a contingency approach

To improve SME growth and competitiveness, governments often encourage business owner-managers to make use of external sources of support. Whether they seek this depends on the degree to which they perceive themselves to need assistance. Additionally its use can be constrained by market failures. In this paper, we model whether SME owner-managers seek information and advice from formal sources, including public and private providers. In 2011, the researchers conducted a telephone survey of 1202 SMEs (1-249 employees) in England to assess the use and non-use of external support between 2008 and 2011. Using a contingency approach, we model various influences on the use and non-use of formal support and identify those owner-managers who face more concerns but have less confidence in their capabilities. We find the demand for support, especially from private providers, is fuelled by a firm’s objective to grow and a size threshold, although this is moderated by various concerns which increase the likelihood of using public sources. The willingness to take informal advice can act as a stepping stone to using formal sources. Whilst market failures affected less than a fifth of firms, those with women directors were particularly affected as were newly founded firms

Corporate entrepreneurship, country institutions and firm financial performance

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordAdopting an institutional perspective, we propose that home country intellectual property (IP) and employee protection institutions moderate the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and firm performance. Examining 9,642 European firms, we find that whereas internal CE is more positively correlated with firm performance in countries with less stringent IP protection and less stringent employee protection, external CE is particularly negatively correlated with firm performance in countries with less stringent IP protection and more stringent employee protection. These results provide a richer view of the relationship between CE and firm performance than the extant entrepreneurship and international businesses literatures sugges

Venture capital, credit, and FinTech start-up formation: A cross-country study

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordGrowing FinTech entrepreneurship is a recent global phenomenon. Drawing on the national innovation systems framework, we examine how countries’ venture capital (VC) and credit markets differently affect FinTech entrepreneurship across countries. We argue that with their established and globally diffused norms and practices, VC investors—but not banks—require a critical mass of FinTech entrepreneurship in a country to more positively influence FinTech entrepreneurship. Moreover, we argue that VC and credit markets are substitutes, especially in countries with more FinTech entrepreneurship. Using quantile regressions on data from 53 countries, we find support for our hypotheses

International entrepreneurship in SMEs: a study of influencing factors in the textile industry

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11365-012-0242-3International entrepreneurship is an incipient research area with a rapidly increasing body of knowledge and contributions. An important part of this literature has focused on the analysis of the contributing factors to IE development. From these studies, this work attempts to analyse and validate through an integrative model the effect on this construct in SME of some of the main factors proposed by the literature such as Skills and Competences, Attitude and Proactiveness, Creativity and Innovation, Networking, Employees and Activity. To proceed with this aim, we conducted an empirical research focused on 174 textile SME in Spain. The results obtained confirm a positive relationship between the studied factors and the IE development. 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Entrepreneurs’ age, institutions, and social value creation goals: a multi-country study

This study explores the relationship between an entrepreneur's age and his/her social value creation goals. Building on the lifespan developmental psychology literature and institutional theory, we hypothesize a U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to create social value through their ventures, such that younger and older entrepreneurs create more social value with their businesses while middle age entrepreneurs are relatively more economically and less socially oriented with their ventures. We further hypothesize that the quality of a country’s formal institutions in terms of economic, social, and political freedom steepen the U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to pursue social value creation as supportive institutional environments allow entrepreneurs to follow their age-based preferences. We confirm our predictions using multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions on a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs (aged between 18 and 64 years) in 45 countries from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data. The findings are robust to several alternative specifications. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for theory and practice, and we propose future research directions