an article by Ross Brown (University of St Andrews, UK) and Suzanne Mawson (University of Stirling, UK) published in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society Volume 12 Issue 3 (November 2019)
Abstract
Efforts to develop entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) have proliferated in recent years, marking it out as the latest industrial policy ‘blockbuster’.
This article reports the findings from the first comprehensive empirical analysis of EE policy approaches. It posits a basic typology of different policy frameworks deployed under the ecosystem rubric.
The findings suggest the concept is fraught with conceptual ambiguity and is predominantly (and rather crudely) used to promote ‘more’ entrepreneurship.
The research suggests the concept is a ‘messy metaphor’, open to wide-ranging misinterpretation and misuse by policymakers.
In terms of recommendations, eradicating network failures, avoiding crude policy isomorphism and tailoring bespoke interventions to the specific nature of EEs are viewed as key policy lessons.
JEL Classification: L26, O12, O25, R58
Showing posts with label entrepreneurship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entrepreneurship. Show all posts
Friday, 29 November 2019
Monday, 24 June 2019
Positive local externalities of immigration on entrepreneurship: Evidence from the UK East Midlands region
an article by Frederick Wedzerai Nyakudya (Coventry University, UK) published in Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit Volume 34 Issue 3 (May 2019)
Abstract
This article examines the effects of immigration on entrepreneurship, making a distinction between the individual level and the neighbourhood characteristics.
The study combined individual level drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data with neighbourhood level data for the English Index of Multiple Deprivation East Midlands region in the UK and applied a maximum likelihood logit model to test the hypotheses. The empirical evidence suggests that there is no direct link between the internal immigrants and start-ups on the one side; yet, there is direct link between the external immigrants and start-ups on the other side.
However, the findings point to the importance of indirect effect of neighbourhood characteristics, as external immigrants have a significant effect on an individual’s perception of new entrepreneurial opportunities which predicts start-up activity. Their presence in the neighbourhood has a positive monotonic effect on individual entrepreneurship.
Therefore, the critical factor is not that external immigrants come with unique knowledge and skills they utilise in the creation of their own businesses, instead they produce positive local externalities enabling others to start-up businesses.
Abstract
This article examines the effects of immigration on entrepreneurship, making a distinction between the individual level and the neighbourhood characteristics.
The study combined individual level drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data with neighbourhood level data for the English Index of Multiple Deprivation East Midlands region in the UK and applied a maximum likelihood logit model to test the hypotheses. The empirical evidence suggests that there is no direct link between the internal immigrants and start-ups on the one side; yet, there is direct link between the external immigrants and start-ups on the other side.
However, the findings point to the importance of indirect effect of neighbourhood characteristics, as external immigrants have a significant effect on an individual’s perception of new entrepreneurial opportunities which predicts start-up activity. Their presence in the neighbourhood has a positive monotonic effect on individual entrepreneurship.
Therefore, the critical factor is not that external immigrants come with unique knowledge and skills they utilise in the creation of their own businesses, instead they produce positive local externalities enabling others to start-up businesses.
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Diversity, economic development and new migrant entrepreneurs
an article by Trevor Jones and Monder Ram (University of Birmingham, UK) and Maria Villares-Varela (University of Southatmpton, UK) published in Urban Studies Volume 56 Issue 5 (April 2019)
Abstract
How do migrant entrepreneurs contribute to economic development? The growing attention to the contribution that migrants make tends to be skewed towards their economic role.
Drawing on interviews with 49 new migrant business owners and 60 workers in the West Midlands, UK, we argue that benefits of diversity should be explored beyond the economic dividend. We engage with key theoretical developments in the fields of migrant entrepreneurship and diversity economics, and show that migrant entrepreneurs are characterised by the polarisation of their performance between high fliers and survival entrepreneurs.
Despite their overall resource poverty, migrant entrepreneurs on the lower level create employment for their locality, cater to community needs and cushion the social incorporation of new communities in British society.
We argue that debates around the benefits of diversity should incorporate not only economic growth, but also its impact on social processes.
Abstract
How do migrant entrepreneurs contribute to economic development? The growing attention to the contribution that migrants make tends to be skewed towards their economic role.
Drawing on interviews with 49 new migrant business owners and 60 workers in the West Midlands, UK, we argue that benefits of diversity should be explored beyond the economic dividend. We engage with key theoretical developments in the fields of migrant entrepreneurship and diversity economics, and show that migrant entrepreneurs are characterised by the polarisation of their performance between high fliers and survival entrepreneurs.
Despite their overall resource poverty, migrant entrepreneurs on the lower level create employment for their locality, cater to community needs and cushion the social incorporation of new communities in British society.
We argue that debates around the benefits of diversity should incorporate not only economic growth, but also its impact on social processes.
Sunday, 25 February 2018
Roots of social enterprise: entrepreneurial philanthropy, England 1600-1908
an article by Matthew MacDonald (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK) and Carole Howorth (University of York, UK) published in Social Enterprise Journal Volume 14 Issue 1 (2018)
Abstract
Purpose
Insights into the roots of social enterprise from before the term was adopted are provided by examining histories of charitable service and comparing current understandings of social enterprise. Social enterprise models of welfare provision are evidenced from the seventeenth century onwards. Persistent themes are identified that provide insights for current practice and understanding.
Design/methodology/approach
This historiography examines interpretations from 1905 to the present day of examples of welfare provision between two watershed points: 1600, just prior to the Poor Laws and 1908, when the Old Age Pensions Act shifted emphasis in public sector provision.
Findings
Activities that would nowadays be termed social enterprise are evidenced in histories of charitable philanthropy covering each century since 1600. Prevailing attitudes uncritically demarcated deserving and undeserving poor. Histories contributed to a heroic narrative of social entrepreneurs, describing activities dependent on well-networked, politically active individuals that rarely continued beyond their involvement. The political environment was recognised to influence the types of organisations, governance and resourcing.
Research limitations/implications
The historiography takes examples from three centuries between 1600 and1908 but is not comprehensive. Recurrent themes are identified for further research.
Originality/value
Social enterprise is a twenty-first-century label but not a new phenomenon. Identification of prevailing themes provides insights for the understanding of social enterprises in the twenty-first century.
Abstract
Purpose
Insights into the roots of social enterprise from before the term was adopted are provided by examining histories of charitable service and comparing current understandings of social enterprise. Social enterprise models of welfare provision are evidenced from the seventeenth century onwards. Persistent themes are identified that provide insights for current practice and understanding.
Design/methodology/approach
This historiography examines interpretations from 1905 to the present day of examples of welfare provision between two watershed points: 1600, just prior to the Poor Laws and 1908, when the Old Age Pensions Act shifted emphasis in public sector provision.
Findings
Activities that would nowadays be termed social enterprise are evidenced in histories of charitable philanthropy covering each century since 1600. Prevailing attitudes uncritically demarcated deserving and undeserving poor. Histories contributed to a heroic narrative of social entrepreneurs, describing activities dependent on well-networked, politically active individuals that rarely continued beyond their involvement. The political environment was recognised to influence the types of organisations, governance and resourcing.
Research limitations/implications
The historiography takes examples from three centuries between 1600 and1908 but is not comprehensive. Recurrent themes are identified for further research.
Originality/value
Social enterprise is a twenty-first-century label but not a new phenomenon. Identification of prevailing themes provides insights for the understanding of social enterprises in the twenty-first century.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
The survival half-life of firms and its effect on economic development
an article by James Derbyshire (Anglia Ruskin University, UK) published in Local Economy Volume 28 Number 1 (February 2013)
Abstract
Shane (2009) has suggested that encouraging more people to become entrepreneurs is bad public policy because it is existing firms that bring jobs and productivity growth and not new firms.
To test this view this article shifts the perspective onto existing firms and away from start-up by examining firm survivability in the regions and countries of the UK and its relationship with employment and productivity growth.
The article provides some evidence to support Shane’s (2009) view that it is existing firms that are important for economic development.
Abstract
Shane (2009) has suggested that encouraging more people to become entrepreneurs is bad public policy because it is existing firms that bring jobs and productivity growth and not new firms.
To test this view this article shifts the perspective onto existing firms and away from start-up by examining firm survivability in the regions and countries of the UK and its relationship with employment and productivity growth.
The article provides some evidence to support Shane’s (2009) view that it is existing firms that are important for economic development.
Friday, 25 January 2013
From admiration to abhorrence: the contentious appeal of entrepreneurship across Europe
an article by Sarah Drakopoulou Dodd (Athens Laboratory of Business Administration, Vouliagmeni, Greece), Sarah Jack (Lancaster University, UK) and Alistair R. Anderson (Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK) published in Entrepreneurship and Regional Development Volume 25 Numbers 1-2 (January 2013)
Abstract
Although entrepreneurship seems to offer a universal economic solution, there are some doubts about whether it is universally attractive.
We argue that entrepreneurship is a socially constructed concept and consequently the meanings, and hence the appeal, of the enterprise will vary internationally. We argue that how entrepreneurship is understood affects how attractive it seems.
Accordingly, we investigated the meanings of entrepreneurship by analysing a range of metaphors of entrepreneurship gathered from schools across Europe. We found that both the meaning and understandings of the practices vary considerably.
For most, the concept of entrepreneurship as an engine of the economy is attractive, but for some, the practices of entrepreneurs were considerably less appealing. We find links between national socio-economic contexts and attractiveness. We argue that culture and context seem to influence the social constructions of entrepreneurship and hence the attractiveness of entrepreneurial options.
We also find that the pedagogical national narratives of the entrepreneur stand in dynamic tension with the performative national processes of entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Although entrepreneurship seems to offer a universal economic solution, there are some doubts about whether it is universally attractive.
We argue that entrepreneurship is a socially constructed concept and consequently the meanings, and hence the appeal, of the enterprise will vary internationally. We argue that how entrepreneurship is understood affects how attractive it seems.
Accordingly, we investigated the meanings of entrepreneurship by analysing a range of metaphors of entrepreneurship gathered from schools across Europe. We found that both the meaning and understandings of the practices vary considerably.
For most, the concept of entrepreneurship as an engine of the economy is attractive, but for some, the practices of entrepreneurs were considerably less appealing. We find links between national socio-economic contexts and attractiveness. We argue that culture and context seem to influence the social constructions of entrepreneurship and hence the attractiveness of entrepreneurial options.
We also find that the pedagogical national narratives of the entrepreneur stand in dynamic tension with the performative national processes of entrepreneurship.
Friday, 5 October 2012
Entrepreneurship and expropriation
an article by Campbell Jones (University of Auckland, New Zealand) and Anna-Maria Murtola (Independent Researcher, New Zealand) published in Organization Volume 19 Number 5 (September 2012)
Abstract
Entrepreneurship plays out today in an ideologically mediated contest between production in common and expropriation of the common.
On the one hand, it is possible to locate a ‘positive’ moment of the increasing socialisation of work through which production has become social and cooperative, involving production from the common, in common, of the common. On the other hand, there is a ‘negative’ moment that seeks to separate, enclose and capture this common.
Entrepreneurship is a key ideological operator in the expropriation of the common, through localising production and claims to value in one particular element of socialised production.
Although entrepreneurship research today recognises that entrepreneurship rests on production in common, it hesitates to come to the radical conclusions required by this recognition. Caught between production in common and expropriation of the common, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship research today confront the prospect that those whose production in common is daily expropriated might turn the tables on the expropriators.
Abstract
Entrepreneurship plays out today in an ideologically mediated contest between production in common and expropriation of the common.
On the one hand, it is possible to locate a ‘positive’ moment of the increasing socialisation of work through which production has become social and cooperative, involving production from the common, in common, of the common. On the other hand, there is a ‘negative’ moment that seeks to separate, enclose and capture this common.
Entrepreneurship is a key ideological operator in the expropriation of the common, through localising production and claims to value in one particular element of socialised production.
Although entrepreneurship research today recognises that entrepreneurship rests on production in common, it hesitates to come to the radical conclusions required by this recognition. Caught between production in common and expropriation of the common, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship research today confront the prospect that those whose production in common is daily expropriated might turn the tables on the expropriators.
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Exploring the dynamics of gender, feminism and entrepreneurship: advancing debate to escape a dead end?
an article Helene Ahl (Jönköping University, Sweden) and Susan Marlow (University of Birmingham) published in Organization Volume 19 Number 5 (September 2012)
Abstract
Contrary to the neo-liberal thesis that entrepreneuring is an open and accessible endeavour where personal effort alone determines reward and status, it has been demonstrated that there is a persistent, but occluded, gender bias within the entrepreneurial discourse.
Accordingly, women are positioned as lacking and incomplete men; however, despite calls to employ feminist theory as an analytical frame to demonstrate the reproduction of such subordination, there is scant evidence this has emerged.
Within this article, we respond to this call by demonstrating how post-structural feminist analysis reveals the gendered assumptions informing entrepreneurship theory that embed prevailing hetero-normative assumptions.
These assumptions limit the epistemological scope of contemporary research which positions women as failed or reluctant entrepreneurial subjects; as such, in the absence of feminist theorising these analyses remain descriptive rather than explanatory.
Accordingly, the current entrepreneurial research agenda is in danger of reaching an epistemological dead end in the absence of a reflexive critical perspective to inform the idea of who can be and what might be an entrepreneur.
Finally, we draw upon these arguments to reflect upon current approaches to theorising within the broader field of entrepreneurial enquiry.
Abstract
Contrary to the neo-liberal thesis that entrepreneuring is an open and accessible endeavour where personal effort alone determines reward and status, it has been demonstrated that there is a persistent, but occluded, gender bias within the entrepreneurial discourse.
Accordingly, women are positioned as lacking and incomplete men; however, despite calls to employ feminist theory as an analytical frame to demonstrate the reproduction of such subordination, there is scant evidence this has emerged.
Within this article, we respond to this call by demonstrating how post-structural feminist analysis reveals the gendered assumptions informing entrepreneurship theory that embed prevailing hetero-normative assumptions.
These assumptions limit the epistemological scope of contemporary research which positions women as failed or reluctant entrepreneurial subjects; as such, in the absence of feminist theorising these analyses remain descriptive rather than explanatory.
Accordingly, the current entrepreneurial research agenda is in danger of reaching an epistemological dead end in the absence of a reflexive critical perspective to inform the idea of who can be and what might be an entrepreneur.
Finally, we draw upon these arguments to reflect upon current approaches to theorising within the broader field of entrepreneurial enquiry.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Enterprise and entrepreneurship in English higher education: 2010 and beyond
an article by David Rae (University of Lincoln, UK) Lynn Martin, (Manchester Metropolitan University Business School) Valerie Antcliff, (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Paul Hannon (National Centre for Entrepreneurship Education, Coventry) published in Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Volume 19 Issue 3 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to report the results of a complete survey of enterprise education in all higher education institutions (HEIs) in England, undertaken in 2010 by the Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE) on behalf of the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE). The survey builds on prior work undertaken by the NCGE in England in 2006 and in 2007.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey aimed to establish a complete picture of curricular and extra-curricular enterprise and entrepreneurship education. The survey uses a similar structure to the previous survey, enabling comparison to be made with enterprise provision over the 2006-2010 period, as well as with the 2008 European survey of entrepreneurship in HE.
Findings
The results provide a stock-take of enterprise education provision in participating HEIs and highlight the connections in institutional strategies between enterprise education, incubation/new venture support, graduate employability, innovation and academic enterprise. The paper reveals “hotspots” and gaps in enterprise provision and offers “benchmarks” for the sector.
Research limitations/implications
The article offers a summary of the implications for the future development and sustainability of enterprise education in HE, in relation to policy, funding and other changes in the sector. It also considers these issues in relation to recommendations from professional educators and government policy for future development of enterprise in HE and comments on the policy impact of this work.
Originality/value
The timing of the survey, in May-July 2010, was important as it reflected the end of a period of over ten years of sustained investment in enterprise in higher education by the previous Labour government in the UK, through a range of funding initiatives. As major public expenditure reductions in support for HE and enterprise activity followed, this represented the “high water mark” of publicly funded enterprise activity in the HE sector, and raised the question of how enterprise education and support activities would become sustainable for the future. The report analyses existing provision, assesses its development over the 2006-2010 period, and provides conclusions and recommendations covering future policy, development, resourcing, and sustainability of enterprise and entrepreneurship provision in higher education.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to report the results of a complete survey of enterprise education in all higher education institutions (HEIs) in England, undertaken in 2010 by the Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE) on behalf of the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE). The survey builds on prior work undertaken by the NCGE in England in 2006 and in 2007.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey aimed to establish a complete picture of curricular and extra-curricular enterprise and entrepreneurship education. The survey uses a similar structure to the previous survey, enabling comparison to be made with enterprise provision over the 2006-2010 period, as well as with the 2008 European survey of entrepreneurship in HE.
Findings
The results provide a stock-take of enterprise education provision in participating HEIs and highlight the connections in institutional strategies between enterprise education, incubation/new venture support, graduate employability, innovation and academic enterprise. The paper reveals “hotspots” and gaps in enterprise provision and offers “benchmarks” for the sector.
Research limitations/implications
The article offers a summary of the implications for the future development and sustainability of enterprise education in HE, in relation to policy, funding and other changes in the sector. It also considers these issues in relation to recommendations from professional educators and government policy for future development of enterprise in HE and comments on the policy impact of this work.
Originality/value
The timing of the survey, in May-July 2010, was important as it reflected the end of a period of over ten years of sustained investment in enterprise in higher education by the previous Labour government in the UK, through a range of funding initiatives. As major public expenditure reductions in support for HE and enterprise activity followed, this represented the “high water mark” of publicly funded enterprise activity in the HE sector, and raised the question of how enterprise education and support activities would become sustainable for the future. The report analyses existing provision, assesses its development over the 2006-2010 period, and provides conclusions and recommendations covering future policy, development, resourcing, and sustainability of enterprise and entrepreneurship provision in higher education.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Self-employment of immigrants and natives in Sweden – a multilevel analysis
an article by Henrik Ohlsson (Lund University, Malmö, Sweden) and Per Broomé and Pieter Bevelander (Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden) published in Entrepreneurship & Regional Development: An International Journal Volume 24 Issue 5-6 (June 2012)
Abstract
Recent research suggests that self-employment among immigrants is due to a combination of multiple situational, cultural and institutional factors, all acting together. Using multilevel regression and unique data on the entire population of Sweden for the year 2007, this study attempts to quantify the relative importance for the self-employed of embeddedness in ethnic contexts (country of birth) and regional business and public regulatory frameworks (labour market areas).
This information indicates whether the layers under consideration are valid constructs of the surroundings that influence individual self-employment. The results show that 10% (women) and 8% (men) of the total variation in individual differences in self-employment can be attributed to the country of birth. When labour market areas are included in the analyses, the share of the total variation increases to 14% for women and 12% for men.
The results show that the ethnic context and the economic environment play a minor role in understanding individual differences in self-employment levels. The results can have important implications when planning interventions or other actions focusing on self-employment as public measures to promote self-employment often are based on geographic areas and ethnic contexts.
Hazel’s comment:
I wonder if the same picture applies in the UK. Anyone have any idea? I couldn't find anything obvious.
Abstract
Recent research suggests that self-employment among immigrants is due to a combination of multiple situational, cultural and institutional factors, all acting together. Using multilevel regression and unique data on the entire population of Sweden for the year 2007, this study attempts to quantify the relative importance for the self-employed of embeddedness in ethnic contexts (country of birth) and regional business and public regulatory frameworks (labour market areas).
This information indicates whether the layers under consideration are valid constructs of the surroundings that influence individual self-employment. The results show that 10% (women) and 8% (men) of the total variation in individual differences in self-employment can be attributed to the country of birth. When labour market areas are included in the analyses, the share of the total variation increases to 14% for women and 12% for men.
The results show that the ethnic context and the economic environment play a minor role in understanding individual differences in self-employment levels. The results can have important implications when planning interventions or other actions focusing on self-employment as public measures to promote self-employment often are based on geographic areas and ethnic contexts.
Hazel’s comment:
I wonder if the same picture applies in the UK. Anyone have any idea? I couldn't find anything obvious.
Friday, 22 June 2012
Religion, spirituality and entrepreneurship: The church as entrepreneurial space among British Africans
an article by Sonny Nwankwo, Ayantunji Gbadamosi and Sanya Ojo, (Royal Docks Business School, University of East London) published in Society and Business Review Volume 7 Issue 2 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate interconnection between religion, spirituality and pursuits of economic opportunities among ethnic entrepreneurs, using British Africans as a frame. Against the backcloth of institutional constraints confronting ethnic minorities, the paper investigates how African immigrants in the UK utilise ethnic-based religious resources in the enactment of entrepreneurship. It focuses on the intersection between religion, spirituality, and entrepreneurship for the purpose of providing “below the surface” understandings of African entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Rooted in the context of discovery rather than verification, the research approach involved the use of a focus group as an “entry point” in the collection of field data. This was followed up with one-to-one interviews so that key issues were then probed deeper whilst simultaneously allowing considerable scope to idiosyncratically explore particular meanings with research participants. The sample was drawn from British Africans in London.
Findings
African Pentecostal churches have become a significant force in nurturing business start-ups and encouraging entrepreneurship among the population group. Social capital generated within the religious organizations has a catalytic effect on entrepreneurial propensities.
Research limitations/implications
The boundaries between enterprise and religion can be delicately thin and confusing, with wide-ranging implications for policy interventions. For the entrepreneurs, reconciling religious orientation with the imperatives of entrepreneurship can be hugely problematic and this presents an opportunity in terms of support needs.
Originality/value
Ethnic-based religious spaces have become a fecund ground for stimulating a brand of religion-based ethnic entrepreneurship. This hybrid entrepreneurship is unique and offers a novel platform for constructing new understandings of ethnic entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate interconnection between religion, spirituality and pursuits of economic opportunities among ethnic entrepreneurs, using British Africans as a frame. Against the backcloth of institutional constraints confronting ethnic minorities, the paper investigates how African immigrants in the UK utilise ethnic-based religious resources in the enactment of entrepreneurship. It focuses on the intersection between religion, spirituality, and entrepreneurship for the purpose of providing “below the surface” understandings of African entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Rooted in the context of discovery rather than verification, the research approach involved the use of a focus group as an “entry point” in the collection of field data. This was followed up with one-to-one interviews so that key issues were then probed deeper whilst simultaneously allowing considerable scope to idiosyncratically explore particular meanings with research participants. The sample was drawn from British Africans in London.
Findings
African Pentecostal churches have become a significant force in nurturing business start-ups and encouraging entrepreneurship among the population group. Social capital generated within the religious organizations has a catalytic effect on entrepreneurial propensities.
Research limitations/implications
The boundaries between enterprise and religion can be delicately thin and confusing, with wide-ranging implications for policy interventions. For the entrepreneurs, reconciling religious orientation with the imperatives of entrepreneurship can be hugely problematic and this presents an opportunity in terms of support needs.
Originality/value
Ethnic-based religious spaces have become a fecund ground for stimulating a brand of religion-based ethnic entrepreneurship. This hybrid entrepreneurship is unique and offers a novel platform for constructing new understandings of ethnic entrepreneurship.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Does self-employment measure entrepreneurship? Evidence from Great Britain
SERC Discussion Paper 109 by Giulia Faggio (SERC) and Olmo Silva (SERC, Department of Geography and Environment, LSE and IZA) published May 2012
Abstract
Research on entrepreneurship often uses information on self-employment to proxy for business creation and innovative behaviour. However, little evidence has been collected on the link between these measures.
In this paper, we use data from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) combined with data from the Business Structure Database (BSD), and the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) to study the relation between self-employment, business creation and innovation.
In order to do so, we aggregate individual and firm-level data at the Travel-to-Work Area (TTWA) and investigate how the incidence of self-employment correlates with the density of business start-ups and innovative firms.
Our results show that in urban areas a higher incidence of self-employment positively and strongly correlates with more business creation and innovation, but this is not true for rural areas. Further analysis suggests that this urban/rural divide is related to lack of employment opportunities in rural areas, which might push some workers into self-employment as a last resort option.
JEL Classifications: L26, J21, R12, R23
Full text (PDF 56pp)
Abstract
Research on entrepreneurship often uses information on self-employment to proxy for business creation and innovative behaviour. However, little evidence has been collected on the link between these measures.
In this paper, we use data from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) combined with data from the Business Structure Database (BSD), and the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) to study the relation between self-employment, business creation and innovation.
In order to do so, we aggregate individual and firm-level data at the Travel-to-Work Area (TTWA) and investigate how the incidence of self-employment correlates with the density of business start-ups and innovative firms.
Our results show that in urban areas a higher incidence of self-employment positively and strongly correlates with more business creation and innovation, but this is not true for rural areas. Further analysis suggests that this urban/rural divide is related to lack of employment opportunities in rural areas, which might push some workers into self-employment as a last resort option.
JEL Classifications: L26, J21, R12, R23
Full text (PDF 56pp)
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Is flexibility the mother of invention?
via Money & Management Blog by MariaLaura Di Domenico on 7 August
There's a lot of talk these days about flexible working, work-life balance and portfolio careers. Crèche-at-work schemes, job-shares and flexi-time have become commonplace. If so much is being done to help women be part of the work force why are women, especially mothers, turning away from traditional jobs, and becoming entrepreneurs?
Read the rest here
About the author Dr. MariaLaura Di Domenico is a Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the OU Business School where she is responsible for research and teaching in organisation studies, small business, and entrepreneurship.
Hazel's comment:
This is a well-thought-out article on the labour market covering a number of issues that have come to the fore recently, and studies that suggest that women are actually more discriminated against now than they were twenty years ago – particularly by small business managers small business owners who see women of childbearing age as potentially a costly problem.
And the links that MariaLaura provides are very useful – some I've seen but not highlighted for you, a couple were new to me.
Weblinks
Maternity leave 'damages' careers
'Kitchen table tycoons' identified as new brand of female entrepreneurs
Watch the Mum's the Business trailer
What makes an entrepreneur?
The world of work
Learning opportunities
Free OpenLearn course - Entrepreneurial behaviour
Investigating entrepreneurial opportunities (OU course starting November 2008 £440)
NB: Whilst I make every reasonable effort to ensure that external links are valid at the time of publication I cannot be held responsible for third-party sites being hacked. I do, however, only link to sites that I consider reputable.
There's a lot of talk these days about flexible working, work-life balance and portfolio careers. Crèche-at-work schemes, job-shares and flexi-time have become commonplace. If so much is being done to help women be part of the work force why are women, especially mothers, turning away from traditional jobs, and becoming entrepreneurs?
Read the rest here
About the author Dr. MariaLaura Di Domenico is a Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the OU Business School where she is responsible for research and teaching in organisation studies, small business, and entrepreneurship.
Hazel's comment:
This is a well-thought-out article on the labour market covering a number of issues that have come to the fore recently, and studies that suggest that women are actually more discriminated against now than they were twenty years ago – particularly by small business managers small business owners who see women of childbearing age as potentially a costly problem.
And the links that MariaLaura provides are very useful – some I've seen but not highlighted for you, a couple were new to me.
Weblinks
Maternity leave 'damages' careers
'Kitchen table tycoons' identified as new brand of female entrepreneurs
Watch the Mum's the Business trailer
What makes an entrepreneur?
The world of work
Learning opportunities
Free OpenLearn course - Entrepreneurial behaviour
Investigating entrepreneurial opportunities (OU course starting November 2008 £440)
NB: Whilst I make every reasonable effort to ensure that external links are valid at the time of publication I cannot be held responsible for third-party sites being hacked. I do, however, only link to sites that I consider reputable.
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