Foster Entrepreneurship Research Articles

Regulations and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries

This paper uses an institutional approach to examine the effect of regulations on entrepreneurial activity, comparing developed and developing countries. Through an unbalanced panel data set of 49 countries over the period 2001-2010 and using a combination of international databases we find a positive influence of government spending and entrepreneurship legislation on entrepreneurial activity. It was also found that regulations may have different impacts on entrepreneurship according to the country's economic development. Thus, in developed economies unemployment legislation is positively related to entrepreneurship, while this relationship is negative in other cases. This paper offers new insights both from a conceptual perspective (advancing theory concerning the factors that influence entrepreneurial activity) and a practical viewpoint (for the design of government policies to foster entrepreneurship).

The role of venture capital in economic transition in Serbia

Venture and more broadly private equity finance is in early stage development in Serbia, both in form of seed-capital financing for innovative small and medium size enterprises (SME) and private equity financing in growing companies. Banking dominates as a source of finance with significant drawbacks in terms of cost and required collateral, especially hampering potential growth of SMEs that constitute 99% of all businesses in Serbia. This article finds private equity investments made to date to have demonstrated positive results, confirming data from other, especially transition economies, presented in the introductory literature overview. In the mid-term, Serbia stands to benefit both from entrepreneurial private ventures and important regional initiatives supported by the European Union such as the Western Balkan Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility, whose innovation and expansion investment funds are expected to start operations in 2014. Serbia is also eligible for the new EU Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME), which will have an equity facility, stimulating venture capital stream for SMEs. Education of local financial institutions and SMEs in Serbia about venture capital and investor readiness will be vital, facilitating the construction of project pipelines. In conjunction, the legal framework should be upgraded, both by enacting the amendments to the Law on the Export-Credit Agency (AOFI) and the Law on venture capital funds, accompanied by wider regulatory reform to improve the business climate and foster entrepreneurship.

The Role of Management Sciences in Fostering Entrepreneurship Education in Nigerian Universities

This study aims at suggesting the best Management Science practices for improving the effectiveness of entrepreneurial education programs in the Universities, based on their impact on expected attitudes of undergraduate students towards business start-up as a career choice. Particularly, the paper presents some results from a study carried out in two Nigerian Universities aimed at validating a structure of entrepreneurial education based on a double component of the circular role of management science teachings and extracurricular support, and to analyze their effects upon undergraduates' entrepreneurial self efficacy and outcomes as immediate antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions and behaviors. Statistical treatment of data was based on factorial, discriminate and regression analyses. Findings underlies the very limited involvement of Management Sciences of Nigerian Universities in entrepreneurial education as perceived by students, together with the existence of different effects of circular and extracurricular elements when fostering entrepreneurial careers among future graduates. Results show a relationship, though not very strong between Management Sciences and entrepreneurial capabilities. There was an examination of course structures and pedagogies in Management Sciences and entrepreneurial education, the paper then provides the results of University survey reflecting current state of Management Sciences and entrepreneurial education.

Fostering Entrepreneurship in China: A Survey of the Economic Literature

AbstractThe economic literature can help us find how to foster entrepreneurship in China in order to ensure a sustainable economic growth.Someone asked Confucius ‘Why do you not take part in government?’ The Master replied: ‘The Book of History says, Oh! Simply by being a good son and friendly to his brothers, a man can exert an influence upon government.” In so doing a man is, in fact, taking part in government.’(Confucius, The Anaclets, II.21. Translated by D.C. Lau, 1979)Zeal without knowledge is the sister of folly.(John Davies of Hereford, The Scourge of Folly, 1611)

Institutional dimensions and entrepreneurial activity: an international study

The purpose of this article is to examine the influence of institutional dimensions (regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive) on the probability of becoming an entrepreneur. The main findings demonstrate, through logistic regression, that a favourable regulative dimension (fewer procedures to start a business), normative dimension (higher media attention for new business) and cultural-cognitive dimension (better entrepreneurial skills, less fear of business failure and better knowing of entrepreneurs) increase the probability of being an entrepreneur. Data were obtained from both the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the International Institute for Management and Development for the year 2008, considering a sample of 30 countries and 36,525 individuals. The study advances the literature by providing new information on the environmental factors that affect entrepreneurial activity in the light of institutional economics. Also, the research could be useful for designing policies to foster entrepreneurship in different environments.

Creating a collaborative learning community in the CIS Sandbox

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of transforming a traditional university computer lab to create a collaborative learning community known as the CIS Sandbox, by remodeling a physical space and supporting it with a virtual presence through the use of social media tools. The discussion applies Selander's “designs for learning” to frame learning experiences in the CIS Sandbox.Design/methodology/approachTo determine attitudes toward learning in such an environment, students who staffed and visited the physical space during its first semester completed a voluntary survey. The study investigated attitudes of visitors toward both classroom and extracurricular technology learning; participants also shared their views on the effect of creating a collaborative physical learning environment, and the extent to which they also made use of its online presence.FindingsProviding both classroom assistance as well as a space for exploring technology, coupled with a focus on blogs and social media, creates interest in IT among students and contributes to student learning. It also creates an opportunity to foster entrepreneurship among student workers who manage these tools as part of the day‐to‐day operation of the facility.Research limitations/implicationsThe study presents one implementation of a collaborative learning community formed in a renovated computer lab after a preliminary start‐up period and considers signs for learning based on its activities.Practical implicationsThis study presents an innovative model for administering a computer lab, focused on new technologies and peer learning. This approach fosters a sense of entrepreneurship among student workers.Originality/valueWhile many have studied learning space design and features for promoting collaborative learning, this study also describes a virtual presence that extends the lab's services by providing online resources.

Institutional variables, entrepreneurial activity and economic development

Purpose – The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship in groups of countries classified according to their economic development.Design/methodology/approach – Data used come from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Economic Freedom in the World Index; and from the Global Competitiveness Report.Findings – The results provide useful information for the public and private sectors as evidence that some institutional variables that influence business creation depend on the development stage and report critical aspects to progress in each type of country in order to foster entrepreneurship. In developing nations the “size of the business sector” and “health and primary education” are critical variables, while for transition economies they stack the “integrity of the legal system” and “fulfilling contracts” and for developed economies the “size of the government” and “credit available to the private sector”.Originality/value – This study constitutes an unusual approach ...

Reflections on Entrepreneurial Learning in Tunisian Universities

Entrepreneurship education helps develop entrepreneurial behavior by stimulating students’entrepreneurial skills. Indeed, students can acquire and implement specific methodologies to create, develop and support new activities. Our study will aim to describe and explain the entrepreneurship education in the Tunisian university. This learning is organized around five key areas: the methodology of entrepreneurship; training seminars; socio-economic development; support entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial values. By following a hypothetical-deductive and descriptive method, we try to know the influence of exogenous variables that will foster entrepreneurship learning and improve the intent and the entrepreneurial skills of students. In this study, we focus on student populations of 3 years at the university (called LMD in Tunisia) after the program; namely, entrepreneurship awareness and developing a business plan. The choice of this frame is explained by the fact that these students are just a few months away from integrating into the world of work and express a variety of professional career intentions. Our research provides theoretical and practical contributions. In fact, it offers tools to advance the practice of entrepreneurship education at the University of Tunisia, with the aim of promoting the emergence of the entrepreneurial initiatives of students and graduates of the University.

향토산업육성사업의 현황과 발전과제

Promoting Rural industry development projects with the support of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had elapsed about 5 years old. Agency selected 30 municipalities they annually promoting business, its performance will be examined. The alternative analysis of the business problem and seeks to provide policy direction. Superior rural enterprises to build business through fostering rural industry than what the system of rural industries in the region to want to foster entrepreneurship, 6th industrialization area industrial structure for each of the items, and not continue to make policy judgments about the point of needis. Therefore, in this paper, so far, through the analysis of the performance of alternatives by sector presented.

Does Charter Competition Foster Entrepreneurship? A Difference‐in‐Difference Approach to European Company Law Reforms

AbstractThis article explores how company law reforms, particularly the reduction or abolition of minimum capital requirements, in various European jurisdictions affect the decision of entrepreneurs to incorporate by means of a private limited liability company (LLC). Since the landmark rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the years 1999, 2002 and 2003, entrepreneurs in the European Union (EU) have been able to choose the country of incorporation independently of their real seat. As a result, the proliferation of the United Kingdom private company limited by shares has posed a competitive threat to many European legislators. The article analyzes whether the reforms adopted in Spain, France, Hungary, Germany and Poland have promoted the popularity of domestic legal forms and encouraged entrepreneurship more generally. Using a difference‐in‐difference approach, a strong impact is recorded in both respects, especially if the minimum capital requirement was reduced or abolished.

Mikrofinanzierung: Motor für Beschäftigung oder Ersatz für soziale Sicherungsnetze

What can microfinance contribute to the creation of employment and the increase in well-being of the population? We argue that microfinance has an important benefit for the poor, particularly for subsistence entrepreneurs, as a means of handling shocks and smoothing income. By helping to assure a minimum standard of living on the subsistence level, microfinance partly assumes the functions that in developed economies are provided by social safety nets. A microfinance initiated large scale transformation of poor people into successful entrepreneurs creating small or even medium sized enterprises, however, is not likely to take place, neither in developing nor in industrialised economies. To foster entrepreneurship and to bridge the gap between subsistence activities and prospering enterprise-a gap which is particularly prominent in developing countries due to the high share of the informal economy-microfinance is only part of the solution. Improving the business environment, facilitating the formalisation of unregistered enterprise, and, last but not least, access to better education and vocational training are of equal importance to spur firms' growth and employment creation.

DO PUBLIC POLICIES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP MAKE A DIFFERENCE? PROSPECTIVE SCENARIOS FOR CANADA, IRELAND, AND ITALY <br><strong>DOI:10.7444/fsrj.v4i1.95</strong>

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) constitute the majority of businesses and a significant part of developed and developing countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This article presents a series of prospective scenarios that investigate the effects of public policies on entrepreneurship in Canada, Ireland, and Italy. Public policies for this sector can be classified as regulatory policies (e.g., laws for the entrance and exit of businesses, labor and social laws, property laws, tax laws, intellectual property laws, bankruptcy laws, and laws that affect the liquidity and availability of capital) and stimulus policies (e.g., promotion of cultural and educational programs to foster entrepreneurship and internationalization). Regulatory policies influence the business environment for MSMEs, and are generally designed to provide entrepreneurs with high growth potential (known as “gazelles”). Four scenarios involving the critical uncertainties surrounding political and economic integration and technological development are developed for each country. Each scenario is constructed based on public policies specific to each country. This article concludes that public policies are not a panacea capable of generating economic development, given that their effectiveness depends on other economic decisions and exogenous economic conditions. However, the absence of state intervention does not produce positive effects, even in the case of positive scenarios under exogenous conditions.

2012 State of Entrepreneurship Address: 'A Roadmap for State Growth'

At the 2012 State of Entrepreneurship Address, held February 9, 2012, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation interim president and CEO Benno C. Schmidt, along with National Governors Association (NGA) leaders Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman and Delaware Governor Jack Markell, called for state and local government policy changes to foster entrepreneurship and accelerate economic growth. During the third annual address, titled A Roadmap for State Growth, Schmidt focused on reducing state and local legal and regulatory barriers to startups and young companies, which play a significant role in U.S. new job creation.

Forum Introduction

The nonprofit and voluntary sector “occupies an increasingly critical and visible position in our political, social and economic life” (Frumkin, 2002, p. 1). As critical, nonprofit and voluntary organizations (NPVOs) deliver a myriad of services, foster social entrepreneurship, enable civic/political engagement, and facilitate the enactment of private/religious values. As visible, registered nonprofits numbered more than 1.5 million in 2010 in the United States alone and included public charities, private foundations, chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations, and civic leagues (National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2011). These numbers increase dramatically when figuring in more informally organized volunteer community groups, not to mention the vast amount of nonprofit work happening across the world. In virtually every area of society, NPVOs offer alternatives to corporate and governmental forms of organizing—from banking and housing, to education and retail. In other Forum

Getting ready for oil and gas development in Canada's Northwest Territories: aboriginal entrepreneurship and economic development

This case study uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine Inuit and First Nations perspectives and initiatives to foster sustainable entrepreneurship and economic development related to the forthcoming Mackenzie Gas Pipeline in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The 1,220-kilometer pipeline will connect the Mackenzie Delta to the Alberta Oil Sands and North American markets. These findings will be of interest to business, government and Indigenous leaders involved in resource development. Key aspects include self-government and land claim agreements, approaches to entrepreneurship and economic development, sustainable development, human resource development initiatives, business service support and increased participation of women and Aboriginal peoples.

PLAYER - a European Project and a Game to Foster Entrepreneurship Education for Young People

Entrepreneurship is widely recognized as one of the basic skills to be acquired through a life-long learning. The European Union, under the guidance of the Oslo Agenda, promotes several initiatives to develop entrepreneurship culture in Europe. Education can make a significant contribution to entrepreneurship, encouraging the development of entrepreneurial attitudes and skills in young people. Serious Games are presently recognised as having an important role and potential in education and social networks emerged in the last years as the platform preferred by many, especially young people, to socialize, play games and even learn. This paper presents the PLAYER project, in which a game was developed and implemented as a Facebook application, to enable learning entrepreneurial skills progressively, by guiding users to develop a business idea in the form of a business plan.

LA INFLUENCIA DEL PROCESO DE MIGRACIÓN EN LA PERCEPCIÓN DEL RIESGO DE CREAR UNA EMPRESA

This paper analyzes the relationship between the migration experience and the perception of risk when starting a business. In order to empirically validate the hypotheses formulated, this research uses data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) in Spain during 2009. The analysis made reveals that, regardless of origin, immigrants are less likely to perceive the creation of a company as a hazardous situation. These data prompt us to reflect on explanations related to the selection process before leaving their countries of origin and how immigrants change their perception of risk after the migration process. Likewise, the results obtained raises important practical implications facing the formulation of strategies and policies to foster entrepreneurship in this group.

Entrepreneurship and an Apprentice-based Cluster: The Evolution of Houli's Saxophone Cluster in Taiwan

This paper analyses the relationship between entrepreneurship and an industrial cluster in general, by particularly examining one of Taiwan's industrial clusters, Houli's saxophone cluster. Our purpose is threefold. First, instead of investigating high-profile and chiefly government-directed clusters, such as science parks, we focus on a small and medium enterprise (SME) cluster. Second, unlike most studies that usually show how clusters foster entrepreneurship, we emphasize the role of entrepreneurship in the formation of the cluster industry. We discuss how a skilled artisan turns into an entrepreneur and how an apprentice-based cluster is formed. Third, we show that what used to be the competitive advantages of Houli's saxophone cluster – a peculiar apprentice-based cluster and the supportive precision machine agglomeration in central Taiwan – turn into its weaknesses when globalization surged in the 1980s. A three-year stint in government support, attempting to revitalize Houli's saxophone cluster by organizing a functional network and improving the technology, was unable to overturn the challenges from globalization. Although entrepreneurs learn to adapt to the changing environment, the current lackluster performance of Houli's saxophone industry demonstrates that regardless of how much glory there was in the past, it is inevitable in a “living” economy that a cluster cannot avoid its own ebb and flow.

Perceptions and attitudes towards entrepreneurship. An analysis of gender among university students

The present article analyzes the existence of gender differences in the perceptions and attitudes of university students towards entrepreneurship. It measures perceptions of the public image of the entrepreneur, along with the desirability, viability and intentionality of students towards creating their own business. The empirical data for this research comes from a sample of university students who have attended a Business Creation program run by the venture capital association known as Fostering Entrepreneurs hip in Extremadura, Spain. Data analysis using bivariate and multivariate techniques reveal significant results, indicating that gender plays a significant role in how the figure of the entrepreneur is perceived and on the intention to generate new business.

Does Charter Competition Foster Entrepreneurship? A Difference-in-Difference Approach to European Company Law Reforms

We study how company law reforms, particularly the reduction or abolition of minimum capital requirements, in various European jurisdictions affect the decision of entrepreneurs to incorporate by means of a private limited liability company (LLC). Since the landmark rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the years 1999, 2002 and 2003, entrepreneurs in the European Union (EU) have been able to choose the country of incorporation independently of their real seat. As a result, the proliferation of the UK private company limited by shares has posed a competitive threat to many European legislators. We analyze whether the reforms adopted in Spain, France, Hungary, Germany and Poland have promoted the popularity of domestic legal forms and encouraged entrepreneurship more generally. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we record a strong impact in both respects, especially if the minimum capital requirement was reduced or abolished.