Innovative Start-ups Research Articles

What conditions favor high-potential entrepreneurship? Unpacking the nexus between the industrial structure and startup typologies

In this paper, we question the implicit assumption that more entrepreneurship drives more innovation and growth, asserting that specific typologies of entrepreneurship are responsible for these phenomena. A growing number of studies has analyzed this relationship while focusing on the overall level of entrepreneurship. This paper exploits recent advancements in measuring the sophistication and connectedness of economic systems, brought by the notions of economic complexity and relatedness, to study the nexus of industrial structure and high-potential forms of entrepreneurship. The present study uses a panel dataset for Italy for the period 2015–2019. The results show a differentiated pattern among the high-potential startups considered, with relatedness and complexity having a positive effect for innovative startups, a negative one for high-growth startups, and no effect for pioneers. These results inform potential entrepreneurs of the importance of analyzing how external conditions can have distinctive effects on the process of opportunity identification among different typologies of high-potential startups.

Unveiling the layers of data activism: The organising of civic innovation to fight corruption in Brazil

Developed by tech-savvy citizens, Rosie is a bot that autonomously checks the public spending of elected representatives of the Brazilian Lower Chamber and uses Twitter to engage peoplein discussing suspicious findings. Rosie is the most visible face of Operação Serenata de Amor (Operation Love Serenade), a data-enabled activism initiative that revolves around the creation, use and dissemination of open data to hold politicians accountable and empower citizens to react against the misuse of public funds. The article draws on an original data set – including interviews, participant online observation notes and secondary qualitative materials – to examine Operação Serenata de Amor, focusing on how material and symbolic elements related to both human and non-human actors shape the organisational patterns of this type of initiative. The findings suggest that there are three organisational patterns, each with further specific challenges, based on the presence of three modes of participation that depend on different types of engagement with digital technologies and data. Findings indicate that data-enabled activism can emerge with typical characteristics and values of tech startups, such as the goal of creating a sustainable budget and providing strategic content by validating it with user feedback, while also retaining some traits of online activism, such as ad hoc and temporal networks of highly autonomous actors concerned with specific contentious issues. In this respect, the eventual demobilisation of Operação Serenata de Amor's initiators due to commercial values and struggles to maintain it active and engaging can be seen as a cautionary tale for data-enabled activism, particularly for initiatives closely associated with civic innovation and social tech startups.

Опыт создания и развития инновационного стартап-проекта «Творческая трансформация отходов»

The article describes the experience of design and development of the innovative start-up project “Creative Waste Transformation”, which is realized at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno and is aimed at development of innovative educational activity within the framework of school-workshop and focused on solving urgent social problems. Target audience: students, teachers and employees of universities, focused on the creation and implementation of their own project, social or commercial orientation.

Strategic prospects for the development of innovative startup companies in the Primorsky Krai

Subject. This article discusses the prospects for the development of innovative companies in the Primorsky Krai, taking into account regional specifics and competitive advantages, as well as the support measures taken at the federal level. Objectives. The article aims to analyze the present-day regional strategic trends in measures to support innovative companies and develop recommendations for their improvement. Methods. For the study, we used the methods of logical analysis, synthesis, comparison, aggregation by specific feature, and systematization. Results. The article summarizes the tools of government support for start-up companies and updates the requirements for applying the theory and practice of strategic planning in this field of activity, as well as regional strategic advantages and opportunities for further development of technology startups in the Primorsky Krai. Conclusions. The development of innovative technological start-ups is a catalyst to unlock synergies of both sectoral and regional development. The combination of strategic perspectives and implemented solutions by start-up support institutions will help form the basis for the future trend in the development of innovative infrastructure in the Primorsky Krai.

Initial stage of innovative cell-entrapped biofilter start-up for removal of manganese in water: Treatment performance, manganese speciation, and microbial community

Manganese-contaminated groundwater as a drinking water source causes colored water, pipe clogging, and health problems. Manganese removal using biofilters is an effective process, but microbial acclimatization during the start-up period takes time. The aim of this study is to investigate the initial stage of an innovative cell-entrapped biofilter start-up for manganese removal. Streptomyces violarus SBP1 (SBP1) entrapped in barium alginate was incorporated into the biofilter to enhance manganese removal and cell retention. The manganese removal performance, microbial community, and manganese transformation were examined through dual media columns representing free cell-augmented (FC), entrapped cell-augmented (EC), and conventional biofilters at an initial manganese concentration of 1 mg/L. In a filtration experiment, EC achieved better removal performance (53 %) than FC (45 %) and conventional biofilter (39 %) because of higher manganese bio-oxidation. During the beginning period, manganese adsorption was predominant, whereas manganese bio-oxidation played a main role thereafter. A synchrotron-based analysis confirmed that most Mn(II) was oxidized to Mn(III) and Mn(IV). The amplicon sequencing results revealed that Proteobacteria-dominated natural biofilm in all three filters, while Streptomyces (expected as SBP1) was the major bacterial group in EC. This study demonstrated the feasibility of developing an innovative cell-entrapped biofilter.

Supporting Startup Innovation Ecosystems: Identifying prominent actors and Critical role: Case study in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Innovation in its best generation occurs through extensive interactions and exchange of knowledge and products among actors with life-like characteristics. These characteristics are better understood in the form of the ecosystem concept, and it becomes possible to make policies, especially when toddlers are concerned. The current research has studied the startup innovation ecosystem intending to identify the leading players and their key roles. This research has two qualitative and quantitative stages. The qualitative part is a systematic review of the literature of the last ten years through seven steps, including keywords determination, search, organization, evaluation, expansion, interpretation, and presentation. This section’s result identifies universities, growth centers, financial providers, companies, accelerators, and science and technology partners as the leading players and the foundation, creation, support, coaching, and organization as critical roles. Theoretically, this research has identified a framework with the minimum requirement to form a startup innovation ecosystem. In a practical sense, it indicates that the country of Northern Cyprus is mainly supportive and needs to pay attention to other roles for the development of the ecosystem.

Source of funding and specialized competences: the impact on the innovative performance of start-ups

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the effects of two drivers, namely, the received fundings and its interaction with the specialized competences owned by the managerial board, on the R&D activities performed by start-ups.Design/methodology/approachThis paper tests hypotheses on a sample of 405 innovative start-ups established in Italy and registered into the Chamber of Commerce official database. This study uses the R&D expenses as a measure of the innovative performance of start-up, and the authors also collected the number and total amount of grants received by them and the presence of high qualified team in their management board.FindingsThe analysis reveals that both the number and total amount of grants received by start-ups positively impact the innovative performance. The same is for the integration of the total amount of grants with the presence of high qualified team in the management board.Research limitations/implicationsThis study did not distinguish between different types of grants adopted by start-ups, while it would be interesting to study whether any difference does exist among them in terms of their influence on innovative performance. Also, this paper considers the total number of specialized people in the team while it would certainly be interesting to analyze people’s background and competences in relation to the innovative performances.Practical implicationsThis paper allows us to offer some provisional conclusions such as having funds in the preliminary phase of start-up life cycle, and investments mainly for R&D expenses. The start-up must also leverage its skills and therefore it is necessary to invest in human capital.Social implicationsFindings suggest that policymakers should introduce integrated measures to support start-ups throughout the entire life cycle, from the creation of the idea to incubation up to industrial consolidation.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the determinants of start-up innovative performance because both external (such as political, economic, social and technological) and internal (such as organizational) influencing factors have to be considered as crucial for start-ups innovation and growth. Finally, this study is one of the few attempts exploring the phenomenon by using an empirical methodology based on real and certificated data.

Entrepreneurship in Africa and Media Education in Higher Education

This article discusses two separate topics. The first one is about a media education study on robotics conducted by Italian and Congolese researchers. The study analyzed qualitative data collected from 50 Italian and 70 Congolese students to identify cultural factors that affect the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in robotics education. The second topic is about the rise of entrepreneurship among young Africans. The article describes the growth of technology centers in African cities and the development of innovative startups. The author emphasizes the importance of implementing strategies that promote entrepreneurship among young Africans, identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and provide realistic and achievable goals.

Effects of open innovation in startups: Theory and evidence

A robust literature has provided compelling evidence showing how open innovation impacts incumbent firms. However, only a paucity of research has linked open innovation strategies to different types of innovation in startups. This paper fills this gap in the literature by focusing on if, how and why open innovation enhances innovative activity in newly created firms. In particular, the paper examines how the role of both the specific external partner as well as the geographical location of partner matters in how product and process innovation is shaped in startups. The empirical evidence garnered in this paper suggest that not only do startups benefit from open innovation, but also the extent of product innovation and the propensity to innovate new processes in startups are significantly affected by specific external partner and its geographical location. The positive impact of open innovation reflects the heterogeneous effects of knowledge embedded in different partner types and the role that technological, institutional, and competitive arrangements play domestically and internationally in startup innovation. This study provides new light on how and why open innovation benefits not just incumbents but also startups as well.

Disruptive Innovation and Business Growth of Fashion Entrepreneurial Start-Ups in Nigeria

This empirical study examined the relationship between disruptive innovation and business growth of fashion entrepreneurial start-ups in Nigeria. The study adopted the cross-sectional research survey design. Primary data was generated through structured questionnaire. The population, which also served as the sample size, for this study was sixty-three fashion entrepreneurs, fashion bloggers, fashion enthusiasts, fashion industry experts and clients of fashion outlets with social media presence in Nigeria. The reliability of the instrument was achieved by the use of the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient with all the items scoring above 0.70. The hypotheses were tested using the Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation Coefficient. The tests were carried out at a 0.05 significance level. The findings of the study indicate a positive and significant relationship between disruptive innovation and business growth (proxied by customer acquisition, brand presence and revenue growth) of fashion entrepreneurial start-ups in Nigeria. This suggests that fashion start-ups in Nigeria can leverage disruptive innovation strategies to foster growth, differentiate themselves in the market, and respond to evolving consumer demands. Therefore, the study recommends fashion start-ups should leverage technology-driven innovations to enhance business growth. This should involve adopting e-commerce platforms, mobile applications, and social media marketing strategies to reach and engage with a broader customer base. Utilizing data analytics and personalized marketing approaches can also help target and attract potential customers more effectively. Keywords: Disruptive Innovation, Business Growth, Fashion Entrepreneurial Start-Ups

An institutional perspective on fundraising by Italian YICs

ABSTRACT Young Innovative Companies have received considerable attention in the last decade in entrepreneurship and management literature. These firms need financial resources to develop but lack legitimacy in the eyes of investors. This paper empirically explores the determinants of fundraising by analysing 545 Italian innovative start-ups, as defined by the Law 221/2012. In an institutional perspective we propose a model that considers the effect of three different sources of legitimacy. Results show that team educational and professional diversity, incubation and IPRs play a significant role in legitimating the company in the fundraising process.

The creation of digital innovative start-ups: the role of digital knowledge spillovers and digital skill endowment

Building on the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship (KSTE) and the Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (DEE) approach, this paper investigates the relationship between the local availability of digital knowledge (i.e., digital knowledge spillovers and digital skill endowment) and the creation of digital innovative start-ups in Italian NUTS3 regions. The obtained results show that both elements are significant for the creation of digital innovative start-ups at the province level, and a two-fold contribution has been made: from a theory perspective, an extension of KSTE to digital settings has been used to assess the relevance of geographical issues, while, from a DEE perspective, the study contributes by empirically analyzing the specific characteristics of the local ecosystem that can affect the creation of digital innovative start-ups. Finally, we discuss the implications for entrepreneurship and technology policy at the local level.

Orchestrating an Open Innovation Ecosystem in low-tech industries: the case of Barilla’s Blu1877

ABSTRACT The study explores Open Innovation practices adopted by large firms in low- and medium-technology industries to foster innovation when the integration of distant knowledge from far scientific and technological fields is required. The study performs an explanatory single case study methodology. It focuses on the Italian food producer Barilla and its Blu1877 corporate venture capital fund to explore innovations in the food and agri-tech domains. It emerges that, with the intent to create and orchestrate an Open Innovation Ecosystem, Barilla moves across two main trajectories: (i) the search for external knowledge and expansion of network for new markets and technology exploration, and (ii) the support and mentorship of innovative start-ups that explore and develop novel ideas and technologies. The resulting Open Innovation Ecosystem has become the locus where innovations are developed by sharing knowledge, competencies, and capabilities among diverse actors and where companies can promote a transition toward the opening of their organisational boundaries.

Getting schooled: Universities and VC-backed immigrant entrepreneurs

This paper analyzes how US universities contribute to the quantity and quality of VC-backed immigrant entrepreneurship in the US. Using a novel data set that identifies immigration status and education history for the near-universe of VC-backed founders in the US, we document several interrelated facts. First, immigrants contribute disproportionately to US VC-backed entrepreneurship, accounting for approximately 20 % of VC-backed companies. More than 75 % of these immigrant entrepreneurs obtained post-secondary education in the US, which suggests that higher education represents a primary entry channel for foreign entrepreneurial talent into the country. Given these facts, we assess how universities shape both the geographic distribution and the quality of immigrant entrepreneurship. Close to 40 % of US-educated immigrants start a company in the state of their alma mater, suggesting that place of education substantially impacts immigrant entrepreneurs' startup location choice. Regarding firm quality, immigrant founders are also more likely to found financially successful and scientifically innovative startups than their US-born counterparts. Altogether, the results suggest that foreign students educated in US universities substantially contribute to local and national VC-backed entrepreneurship, thereby identifying higher education's global scope as a potential tool to attract entrepreneurial talent and encourage entrepreneurial growth.

The start-up's roadmap to private equity financing: substituting discounts with a premium in valuation for growth

PurposeAccess to financing is a key success factor for start-ups. High failure rates, long payback periodse and asymmetries lead to conservative pricing and valuation discounts. The authors examine financial marketing and contingent factors, as enablers of a “patent premium” by private equity (PE) investors targeting start-ups in their growth and expansion stages.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from the contingency, innovation and signaling theories, the authors collect patent records for Italian start-ups in which a higher than 30% stake was acquired by PE investors during the period 2014–2020. The authors apply a generalized linear model with a logit link and robust clustered error to test the key relationships and control for endogeneity with a Heckman two-stage selection model.FindingsFindings indicate start-ups’ access to financing is significantly impacted by marketing constructs adopted in the operation. Innovation alone does not suffice to determine a valuation premium, unless contingent on the promotion of its product, the placement -investors targeted-of the equity, brand equity levers of previous ownership and marketing competence backing the deal.Originality/valueThe authors provide new insights in the marketing-finance interface, highlighting levers that reassure investors and enable monetizing innovation in start-ups that are still privately held. The authors bridge a gap in literature that has mainly focused on venture capital and innovation financing in the open market, as well as a significant gap regarding the marketing design of private equity placements.

Exploring the Spatial Intersection of Small Firm Innovation, Urban Form, and Demographics in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area

In an increasingly competitive global market for human and financial capital, cities have embraced a variety of strategies to lure investment and incubate lucrative businesses and industries in situ. Among other strategies, it has been suggested that local governments can both attract and catalyze the rise of knowledge-intensive businesses and innovative startups by cultivating dense, walkable, and transit-accessible urban environments where knowledge spillovers might be more likely and creative and knowledge workers can access an abundance of consumption amenities. This intensive case study of the Washington, DC, metropolitan area explores the potential spatial associations between attributes of urban form and innovation productivity as assessed using small business innovation awards. In addition to largely corroborating previous findings indicating a strong positive spatial correlation between small and midsized firm innovation and neighborhood walkability and transit quality, the results suggest the importance of other key supportive amenities including small business incubators or accelerators and local research universities, and highlight socioeconomic and demographic disparities between innovation hot spots and cold spots.

Developing an open innovation model in the startup ecosystem industries based on the attitude of organizational resilience and blue ocean strategy

Creating innovation is one of the important mechanisms to create resilience in the organization with a blue ocean attitude. Due to the complexity and competitive conditions of the environment, opening and exploring the innovation process can be a way to solve the challenges of organizations.this research is designed to provide a model of open innovation with a blue ocean approach in the startup ecosystem of the textile industry (as a case study) and impact of that on organizational resilience is also investigated by focusing on the mediating role of dynamic competitiveness. For data analysis, a structural equation modeling test was used and finally, criteria of organizational readiness, collaborative capability, absorption capacity, and knowledge management capabilities were introduced as effective factors in open innovation in startups. It was also found that the use of open innovation process can lead to greater success in increasing organizational resilience and dynamic competitiveness in startups.

Nurturing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in India: Lessons Start-up Entrepreneurs

In a country like India, even though various important projects have been introduced to tackle thehurdles of entrepreneurship activities, most of them fail to address the peculiar challenges raisedby start-ups. Extensive research is being conducted in the arena of start-up entrepreneurs and thepositive influence of a good entrepreneurial ecosystem in their development. In this attempt tocomprehend factors that allow the fostering of start-up ventures, several researchers focus on thepart of stakeholders in the nurture of business ecosystems. The understanding of the diversestakeholders that can influence the nurturing of entrepreneurship ventures in itself will helpbusiness enthusiasts in organizing and managing these diverse aspects in order to producecombined positive output in entrepreneurship. The paper studies diverse stakeholders in Indiaranging from universities, government, private organizations to incubators and other acceleratorsin order to conceptualize their roles in development of a good entrepreneurial ecosystem. In thisstudy, the emphasis is on how to collaborate and intervene these factors in framing a propernetwork of individual entrepreneurial ecosystems, there by expanding them to a large network ofbusiness ecosystem through holistic approach and eventually boosting innovative start-ups inIndia.

Betting on the future: how to build antifragility in innovative start-up companies

While after a crisis, organizational robustness and resilience are associated with the return to pre-shock conditions, antifragility is characterized by the tendency to take advantage of the shock to improve the organization’s position. Understanding how to create antifragility is important to ensure rapid recovery from a crisis. This is especially true for innovative start-ups, which if they are particularly fragile also have the opportunity to improve their unstable situation by adapting to the new context. However, studies on the subject are rare. To fill this gap, a survey was carried out with 181 Italian innovative start-ups to investigate the relationship between antifragility and intangible resources, tangible surplus resources, and absorptive capacity. The results show that antifragility is supported by a combination of tangible and intangible resources that can help innovative start-ups thrive when other organizations succumb.

Creation Experience of Startup Campuses in Major Regions (North America, Far East, Australia and Europe)

Startup campuses are a gathering place for local startups. On the one hand, they bring together innovative startups, and on the other hand, they offer solutions for international market entry through various incubator programmes, investment services, training networks, education, extensive networking capital, and mentoring. Startup campuses should be seen as a 21st century combination of decentralised incubators, accelerators, and business angels. The world’s leading startup and innovation campuses recognise the need to build the right environment and ecosystem for startups to grow quickly and efficiently. Among the startup campus ecosystems, the US Silicon Valley stands out, home to seven of the world’s top ten startups. Currently, five large startup ecosystems (New York, London, Beijing, Boston, and Shanghai) have the best business development capabilities, and two are trying to catch up (Los Angeles and Tel Aviv). Among startup ecosystems, the US leads the race by a significant margin, but European startup campuses are also growing steadily, while South American startup incubators are lagging behind. The study seeks to find out what services startup campuses provide in different regions, what their main activities are, and how successful they are. The topic is also important because startups most often respond to broad societal problems, such as access to basic services at affordable prices, reducing poverty and inequality, and increasing diversity and inclusiveness. On environmental issues, the most common targets are improving food supply and security, clean energy, climate change solutions, water, and sanitation.