Topic Firms

The Non-linear Impact of Risk Tolerance on Entrepreneurial Profit and Business Survival

Entrepreneurs tend to be risk tolerant but is higher risk tolerance always better? In a sample of about 2100 small businesses, we find an inverted U-shaped relation between risk tolerance and profitability. This relationship holds in a simple bilateral regression, and even after controlling for a large set of individual and business characteristics. Apparently, one major transmission goes from risk ...

Sovereign vs. Corporate Debt and Default: More Similar than You Think

Theory suggests that corporate and sovereign bonds are fundamentally different, also because sovereign debt has no bankruptcy mechanism and is hard to enforce. We show empirically that the two assets are more similar than you think, at least when it comes to high-yield bonds over the past 20 years. Based on rich new data we compare risky US corporate bonds (“junk” bonds) to risky emerging market sovereign ...

Access to Digital Finance: Equity Crowdfunding across Countries and Platforms

Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated ...

The internationalisation of R&D: Past, Present and Future

In this perspective paper we discuss major trends that will shape the internationalisation of business R&D in the future. New scientific discoveries will provide new opportunities to innovate; the growing scientific capabilities in emerging economies will create new hot spots for relevant knowledge; new research activities will emerge from the need to combat climate change; digital technologies including ...

The Non-linear Impact of Risk Tolerance on Entrepreneurial Profit and Business Survival

Entrepreneurs tend to be risk tolerant but is more risk tolerance always better? In a sample of about 2,100 small businesses, we find an inverted U-shaped relation between risk tolerance and profitability. This relationship holds in a simple bilateral regression and also when we control for a large set of individual and business characteristics. Apparently, one major transmission goes from risk tolerance ...

The Role of Regulation and Regional Government Quality for High Growth Firms: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

High-growth firms (HGFs) are important for job creation and productivity growth. We investigate the relationship between product and labour market regulations, as well as the quality of regional governments that implement these regulations, and the development of HGFs across European regions. Using data from Eurostat, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Economic ...

Entrepreneurship, Management, and Cognitive Reflection: A Preregistered Replication Study With Extensions

Intuition is a central element of entrepreneurial decision-making. We conceptually replicate a published study by using new representative data from 1961 adults and the widely used Cognitive Reflection Test, which assesses the ability to avoid intuitive decisions and to switch to an analytical process. We extend the analysis by exploring occupational sorting versus environmental influence as mechanisms, ...

German Financial State Aid during Covid-19 Pandemic: Higher Impact among Digitalized Self-Employed

Does Gender of Firm Ownership Matter? Female Entrepreneurs and the Gender Pay Gap

We examine how the gender of business-owners is related to the wages paid to female relative to male employees working in their firms. Using Finnish register data and employing firm fixed effects, we find that the gender pay gap is – starting from a gender pay gap of 11 to 12 percent – two to three percentage-points lower for hourly wages in female-owned firms than in male-owned firms. Results are ...

Entrepreneurs and Their Impact on Jobs and Economic Growth: Updated

Entrepreneurs, creators of new firms, are a rare species. Even in innovation-driven economies, only 1–2% of the work force starts a business in any given year. Yet entrepreneurs, particularly innovative entrepreneurs, are vital to the competitiveness of the economy and may establish new jobs. The gains of entrepreneurship are only realized, however, if the business environment is receptive to innovation. ...