Bringing innovation back in–strategies and driving forces behind entrepreneurial responses in small-scale rural industries in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulina Ines Rytkönen ◽  
Pejvak Oghazi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Rural Entrepreneurship ◽  
Innovative Behaviour ◽  
Rural Firms ◽  
Innovative Capacity

PurposeThe paper contributes to the debate about local food and conceptualization of rural entrepreneurship by analysing the performance of small-scale dairies departing from their relation to innovations, innovative activities and risk.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use phenomenography to identify representative categories, and to draw conclusions about how these are consistent or different from dominant definitions of rural entrepreneurship and self-employment. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews, participatory workshops and compiled a database of all small-scale dairies established between 1968 and 2020.FindingsA focus on innovations contributes to differentiate between rural entrepreneurship and self-employment and how these interact in the process of economic growth. Innovations are seldom disruptive. Instead, innovative behaviour is strongly related to business models and to imitation. Social capital and collective action play a key role for the innovative capacity of small businesses, especially to realize disruptive innovations, such as the establishment of a new market.Research limitations/implicationsThe innovative capacity of rural businesses can be understood through their ability to break patterns, alter institutions and turn embededdness into assets. Rural entrepreneurship and self-employment are intertwined in the economic growth process.Practical implicationsInnovative behaviour is a significant aspect for firm survival over time, and it is also strongly related to new business models. Most rural firms can be characterized as self-employment, the latter are essential because they provide rural livelihoods and help bring maturity to newly established markets.Social implicationsThe right type of support, e.g. adopting enabling industrial regulations and granting access to constructive experiences of others, contributes to the innovative behaviour of small-scale rural firms.Originality/valueThis study differentiates rural entrepreneurship from rural self-employment by analysing the role of innovation. The authors show how innovations and innovative behaviour work their way through the process of economic growth and how innovation can break patterns by turning rural embeddedness into assets; and how innovative behaviour related to self-employments contributes to the creation of value and interacts with entrepreneurship in the process of economic growth.

Analysing drivers of efficiency in the leather industry: a two-stage double bootstrap DEA approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aparajita Singh ◽  
Haripriya Gundimeda
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Location ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Leather Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Dea Efficiency ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Dea Approach ◽  
Rural Firms

PurposeThe Indian leather industry contributes to economic growth at a significant environmental cost. Due to the rising global demand for sustainable leather products, promoting efficient input utilisation has become vital. This study measures input efficiency and its determinants for leather industry in order for it to improve its future performance.Design/methodology/approachIn the first stage, bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach is used for measuring efficiency and analysing firms' differences based on their geographical location, organisational structures, urban-rural location and sub-industrial groups. A second stage regression examines efficiency determinants using size, age, skill and capital-labour intensity as the explanatory variables.FindingsEfficiency result shows a significant potential of minimising inputs by 47% provided the firms adopt best practices. West Bengal firms, urban located firms, individual and proprietorship owned firms and leather consumer goods firms are found to be relatively efficient to their counterparts. Size, skilled managerial staff and labour-intensive firms positively affect efficiency.Practical implicationsConstruction of well-connected roads for accessing urban retail markets and provision of reliable electricity would improve efficiency of rural firms. Small-scale enterprises have a larger share in Indian leather industry; therefore, policy should focus on enhancing the firms' scale and investing in training facilities to skill employed labour for ensuring optimal use of inputs.Originality/valuePrevious studies on the leather industry have used the conventional DEA efficiency measurement approach. This study uses DEA bootstrapping model for robust efficiency estimates and provides consistent inferences about the determinants.

Scientific or technological driving force? Constructing a system of national innovative capacity

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-183
Author(s):  
Shu-Hao Chang ◽  
Chin-Yuan Fan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Economic Resilience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Patent Quality ◽  
Innovative Capacity

Purpose Innovation plays a pivotal role in a national economy and in the research and development of science and technology. Because the elements, capability and development direction of innovation in various countries are dissimilar, national innovative capacity also varies by country. However, previous studies have predominantly measured national innovative capacity through empirical studies by using a single index of innovation output, ignoring that the forms of innovation are heterogeneous across countries and failing to examine the influence exerted by various innovation models on economic development. Thus, the purpose of this study is to fill this gap by using scientific driving force and technological driving force to present the influence of national innovative capacities on economic development. Design/methodology/approach This study used regression models to test the influence of different national innovative capacities (i.e. scientific and technological driving forces) on economic development and stability. Findings Using the data of 60 countries, this study determined that both scientific and technological driving forces influenced economic development; specifically, scientific driving force affected economic development through technological driving force. Moreover, both research paper quality and patent quality positively influenced economic stability, but patent quality was the mediator. Originality/value This study examined scientific output from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives to determine their influence on economic growth and particularly on economic stability, which lacks dedicated studies. This study strives to bridge this gap in the literature by asserting, from the concept of economic resilience, that high-quality science and technology can strengthen the stability of a country’s economy.

scholarly journals How entrepreneurship, culture and universities influence the geographical distribution of UK talent and city growth

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Cowling ◽  
Neil Lee
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Economic Landscape ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The City ◽  
Innovative Capacity

Purpose The creation and distribution of human capital, often termed talent, has been recognised in economic geography as an important factor in the locational decisions of firms (Florida, 2002), and at a more general level as a key driver of economic growth (Romer, 1990). The purpose of this paper is to consider how talent is created and distributed across the cities of the UK and the key factors which are driving this spatial distribution. They also consider what the economic outcomes of these disparities are for cities. Design/methodology/approach The multivariate models can estimate the dynamic inter-relationships between human capital (talent), innovative capacity, and economic value added. These can be estimated, using talent as an example, in the form: human capital measurei =α0i+α1i innovative capacity +α2i quality of life + α3i labour market indicators + α4i economic indicators + α5i HEI indicators + β6i population demographics + β7i population + υi. Findings The first finding is that talent is unequally distributed across cities, with some having three times more highly educated workers than others. Talent concentration at the city level is associated with entrepreneurial activity, culture, the presence of a university, and to a lesser degree the housing market. This feeds into more knowledge-based industry, which is associated with higher gross value added. Research limitations/implications The research is limited in a practical sense by the fact that UK data at this level have only become available quite recently. Thus, it is only possible to capture talent flows and city growth in a relatively small window. But the prospects going forward will allow more detailed analysis at the city level of the relationship between talent flows and local economic growth. And additional insights could be considered relating to the on-going changes in the UK university system. Practical implications The question of whether universities are simply producers of talent or play a much broader and deeper role in the socio-economic landscape and outcomes of cities is an open one. This research has identified what the key drivers of city level economic growth and knowledge creation are, and sought to explain why some cities are capable of attracting and harnessing three times more talent than other cities. This has significant implications for the future development of UK cities and for those seeking to address these imbalances. Social implications Universities are a major economic agent in their own right, but they are increasingly being asked to play a wider role in local economic development. The authors’ evidence suggests that universities do play a wider role in the growth and development of cities, but that there are large discrepancies in the subsequent spatial distribution of the talent they create. And this has significant implications for those seeking to address these imbalances and promote a broader and less unequal economic landscape. Originality/value The authors explore how cities create economic value via a process whereby talent is attracted and then this stimulates knowledge-based industry activity. The originality relates to several key aspects of the work. First, the authors look at the stock of talent, and then the authors explore how “new” talent from universities is attracted by looking at graduate flows around the cities of the UK, differentiating between top-level graduates and less talented graduates. The authors then allow a wide variety of economic, cultural, and population factors to influence the locational decision of talented people. The results highlight the complexity of this decision.

Informality: does financial development matter?

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 16-32
Author(s):  
Aeggarchat Sirisankanan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Occupational Choice ◽  
Choice Model ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Financial development may be an alternative policy for controlling informal employment. However, there is still an ambiguous relationship between financial development and informal employment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of financial development on informal employment. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on both the occupational choice model and on the concept of financial development and economic growth which can produce either a positive or negative relationship between financial development and informal employment. Consequently, the author formulated empirical specifications and applied an econometric technique to examine the actual relationship. Findings The empirical results indicated that financial development can reduce informal employment. The author also found that the relationship between financial development and informal employment varies, depending on the level of economic growth and development. Research limitations/implications Even though there are many types of informal employment, this paper uses only informal self-employment as a proxy of informal employment. To implement it properly, all types of informal employment should also be examined. Practical implications Becoming informal employment depends on several factors; policy makers for each country should carefully examine the specific relationship between financial development and informal employment for their own country. Social implications The paper presents alternative choices for policy makers to control informal employment by increasing financial development, especially in developing countries. This policy also includes promoting microfinance which will contribute to both formality and increasing the strength of the community. Originality/value From the two possible impacts of financial development on informal employment, this paper affirms that financial development can reduce informal employment.

scholarly journals Collaborative consumption: business model opportunities and barriers for fashion libraries

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen ◽  
Sarah Netter
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Collaborative Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Business ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers and opportunities for business models based on the ideas of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on a multiple-case study of Scandinavian fashion libraries – a new, clothes-sharing concept that has emerged as a fashion niche within the last decade. Findings – It is concluded that fashion libraries offers interesting perspectives, e.g. by allowing people to experiment with styles without having to pay the full cost and becoming a meeting place for young designers and end consumers. However, at present fashion libraries remain a small-scale phenomenon with difficulties reaching the mainstream market, not least due to limited financial and human resources as well as conventional fashion consumption patterns. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to the new phenomenon of fashion libraries and does not cover other types of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry (Swap-parties, etc.). Originality/value – The paper is one of the first attempts to examine new business models of collaborative consumption in general and the fashion library concept in particular. The study contributes to the discussions of whether and how fashion sharing and collaboration holds promise as a viable business model and as a means to promote sustainability.

scholarly journals Shifting land use in German coastal mainland destinations: historical development of tourism in Norden-Norddeich

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Ben Wielenga
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Sea Area

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the way in which the mainland of the German Wadden Sea area transitioned from traditional sectors into an almost entirely tourism destination, and which factors contributed to and/or necessitated such a development. Design/methodology/approach The overall approach in this paper has adopted a focus on an extensive case study of the German mainland of the Wadden Sea area. Scientific articles have been used to, first, structuring the theoretical framework and then to gain a general understanding on what a transition exactly entails. As a result, the theoretical framework has been written in an examination of existing literature on transitions and functioned as the theoretical support and foundation for the case study analysis. The analysis has been shaped by means of a number of scientific articles, branch reports, books and websites that, in most instances, specifically focused on the chosen case. Since the area of study is located in Germany, specific literature on this area was mostly limited to the German language, a language of which the author has a basic, yet not thorough, understanding. However, the overall scope of the developments in the case in regard to the transition from agricultural and fishing communities to communities in which tourism plays a substantial role has been understandable. Findings One of the most important sectors that economically benefit the Wadden Sea region, especially on the Dutch and German Wadden islands, is tourism. While tourism development on the Dutch mainland is minimal, the sector considerably developed in the past few decades on the German mainland, generally as a result of declining yields through multifarious unfavorable developments in traditional sectors such as agriculture and fishing, amongst others. Throughout previous centuries, Norden-Norddeich possessed some small-scale tourism facilities; however, negative developments in those traditional sectors required the municipality to prevent an impasse situation, resulting in altering business models and upscaling tourism facilities. Initiatives in different layers (micro, meso and macro) were initiated and gradually intensified in order to develop Norden-Norddeich as a counter destination for the expensive German islands. Following the phases of transition, Norden-Norddeich gradually developed and can now be regarded as a stable and dynamic holiday destination as well as a system that nowadays almost completely adheres to tourism. It took Norden-Norddeich ten years to transition toward tourism. Presently, Norden-Norddeich is the most visited mainland destination at the German Wadden Sea coast. In contrast, small-scale activities are set up in the mainland part of the Wadden Sea area in the Netherlands, but miss out on effective collaboration between different stakeholders that are involved in both planning and management (such as policy makers) and executive roles (such as the people who organize activities and/or facilities). Furthermore, the area is managed in such a way that does not contribute yet to upscaling economic development, mostly as a result of regulatory issues that hinder such developments. However, increasing efforts by several stakeholders are being taken that should ultimately lead to a sustainable socio-economic development of the Dutch mainland part of the Wadden Sea area. Originality/value Analyzing the stages of transition on the German mainland of the Wadden area might function as an example for stakeholders in villages or cities located on the mainland of the Dutch Wadden to become aware of how processes of tourism transitions occur, what factors are needed to start off such a transition and what effects a transition might have on the revitalization of a certain area. Moreover, the case of Norden-Norddeich could stand out as an example for Dutch stakeholders in the Wadden region to perceive in what way a locked-in situation could be prevented or solved by shifting from one system to another by taking on a wide range of initiatives that might be led and stimulated by different actors.

Microfinance, entrepreneurship and institutional quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Malavika Nair ◽  
Martha Njolomole
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Private Property Rights ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Institutional Failure

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the success and failure of microfinance institutions in generating economic growth over the past 30 years and propose a dual criterion of evaluation. Design/methodology/approach It surveys the empirical literature on microfinance and finds that while there has been small and localized success in various countries in improving access to credit, at the same time there has been a broader failure to generate economic growth. The authors argue that this broader failure should be viewed from the viewpoint of institutional failure or the lack of supporting institutions such as private property rights and stable rule of law within developing countries. Findings Using Baumol’s (1968) theory of entrepreneurship, the authors argue that the broader failure of microfinance is a case of poor institutional quality leading to unproductive or even destructive entrepreneurship rather than productive entrepreneurship. The paper also suggests a link between the literature criticizing foreign aid and this view on microfinance. Originality/value The paper provides a survey of the empirical literature on micro finance as well as a novel framework that aids in understanding both the localized small-scale success as well as broader failure to generate economic growth.

Regulation and entrepreneurial intention: cross-country evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sriparna Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Freedom Index

Purpose Entrepreneurship, along with its effect on economic growth, has been a major topic of research for quite some time now. However, none of these studies employs the use of entrepreneurial intention, a key indicator of latent entrepreneurs, as a measure of entrepreneurship. Till now, some small-scale studies have been done using survey data, with results indicating that external entrepreneurial environment affects entrepreneurial intention. A handful of studies have also looked at the linkages between economic freedom and entrepreneurial activities. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel data setting, this paper investigates the effects of economic freedom, especially regulation, on entrepreneurial intention. The empirical analysis uses data for 79 countries from 2001 to 2012. Findings The findings suggest that stricter credit market regulation reduces entrepreneurial intention whereas more stringent labor regulations restricts job availability and thereby encourage more people to take up entrepreneurship as a career choice. Research limitations/implications The entrepreneurial intention data available from GEM is a highly unbalanced data and the data also does not differentiate between latent entrepreneurship in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. Practical implications Future research should focus more on latent entrepreneurship which is a rough estimate of future entrepreneurs. Social implications Entrepreneurship acts as a channel to improve economic growth by creating more jobs and the institutional qualities might act as a barrier for aspiring entrepreneurs to take up entrepreneurship as their career choices in developing countries. Originality/value This study has a twofold contribution in the literature. First, it is the foremost large scale study that deals with entrepreneurial intention using secondary data from Global Economic Monitor (GEM) report. Second, this study explores the linkages between economic freedom index and entrepreneurial intention.

A global perspective of entrepreneurship and innovation in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ahlstrom ◽  
Xiaohua Yang ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Changqi Wu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Global Innovation

PurposeThis paper aims to study largely recent aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation in China. It synthesizes the research in the current special issue (SI) ofMultinational Business Review(MBR) on this topic. In addition, this paper differs from other work on this topic in examining entrepreneurship and innovation from a more global standpoint with relevant international effects.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an overview of the literature on entrepreneurship, innovation and key related topics such as firm and economic growth, as well as linking this research to related international works. It also summarizes the papers of the SI.FindingsThe authors’ analysis suggests that the study of entrepreneurship and innovation should be placed in the context of a country’s economic development and institutional environment as well as the firm internationalization trajectories and business models. In addition, the authors believe that a good understanding of economic growth in a transition economy like China (which is a key goal of China’s recent emphasis on innovation) is facilitated by understanding the comparative advantages and disadvantages of an economy with respect to the global innovation system.Originality/valueThe authors’ study explores the local-global and parent-subsidiary connectivity and co-evolution of firm strategies and the institutional environment in entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging and transition economies. The authors summarize and synthesize the papers in this SI to provide the results as well as some directions for future research in the domain of entrepreneurship, innovation and new venture creation, which is believed to be a key engine of economic growth in the coming years.

Self-employment and economic growth in developing countries: is more self-employment better?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sridevi Yerrabati
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Empirical Relationship ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

PurposeThe study aims to examine the non-linear relationship between self-employment and economic growth (growth) in the context of developing countries.Design/methodology/approachData from a sample of 83 developing countries covering a period 2002–2015 is used. The empirical analysis is based on the dynamic panel data estimation, and the results are estimated using the two-step system GMM technique. Non-linearity between self-employment and growth is validated using Sasabuchi (1980) and Lind and Mehlum (2010) (SLM) test.FindingsThe empirical analysis suggests a non-linear and a U-shaped relationship between self-employment and growth, confirmed by the SLM test. The threshold levels for total self-employment, female self-employment and male self-employment are 57.49%, 58.86 and 55.81%. The findings are also robust to alternate estimation technique and alternate measure of the dependent variable.Practical implicationsPolicy implications of the findings include the need for policies that foster and channel self-employment properly as the higher level of self-employment is found to benefit growth.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to examine the empirical relationship between self-employment and growth. As such, it makes a novel contribution to the extant literature on the relationship between the two variables.

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