Social Skepticism and Its Effect on Shared Economy

Author(s):  
Oluwaseun David David Adepoju ◽  
Demilade Oluwasina ◽  
Nji Mbitaownu Mughe Awah

The new disruptive models of businesses are now making strangers meet strangers for economic and service benefits. This new shared economy system begs for a very pertinent question. Has human trust increased to that point where we can completely trust strangers? This chapter answered the above question within the African context while considering some case studies of failed start-ups that launched on shared economy models. This chapter also made some comparative analysis of some homegrown platforms that did not survive the valley of death in the Nigerian Innovation Ecosystem and successful similar foreign models imported into Africa. A definite opinion analysis through social scepticism lens was used in writing on gomyway.com, a Nigerian car-pooling start-up that failed after two years of operation. The chapter ended by making a strong case for models that dwarfs social scepticism to ensure the survival of the valley of death for platform entrepreneurship in Africa.

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten J.G.M. van Gils ◽  
Floris P.J.T. Rutjes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between start-ups and an innovation ecosystem. Start-ups need resources available in the ecosystem to grow, but experience organizational capacity limitations during their open innovation practices. This study frames the “open innovation” interface and discloses ways to accelerate the process of connecting start-ups’ demands to ecosystem’s supplies. Design/methodology/approach A case study was used to describe the development of a conceptual ecosystem model to frame the “open innovation” interface and its subsequent implementation at nine start-up hotspots in the Dutch chemical industry. To develop the ecosystem model, the system of innovation concept was enriched with the perspective of a chemical start-up to pinpoint critical resources for growth. Findings It is suggested that the most relevant “open innovation” interface for start-ups looking to grow is an innovation biotope: a well-defined, business-oriented cross-section of an ecosystem. All stakeholders in a biotope are carefully selected based on the entrepreneurial issue at stake: they can only enter the secured marketplace if they are able to provide dedicated solutions to start-ups. The biotope enables “open innovation in a closed system” which results in acceleration of the innovation process. Originality/value This is the first study to report on the definition and implementation of an innovation biotope as the “open innovation” interface between an ecosystem and start-ups. In addition, it provides a powerful tool, the ecosystem canvas, that can help both regional and national innovation systems to visualize their ecosystem and identify blind spots.


Author(s):  
Mina Fanea-Ivanovici ◽  
Małgorzata Siemionek-Ruskań

Abstract Given the difficulty to access traditional bank funding by creative businesses and start-ups, crowdfunding as an alternative way to finance innovative and creative projects has been adopted, enacted and successfully used by several Western countries, which can serve as best practice examples. However, in many countries crowdfunding is still an emerging phenomenon due to its novelty and variety, the general awareness regarding this alternative funding method being relatively low. The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which Poland and Romania, the two largest Central and Eastern European member states, have adopted and used crowdfunding to support innovative and creative projects and to assess the sustainability of such a novel funding method in the respective countries. The objective of the comparative analysis is to determine how the existing legal framework supports the implementation of crowdfunding activities and what crowdfunding types are being used in each country based on the existing local crowdfunding platforms, to identify and explain the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the two markets, as well as to provide a set of measures and proposals that can be adopted by the two countries in order to promote and enhance the crowdfunding phenomenon, which we argue is a factor that ensures business sustainability in creative and innovative activities carried out especially by start-up companies. Apart from the empirical analysis of legislation and platforms, the research methodology includes a survey among business students and fresh graduates of business schools, the purpose of which being to assess the level of awareness of young entrepreneurs-to-be regarding this funding method.


2021 ◽  
Vol 63 E ◽  
pp. 5-29
Author(s):  
Alin CROITORU

Romania is one of the main countries of origin for intra-European migration. The national authorities recently implemented the first major program —Diaspora Start-up—to support the business initiatives of Romanian citizens who live abroad and who are interested in opening a business in their home country. This scheme was developed in parallel with a broader program—Romania Start-up Plus—which was designed to support the entrepreneurial initiatives of individuals residing inside the country. These programs have already supported over 8,600 non-agricultural start-ups created in urban areas. This study conducted a comparative analysis of the two programs based on different criteria and explored their regional dynamics regarding the emergence of start-ups and the prevalence of creative industries companies. The analysis highlighted important regional differences within Romania and revealed that the Diaspora Start-up program registered a statistically significant lower level of businesses registered as part of the creative industries. The results support the formulation of a hypothesis of negative selectivity within the programs designed to support Romanian migrants’ entrepreneurship, but further research is needed to test this hypothesis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
Ysmael Jesús Ayala Colqui
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
El Paso ◽  
Start Up ◽  

Una start-up es definida como una empresa destinada solucionar problemas de maneras no obvias, donde el éxito no está garantizado de antemano y, solo en los casos de éxito efectivo, se adquiere un crecimiento rápido y significativo (Robehmed, 2013). Ejemplos clásicos de start-ups serían Facebook, Uber o AirBnB que, con comienzos modestos, pero con ideas innovadoras, se convirtieron con el paso del tiempo en empresas de ingresos millonarios. Una de las tantas preguntas al respecto sería la siguiente: ¿cómo lograr una start-up de éxito a sabiendas que el éxito no está garantizado a priori y, aún más, que la gran mayoría de estas fracasan?


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabea Laugemann ◽  
Christopher Buschow ◽  
Beate Schneider

Im ‚War for Talent‘ konkurrieren heutzutage große Konzerne mit innovativen Start-ups um vielversprechenden Nachwuchs. Was bestimmt die Attraktivität von Arbeitgebern bei Medien- und Kommunikationsstudierenden? Diese Frage wird im Rahmen einer quantitativen Online-Befragung untersucht, vor allem im Hinblick darauf, ob Start-ups oder Konzerne als erste Arbeitgeber präferiert werden. Befragte, denen Prestige wichtig ist, bevorzugen eher Konzerne als Arbeitgeber. Wer Wert auf ein innovatives Arbeitsumfeld und soziale Beziehungen legt, entscheidet sich vermehrt für ein Start-up. Im Wettbewerb um die besten Köpfe sind damit junge Unternehmensgründungen inzwischen eine ernst zu nehmende Konkurrenz für Konzerne.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Михаил Геннадьевич Чепрасов ◽  
Карина Аскаровна Агадилова ◽  
Игорь Олегович Мячин

В данной статье рассматриваются особенности становления российских стартап-компаний, ключевые проблемы развития и пути их решения. Проведен сравнительный анализ отечественных и зарубежных стартапов, где инновационные компании стали опорой экономики. Проанализирована статистика по состоянию стартапов России в настоящее время. Авторами отмечены главные предпосылки, которые ведут стартапы к провалу. Особое внимание уделено современным возможностям их финансирования. В статье описаны такие технологии финансирования как венчурное инвестирование, спонсирование бизнес-ангелами, государственная поддержка инновационных компаний, многоаспектная помощь бизнес-инкубаторов. Учтены преимущества и пробелы каждой из приведенных форм. This article discusses the features of the formation of Russian start-up companies, key development problems and ways to solve them. A comparative analysis of domestic and foreign startups, where innovative companies have become the backbone of the economy. Analyzed statistics on the status of startups in Russia at the present time. The authors noted the main prerequisites that lead startups to failure. Particular attention is paid to the modern possibilities of their financing. The authors described such financing technologies as venture investment, sponsorship by business angels, government support for innovative companies, multidimensional assistance from business incubators. Take into account the advantages and gaps of each of these forms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6009
Author(s):  
Se-Kyoung Choi ◽  
Sangyun Han ◽  
Kyu-Tae Kwak

What kind of capacity is needed to improve the performance of start-ups? How effective are government support policies in improving start-up performance? Start-ups are critical firm group for ensuring the prospective and sustainable growth of an economy, and thus many countries’ governments have established support policies and they are likely to engage more widely in forward-looking political support activities to ensure further growth and expansion. In this paper, the effect of innovation capabilities and government support policies on start-up performance is examined. We used an unbalanced panel data analysis with a random effect generalized least squares. We investigated the effect of government support policies on 4368 Korean start-ups. The findings indicated that technology and knowledge capabilities had positive effects on the sales performance of start-ups, and government financial support positively affected the relationship between knowledge capability and firm performance. However, when government financial support increased, marketing capability was negatively associated with firm performance. These results demonstrate the significant role of government financial support, including its crowding in but also its crowding out effect. Practical implications: To be more effective, governments should employ innovation-driven entrepreneurship policy approaches to support start-ups. To improve their performance, start-ups need to increase their technology and knowledge capabilities. This study extends recent efforts to understand more fully the effect of government support policies on start-ups differing in their technology, knowledge, and marketing capabilities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4839
Author(s):  
Satoru Kikuchi ◽  
Kota Kadama ◽  
Shintaro Sengoku

In recent years, technological progress in smart devices and artificial intelligence has also led to advancements in digital health. Digital health tools are especially prevalent in diabetes treatment and improving lifestyle. In digital health’s innovation ecosystem, new alliance networks are formed not only by medical device companies and pharmaceutical companies but also by information and communications technology (ICT) companies and start-ups. Therefore, while focusing on digital health for diabetes, this study explored the characteristics of companies with high network centralities. Our analysis of the changes in degree, betweenness, and eigenvector centralities of the sample companies from 2011 to 2020 found drastic changes in the company rankings of those with high network centrality during this period. Accordingly, the following eight companies were identified and investigated as the top-ranking technology sector companies: IBM Watson Health, Glooko, DarioHealth, Welldoc, OneDrop, Fitbit, Voluntis, and Noom. Lastly, we characterized these cases into three business models: (i) intermediary model, (ii) substitute model, and (iii) direct-to-consumer model, and we analyzed their customer value.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Nuno Miguel Martins Pacheco ◽  
Anand Vazhapilli Sureshbabu ◽  
Masaru Charles Nürnberger ◽  
Laura Isabel Durán Noy ◽  
Markus Zimmermann

AbstractStart-ups tend to form with a central idea that differentiates them from their competitors in the market. It is crucial for them to efficiently transform the idea into a marketable product. Prototyping helps to iteratively achieve a minimum viable product and plays a crucial role by enabling teams to test their ideas with limited resources early on. However, the prototyping process may have wrong focus leading to a suboptimal allocation of resources. Previously, we proposed role-based prototyping for fuzzy front-end development in small teams. It supports (1) resource allocation, (2) the definition of responsibilities, and (3) structuring the development process with milestones. In recent research this was a promising yet incomplete approach. We extend the previous work by refining the prototyping process by adding a prototyping matrix with two dimensions (purpose and lens), a prototyping cycle (plan, execute, test, reflect, assimilate), and a modified Kanban board (Protoban) for planning, managing, and reflecting cycles. This process, named PETRA was tested with a start-up developing an autonomous trash picking robot. The extended approach supported the team significantly in providing a clear idea of what to do at what time.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document