José Ruiz-Navarro

Venture growth and entrepreneurial activity impact aspects of modern societies, such as wealth creation, employment, and innovation, and also potentially influence sustainable development, a key focus in the social sciences. The study of firms has benefitted from solid theoretical foundations dating back to Edith Penrose’s The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. Yet, early-stage firms, as one of the fastest-growing types of firms, continue to be poorly understood. Therefore, we focus our analysis on the specificities of the growth patterns of new firms. Our contribution to the literature is to derive an empirically based set of growth patterns observed among early-stage firms that can be used for theory testing and in proofs. Our analysis, grounded in data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES) encompassing over 140,000 entries, provides insights into growth patterns in early-stage firms, indirectly indicating potential intersections with sustainable business practices related, for example, to management team experience. More importantly, to make our research applicable to current real-world decisions, we evaluate the predictive capacity of these growth patterns and provide a series of conclusions that could help practitioners better evaluate the growth potential of early-stage firms.

La preocupación por el emprendimiento y su relación con la salida de la crisis económica está presente en la mayoría de los discursos de los responsables políticos de Europa y hay un amplio consenso en que las iniciativas emprendedoras de calidad, su desarrollo y consolidación, están estrechamente relacionadas con la salida de la crisis, el crecimiento económico y la creación de empleo. Sin embargo, estos planteamientos no tienen suficientemente en consideración las diferencias territoriales en Europa. En esta investigación se ofrece una serie de evidencias del fenómeno emprendedor desde la perspectiva territorial norte-sur de Europa y se plantea que la convergencia europea no se está produciendo en esta materia. La información de las dos zonas geográficas europeas contempladas, los países Nórdicos (Dinamarca, Finlandia, Islandia, Noruega y Suecia) y los países Medi-terráneos (España, Grecia, Italia y Portugal) ha sido extraída del observatorio Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of the profile of cultural entrepreneurs (CE), in terms of their demographic characteristics and resources, on the performance of cultural and creative firms (CCFs).Design/methodology/approach: Departing from demographic theory and resource-based view, two hypotheses have been formulated and empirically tested, using a multiple regression model, with a sample of 80 Spanish CCFs. The CCF performance has been measured through two objective (employment growth and profitability) and one subjective/perceptual measurements (satisfaction of the CE with the attainment of objectives).Findings: With respect to the demographic variables, a negative relationship between the CE’s age and employment growth, and a partial positive influence of the CE’s prior experience on employment growth and the subjective measurement of performance have been found. Regarding to the CE’s resources, the empirical evidence shows that there is no direct relationship between the CE’s possession of any resources studied − financial, knowledge and social connections − and CCF performance.Originality/value: This work makes three important contributions as it analyses the CE and focuses on CCF management, a topic little discussed in the entrepreneurship literature. Second, there is an analysis of some of the variables pertaining to the entrepreneur’s demographic profile that have been applied to top management teams and in a more or less isolated way in the entrepreneurship area. And, finally, a multidimensional measurement is used to explain the CCF performance.

En la línea de investigación que relaciona la actividad emprendedora con el desarrollo económico, este trabajo explora las relaciones entre el entorno emprendedor en los países GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) y su crecimiento económico según el Índice de Competitividad Global del WEF (World Economic Forum) en cada fase de desarrollo. Para su realización se han utilizado los datos procedentes de la encuesta a los expertos (NES) del proyecto GEM de los 67 países que han participado en la edición de 2013. Los resultados obtenidos confirman la importancia del entorno emprendedor en la evolución de los países en sus etapas de desarrollo y la principal aportación es facilitar la categorización de los entornos emprendedores de los países utilizando las respuestas de los expertos del GEM en la identificación de facilitadores, obstáculos y recomendaciones de la actividad emprendedora. Además, la clasificación obtenida ha permitido establecer el patrón de condiciones del entorno de cada grupo de países según su etapa de desarrollo.

This work assesses the law 14/2013 in support of entrepreneurs and their internationalization, basing on the information provided by GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), the contributions from the institutional approach and the opinion from an expert panel about the expected effectiveness of the law. The ambitious goals of the law, that aim “a change of mind that make society recognizes the worth of entrepreneurial activity and risk taking”, justify this work, which provides interesting issues for the reflection, useful for monitoring and designing policies in support of entrepreneurship. Este trabajo realiza una valoración de la ley 14/2013 de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización, con base en la información que ofrece el observatorio GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), las contribuciones de la teoría institucional y la opinión recabada a un panel de expertos sobre la eficacia esperada de la ley . Los ambiciosos objetivos de la ley, que buscan “un cambio de mentalidad en el que la sociedad valore más la actividad emprendedora y la asunción de riesgos”, justifican el trabajo, que ofrece un amplio material para la reflexión, útil para el seguimiento y diseño de las políticas de emprendimiento. Este trabalho realiza uma valoração da Lei 14/2013 de apoio aos empreendedores e a sua internacionalização, com base na informação que oferece o observatório GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), as contribuições da teoria institucional e a opinião obtida a um painel de peritos sobre a eficácia esperada da lei. Os ambiciosos objetivos da lei, que procuram “uma mudança de mentalidade em que a sociedade valorize mais a atividade empreendedora e a assunção de riscos”, justificam o trabalho, que oferece um amplo material para a reflexão, útil para o seguimento e design das políticas de empreendimento.

Purpose: The main objective of this paper is to analyse the influence of environmental factors on entrepreneurship at the Spanish regional level, using institutional economics as the theoretical framework for the research. Additionally, this work aims to emphasize how environmental conditions have different effects according to the gender of entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approach: Regional panel data (19 Spanish regions and the 2006‐2009 period) from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), specifically from the Spanish National Expert Survey (NES) for environmental conditions and the GEM Adult Population Survey (APS) for entrepreneurial activity were analysed within a fixed effects model with panel corrected standard errors.Findings: The main findings of the study indicate that both informal (cultural and social norms, perception of opportunities to start‐up and entrepreneur social image) and formal factors (intellectual property rights) influence entrepreneurship, but the informal are more determinant than the formal. Concerning the gender issues, informal and formal institutions are also determinant, but female entrepreneurship is significantly associated with the women's support to start‐up, whereas primary and higher education are associated only with male entrepreneurial activity.Research limitations/implications: The results of the research should be interpreted carefully, because the availability of data constrained the analysis to a time period that is not reflective of the economic cycle; on the contrary, the data correspond to a period of recession, and thus the results cannot be generalized. Also, the study could extend the analysed period and compare the obtained results with international data, considering the global number of participant countries in the GEM Project.Originality/value: The study provides a methodology to analyse the environmental factors for new firm creation at a regional level, combining GEM data and institutional economics.

This article analyses how the intrapreneur’s demographic characteristics and personal values influence innovation performance in small creative firms. We demonstrate that the intrapreneur’s previous experience in developing and commercializing creative products and services, together with an entrepreneurial value system (EVS), constitute characteristics that positively affect a firm’s innovation performance. This article makes two main contributions. First, research on factors that stimulate innovation in small creative firms is scarce. Second, the article applies a cognitive approach integrating demographic characteristics and personal values, aspects that are rarely jointly explored in entrepreneurship research.

Empirical Evidence on How Information Technology Encourages the Creation of Strategic Networks: 10.4018/978-1-59140-318-0.ch013: This chapter analyzes how information technology fosters and supports the creation of strategic networks. First, we shall establish an eclectic theoretical

The recognition of business opportunities is the first stage in the entrepreneurial process. This article analyses the effects of individuals’ possession of and access to knowledge on the probability of recognizing good business opportunities in their area of residence. The authors use an eclectic theoretical framework, consisting of intellectual and social capital concepts. In particular, they analyse the role of individuals’ educational level, their perception that they have the right knowledge and skills to start a business, whether they own and manage a firm, their contacts with other entrepreneurs, and whether they have been business angels. The hypotheses proposed here are tested using data collected for the GEM project in Spain in 2007. The results show that individuals’ access to external knowledge through the social networks in which they participate, is fundamental for developing the capacity to recognize new business opportunities.