Suchergebnisse

We investigate economic and subjective effects of public business advice delivered to nascent entrepreneurs in Germany. We analyze data from the Thuringian Founder Study, an interdisciplinary research project on innovative entrepreneurship. Employing cluster analysis, we first explore the actual scope and intensity of business advice used. Two distinct groups of policy take-up can be identified: (1) use of intense assistance across all areas, and (2) use of less-intensive assistance being limited to operational issues. Then we analyze personal entrepreneurial resources (human and social capital, entrepreneurial personality profile) as predictors of take-up and perceived usefulness taking into account the different patterns of utilized advice. Finally, we assess economic effects by studying subsequent business performance employing propensity score matching. We cannot reveal that business advice translated into better start-up performance, but our results indicate that advice may help founders with fewer resources to overcome barriers in the founding process. We find that a lack of personal entrepreneurial resources predicts take-up of business advice in general as well as perceived usefulness of comprehensive business advice.

The present paper investigates the effectiveness of R&D subsidies given to start-ups. Taking an aggregate view rather than evaluating a single program, we estimate the impact of R&D subsidies on start-ups' employment growth and their patent output. A unique data set on start-ups in the East German county of Thuringia allows us to focus on those start-ups that conduct R&D within the first three business years. We conduct propensity score matching to address the selection bias between subsidized and non-subsidized start-ups. We find that R&D subsidies lead to an increase in employment growth of about 66%. Furthermore, subsidized start-ups show a 2.8 times higher patent output. These estimates provide evidence for the additionality of R&D subsidies within the first three business years. Moreover, our analysis points to the special group of academic spin-offs which excels in the novelty of business ideas and patent activity. For some of these high-tech start-ups, no non-subsidized counterparts can be found. This might be attributed to the policy focus on academic spin-offs, which has led to a successful targeting of R&D support schemes.

Entrepreneurship plays an increasingly prominent role in both academic and policy circles. It is regarded as the driving force behind structural change that links investments in knowledge with economic growth. The increased role of new and small enterprises has led to an increase in entrepreneurship policies aimed at encouraging more people to consider entrepreneurship as an option and act on a business idea. This thesis examines policy measures that are offered to nascent and young entrepreneurs along the founding process, especially public business assistance, financial support schemes and earmarked subsidies for R&D. Data for this study were collected by the Thuringian Founder Study (Thüringer Gründer Studie), an interdisciplinary project on the success and failure of innovative start-ups in the East German state of Thuringia. Standardized in-depth interviews allow conducting propensity score matching which is used to correct for selection bias between assisted and non-assisted start-ups. The thesis argues that having a clear-cut rationale for policy intervention is the only way precise policy targeting becomes possible. Precise policy targeting toward incidences of market failure will direct public funds where they are most needed and thus where they will be most effective and efficient. However, the thesis emphasizes the difficulties of policy targeting toward incidences of market failure (whose existence is controversial in itself). The rationale behind public policy intervention in R&D is the clearest of all those studied in this thesis. Consistently, the empirical analyses provide evidence of the effectiveness of R&D subsidies in inducing additional employment and patent activity.

Entrepreneurship plays an increasingly prominent role in both academic and policy circles. It is regarded as the driving force behind structural change that links investments in knowledge with economic growth. The increased role of new and small enterprises has led to an increase in entrepreneurship policies aimed at encouraging more people to consider entrepreneurship as an option and act on a business idea. This thesis examines policy measures that are offered to nascent and young entrepreneurs along the founding process, especially public business assistance, financial support schemes and earmarked subsidies for R&D. Data for this study were collected by the Thuringian Founder Study (Thüringer Gründer Studie), an interdisciplinary project on the success and failure of innovative start-ups in the East German state of Thuringia. Standardized in-depth interviews allow conducting propensity score matching which is used to correct for selection bias between assisted and non-assisted start-ups. The thesis argues that having a clear-cut rationale for policy intervention is the only way precise policy targeting becomes possible. Precise policy targeting toward incidences of market failure will direct public funds where they are most needed and thus where they will be most effective and efficient. However, the thesis emphasizes the difficulties of policy targeting toward incidences of market failure (whose existence is controversial in itself). The rationale behind public policy intervention in R&D is the clearest of all those studied in this thesis. Consistently, the empirical analyses provide evidence of the effectiveness of R&D subsidies in inducing additional employment and patent activity.

Das EU-weite Verbot von konventioneller Käfighaltung hatte weitreichende Konsequenzen für das Tierwohl und die Wirtschaftsleistung in der Eiproduktion. Das Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Haupteinflüsse auf den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg in Betrieben mit Volieren- oder Kleingruppensystemen zu identifizieren. Die Ergebnisse bestätigten den Einfluss von Produktivitätskriterien (z. B. Futterverwertung) auf den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg, wogegen die Betriebsgröße nur bei der Kleingruppenhaltung eine Rolle spielte. Abhängig vom Haltungssystem bedingen Managemententscheidungen (z. B. tägliche Inspektionszeit, selbstgemischtes Futter) einen relevanten Teil des ökonomischen Erfolgs. Ebenso kann die Erfahrung des Landwirts mit dem Haltungssystem einen Einfluss haben. Positive Effekte durch den Verkauf von sortierten Eiern gegenüber Bulk-Ware zeigten die Relevanz von verschiedenen Absatzmärkten für den ökonomischen Erfolg. Alternativ zum Vertrieb im Einzelhandel könnte die Kleingruppenhaltung davon profitieren, die Eier direkt zu vermarkten. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie lassen erkennen, dass Entscheidungen der Politik, des Einzelhandels und der Verbraucher den ökonomischen Erfolg der Eiproduktion beeinflussen. ; The European Union ban on conventional battery cages had far-reaching consequences for animal welfare and the economic success of egg production. The aim of this study was to identify the main influences on economic success of farms keeping laying hens in aviaries or small-group housing systems. The results confirmed the importance of productivity measures (i.e. conversion rate), whereas farm size was of consequence for small-group housing systems, only. Dependent on the housing system, management decisions (i.e. daily inspection time, feeding of self-mixed feed) accounted for a considerable part of economic effectiveness. Furthermore, the number of years of experience of the farmer with the housing system seemed to influence economic productivity. Positive effects of selling graded eggs (instead of bulk-ware) showed the relevance of market outlets on economic profitability. The study indicated that smallgroup housing systems might profit from selling their products directly to the consumer. The results show that decisions of politics and the retail sector as well as consumer choices have an influential effect on the economic success of egg production.