New firm location decisions, relative to incumbents may be based on a choice between two types of advantages: natural advantages or those that arise from social embeddedness, the latter of which may particularly include knowledge spillovers. We analyze the relative importance of geographically...

This article analyses the effects of industry-, regional- and firm-level characteristics on the post-entry performance of new businesses by means of an econometric survival time model. First preference is given to an accelerated failure time model assuming a log-logistic distribution. The data...

Small and medium-sized firms frequently are viewed as the drivers of radical innovation. However, they often do not have the focus and commitment necessary for improving and extending the innovation, tasks better accomplished by routinized large firms. Using a uniquely rich industry-level data...

We analyze the extent to which endogenous cultural amenities affect the spatial equilibrium share of high-human-capital employees. To overcome endogeneity, we draw on a quasi-natural experiment in German history and exploit the exogenous spatial distribution of baroque opera houses built as a...

This paper analyzes the escape-entry incentive for innovation by incumbent firms. The threat posed by the possibility of leading-edge firms entering the market influences incumbent innovation. To overcome problems of endogeneity, we apply an instrumental variable approach to analyze a rich...

Research analyzing the importance of human capital for innovation usually focuses on secondary and tertiary education. This paper takes a different perspective by focusing on in-firm training. We argue that continuous training guarantees access to leading-edge knowledge and thus increases a...

This note analyses the effects of new business formation on industry growth. Dynamic panel techniques are used to test two hypotheses. First, does hit-and-run competition secure efficiency in an industry? Second, do innovative startups lead to amplified innovations by diminishing the knowledge...