Until seven years ago, user innovation studies focused on specific cases or industries, leaving room for criticism that the phenomenon is marginal. This chapter summarizes and discusses the empirical work concerned with the scope of user innovation in broader samples. A first finding is that...

In the present study, we examine the associations between both present and future temporal focus, and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) using data from 783 solo self-employed individuals. We distinguish between the sub-dimensions of EO: risk-taking, pro-activeness, and innovativeness. Taken...

We investigate developments in business ownership rates in four CEE transition economies (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovak Republic), and compare them with similar developments in other OECD countries in the period 1989-2008. Our analysis reveals that business ownership rates in the...

This paper focuses on the relationship between environmental sustainability and the financial performance of SMEs in terms of profit development and revenue development. The analysis uses a unique dataset of 337 Dutch and Chinese firms. The results suggest a significant positive association...

Globalization and an increasing importance of knowledge in the production process cause many developed countries to move from a more 'managed' to a more 'entrepreneurial' economy in recent decades. In the former type of economy, large and incumbent firms play a dominant role, exploiting...

Recent literature suggests that two types of competition may contribute to macro-economic performance: the extent of new-firm entry and the extent of competition among incumbent firms. In the present paper we explain employment growth at the region-sector level using direct indicators for both...

Job satisfaction of self-employed and paid-employed workers is analyzed using the European Community Household Panel for the EU-15 covering the years 1994-2001. We distinguish between two types of job satisfaction, i.e. job satisfaction in terms of type of work and job satisfaction in terms of...

This article explores the process of learning from inter-organizational projects by SMEs. We analyse a sample of 1,500 SMEs to empirically develop a typology of different types of projects and conduct an in-depth comparative case study in each of the types. We find that 1) differences between...

In this paper, we argue that institutions affect the allocation of entrepreneurship across new and established organizations. This is confirmed by empirical analysis of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data on early-stage (independent) entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial...

Traditionally, regulations are seen as harmful for the starting and growing of firms. However, strict environmental regulation can also trigger the discovery and introduction of clean technologies, and this innovation might improve the competitiveness of the firm (the so-called Porter...