Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Regional knowledge production as determinant of high-technology entrepreneurship: empirical evidence for Germany

  • Published:
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Similar to the creation and distribution of new knowledge through industrial R&D and university research, entrepreneurial activity tends to vary across regions. Therefore the regionalized production of new knowledge is a prerequisite of entrepreneurial innovation. Based on endogenous growth theory, in particular the so-called Griliches-Jaffe-Model of regional knowledge production, we investigate industrial and university characteristics as determinants of technologically oriented entrepreneurship. Using hand-collected data from multiple sources, our results clearly show that high-technology entrepreneurship is highly dependent on regional knowledge production by industry and university, while technology entrepreneurship does largely not dependent on these factors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A comprehensive review of current approaches can be found in Drucker and Goldstein (2007).

References

  • Acs, Z. J. (2006). How is entrepreneurship good for economic growth? Innovations, 1(1), 97–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Z. J., & Storey, D. J. (2004). Introduction: entrepreneurship and economic development. Regional Studies, 38(8), 871–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Z. J., Audretsch, D. B., & Feldman, M. P. (1992). Real effects of academic research: comment. The American Economic Review, 82(1), 363–367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Z. J., Anselin, L., & Varga, A. (2002). Patents and innovation counts as measures of regional production of new knowledge. Research Policy, 31(7), 1069–1085.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, A., & Henderson, R. (2002). Putting patents in context: exploring knowledge transfer from MIT. Management Science, 48(1), 44–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armington, C., & Acs, Z. J. (2002). The determinants of regional variation in new firm formation. Regional Studies, 36(1), 33–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arrow, K. J. (1962). The economic implications of learning by doing. The Review of Economic Studies, 29(3), 155–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B., & Keilbach, M. (2007). The theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship. Journal of Management Studies, 44(7), 1242–1254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B., Keilbach, M., & Lehmann, E. E. (2006). Entrepreneurship and economic growth. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B., Dohse, D., & Niebuhr, A. (2009). Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship: a regional analysis for Germany. The Annals of Regional Science, 1–31.

  • Audretsch, D. B., Hülsbeck, M., & Lehmann, E. E. (2011). Regional competitiveness, university spillovers and entrepreneurial activity. Small Business Economics, (forthcoming).

  • Azoulay, P., Ding, W., & Stuart, T. (2007). The determinants of faculty patenting behavior: demographics or opportunities? Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 63(4), 599–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosma, N., van Stel, A., & Suddle, K. (2008). The geography of new firm formation: evidence from independent start-ups and new subsidiaries in the Netherlands. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 4(2), 129–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cáceres-Carrasco, F., & Guzmán-Cuevas, J. (2010). Functional and productive dependence: new characteristics for the analysis of enterprises from a macroeconomic view. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 6(2), 117–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassia, L., & Colombelli, A. (2008). Do universities knowledge spillovers impact on new firm’s growth? Empirical evidence from UK. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 4(4), 453–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesbrough, H. W. (2003). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, E., & Cooper, S. T. (2004). Multi-product cost functions for universities: Economies of scale and scope. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, H. M. (1992). Changing order: Replication and induction in scientific practice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colombo, M., & Grilli, L. (2006). Supporting high-tech start-ups: lessons from Italian technology policy. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2(2), 189–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Correia, I., & Petiz, O. (2007). Firms and universities—do spillovers enhance firm’s performance? International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 3(2), 145–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuervo, A. (2005). Individual and environmental determinants of entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1(3), 293–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidsson, P., Lindmark, L., & Olofsson, C. (1994). New firm formation and regional development in Sweden. Regional Studies, 28(4), 395–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drucker, J., & Goldstein, H. (2007). Assessing the regional economic development impacts of universities: a review of current approaches. International Regional Science Review, 30(1), 20–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dusansky, R., & Vernon, C. J. (1998). Rankings of US economics departments. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1), 157–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EC. (2008). Towards a European Research Area—Science, Technology, and Innovation—Key Figures 2007. Brussels: European Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckey, H.-F., Kosfeld, R., & Türck, M. (2006). Abgrenzung deutscher Arbeitsmarktregionen. Raumforschung und Raumordnung, 64, 229–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (2003). Research groups as ‘quasi-firms’: the invention of the entrepreneurial university. Research Policy, 32(1), 109–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritsch, M., & Mueller, P. (2007). The persistence of regional new business formation-activity over time–assessing the potential of policy promotion programs. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 17(3), 299–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galindo-Martin, M.-A., Méndez-Picazo, M., & Alfaro-Navarro, J. (2010). Entrepreneurship, income distribution and economic growth. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 6(2), 131–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gould, A., & Keeble, D. (1984). New firms and rural industrialization in East Anglia. Regional Studies, 18(3), 189–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griliches, Z. (1979). Issues in assessing the contribution of research and development to productivity growth. Bell Journal of Economics, 10(1), 92–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guesnier, B. (1994). Regional variations in new firm formation in France. Regional Studies, 28(4), 347–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. W. (2001). Varieties of capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press Oxford.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, M., & Gudgin, G. (1994). Spatial variations in new firm formation in the Republic of Ireland, 1980–1990. Regional Studies, 28(4), 367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. (1969). The economy of cities. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffe, A. B. (1989). Real effects of academic research. The American Economic Review, 79(5), 957–970.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffe, A. B., Trajtenberg, M., & Henderson, R. (1993). Geographic localization of knowledge spillovers as evidenced by patent citations. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108(3), 577–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeble, D., & Walker, S. (1994). New firms, small firms and dead firms: spatial patterns and determinants in the United Kingdom. Regional Studies, 28(4), 411–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S. Y., Florida, R., & Acs, Z. J. (2004). Creativity and entrepreneurship: a regional analysis of new firm formation. Regional Studies, 38(8), 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, P. E., & Mason, C. M. (1984). Spatial variations in new firm formation in the United Kingdom: comparative evidence from Merseyside, Greater Manchester and South Hampshire. Regional Studies, 18(3), 207–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, A. (1890). Principles of economics. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mas-Verdú, F., Baviera-Puig, A., & Martinez-Gomez, V. (2009). Entrepreneurship policy and targets: the case of a low absorptive capacity region. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 5(3), 243–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, G. R. (2001). Land-Grant Universities and extension into the 21st Century: Renegotiating or abandoning a social contract. Ames: Iowa State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metzger, G., & Höwer, D. (2009). Die Bereitstellung von Standardauswertungen zum Gründungsgeschehen in Deutschland für externe Datennutzer. Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH (ZEW).

  • Mella, P. (2006). Spatial co-localisation of firms and entrepreneurial dynamics. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2(3), 391–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moensted, M. (2007). Strategic networking in small high tech firms. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 3(1), 15–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munoz, J., & Welsh, D. (2006). Outsourcing in the IT industry: the case of the Philippines. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2(1), 111–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, R. (1992). Perceptions of the teaching-research nexus: a framework for analysis. Higher Education, 23(2), 159–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Farrell, P. N., & Crouchley, R. (1984). An industrial and spatial analysis of new firm formation in Ireland. Regional Studies, 18(3), 221–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phan, P. H., & Siegel, D. S. (2006). The effectiveness of university technology transfer. Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, 2(2).

  • Radauer, A., & Streicher, J. (2007). Low-Tech, innovation and state aid: the Austrian case. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 3(3), 247–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, P. (1994). Autonomous firm dynamics and economic growth in the United States, 1986–1990. Regional Studies, 28(4), 429–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, P., Storey, D. J., & Westhead, P. (1994). Cross-national comparisons of the variation in new firm formation rates. Regional Studies, 28(4), 443–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romer, P. M. (1986). Increasing returns and long-run growth. Journal of Political Economy, 94(5), 1002–1037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romer, P. M. (1990). Endogenous technological change. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), 71–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romero-Martínez, A., & Montoro-Sánchez, Á. (2008). How clusters can encourage entrepreneurship and venture creation. Reasons and advantages. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 4(3), 315–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothaermel, F. T., Agung, S. D., & Jiang, L. (2007). University entrepreneurship: a taxonomy of the literature. Industrial and Corporate Change, 16(4), 691–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. A. S. (1964). Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung (6th ed.). Berlin: Duncker and Humblot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, A., & Kirchhoff, B. (2006). Schumpeter and new technology based firms: towards a framework for how NTBFs cause creative destruction. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2(2), 145–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R. M. (1956). A contribution to the theory of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R. M. (1957). Technical change and the aggregate production function. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 39(3), 312–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storey, D. J. (1991). The birth of new firms—does unemployment matter? A review of the evidence. Small Business Economics, 3(3), 167–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutaria, V., & Hicks, D. A. (2004). New firm formation: dynamics and determinants. The Annals of Regional Science, 38(2), 241–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uzawa, H. (1965). Optimum technical change in an aggregative model of economic growth. International Economic Review, 6(1), 18–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varga, A. (2000). Local academic knowledge transfers and the concentration of economic activity. Journal of Regional Science, 40(2), 289–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warning, S. (2007). The economic analysis of universities—strategic groups and positioning. Northhampton: Edward Elgar Publishing Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yusof, M., & Jain, K. (2010). Categories of university-level entrepreneurship: a literature survey. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 6(1), 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank David B. Audretsch, Michael Fritsch, Silvio Vismara, and participants of the Annual Meeting 2012 of the Technology Transfer Society (T2S) in Augsburg (Germany) for very helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of business administration, University of Augsburg, Universitaetsstr. 16, 86159, Augsburg, Germany

    Marcel Hülsbeck

  2. CCSE, Bergamo, Italy

    Marcel Hülsbeck

  3. Department of business administration, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany

    Elena N. Pickavé

Authors
  1. Marcel Hülsbeck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elena N. Pickavé
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcel Hülsbeck.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hülsbeck, M., Pickavé, E.N. Regional knowledge production as determinant of high-technology entrepreneurship: empirical evidence for Germany. Int Entrep Manag J 10, 121–138 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-011-0217-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-011-0217-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation