The present paper examines the relationship between fixed-term employment and jobsatisfaction using individual-level data from the German Socio Economic Panel (GSOEP).According to theoretical expectations, fixed-term employment should be associated with arelative low level of job satisfaction,...

The aim of this paper is to explain consulting failure from a systems-theoretical perspectiveand to provide a new framework for analysing consultant–client relationships. By drawing onLuhmann’s systems theory, clients and consultants are conceptualised as two autopoieticcommunication systems...

Although labor mobility has been recognized as a key mechanism to transfer tacit knowledge,prior research on inventors has so far neglected to address the question of the consequence ofa move on inventive performance. This paper improves on the current R&D literature bypresenting a...

Germany is one of few countries in which the monetary compensation for inventors is notonly determined by negotiations between employer and employee-inventor, but also byrelatively precise legal provisions. In this paper, we describe the characteristics of the GermanEmployees’ Inventions Act...

For a sample of 267 financially distressed German corporations, I analyze firms'decision to recapitalize by raising fresh equity. I find evidence consistent with thehypothesis that wealth transfers from owners to creditor resulting from a costlydebt overhang present a potential impediment to a...

This paper provides new information, not available from other sources, on the characteristics ofthe innovation process in Europe, and on the economic use and value of European patents. Ourdata are drawn from a survey (PatVal-EU, or PatVal for short) of 9,017 patents granted by theEuropean Patent...

This paper is the first systematic analysis of the impact of diversificationon the performance of private equity funds. A unique data set allows theexact evaluation of diversification across the dimensions financing stages,industries, and countries. Very different levels of diversification can...

This paper provides the first large scale study that examines the impact of both individual- andgroup-specific factors on the benefits users obtain from their user communities. By empiricallyanalysing 924 survey responses from individuals in 161 Computer Associates’ user groups, thispaper aims...

This paper analyzes the causality between inventor productivity and inventor mobility. Theresults show that the level of education has no influence on inventor productivity. Making useof external sources of knowledge, on the contrary, has a significant effect on productivity.Finally, firm size...