In this manuscript I will argue a) that at least in developed economies the rate of new firm formation is crucially important for economic development; b) that it varies considerably over time and space; c) that policy programs aimed at increasing or supporting entrepreneurial activity have a...

This study utilizes the Comprehensive Australian Study of Entrepreneurial Emergence (CAUSEE) to examine the entrepreneurial process of nascent entrepreneurs in internet-based ventures (IBVs) compared to other start-ups, here called brick & mortar ventures (BMVs). Internet-based firms are a...

The entrepreneurial process involves all the functions, activities, and actions associated with the perception of opportunities and the creation of the organizations to pursue these opportunities (cf. Key, Foo and Lim, 2002). Shane and Venkataraman (2000) introduced entrepreneurship as a nexus...

Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon of tremendous societal importance. It is also an elusive phenomenon, and researching entrepreneurship is therefore fun, fascinating—and frustrating at times. In Researching Entrepreneurship, one of the most highly recognized entrepreneurship scholars shares in...

The purpose of this study is to identify key institutional determinants of firm emergence and growth. We do this using various types of data from Sweden. A characterization of a number of institutions and policy measures shows that they are likely to have contributed to an environment that...

Empirical research conducted on economic sectors in the U.S., Germany, Australia and Scotland has shown that factors such as age, size, location, legal form, and industry are related to business growth rates. Much of this research has focused on manufacturing firms thus providing little...

Davis, Haltiwanger & Schuh (1993; 1996) suggested that the belief that small firms are major contributors of new jobs is largely based on methodological flaws. In particular, their reasoning about the "regression fallacy", i.e., that temporary fluctuations in size systematically biases estimates in...

The purpose of this book chapter is to present empirical findings and interpretations concerning the role of small and new firms for job creation and economic well-being from a regional perspective. More specifically, we will deal with the following questions: • Are small firms...

This paper reports on a comprehensive study of the role of SMEs for job creation and regional economic well-being in Sweden during the 1990-93 recession period as well as the years immediately preceding and following that period. It is found that SMEs were over-represented as job creators across...

The creation of new firms is a tremendously important phenomenon. Each year hundreds of millions of people are engaged in business start-up efforts (Reynolds et al., 2005). A careful review of 87 analyses in 57 recent studies confirms earlier claims that new firms play very significant roles in...