Erik E. Lehmann - Böcker

German economic performance has astonished the world. At the turn of the century, Germany had been written off as the sick man of Europe. No more. Even as most of its European neighbors and OECD trading partners have struggled in the face of a turbulent global economy, the German economy has thrived. How does Germany do it? What is the secret? In The Seven Secrets of Germany, authors David Audretsch and Erik Lehmann answer these very questions. This book reveals, explains, and analyzes seven key aspects of Germany, its economy, and its society that have provided the nation with considerable buoyance in an era of global turbulence. These seven features range from the key and strategic role played by small firms to world leadership in its skilled and trained labor force, an ability to harness global opportunities through leveraging local resources, public infrastructure, the capacity to deal with change and confront challenges in a flexible manner, and the emergence of a remarkably positive identity and image. The Seven Secrets of Germany have insulated the country from long-term economic deterioration and enabled it to take advantage of the opportunities afforded from globalization rather than succumbing as a victim to globalization. This insights can be instructive to other countries and refute the defeatist view that globalization leads to an inevitable deterioration of the standard of living, quality of life, and degree of economic prosperity.

Public policy spanning a broad range of contexts, ranging from the European Union, to states, cities and local communities around the globe, has turned to entrepreneurship to provide the engine for economic growth, competitiveness in globally linked markets, and jobs. This book explains why entrepreneurship has emerged as a bona fide instrument of growth policy. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship suggests that entrepreneurship provides a crucial mechanism in the process of economic growth by serving as a conduit for knowledge spillovers. Investments in new knowledge and ideas may not automatically spill over and result in commercialization, as has typically been assumed in models of economic growth. Rather, the existence of what is introduced as the knowledge filter impedes the spillover and commercialization of investments in new ideas and knowledge. By penetrating the knowledge filter and facilitating the spillover of knowledge that might otherwise not be commercialized, entrepreneurship provides the missing link to economic growth. This new focus of entrepreneurship as a conduit transmitting the spillover of knowledge generates a series of theoretical propositions, involving not just the impact of entrepreneurship on economic performance and growth, but also the very nature of entrepreneurship. The theoretical propositions range from positing that entrepreneurial opportunities are not exogenously given but rather endogenously and systematically created by investments in new knowledge and ideas, to the importance of geographic proximity between entrepreneurial activity and knowledge sources, the impact of location on entrepreneurial performance, and the new roles for board, managers and modes of finance in entrepreneurial firms accessing and absorbing knowledge spillovers. These propositions are subjected to systematic econometric scrutiny and verification using both aggregate data to analyze the links between entrepreneurship and growth, as well as firm-level data to analyze the impact of knowledge spillover on entrepreneurial location, performance, boards, managers and mode of finance. The resulting empirical evidence supports the knowledge spillover of entrepreneurship not only by linking entrepreneurship to economic growth and performance, but also by identifying how the organization and strategy of entrepreneurial firms are influenced by the need to access, absorb and commercialize external knowledge spillovers. The book concludes that the new millennium may not be so much about the process of Joseph Schumpeter's creative destruction, where entrepreneurial startups displace and ultimately drive incumbent company's out of business, but rather characterized by creative construction. Globalization and its concomitant outsourcing and offshoring is the source of the "destruction", especially in terms of lower skilled jobs. By contrast, in the 21st century global economy, entrepreneurship is constructive by commercializing investments in knowledge and ideas that might never have been commercialized but ultimately result in growth, global competitiveness and employment. Thus, the emergence of entrepreneurship policy can be interpreted as the attempt to generate entrepreneurial based economic growth by creating an entrepreneurial economy.

This book aims to contribute to the understanding and evaluation of the processes through which innovative knowledge is created and translated to entrepreneurial technological advantage in higher education institutions. The chapters included in this edited volume discuss new trends related to the impact of policies on innovation and entrepreneurial activity in universities, by providing a variety of insights from both an individual and an institutional perspective and with reference to a number of different contexts and units of analysis. The integration of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as the multidisciplinary approach that characterizes this volume makes it possible to provide an in-depth understanding of today’s dynamics.The volume will be of relevance to scholars, students and researchers interested in Entrepreneurship, Higher Education, Economics and Technology Management. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Industry & Innovation.

This book aims to contribute to the understanding and evaluation of the processes through which innovative knowledge is created and translated to entrepreneurial technological advantage in higher education institutions. The chapters included in this edited volume discuss new trends related to the impact of policies on innovation and entrepreneurial activity in universities, by providing a variety of insights from both an individual and an institutional perspective and with reference to a number of different contexts and units of analysis. The integration of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as the multidisciplinary approach that characterizes this volume makes it possible to provide an in-depth understanding of today’s dynamics.The volume will be of relevance to scholars, students and researchers interested in Entrepreneurship, Higher Education, Economics and Technology Management. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Industry & Innovation.

Technology transfer—the process of sharing and disseminating knowledge, skills, scientific discoveries, production methods, and other innovations among universities, government agencies, private firms, and other institutions—is one of the major challenges of societies operating in the global economy.  This volume offers state-of-the-art insights on the dynamics of technology transfer, emerging from the annual meeting of the Technology Transfer Society in 2011 in Augsburg, Germany.  It showcases theoretical and empirical analyses from participants across the technology transfer spectrum, representing academic, educational, policymaking, and commercial perspectives.  The volume features case studies of industries and institutions in Europe, the United States, and Australasia, explored through a variety of methodological approaches, and providing unique contributions to our understanding of how and why technology transfer is shaped and affected by different institutional settings, with implications for policy and business decision making.

Technology transfer—the process of sharing and disseminating knowledge, skills, scientific discoveries, production methods, and other innovations among universities, government agencies, private firms, and other institutions—is one of the major challenges of societies operating in the global economy.  This volume offers state-of-the-art insights on the dynamics of technology transfer, emerging from the annual meeting of the Technology Transfer Society in 2011 in Augsburg, Germany.  It showcases theoretical and empirical analyses from participants across the technology transfer spectrum, representing academic, educational, policymaking, and commercial perspectives.  The volume features case studies of industries and institutions in Europe, the United States, and Australasia, explored through a variety of methodological approaches, and providing unique contributions to our understanding of how and why technology transfer is shaped and affected by different institutional settings, with implications for policy and business decision making.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.Within the span of a generation, innovation and entrepreneurship have emerged as two of the most vital forces in the economy and in society. This Research Agenda highlights new insights and approaches to guide future thinking, research and policy in the area. To accomplish this, the editors have brought together a group of accomplished scholars spanning economics, management, public policy and finance. Drawing on the experiences and insights of leading scholars this Research Agenda covers a broad array of rich and promising topics, including entrepreneurial ecosystems, finance and the role of universities. Focusing on the intersection and overlap between the two disciplines, the Research Agenda begins by establishing the theoretical basis between the two topics, before exploring impact, context, academic entrepreneurship, start-ups, policy and corporate governance. The book concludes with three provocative chapters: Friederike Welter highlighting the power of words and images, Sameeksha Desai discussing the role of artificial intelligence and Mark Casson presenting a case for radical change to how entrepreneurship is studied.Presenting the most salient findings and themes in current literature, A Research Agenda for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is essential for researchers in innovation, as well as policy makers at both the local and national levels influenced by the increasing importance of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.Within the span of a generation, innovation and entrepreneurship have emerged as two of the most vital forces in the economy and in society. This Research Agenda highlights new insights and approaches to guide future thinking, research and policy in the area. To accomplish this, the editors have brought together a group of accomplished scholars spanning economics, management, public policy and finance. Drawing on the experiences and insights of leading scholars this Research Agenda covers a broad array of rich and promising topics, including entrepreneurial ecosystems, finance and the role of universities. Focusing on the intersection and overlap between the two disciplines, the Research Agenda begins by establishing the theoretical basis between the two topics, before exploring impact, context, academic entrepreneurship, start-ups, policy and corporate governance. The book concludes with three provocative chapters: Friederike Welter highlighting the power of words and images, Sameeksha Desai discussing the role of artificial intelligence and Mark Casson presenting a case for radical change to how entrepreneurship is studied.Presenting the most salient findings and themes in current literature, A Research Agenda for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is essential for researchers in innovation, as well as policy makers at both the local and national levels influenced by the increasing importance of entrepreneurship and innovation.

The analysis of corporate governance in small and medium-sized firms has been a much-neglected aspect of study in the field of corporate governance. This essential research review provides an authoritative overview of research in this topical field by successfully linking classical papers on corporate governance to the specific aspects in SMEs. The purpose of this book is not only to provide a review of the literature on governance in SMEs, but also from other social sciences and management perspectives. This title will be of great interest not only to lecturers and students interested in corporate governance but also to managers and policy makers.

This book celebrates the contributions of David B. Audretsch, Distinguished Professor at the School of Public and Environment Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University (USA), co-founder and co-editor of Small Business Economics, and former Director of the Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group at the erstwhile Max Planck Institute of Economics (Jena, Germany). For his pioneering work, which explores the links between entrepreneurship, government policy, innovation, economic development, and global competitiveness, he has received the 2001 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research from the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research and the 2011 Schumpeter Prize from the University of Wuppertal (Germany).This volume features original contributions from over 50 leading scholars to map, analyze and evaluate the impact of Audretsch’s research on a broad spectrum of research fields, ranging from economics to entrepreneurship and geography. The development and evolution of key ideas which have significantly shaped theory and future research across these fields are also explored.

This book celebrates the contributions of David B. Audretsch, Distinguished Professor at the School of Public and Environment Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University (USA), co-founder and co-editor of Small Business Economics, and former Director of the Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group at the erstwhile Max Planck Institute of Economics (Jena, Germany). For his pioneering work, which explores the links between entrepreneurship, government policy, innovation, economic development, and global competitiveness, he has received the 2001 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research from the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research and the 2011 Schumpeter Prize from the University of Wuppertal (Germany).This volume features original contributions from over 50 leading scholars to map, analyze and evaluate the impact of Audretsch’s research on a broad spectrum of research fields, ranging from economics to entrepreneurship and geography. The development and evolution of key ideas which have significantly shaped theory and future research across these fields are also explored.