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Collaboration between academia and society has become a key priority for many higher education institutions (HEIs). In Sweden, this is partly driven by political calls to secure the long-term provision of knowledge, innovation and competitiveness. At the system and institutional level, responses to this are reflected in governance structures and strategic documents. However, those strategic responses often fall short and attempts to organise for collaboration are often met with scepticism, and, in practice, micro-level changes are slow. This paper asks why that is the case by reflecting on the experiences gained from initiating and anchoring a course on societal collaboration at a Swedish HEI. We analyse the experiences from this bottom-up initiative by building on the notion of reflexivity. Our study contributes to research on managing and organising collaboration at HEIs by highlighting and illustrating the need to adopt a scientific approach – to use scientific knowledge – and engage (more) in reflexivity when organising to ensure societal collaboration. Efforts to produce collaboration cannot be expected to be solved by ‘someother’, but require strategy to be aligned with practice. We conclude our reflexive inquiry with implications for research and practice.

PurposeIn this study, the authors develop knowledge and insights on how the perception of interestingness influences the structure and focus of conversations in entrepreneurial education (EE) research. In particular, the authors elaborate on what is perceived as interesting among different subgroups of EE researchers, and not least, how EE researchers can identify and engage in scholarly conversation within the field.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a unique database with web-based responses from 465 EE researchers from around the world. The authors conduct analyses of both open-ended and closed questions. The open-ended questions are analyzed by inductive categorization. The closed questions are subject to factor and cluster analyses.FindingsThe findings suggest that EE research is a topic-oriented field, characterized by a strong focus on novel and challenging research issues. In addition, the field is individualistic and fragmented, and the perception of interestingness differs between five subgroups of EE researchers, whose members have a somewhat different perception of interestingness. Accordingly, the authors also find different core conversations going on within the field. Obviously, these conversations tend to be triggered by the field's obsession with novelty and challenging research, but several conversations are related to practically relevant research, as well as methodological and theoretical discussions.Originality/valueThis is the first study to elaborate on the perception of interestingness among EE researchers and the conversations going on within the field. In the study the authors have explored the characteristics of EE research based on the perception of interestingness among the researchers within the field. In this respect, this study contributes insights on how current and aspiring EE researchers can find and build scholarly conversations embedded in passionate interest, while concurrently disseminating and accumulating knowledge on EE together with like-minded peers.

Entrepreneurial education as a scientific field can be regarded as an emerging and growing area of research. In this study we pay particular attention to the community of scholars involved in entre...

Alumni engagement plays a crucial role in driving innovation in university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems. We employ an inductive, informant-centric research design to explore the processual dynamics surrounding the early alumni engagement of entrepreneurship graduates and how these translate into enterprising behaviors that foster technology transfer and knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship. Our inductive analysis advances the theoretical understanding of the beginning phases of the alumni engagement process among entrepreneurship graduates, the key drivers that make them gravitate toward different forms of alumni engagement, and the role and impact of their engagement in the surrounding ecosystem. open access

PurposeThis study focuses on extra-curricular start-up programs for students at higher educational institutions. It explores the social and situated learning experiences of students who participate in start-up programs, as well as how the processes and outcomes of entrepreneurial learning are potentially shaped by this context.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows multiple cohorts of students who have participated in an extra-curricular start-up program managed by three collaborating universities in Greater Copenhagen. The data have been inductively analyzed using semi-structured interviews with students and project managers during and after the start-up program, complemented with project progress reports, observation notes and survey data.FindingsThe analysis generates a grounded, theoretically informed process model of entrepreneurial learning situated in extra-curricular start-up programs. The model depicts how the immersion, comprehension and co-participation in entrepreneurship as social practice subsequently enables students to expand knowledge structures and develop greater self-confidence in performing entrepreneurship. The model identifies three interconnected components that trigger entrepreneurial learning among students, which allow them to acquire two set of competencies: venture creation competencies and enterprising competencies.Originality/valueThe findings offer unique insights into how the social and relational environment influence and shape the learning experience of students, hence filling the research void on entrepreneurial learning in the situated context of extra-curricular enterprise activities. The findings also elucidate how individual learning experiences of students are potentially shaped by the immersion, comprehension and co-participation in entrepreneurship as social practice.

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore knowledge accumulation in research on pedagogy in entrepreneurship education, with particular attention to how core journal outlets, core topics and core scholarly works have developed over time.Design/methodology/approachThe authors combine a systematic literature review technique and bibliometric analysis to depict the development of this stream of research in the period 1995–2018.FindingsFindings from the analyses suggests that research addressing pedagogy in entrepreneurship education has developed into a coherent research theme over the past decade, with a noticeable cognitive structure in core research topics and core works, as well as a number of core journal outlets for debates and dissemination of findings.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is anchored in a bibliometric research tradition and influenced by the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.Originality/valueThe paper provided contributes to the understanding of knowledge accumulation in research addressing pedagogy in entrepreneurial education.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role of gender balance in forming individuals’ understanding of entrepreneurship as manifested in the graduates’ occupational choices, asking: Does gender balance in entrepreneurship education influence start-up behaviour after graduation? Based on gender mainstreaming, this study builds on the assumption that gender balance influences classroom and student community discourses. This study presents two hypotheses suggesting a positive relationship between gender balance (student and mentor gender balance, respectively) and the likelihood of engaging in start-up behaviour after graduation.Design/methodology/approachThe context is an international one-year master's programme in entrepreneurship and innovation, which adopts an experienced-based pedagogical approach to support learning. This study applies binary logistic regression analysis to test the hypotheses on a sample of 107 graduates who responded to a web-based questionnaire on post-graduation career paths.FindingsThis study finds support for the first hypothesis indicating that student gender balance in the classroom has a significant positive impact on graduates' likelihood of engaging in start-up activity post-graduation. In the interpretation of these findings, this study emphasizes that a master's programme in entrepreneurship is an important arena where students' attitudes, values, aspirations and intentions towards entrepreneurship are shaped and their identity developed.Originality/valueWhile studies have demonstrated gender bias in the discourses on entrepreneurship education and content, there is little evidence of its consequences or how it is addressed. Findings of this study point directly to this gap by revealing that improved gender balance is not only beneficial to the underrepresented gender, but to the overall student group.

Abstract The assessment of entrepreneurship education outcomes should move beyond a focus on firm creation and associated economic impact to consider a more nuanced view that pays attention to graduates and their entrepreneurial competencies. There is currently limited understanding to what extent entrepreneurial competencies developed through entrepreneurship education are applied in graduates’ subsequent careers across various occupational roles, either as employees or as self-employed. Our analysis is based on a survey administered to 556 graduates from three Nordic master-level entrepreneurship education programs (1997–2018), all identified as venture creation programs. We find that, to a large extent, entrepreneurial competencies developed through venture creation programs are applied in subsequent careers across multiple occupational roles encompassing self-employment, hybrid entrepreneurship, and intrapreneurship. Entrepreneurship education is relevant not only to new firm creation but also to entrepreneurial positions in established organizations when it comes to graduates’ application of entrepreneurial competencies in subsequent careers.

Purpose This study aims to better understand entrepreneurial learning in the context of venture acceleration programs. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research strategy was used based on multiple in-depth interviews with 21 lead entrepreneurs complemented with participatory observations and secondary sources. The data were inductively analysed following the Gioia methodology (Gioia et al., 2012). Findings The authors build on experiential learning theory to generate a process-focussed model exploring the learning dynamics that venture acceleration programs can facilitate. In this model, the authors identify three catalysts that trigger processes of experiential learning and two contingencies that alleviate the effects of the catalysts on learning outcomes. The findings suggest that the potential of venture acceleration programs to be effective learning environments pends on the presence and quality of these catalysts and contingencies. Originality/value The findings provide novel insights on how venture acceleration programs trigger entrepreneurial learning, thereby offering a deeper understanding of the learning dynamics in this setting.

The growth of entrepreneurship education has played an important role in building up an academic infrastructure for entrepreneurship research. In this chapter we identify exemplary European contrib ...

The current state of the water and sanitation sector has put water-related innovations high on the global policy agenda. However, the systemic complexity that typically surrounds such contexts call for actionable knowledge of how to enable and orchestrate innovative solutions by connecting different players via organized networks. In this study we explore and analyse the Water Innovation Accelerator, which is a virtual network-centred incubator model designed and implemented in Sweden. Framed by theory and research on open innovation, incubation models, and entrepreneurial networks we provide an analysis of the design, working and performance of the Water Innovation Accelerator. In sum, our findings provide empirical support for virtual accelerators as an effective means to aid the development and market uptake of water related innovative solutions. Its overall effectiveness builds on its ability to bring private and public actors with different assets and competencies together via its entrepreneurial network, where the incubator team play a critical role for identifying and encouraging network-embedded innovation opportunities. However, the perceived effectiveness of the acceleration process for SMEs seems to be contingent on whether they are positioned in later stages of the innovation process, as well as their proximity to the incubator network. In these respects, the study provides valuable insights that may aid researchers, incubation managers and policy makers in current and future efforts to accelerate water innovation.

International audience; This article is presenting an overview of the literature devoted to entrepreneurial learning and, more specifically, those research bringing environmental elements into the study of the entrepreneurial learning process. Then, it shows how each of the four Special Issue selected research papers contribute to enhancing our knowledge of the complexity of the learning process vis-à-vis entrepreneurial processes placed in context. By doing this, it makes an attempt to explain the specific context behind each contribution as well as presenting the wider context. Finally, the article is suggesting a set of key challenges and research pathways that might be explored in the future.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model that explains how learning processes at the team level connect with individual and organizational levels of learning in technology-based ventures, thereby influencing the evolution of innovation capabilities in the entrepreneurial process. Design/methodology/approach The 4I organizational learning framework is used as an overarching theoretical structure to acknowledge entrepreneurial learning as a dynamic process that operate on multiple levels in technology-based ventures. Embedded in this logic, research on team learning is integrated into this theorizing to examine how learning processes at the team level bridge and connect with learning processes operating at individual and organizational levels. Findings The conceptual model identifies different sets of team learning processes critical for the routinization and evolution of innovation capabilities in technology-based ventures. In this respect, the conceptual model advances the scholarly understanding of entrepreneurial learning as a dynamic process operating across multiple levels in technology-based ventures. Originality/value By conceptualizing how individual streams of experiences over time become institutionalized via interaction, conversation and dialogue, the paper provides novel insights into the critical role of team learning for bridging individual and organizational levels of learning in the entrepreneurial learning process.

Business angels are regarded as ‘smart’ investors who make added value contributions to their investee businesses that go beyond their financial investments. Most studies of the value added process provide empirical descriptions of the hands-on support provided by business angels. Consequently, a more comprehensive and theoretical overview of the process is lacking and theoretical progress remains slow. In the chapter the author provides a review and synthesis of the available research evidence on the hands-on involvement of business angels after they have made their investment. The analysis is based on a framework that comprises four interrelated dimensions of the value added process: behaviour, context, reception and impact. This results in three main themes that provide insights into the process of adding value. The first theme addresses the involvement of business angels in the ventures in which they invest and how this involvement translates into a set of potential value adding benefits. The second theme addresses how and to what extent the set of potential benefits that portfolio ventures receive may translate into benefits in the venture development process. The third theme addresses how situational contingencies may influence the value added of business angels.

In this chapter we examine how institutional factors in and around university incubators are associated with the likelihood that a female will engage in the commercialization of university science ...

In the study we examine whether external entrepreneurs show differences compared with inventor entrepreneurs in the way they interact and network with others in the start-up process, and – if so – how these differences become manifested in their venturing efforts. The study uses a case study design of four university spin-offs across different industries and development stages originating from a Swedish technical university. In general, our findings emphasize the critical role of incubators for supporting the commercialization and diffusion of technology as they bridge structural holes between research oriented and commercial networks. However, we also find evidence that the external entrepreneur model contains network elements that on the whole makes it more effective in the venturing process. As such, the external entrepreneur model seems to be a highly potent technology transfer mechanism with potential to orchestrate efforts to commercialize public research for the benefit of industry and broader society.

The importance of high-growth entrepreneurship is widely acknowledged. Previous studies, however, have shown that only a few rapidly growing firms manage to sustain their growth trajectory over long periods. This paper addresses high-growth entrepreneurship in the Scania region of Sweden. The authors analyse a sample of high-growth firms and find that only a minority exhibit sustained high growth. They also compare sustainable high-growth firms with temporary high-growth firms, using unique data about their innovation and R&D activities. The analysis shows that sustainable high-growth firms are more often involved in activities aimed at developing and improving existing production processes, and are also less committed to international operations in new foreign markets. The results can be used to advise policy makers on how to understand and support high-growth entrepreneurship in regional innovation systems.

Purpose – Despite a growing interest in both women and university academic entrepreneurship, there are very few studies addressing women's academic entrepreneurship. The authors address this gap by focusing on university incubators for women's academic entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze the significance of university incubators for the promotion and development of women's academic business start‐ups.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a unique Swedish database for multivariate statistical tests on the performance of groups of women‐ and men‐led ventures, as well as on groups of women incubatees. The database includes data for over 1,400 ventures, out of which 210 ventures are by women entrepreneurs.Findings – About 15 percent of the ventures in the incubators are started and managed by women entrepreneurs. Several significant differences were found between the groups, but the overall conclusion is that the Swedish incubators in this study do not show any eviden...

The past decade has seen a plethora of policy initiatives that seek to bridge the chasm between investments in public R&D and its effective diffusion in society. This article uses a case study ...

PurposeThis paper seeks to develop an integrated framework to examine how entrepreneurs' work experience is associated with the generation of new business ideas. The framework combines human capital theory with theory and research on entrepreneurial learning.Design/methodology/approachA statistical analysis on a sample of 291 Swedish entrepreneurs is conducted.FindingsThe paper finds that a learning mind‐set that favors exploration is the strongest predictor of the generation of new business ideas. It also finds that breadth in functional work experience seems to favor the generation of new business ideas while deep industry work experience is negatively related to new business idea generation. In addition, the paper finds indications that a learning mind‐set that favors exploration is required to more fully benefit from investments in human capital.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's findings add to knowledge of how investments in human capital via work experience, and the employment of a learning mindset that favors exploration, influence performance outcomes in the early stages of the entrepreneurial process.Practical implicationsThe study's findings suggest that entrepreneurs should develop and nurture a learning mind‐set that favors exploration as this will increase their ability to generate more new business ideas. Moreover, movements across different functional work areas appear to have great potential as sources of ideas for new products and markets.Originality/valuePrior empirical studies have not taken individual learning preferences among entrepreneurs into account. Nor have they explicitly tested the effect of depth versus breadth in work experience. The paper thus provides novel insights with respect to how these factors interact in the process of generating new business ideas.

This study offers novel insights into how university spin-offs contribute to triple helix dynamics and the evolutionary processes of industrial renewal in regional innovation ecosystems. We analyse three groups of technology intensive start-ups: university spin-offs, corporate spin-offs, and independent technology start-ups. We compare and analyse various characteristics, functions, and processes among the three groups using primary data from a questionnaire survey conducted at 341 young firms operating in two technology intensive sectors in Sweden. Our findings suggest that university spin-offs differ from the other two groups with respect to their contribution to triple helix dynamics in regional innovation ecosystems. University spin-offs cooperate more closely with universities, conduct more in-house R&D, purchase more R&D services, and offer more innovative products/services in the introduction stage of their industry life cycles.

This study responds to the call in recent research for comparative studies examining whether student entrepreneurs are different to other kinds of entrepreneurs. Based on institutional theory, the specific question we ask in this study is whether student entrepreneurs who start up their firms in close relation to the university have a different resource logic compared to entrepreneurs who start their firms outside the university context. We define resource logic as the individual’s set of ideas for how to secure and use resources, and we link this concept to theories of effectual reasoning and bootstrapping to develop our argument. Moreover, we identify two different viewpoints about the effects of the university milieu on the resource logic of student entrepreneurs and we develop hypotheses to test the different viewpoints. The findings give overall support for the view that student entrepreneurs have developed a resource logic that favours both effectual reasoning and the use of bootstrapping methods.

Recent calls to close the rigour-relevance gap in business school education have suggested incorporating principles and ideas from action learning in small business management education. In this paper we discuss how business simulation exercises can be used as a platform to trigger students’ learning by providing them with a platform where they can merge theory with practice. We provide theoretical arguments accompanied by illustrations to show how such initiatives can create a more student-centred teaching structure than what is usually practised in contemporary business school education. This may in turn work as a potential bridge between the safe harbour of traditional classroom teaching and the more chaotic and complex world of managerial practice.

The influence of entrepreneurs’ career motives is examined on two alternative modes of decision-making logic; causation and effectuation. Based on Sarasvathy’s (Acad Manage Rev 26(2):243–288, 2001) seminal study, causation is defined as a decision-making process that focuses on what ought to be done given predetermined goals and possible means, and effectuation as a decision-making process emphasizing the question of what can be done given possible means and imagined ends. Analysis suggests that entrepreneurs who identify themselves with linear or expert career motives have a higher preference for causal decision-making logic. Entrepreneurs who identify themselves with spiral or transitory career motives have a higher preference for effectual decision-making logic. In addition, indications that prior start-up experience moderates the relationship between career motives and effectual decision-making logic for spiral-minded entrepreneurs is found. The overall results give ample support for the assumption that entrepreneurs’ career motives influence their decision-making.

PurposeThis paper employs theories of experiential learning to examine why some entrepreneurs have developed a more positive attitude towards failures compared to others.Design/methodology/approachThe paper conducts statistical analysis on a sample of 231 Swedish entrepreneurs that have started new independent firms in 2004.FindingsThe empirical findings support the guiding proposition that more favourable attitudes towards failure could be learned through entrepreneurs' life and work. The results suggest that previous start up experience is strongly associated with a more positive attitude towards failure. The paper also finds that experience from closing down a business is associated with a more positive attitude towards failure. In addition, a more fine‐grained analysis suggests that experience from closing down a business due to reasons of poor performance is a highly valuable source of learning while closure due to more personal reasons does not lead to the same result.Research limitations/implicationsIn sum, the findings add to the knowledge of why some entrepreneurs have a more positive attitude towards failure compared to others. It also provides some general implications for the understanding of entrepreneurial learning as an experiential process.Practical implicationsA positive attitude toward failure might be a significant asset for entrepreneurs as it might help them to deal with and learn from their mistakes and to move forward. The results indicate that the attitudes toward failure are not homogeneous among entrepreneurs. Rather, this attitude can, at least to some degree, be influenced due to new experiences and new information.Originality/valueThe paper provides novel insights with regard to the role that critical career experiences can play for the development of entrepreneurs' attitudes towards failure.

PurposeThis paper aims to present a study of the role of prior start‐up experience as a source of learning in the entrepreneurial process. Three learning outcomes are examined with respect to a comparison between habitual and novice entrepreneurs: skills for coping with liabilities of newness, preference for effectual reasoning, and attitudes towards failure.Design/methodology/approachThis is an empirical study based on statistical analysis conducted on a sample of 231 Swedish entrepreneurs that have started a new independent firm in 2004.FindingsThe findings suggest that habitual and novice entrepreneurs differ significantly with regard to several interesting aspects of the hypothesized dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide a better understanding of start‐up experience as a source of learning and its effects on the skills, preferences and attitudes of habitual entrepreneurs.Originality/valuePrevious research has suggested that prior start‐up experience is an important source of entrepreneurial learning, but has not put much effort into explaining how this particular type of experience influences various learning outcomes on an individual level. The present study advances these suggestions by showing how prior start‐up experience influences entrepreneurs' skills for coping with liabilities of newness, effectual reasoning and attitudes towards failures. Moreover, the study contributes to existing literature and research on entrepreneurial learning by developing explorative measures of individual learning outcomes that have been highlighted as influenced by prior experience in recent entrepreneurship research.

Business angels have been highlighted as important stakeholders for potential high-growth ventures. Extant empirical research provides evidence that they not only contribute with money but also bring added value to the ventures in which they have invested. However, despite the reported benefits of the value added provided by these investors there are very few studies that try to conceptualize this important issue. The present study seeks to meet this shortcoming by presenting a review of literature and research on business angels and value added. The overall objective is to recognize the range of value added activities that business angels have been reported to perform, aggregate the findings into a set of distinct but complementary value adding roles, and then link these roles to theoretical perspectives that explain why they have the potential to contribute to added value. Four different value added roles performed by informal investors are presented together with an explanation of how they can be seen as complementary to each other. The following discussion is then used to guide future studies of business angels and value added towards areas where our knowledge is still limited.

The present article seeks to advance the theoretical knowledge of entrepreneurial learning by reviewing and synthesizing available research into a conceptual framework that explains the process of entrepreneurial learning as an experiential process. The framework identifies three main components in the process of entrepreneurial learning: entrepreneurs’ career experience, the transformation process, and entrepreneurial knowledge in terms of effectiveness in recognizing and acting on entrepreneurial opportunities and coping with the liabilities of newness. Based on the arguments in the article, five major propositions were developed to refine our understanding of entrepreneurial learning. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Informal investors have proved to be highly valuable for the growth of the firms in which they have invested. Therefore, it is important to understand what motivates potential informal investors to make their initial investment as well as how already active investors develop their entrepreneurial careers. Such an understanding may prove helpful in directing efforts to locate and attract potential and existing informal investors. This paper investigates the entrepreneurial career of four informal investors. Based on the personal stories of these individuals, we explore their career patterns and present the central concepts of the different career phases they have progressed through. The results indicate that informal investors have experienced three overall career phases: (1) the corporate career phase; (2) the entrepreneurial learning phase; and (3) the integrated investment career phase. Each career phase provides informal investors with possibilities for learning and developing valuable competencies in order to advance in their entrepreneurial career. During the corporate career phase, the investors learn a 'managerial logic' and create a platform on which they can build up their managerial competence, establish a network, and legitimize their reputation. In the following entrepreneurial learning phase, the investors make use of this platform in varying entrepreneurial projects, mainly as consultants, which in turn provides them with the possibilities for learning the 'logic' behind entrepreneurial processes. During the integrated investment career phase, informal investors extend the platform by making use of their managerial and entrepreneurial competence in the firms in which they invest, and thus act as both entrepreneurs and informal investors in the firms in which they are involved.

The relation between entrepreneurial learning and innovation is poorly understood – especially with respect to how entrepreneurs build up their capability to create new ventures. In this chapter we employ arguments from theories of experiential learning to examine the extent to which entrepreneurs’ prior career experience is associated with entrepreneurial knowledge that can be productively used in the new venture creation process. We relate entrepreneurial knowledge to two distinct learning outcomes: the ability to (1) recognize new venture opportunities, and (2) cope with liabilities of newness. Based on analysis of data from 291 Swedish entrepreneurs, we provide novel insights into how and why entrepreneurs differ in their experientially acquired abilities in different phases of the new venture creation process. © 2012, IGI Global.

There has been an increasing interest in the determinants and outcomes of successful technology transfer and commercialization of research results. In this study we test the validity of the “knowledge corridor” thesis for explaining the involvement of university professors’ in the early stages of research commercialization. Statistical analysis on a sample of 86 respondents from engineering, natural science and medical faculties in a large Swedish university shows that both entrepreneurial and private industry experience significantly influence their ability to spot and generate business ideas in their research. Moreover, we find that research based business idea generation increase at a faster rate for professors with private sector work experience who have more time for research in their positions. The article ends with a discussion of our empirical findings together with its implications for support activities related to technology transfer and commercialization of research results.

In this study we explore and analyse a virtual network-centred incubator model called the Water Innovation Accelerator (WIN). The incubator model has been designed and implemented in Sweden to enable and orchestrate water-related innovative solutions by connecting different players via organized networks. Framed by theory and research on open innovation, incubation models, and entrepreneurial networks we provide an overview of the overall design, management and organization of WIN. We also analyse and assess the working and performance of WIN with respect to its purpose to aid the development and market uptake of water related innovative solutions via its entrepreneurial network. Our findings offer theoretical and empirical insights to researchers, policy makers and incubation managers that may aid current and future efforts to accelerate water innovation. (Less)

In this study, we examine how entrepreneurs differ in their modes of learning and whether variations in modes of learning have any influence on their possession of entrepreneurial knowledge that increase their ability to recognise and exploit new business opportunities. Based on statistical analysis of 291 entrepreneurs we find that a learning mode that favours exploration is positively associated with the ability to recognise a higher number of business opportunities. A learning mode that favours exploitation is on the other hand negatively associated with the ability to cope with liabilities of newness. Adding to this, we find that the positive association between career experience and entrepreneurial knowledge is stronger with a learning mode that favours exploration.

In this study, we examine and compare formal board structures and actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. We integrate and build on ideas from institutional theory and the behavioural theory of the firm to propose that privately held firms have specific governance needs that 'decouple' formal board structures from actual board behaviour. Following this logic, we expect board structures to vary across countries while board behaviour does not. We test this in a cross-country sample of SMEs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. The empirical results support the proposition that board structures are largely decoupled from actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. Overall, the findings imply that it is possible to coordinate and disseminate board development research and practice across countries despite national differences in formal board structures.

The principal question we ask in this study is to what extent structural characteristics in the entrepreneurship eco-system surrounding incubators influence the likelihood that women may engage in the commercialization of university science by becoming incubatees. We embed our arguments in institutional theory and develop hypotheses related to (1) the share of female faculty at the closest university, (2) gender norms in the primary industry of the new venture project, and (3) the prior experience of the incubator in dealing with women incubatees. The empirical data comes from a unique database consisting of over 1400 venture projects in 19 Swedish incubators that are part of the nationally financed incubator program. We select and examine 793 venture projects that made an entry into one of the incubators between 2006 and 2009. The findings provide ample empirical support for its hypotheses. Based on the findings, the paper also address implications for how incubators and universities can build up structu...

In this study, we test the knowledge corridor theory as an explanation of university professors' involvement in the early stages of research commercialisation. A statistical analysis was made of a sample of full professors from the engineering, natural sciences and medical faculties at a large public university in Sweden. The analysis shows that not only entrepreneurial experience but also private sector work experience significantly influence the ability to identify and develop business ideas based on research. Moreover, the analysis shows that research-based business idea generation increases faster for professors with private sector work experience who as well have more time for research in their positions.

In the study we develop and test a novel theoretical framework that examine how innovation speed in technology start-ups are influenced by the uncertain character of the technologies and markets that underlie patented inventions. We rely in our framework on previous conceptual and empirical work to distinguish between perceived state, effect and response uncertainty and to hypothesize about their potential differential impact on innovation speed. In addition, our framework also seeks to explain how the ability of the technology entrepreneur to spot and seize new business opportunities influences the uncertainty-speed relationship in start-up settings. We tested our framework and hypotheses on a unique and comprehensive dataset with detailed information about patented inventions commercialized in start-ups by independent technology entrepreneurs in Sweden. Overall, our results show the value and importance of distinguishing between different kinds of perceived uncertainty when theorizing about the process of developing and commercializing patented inventions in new technology start-ups. Moreover, our empirical findings suggest that the ability to spot and seize new business opportunities can be both an asset and a liability in this process.

Prediction or control? Exploring the influence of career experience and career motives on entrepreneurial decision making