university of bergamo research on... · • entrepreneurship is about being opportunity driven...

UNIVERSITY OF BERGAMODepartment of Economics and Technology Management

PhD Program in Economics and Management of TechnologyXXV 2009/2010XXV – 2009/2010

prof. Lucio Cassia

Entrepreneurial Strategy

The Research Group on Entrepreneurship

Session DEeMT‐02 ‐ Spring 2010

In search of the meaning of Entrepreneurship (Hébert and Link, 1989)

• Hébert e Link (“In Search of the Meaning of Entrepreneurship,” 1989, Small Business Economics, 1(1), 39‐49) have identified distinct intellectual traditions in the scientiticliterature on Entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurship as innovation (German tradition)Schumpeter stands the entrepreneur at the center's role as an innovator and

h l i b hi d h i h hstresses the relation between entrepreneurship and the economic growth. The entrepreneur is a "creative destroyer" and entrepreneurship is based on discontinuity rather than on the search for equilibrium.

• Entrepreneurship as uncertainty (Chicago School)according to Knight the entrepreneur faces risk (measurable) and uncertainty (unmeasurable) and distinguishes between them ; uncertainty explains many(unmeasurable) and distinguishes between them ; uncertainty explains many characteristics of the innovation process and is at the basis of the motivation of the entrepreneur (“Post equitem sedet atra cura”, Horace)

• Entrepreneurship as alertness (Austrian Tradition)according to Kirzner the fundamental characteristic of entrepreneurship s the state of alertness. Alertness is not the mere ownership of greater knowledge of market

i i b i i h di i h i f i h d

prof. Lucio CassiaUniversity of Bergamo

DEeMT : PhD Program in Economics and Management of Technology



Entrepreneurial Strategy2

opportunities, but it is the readiness to seize the information they need.

What Entrepreneurship is about?

• Entrepreneurship is about change David Audretsch

• Entrepreneurship is about taking risk Frank Knight

• Entrepreneurship is about dealing with complex ambiguity Michael LewkowitzEntrepreneurship is about dealing with complex ambiguity Michael Lewkowitz

• Entrepreneurship is about being opportunity driven William Sahlman

• Entrepreneurship is about possibility François Michelin

h b h d h l• Entrepreneurship is about change and growth Cassia, Minola, De Massis

behaviorial factors related

• Entrepreneurship is about dream Fernando Dolabela

• Entrepreneurship is about youth Cassia Minola De Massis• Entrepreneurship is about youth Cassia, Minola, De Massis

anthropological factors related






Our research activity on Entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurship and Growth

– Linking Entrepreneurship to Firm Growth

– Linking Entrepreneurship to Regional Economy GrowthLinking Entrepreneurship to Regional Economy Growth

– Entrepreneurship along the Corporate Life Cycle

• Entrepreneurship and Technology Change• Entrepreneurship and Technology Change

• Young and Family Entrepreneurship






Entrepreneurship is about change, novelty and growth

k d f fA spark under specific circumstances starts a fire.

Entrepreneurship is the spark that, in certain contexts,

ignites the process of growth of a firm.






Linking Entrepreneurship to Firm Growth (empirical papers)

• Cassia Lucio, Alessandra Colombelli, 2010, Growth factors in medium‐sized enterprises: the case of an Italian region, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, New York.

• Cassia Lucio, Alessandra Colombelli, Stefano Paleari, 2009, Firms’ growth: does the innovation system matter?, Journal Structural Change and Economic Dynamics –innovation system matter?, Journal Structural Change and Economic Dynamics Special Issue on Regional Dimensions of Innovation, Elsevier, 20‐3, 211‐220.

• Cassia Lucio Alessandra Colombelli 2008 Do universities knowledge spillovers• Cassia Lucio, Alessandra Colombelli, 2008, Do universities knowledge spillovers impact on new firm’s growth? Empirical evidence from UK, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Special Issue "The Institutional Approach to Entrepreneurship Research New York 2‐4to Entrepreneurship Research, New York, 2‐4.






Linking Entrepreneurship to Regional Economy Growth (empirical papers)

• Brioschi Mariasole, Lucio Cassia, Alessandra Colombelli, 2009, “Common Frameworks for Regional Competitiveness: Insights from a Number of Local Knowledge Economies”, Rivista di Scienze Regionali, 8‐2, 45‐68.

• Cassia Lucio, Alessandra Colombelli, Stefano Paleari, 2008, “Regional transformation processes through the universities, institutions and industry relationship”, Industry p g , y p , yand Higher Education, London, 22‐2, 105‐118.

• Brioschi Maria Sole Lucio Cassia 2006 “Common Trajectories of Regional• Brioschi Maria Sole, Lucio Cassia, 2006, Common Trajectories of Regional Competitiveness in the Knowledge Economy”, Industry and Higher Education, London, 20‐6, 387‐401.






Entrepreneurship along the Corporate Life Cycle

• Cassia Lucio, Fattore Michael, Paleari Stefano, 2006, Entrepreneurial Strategy: Emerging Businesses in Declining Industries, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

• Cassia Lucio, Michele Meoli, 2009, The entrepreneurial process along the corporate life cycle, Piccola Impresa /Small Business, 2 and Rent XXII Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Conference 2008, Covilhã (Portugal).p p f , ( g )






Do common factors exist among Emerging Businesses in Declining Industries?

• Striving to growth > adoption of growth strategyCapturing new market opportunities through the expansion in adjacent business area and searching for alliances.

d k• Expansion in adjacent marketIn many cases growth occurred through expansion in adjacent markets, in the perspective of expanding sales without abandoning the firm’s core business.

• Use of the technologies > user not producer cross industry tech transfer• Use of the technologies > user not producer, cross‐industry tech transferStrategic adoption and use of enabling technologies. Pursuit of ever higher levels of competitiveness translated into the continuous adoption of newly available technologies.

• Increasing the firm’s reputation > mass market approachIncreasing the firm s reputation mass market approachThis is not referred to the idea of brand, but rather to the ideas of trust, reliability and confidence.

• The presence of entrepreneurPresence of a leading reference for the entire organization setting the direction.

• Leverage on human resourcesDevelopment and management of common shared knowledge within the company.

• Shift in the importance of costs against revenuesShift in the importance of costs against revenuesCosts’ obsession: focus on searching of efficiency inside the internal processes

• Control over key assets > upside or downside along the value chainA firm shifing to a competition based on knowledge must keep the control on the key assets.






Entrepreneurship and change in the technological domain

• “Entrepreneurship is about change” and “Entrepreneurs are agents of change” (Audretsch, 1995). Change is a distinguishing element of entrepreneurship, there is no entrepreneurship without change, and factors generating a change create the condition for entrepreneurship to flourish.

• Does a bidirectional causal relationship between entrepreneurship and change in p p p gtechnological domains exist? How do technological changes generate opportunities that entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial organization can properly exploit? And how can entrepreneurial behaviour be a promoter of change in both technology‐intensive and technology‐adopting businesses?






Entrepreneurship and change in the technological domain

• Among all change promoters, we focus on technology because inherently pervasive.

– Technology as an agent of change generates opportunities that can be caught be an entrepreneurial organization, therefore technology can support p g , gy ppentrepreneurship.

– At the same time entrepreneurial posture may be able to generate significant push in technological advancement and innovation, through change.p g , g g

ENTPREPRENURSHIP

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Entrepreneurship is about youth







A Center for Young and Family Entrepreneurship


To set‐up a Research and Education Center

to foster and support Young and Family Entrepreneurship






A Center for Young and Family Entrepreneurship

University

Research CommunityCo u ty(University)

EducationC it

BusinessCommunityCommunity

(Youngs)

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professionals)

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university of bergamo research on... · • entrepreneurship is about being opportunity driven...

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