@techreport{GiotopoulosKritikosTsakanikas2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Giotopoulos, Ioannis and Kritikos, Alexander and Tsakanikas, Aggelos}, title = {A Lasting Crisis affects R\&D decisions of smaller firms}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {49}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-55844}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-558442}, pages = {23}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We use the prolonged Greek crisis as a case study to understand how a lasting economic shock affects the innovation strategies of firms in economies with moderate innovation activities. Adopting the 3-stage CDM model, we explore the link between R\&D, innovation, and productivity for different size groups of Greek manufacturing firms during the prolonged crisis. At the first stage, we find that the continuation of the crisis is harmful for the R\&D engagement of smaller firms while it increased the willingness for R\&D activities among the larger ones. At the second stage, among smaller firms the knowledge production remains unaffected by R\&D investments, while among larger firms the R\&D decision is positively correlated with the probability of producing innovation, albeit the relationship is weakened as the crisis continues. At the third stage, innovation output benefits only larger firms in terms of labor productivity, while the innovation-productivity nexus is insignificant for smaller firms during the lasting crisis.}, language = {en} } @article{GiotopoulosKritikosTsakanikas2022, author = {Giotopoulos, Ioannis and Kritikos, Alexander and Tsakanikas, Aggelos}, title = {A lasting crisis affects R\&D decisions of smaller firms}, series = {The Journal of technology transfer}, journal = {The Journal of technology transfer}, number = {48}, publisher = {Springer Science+Business Media}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0892-9912}, doi = {10.1007/s10961-022-09957-7}, pages = {1161 -- 1175}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We use the prolonged Greek crisis as a case study to understand how a lasting economic shock affects the innovation strategies of firms in economies with moderate innovation activities. Adopting the 3-stage CDM model, we explore the link between R\&D, innovation, and productivity for different size groups of Greek manufacturing firms during the prolonged crisis. At the first stage, we find that the continuation of the crisis is harmful for the R\&D engagement of smaller firms while it increased the willingness for R\&D activities among the larger ones. At the second stage, among smaller firms the knowledge production remains unaffected by R\&D investments, while among larger firms the R\&D decision is positively correlated with the probability of producing innovation, albeit the relationship is weakened as the crisis continues. At the third stage, innovation output benefits only larger firms in terms of labor productivity, while the innovation-productivity nexus is insignificant for smaller firms during the lasting crisis.}, language = {en} } @techreport{EstrinKhavulKritikosetal.2024, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Estrin, Saul and Khavul, Susanna and Kritikos, Alexander and L{\"o}her, Jonas}, title = {Access to digital finance}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {72}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-62326}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-623261}, pages = {27}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated with differences across three countries and seven platforms. Using a novel dataset of successful fundraising on the most prominent platforms in the UK, Germany, and the USA, we find the underlying relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised for entrepreneurs is loglinear, with a coefficient less than one and concave to the origin. We identify significant variation in the average amount invested in each pitch across countries and platforms. Our findings have implications for market actors as well as regulators who set competitive frameworks.}, language = {en} } @article{KononFritschKritikos2018, author = {Konon, Alexander and Fritsch, Michael and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Business cycles and start-ups across industries}, series = {Journal of Business Venturing Insights}, volume = {33}, journal = {Journal of Business Venturing Insights}, number = {6}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0883-9026}, doi = {10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.04.006}, pages = {742 -- 761}, year = {2018}, abstract = {We analyze whether start-up rates in different industries systematically change with business cycle variables. Using a unique data set at the industry level, we mostly find correlations that are consistent with counter-cyclical influences of the business cycle on entries in both innovative and non-innovative industries. Entries into the large-scale industries, including the innovative part of manufacturing, are only influenced by changes in the cyclical component of unemployment, while entries into small-scale industries, like knowledge intensive services, are mostly influenced by changes in the cyclical component of GDP. Thus, our analysis suggests that favorable conditions in terms of high GDP might not be germane for start-ups. Given that both innovative and non-innovative businesses react counter-cyclically in 'regular' recessions, business formation may have a stabilizing effect on the economy.}, language = {en} } @article{FritschKritikosPijnenburg2015, author = {Fritsch, Michael and Kritikos, Alexander and Pijnenburg, Katharina}, title = {Business cycles, unemployment and entrepreneurial entry-evidence from Germany}, series = {International entrepreneurship and management journal}, volume = {11}, journal = {International entrepreneurship and management journal}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {1554-7191}, doi = {10.1007/s11365-014-0326-3}, pages = {267 -- 286}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We investigate whether people are more willing to become self-employed during boom periods or during recessions and to what extent business cycles and unemployment levels influence entries into entrepreneurship. Our analysis for Germany reveals that there is a positive relationship between unemployment rates and start-up activities. Moreover, new business formation is higher during recessions than in boom periods, implying that it is counter-cyclical. When disentangling periods of low and high unemployment we find that the effect of unemployment on new business formation is only statistically significant if the level of unemployment is below the trend, indicating a "low unemployment retain effect".}, language = {en} } @article{GraeberKritikosSeebauer2021, author = {Graeber, Daniel and Kritikos, Alexander and Seebauer, Johannes}, title = {COVID-19}, series = {Journal of population economics}, volume = {34}, journal = {Journal of population economics}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0933-1433}, doi = {10.1007/s00148-021-00849-y}, pages = {1141 -- 1187}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We investigate how the economic consequences of the pandemic and the government-mandated measures to contain its spread affect the self-employed — particularly women — in Germany. For our analysis, we use representative, real-time survey data in which respondents were asked about their situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that among the self-employed, who generally face a higher likelihood of income losses due to COVID-19 than employees, women are about one-third more likely to experience income losses than their male counterparts. We do not find a comparable gender gap among employees. Our results further suggest that the gender gap among the self-employed is largely explained by the fact that women disproportionately work in industries that are more severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis of potential mechanisms reveals that women are significantly more likely to be impacted by government-imposed restrictions, e.g., the regulation of opening hours. We conclude that future policy measures intending to mitigate the consequences of such shocks should account for this considerable variation in economic hardship.}, language = {en} } @techreport{GraeberKritikosSeebauer2021, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Graeber, Daniel and Kritikos, Alexander and Seebauer, Johannes}, title = {COVID-19: a crisis of the female self-employed}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {27}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-49810}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-498108}, pages = {72}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We investigate how the economic consequences of the pandemic, and of the government-mandated measures to contain its spread, affect the self-employed - particularly women - in Germany. For our analysis, we use representative, real-time survey data in which respondents were asked about their situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that among the self-employed, who generally face a higher likelihood of income losses due to COVID-19 than employees, women are 35\% more likely to experience income losses than their male counterparts. Conversely, we do not find a comparable gender gap among employees. Our results further suggest that the gender gap among the self-employed is largely explained by the fact that women disproportionately work in industries that are more severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis of potential mechanisms reveals that women are significantly more likely to be impacted by government-imposed restrictions, i.e. the regulation of opening hours. We conclude that future policy measures intending to mitigate the consequences of such shocks should account for this considerable variation in economic hardship.}, language = {en} } @article{BelitskiGuentherKritikosetal.2021, author = {Belitski, Maksim and Guenther, Christina and Kritikos, Alexander and Thurik, Adriaan R.}, title = {Economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship and small businesses}, series = {Small business economics}, volume = {58}, journal = {Small business economics}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer Science + Business Media B.V.}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-021-00544-y}, pages = {593 -- 609}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The existential threat to small businesses, based on their crucial role in the economy, is behind the plethora of scholarly studies in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining the 15 contributions of the special issue on the "Economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship and small businesses," the paper comprises four parts: a systematic review of the literature on the effect on entrepreneurship and small businesses; a discussion of four literature strands based on this review; an overview of the contributions in this special issue; and some ideas for post-pandemic economic research.}, language = {en} } @techreport{BlockKritikosPriemetal.2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Block, J{\"o}rn and Kritikos, Alexander and Priem, Maximilian and Stiel, Caroline}, title = {Emergency-Aid for Self-employed in the Covid-19 Pandemic}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {55}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56268}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-562688}, pages = {41}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The self-employed faced strong income losses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many governments introduced programs to financially support the self-employed during the pandemic, including Germany. The German Ministry for Economic Affairs announced a €50bn emergency-aid program in March 2020, offering one-off lump-sum payments of up to €15,000 to those facing substantial revenue declines. By reassuring the self- employed that the government 'would not let them down' during the crisis, the program had also the important aim of motivating the self-employed to get through the crisis. We investigate whether the program affected the confidence of the self-employed to survive the crisis using real-time online-survey data comprising more than 20,000 observations. We employ propensity score matching, making use of a rich set of variables that influence the subjective survival probability as main outcome measure. We observe that this program had significant effects, with the subjective survival probability of the self- employed being moderately increased. We reveal important effect heterogeneities with respect to education, industries, and speed of payment. Notably, positive effects only occur among those self-employed whose application was processed quickly. This suggests stress-induced waiting costs due to the uncertainty associated with the administrative processing and the overall pandemic situation. Our findings have policy implications for the design of support programs, while also contributing to the literature on the instruments and effects of entrepreneurship policy interventions in crisis situations.}, language = {en} } @techreport{AudretschHafensteinKritikosetal.2019, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Audretsch, David B. and Hafenstein, Marian and Kritikos, Alexander and Schiersch, Alexander}, title = {Firm Size and Innovation in the Service Sector}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {4}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42767}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427670}, pages = {46}, year = {2019}, abstract = {A rich literature links knowledge inputs with innovative outputs. However, most of what is known is restricted to manufacturing. This paper analyzes whether the three aspects involving innovative activity - R\&D; innovative output; and productivity - hold for knowledge intensive services. Combining the models of Crepon et al. (1998) and of Ackerberg et al. (2015), allows for causal interpretation of the relationship between innovation output and labor productivity. We find that knowledge intensive services benefit from innovation activities in the sense that these activities causally increase their labor productivity. Moreover, the firm size advantage found for manufacturing in previous studies nearly disappears for knowledge intensive services.}, language = {en} } @article{KneidingKritikos2013, author = {Kneiding, Christoph and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Funding self-employment - the role of consumer credit}, series = {Applied economics}, volume = {45}, journal = {Applied economics}, number = {13}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0003-6846}, doi = {10.1080/00036846.2011.637895}, pages = {1741 -- 1749}, year = {2013}, abstract = {This article investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans - in particular, instalment loans and overdrafts - to finance business activities. Controlling for financial and nonfinancial household variables, we show that self-employed households particularly use personal overdrafts significantly more often than employee households. When analysing the correlation between consumer loan take-ups and consumption of self-employed in comparison to employee households, we find first evidence that overdrafts are used by self-employed to finance their business as well. This indicates that intermingling constitutes a financing strategy when regular business loans might not be accessible.}, language = {en} } @article{BertschekBlockKritikosetal.2023, author = {Bertschek, Irene and Block, Joern and Kritikos, Alexander and Stiel, Caroline}, title = {German financial state aid during Covid-19 pandemic}, series = {Entrepreneurship \& regional development}, volume = {36}, journal = {Entrepreneurship \& regional development}, number = {1-2}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis}, address = {London}, issn = {0898-5626}, doi = {10.1080/08985626.2023.2196267}, pages = {76 -- 97}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In response to strong revenue and income losses facing a large share of self-employed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, the German federal government introduced a €50bn emergency-aid program. Based on real-time online-survey data comprising more than 20,000 observations, we analyze the impact of this program on the confidence to survive the crisis. We investigate how the digitalization level of self-employed individuals influences the program's effectiveness. Employing propensity score matching, we find that the emergency-aid program had only moderately positive effects on the confidence of self-employed to survive the crisis. However, self-employed whose businesses were highly digitalized, benefitted much more from the state aid than those whose businesses were less digitalized. This only holds true for those self-employed, who started the digitalization processes already before the crisis. Taking a regional perspective, we find suggestive evidence that the quality of the regional broadband infrastructure matters in the sense that it increases the effectiveness of the emergency-aid program. Our findings show the interplay between governmental support programs, the digitalization levels of entrepreneurs, and the regional digital infrastructure. The study helps public policy to improve the impact of crisis-related policy instruments, ultimately increasing the resilience of small firms in times of crises.}, language = {en} } @misc{HerrmannKritikos2013, author = {Herrmann, Benedikt and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Growing out of the crisis}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {896}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43480}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-434805}, pages = {25}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Greece's currently planned institutional reforms will help to get the country going with limited economic growth. With an economy based primarily on tourism, trade, and agriculture, Greece lacks an established competitive industry and an innovation-friendly environment, resulting in a low export ratio given the small size of the country and its long-time EU-membership. Instead, Greece exports only its nation's talent, with low returns. To become prosperous, the country must better capitalize on its Eurozone membership and add innovative sectors to its economic structure. Given Greece's hidden assets, such as the attractiveness of the country, a small number of strong research centers and an impressive diaspora in research, finance and business, we envision a Greek "Silicon Valley" and propose a ten point policy plan to achieve that goal.}, language = {en} } @article{KritikosTan2016, author = {Kritikos, Alexander and Tan, Jonathan H. W.}, title = {Influence in the face of impunity}, series = {Economics letters}, volume = {141}, journal = {Economics letters}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {0165-1765}, doi = {10.1016/j.econlet.2016.02.020}, pages = {119 -- 121}, year = {2016}, abstract = {We compare dictator and impunity games. In impunity games, responders can reject offers but to no payoff consequence to proposers. Because proposers act under impunity, we should expect the same behavior across games, but experimentally observed behavior varies. Responders indeed exercise the rejection option. This threat psychologically influences proposers. Some proposers avoid rejection by offering nothing. Others raise offers, but only when they receive feedback from responders. Responders lose this influence in the absence of feedback. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{AudretschKritikosSchiersch2020, author = {Audretsch, David B. and Kritikos, Alexander and Schiersch, Alexander}, title = {Microfirms and innovation in the service sector}, series = {Small business economics}, volume = {55}, journal = {Small business economics}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer Science + Business Media B.V.}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-020-00366-4}, pages = {997 -- 1018}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In the context of microfirms, this paper analyzes whether the link between the three aspects involving innovative activities—R\&D, innovative output, and productivity—hold for knowledge-intensive services. With especially high start-up rates and the majority of employees in microfirms, knowledge-intensive services (KIS) have a starkly different profile from manufacturing. Results from our structural models indicate that KIS firms benefit from innovation activities through increased labor productivity with highly skilled employees being similarly important compared to R\&D for creating innovation output in microfirms. Moreover, the firm size advantage of large firms found for manufacturing almost disappears in KIS, with start-ups and young firms having a higher probability of initiating innovation activities and of successfully turning knowledge into innovation output than mature firms.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoGraeberKritikosetal.2022, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Graeber, Daniel and Kritikos, Alexander and Seebauer, Johannes}, title = {Pandemic depression}, series = {Entrepreneurship theory and practice}, volume = {47}, journal = {Entrepreneurship theory and practice}, number = {3}, publisher = {SAGE Publishing}, address = {Thousand Oaks}, issn = {1042-2587}, doi = {10.1177/10422587221102106}, pages = {788 -- 830}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-employed people's mental health. Using representative longitudinal survey data from Germany, we reveal differential effects by gender: whereas self-employed women experienced a substantial deterioration in their mental health, self-employed men displayed no significant changes up to early 2021. Financial losses are important in explaining these differences. In addition, we find larger mental health responses among self-employed women who were directly affected by government-imposed restrictions and bore an increased childcare burden due to school and daycare closures. We also find that self-employed individuals who are more resilient coped better with the crisis.}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoGraeberKritikosetal.2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Graeber, Daniel and Kritikos, Alexander and Seebauer, Johannes}, title = {Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and the Mental Health of the Self-Employed}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {46}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-54899}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-548999}, pages = {65}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-employed people's mental health. Using representative longitudinal survey data from Germany, we reveal differential effects by gender: whereas self-employed women experienced a substantial deterioration in their mental health, self-employed men displayed no significant changes up to early 2021. Financial losses are important in explaining these differences. In addition, we find larger mental health responses among self-employed women who were directly affected by government-imposed restrictions and bore an increased childcare burden due to school and daycare closures. We also find that self-employed individuals who are more resilient coped better with the crisis.}, language = {en} } @incollection{Kritikos2022, author = {Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Personality and entrepreneurship}, series = {Handbook of labor, human resources and population economics}, booktitle = {Handbook of labor, human resources and population economics}, editor = {Zimmermann, Klaus F.}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-319-57365-6}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_305-1}, pages = {1 -- 20}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Does personality matter? Is an individual who is open to experience more or less likely to become an entrepreneur? Is it better to score low or high in agreeableness for surviving as an entrepreneur? To the extent that personality captures one part of entrepreneurial abilities, which are usually unobservable, the analysis of traits and personality characteristics helps better understanding such abilities. This chapter reviews research on the relationship between personality and entrepreneurship since 2000 and shows that possessing certain personality characteristics will make it more likely that an individual will start an own business and hire staff. More specifically, with respect to the entry decision, research finds that nearly all so-called Big Five factors as well as several specific personality characteristics influence the entry probability into entrepreneurship. Further, entrepreneurs are more likely to hire, the higher they score in risk tolerance, trust, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. However, different factors such as low scores in agreeableness, the only Big Factor that does not affect entrepreneurial entry, influence entrepreneurial survival. And for some of characteristics that influence entrepreneurial entry, like high scores in the factor openness for experience or in risk tolerance, "revolving door effects" are found, explaining why some entrepreneurs subsequently exit again the market.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoFossenKritikos2021, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Fossen, Frank M. and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Personality characteristics and the decision to hire}, series = {Industrial and corporate change}, volume = {31}, journal = {Industrial and corporate change}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0960-6491}, doi = {10.1093/icc/dtab062}, pages = {736 -- 761}, year = {2021}, abstract = {As the policy debate on entrepreneurship increasingly centers on firm growth in terms of job creation, it is important to understand whether the personality of entrepreneurs drives the first hiring in their firms. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze to what extent personality traits influence the probability of becoming an employer. The results indicate that personality matters. Risk tolerance unfolds the strongest influence on hiring, shortening the time until entrepreneurs hire their first employee; the effect size of a one-standard-deviation increase in risk tolerance is similar to that of having a university degree. Moreover, individuals who are more open to experience, more conscientious, and more trustful are more likely to hire upon establishing their business.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoFossenKritikos2014, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Fossen, Frank and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Personality characteristics and the decisions to become and stay self-employed}, series = {Small business economics : an international journal}, volume = {42}, journal = {Small business economics : an international journal}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-013-9514-8}, pages = {787 -- 814}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Based on a large, representative German household panel, we investigate to what extent the personality of individuals influences the entry decision into and the exit decision from self-employment. We reveal that some traits, such as openness to experience, extraversion, and risk tolerance affect entry, but different ones, such as agreeableness or different parameter values of risk tolerance, affect exit from self-employment. Only locus of control has a similar influence on the entry and exit decisions. The explanatory power of all observed traits among all observable variables amounts to 30 \%, with risk tolerance, locus of control, and openness having the highest explanatory power.}, language = {en} } @article{KononKritikos2018, author = {Konon, Alexander and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Prediction based on entrepreneurship-prone personality profiles:}, series = {Small business economics : an international journal}, volume = {53}, journal = {Small business economics : an international journal}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-018-0111-8}, pages = {1 -- 20}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The human personality predicts a wide range of activities and occupational choices-from musical sophistication to entrepreneurial careers. However, which method should be applied if information on personality traits is used for prediction and advice? In psychological research, group profiles are widely employed. In this contribution, we examine the performance of profiles using the example of career prediction and advice, involving a comparison of average trait scores of successful entrepreneurs with the traits of potential entrepreneurs. Based on a simple theoretical model estimated with GSOEP data and analyzed with Monte Carlo methods, we show, for the first time, that the choice of the comparison method matters substantially. We reveal that under certain conditions the performance of average profiles is inferior to the tossing of a coin. Alternative methods, such as directly estimating success probabilities, deliver better performance and are more robust.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{CaliendoKritikos2012, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Searching for the entrepreneurial personality New evidence and avenues for further research}, series = {Journal of economic psychology : research in economic psychology and behavioral economics}, volume = {33}, journal = {Journal of economic psychology : research in economic psychology and behavioral economics}, number = {2}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0167-4870}, doi = {10.1016/j.joep.2011.06.001}, pages = {319 -- 324}, year = {2012}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoKritikosRodriguezetal.2023, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Kritikos, Alexander and Rodriguez, Daniel and Stier, Claudia}, title = {Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Performance of Start-Ups}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {61}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57252}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572527}, pages = {41}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Self-efficacy reflects the self-belief that one can persistently perform difficult and novel tasks while coping with adversity. As such beliefs reflect how individuals behave, think, and act, they are key for successful entrepreneurial activities. While existing literature mainly analyzes the influence of the task-related construct of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, we take a different perspective and investigate, based on a representative sample of 1,405 German business founders, how the personality characteristic of generalized self-efficacy influences start-up performance as measured by a broad set of business outcomes up to 19 months after business creation. Outcomes include start-up survival and entrepreneurial income, as well as growth-oriented outcomes such as job creation and innovation. We find statistically significant and economically important positive effects of high scores of self-efficacy on start-up survival and entrepreneurial income, which become even stronger when focusing on the growth-oriented outcome of innovation. Furthermore, we observe that generalized self-efficacy is similarly distributed between female and male business founders, with effects being partly stronger for female entrepreneurs. Our findings are important for policy instruments that are meant to support firm growth by facilitating the design of more target-oriented offers for training, coaching, and entrepreneurial incubators.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoKritikosRodriguezetal.2023, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Kritikos, Alexander and Rodr{\´i}guez, Daniel and Stier, Claudia}, title = {Self-efficacy and entrepreneurial performance of start-ups}, series = {Small business economics}, journal = {Small business economics}, publisher = {Springer Science}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-022-00728-0}, pages = {25}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Self-efficacy reflects the self-belief that one can persistently perform difficult and novel tasks while coping with adversity. As such beliefs reflect how individuals behave, think, and act, they are key for successful entrepreneurial activities. While existing literature mainly analyzes the influence of the task-related construct of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, we take a different perspective and investigate, based on a representative sample of 1,405 German business founders, how the personality characteristic of generalized self-efficacy influences start-up performance as measured by a broad set of business outcomes up to 19 months after business creation. Outcomes include start-up survival and entrepreneurial income, as well as growth-oriented outcomes such as job creation and innovation. We find statistically significant and economically important positive effects of high scores of self-efficacy on start-up survival and entrepreneurial income, which become even stronger when focusing on the growth-oriented outcome of innovation. Furthermore, we observe that generalized self-efficacy is similarly distributed between female and male business founders, with effects being partly stronger for female entrepreneurs. Our findings are important for policy instruments that are meant to support firm growth by facilitating the design of more target-oriented offers for training, coaching, and entrepreneurial incubators.}, language = {en} } @article{MatiaskeSchmidtHalbmeieretal.2023, author = {Matiaske, Wenzel and Schmidt, Torben Dall and Halbmeier, Christoph and Maas, Martina and Holtmann, Doris and Schr{\"o}der, Carsten and B{\"o}hm, Tamara and Liebig, Stefan and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {SOEP-LEE2}, series = {Jahrb{\"u}cher f{\"u}r National{\"o}konomie und Statistik}, volume = {243}, journal = {Jahrb{\"u}cher f{\"u}r National{\"o}konomie und Statistik}, publisher = {De Gruyter Oldenbourg}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0021-4027}, doi = {10.1515/jbnst-2023-0031}, pages = {14}, year = {2023}, abstract = {This article presents the new linked employee-employer study of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP-LEE2), which offers new research opportunities for various academic fields. In particular, the study contains two waves of an employer survey for persons in dependent work that is also linkable to the SOEP, a large representative German annual household panel (SOEP-LEE2-Core). Moreover, SOEP-LEE2 includes two waves of self-employed surveys based on self-employed in the SOEP-Core (SOEP-LEE2-Self-employed) and three additional representative employer surveys, independent of the SOEP in terms of sampling employers (SOEP-LEE2-Compare). Survey topics include digitalisation and cybersecurity, human capital formation, COVID-19, and human resource management. Here, we describe the content, survey design, and comparability of the different datasets in the SOEP-LEE2 to potential users in different disciplines of research.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoFossenKritikosetal.2015, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Fossen, Frank M. and Kritikos, Alexander and Wetter, Miriam}, title = {The Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Not just a Matter of Personality}, series = {CESifo economic studies : a joint initiative of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit{\"a}t and Ifo Institute for Economic Research}, volume = {61}, journal = {CESifo economic studies : a joint initiative of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit{\"a}t and Ifo Institute for Economic Research}, number = {1}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1610-241X}, doi = {10.1093/cesifo/ifu023}, pages = {202 -- 238}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Why do entrepreneurship rates differ so markedly by gender? Using data from a large representative German household panel, we investigate to what extent personality traits, human capital, and the employment history influence the start-up decision and can explain the gender gap in entrepreneurship. Applying a decomposition analysis, we observe that the higher risk aversion among women explains a large share of the entrepreneurial gender gap. We also find an education effect contributing to the gender difference. In contrast, the Big Five model and the current employment state have effects in the opposite direction, meaning that the gender gap in entrepreneurial entry would be even larger if women had the same scores and the same employment status as men. (JEL codes: L26, J16, D81, J24, M13).}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoFossenKritikos2010, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Fossen, Frank and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {The impact of risk attitudes on entrepreneurial survival}, issn = {0167-2681}, doi = {10.1016/j.jebo.2010.02.012}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Risk attitudes influence the complete life cycle of entrepreneurs. Whereas recent research underpins the theoretical proposition of a positive correlation between risk attitudes and the decision to become self-employed, the effects on survival are not as straightforward. Psychological research posits an inverse U-shaped relationship between risk attitudes and entrepreneurial survival. On the basis of experimentally validated data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we examine the extent to which risk attitudes influence survival rates in self-employment in Germany. The empirical results confirm that persons whose risk attitudes are in the medium range survive significantly longer as entrepreneurs than do persons with particularly low or high risk attitudes.}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoKritikosStier2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Kritikos, Alexander and Stier, Claudia}, title = {The Influence of Start-up Motivation on Entrepreneurial Performance}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {59}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57115}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-571152}, pages = {43}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Predicting entrepreneurial development based on individual and business-related characteristics is a key objective of entrepreneurship research. In this context, we investigate whether the motives of becoming an entrepreneur influence the subsequent entrepreneurial development. In our analysis, we examine a broad range of business outcomes including survival and income, as well as job creation, expansion and innovation activities for up to 40 months after business formation. Using self-determination theory as conceptual background, we aggregate the start-up motives into a continuous motivational index. We show - based on a unique dataset of German start-ups from unemployment and non-unemployment - that the later business performance is better, the higher they score on this index. Effects are particularly strong for growth oriented outcomes like innovation and expansion activities. In a next step, we examine three underlying motivational categories that we term opportunity, career ambition, and necessity. We show that individuals driven by opportunity motives perform better in terms of innovation and business expansion activities, while career ambition is positively associated with survival, income, and the probability of hiring employees. All effects are robust to the inclusion of a large battery of covariates that are proven to be important determinants of entrepreneurial performance.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoKritikosStier2023, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Kritikos, Alexander and Stier, Claudia}, title = {The influence of start-up motivation on entrepreneurial performance}, series = {Small business economics}, volume = {61}, journal = {Small business economics}, publisher = {Springer Science+Business Media}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-022-00722-6}, pages = {869 -- 889}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Predicting entrepreneurial development based on individual and business-related characteristics is a key objective of entrepreneurship research. In this context, we investigate whether the motives of becoming an entrepreneur influence the subsequent entrepreneurial development. In our analysis, we examine a broad range of business outcomes including survival and income, as well as job creation, and expansion and innovation activities for up to 40 months after business formation. Using the self-determination theory as conceptual background, we aggregate the start-up motives into a continuous motivational index. We show - based on a unique dataset of German start-ups from unemployment and non-unemployment - that the later business performance is better, the higher they score on this index. Effects are particularly strong for growth-oriented outcomes like innovation and expansion activities. In a next step, we examine three underlying motivational categories that we term opportunity, career ambition, and necessity. We show that individuals driven by opportunity motives perform better in terms of innovation and business expansion activities, while career ambition is positively associated with survival, income, and the probability of hiring employees. All effects are robust to the inclusion of a large battery of covariates that are proven to be important determinants of entrepreneurial performance.}, language = {en} } @article{BaumannKritikos2016, author = {Baumann, Julian and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {The link between R\&D, innovation and productivity: Are micro firms different?}, series = {Research Policy}, volume = {45}, journal = {Research Policy}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0048-7333}, doi = {10.1016/j.respol.2016.03.008}, pages = {1263 -- 1274}, year = {2016}, abstract = {We analyze the link between R\&D, innovation, and productivity in MSMEs with a special focus on micro firms with fewer than 10 employees; usually constituting the majority of firms in industrialized economies. Using the German KfW SME-panel, we examine to what extent micro firms are different from other firms in terms of innovativeness. We find that while firms engage in innovative activities with smaller probability, the smaller they are, for those firms that do make such investment, R\&D intensity is larger the smaller firms are. For all MSMEs, the predicted R\&D intensity is positively correlated with the probability of reporting innovation, with a larger effect size for product than for process innovations. Moreover, micro firms benefit in a comparable way from innovation processes as larger firms, as they are similarly able to increase their labor productivity. Overall, the link between R\&D, innovation, and productivity in micro firms does not largely differ from their larger counterparts. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @techreport{KritikosSchierschStiel2021, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Kritikos, Alexander and Schiersch, Alexander and Stiel, Caroline}, title = {The productivity puzzle in business services}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {37}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-51453}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-514536}, pages = {37}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In Germany, the productivity of professional services, a sector dominated by micro and small firms, declined by 40 percent between 1995 and 2014. This productivity decline also holds true for professional services in other European countries. Using a German firm-level dataset of 700,000 observations between 2003 and 2017, we analyze this largely uncovered phenomenon among professional services, the 4th largest sector in the EU15 business economy, which provide important intermediate services for the rest of the economy. We show that changes in the value chain explain about half of the decline and the increase in part-time employment is a further minor part of the decline. In contrast to expectations, the entry of micro and small firms, despite their lower productivity levels, is not responsible for the decline. We also cannot confirm the conjecture that weakening competition allows unproductive firms to remain in the market.}, language = {en} } @article{KritikosSchierschStiel2022, author = {Kritikos, Alexander and Schiersch, Alexander and Stiel, Caroline}, title = {The productivity shock in business services}, series = {Small business economics}, volume = {59}, journal = {Small business economics}, number = {3}, publisher = {Springer Science + Business Media B.V.}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0921-898X}, doi = {10.1007/s11187-022-00625-6}, pages = {1273 -- 1299}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In Germany, the productivity of professional services, a sector dominated by SME, declined by 40 percent between 1995 and 2014. Similar developments can be observed in several other European economies. Using a German dataset with 700,000 firm-level observations, we analyze this largely undiscovered phenomenon in professional services, the fourth largest sector of the business economy in the EU-15, which provides important inputs to the economy and has experienced substantial growth in both output and employment since the turn of the millennium. We find that changes in the value chain explain about half of the decline and that increases in part-time employment account for another small part. Contrary to expectations, the entry of micro and small firms is not responsible for the decline, despite their lower productivity levels. Further, we cannot confirm the conjecture that weakening competition has led to an increase in the number of unproductive firms remaining in the markets and that this has led to a lower average productivity.}, language = {en} } @techreport{AmorosoHerrmannKritikos2023, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Amoroso, Sara and Herrmann, Benedikt and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {The Role of Regulation and Regional Government Quality for High Growth Firms}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {71}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-61277}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-612771}, pages = {32}, year = {2023}, abstract = {High growth firms (HGFs) are important for job creation and considered to be precursors of economic growth. We investigate how formal institutions, like product- and labor-market regulations, as well as the quality of regional governments that implement these regulations, affect HGF development across European regions. Using data from Eurostat, OECD, WEF, and Gothenburg University, we show that both regulatory stringency and the quality of the regional government influence the regional shares of HGFs. More importantly, we find that the effect of labor- and product-market regulations ultimately depends on the quality of regional governments: in regions with high quality of government, the share of HGFs is neither affected by the level of product market regulation, nor by more or less flexibility in hiring and firing practices. Our findings contribute to the debate on the effects of regulations by showing that regulations are not, per se, "good, bad, and ugly", rather their impact depends on the efficiency of regional governments. Our paper offers important building blocks to develop tailored policy measures that may influence the development of HGFs in a region.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoFossenKritikos2012, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Fossen, Frank and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {Trust, positive reciprocity, and negative reciprocity Do these traits impact entrepreneurial dynamics?}, series = {Journal of economic psychology : research in economic psychology and behavioral economics}, volume = {33}, journal = {Journal of economic psychology : research in economic psychology and behavioral economics}, number = {2}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0167-4870}, doi = {10.1016/j.joep.2011.01.005}, pages = {394 -- 409}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Experimental evidence reveals that there is a strong willingness to trust and to act in both positively and negatively reciprocal ways. So far it is rarely analyzed whether these variables of social cognition influence everyday decision making behavior. We focus on entrepreneurs who are permanently facing exchange processes in the interplay with investors, sellers, and buyers, as well as needing to trust others and reciprocate with their network. We base our analysis on the German Socio-Economic Panel with its recently introduced questions about trust, positive reciprocity, and negative reciprocity to examine the extent that these variables influence the entrepreneurial decision processes. More specifically, we analyze whether (i) the willingness to trust other people influences the probability of starting a business; (ii) trust, positive reciprocity, and negative reciprocity influence the exit probability of entrepreneurs; and (iii) willingness to trust and to act reciprocally influences the probability of being an entrepreneur versus an employee or a manager. Our findings reveal that, in particular, trust impacts entrepreneurial development. Interestingly, entrepreneurs are more trustful than employees, but much less trustful than managers.}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoFossenKritikos2019, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Fossen, Frank M. and Kritikos, Alexander}, title = {What Makes an Employer?}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {13}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43736}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-437360}, year = {2019}, abstract = {As the policy debate on entrepreneurship increasingly centers on firm growth in terms of job creation, it is important to better understand which variables influence the first hiring decision and which ones influence the subsequent survival as an employer. Using the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze what role individual characteristics of entrepreneurs play in sustainable job creation. While human and social capital variables positively influence the hiring decision and the survival as an employer in the same direction, we show that none of the personality traits affect the two outcomes in the same way. Some traits are only relevant for survival as an employer but do not influence the hiring decision, other traits even unfold a revolving door effect, in the sense that employers tend to fail due to the same characteristics that positively influenced their hiring decision.}, language = {en} } @article{FritschKritikosSorgner2015, author = {Fritsch, Michael and Kritikos, Alexander and Sorgner, Alina}, title = {Why did self-employment increase so strongly in Germany?}, series = {Entrepreneurship and regional development}, volume = {27}, journal = {Entrepreneurship and regional development}, number = {5-6}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0898-5626}, doi = {10.1080/08985626.2015.1048310}, pages = {307 -- 333}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Germany experienced a unique rise in the level of self-employment in the first two decades following unification. Applying the nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, we find that the main factors driving these changes in the overall level of self-employment are demographic developments, the shift towards service sector employment and a larger share of population holding a tertiary degree. While these factors explain most of the development in self-employment with employees and the overall level of self-employment in West Germany, their explanatory power is much lower for the stronger increase in solo self-employment and in self-employment in former socialist East Germany.}, language = {en} }