Digital innovation and entrepreneurship transformation through open data hackathons: Design strategies for successful start-up settings

The organization of open data hackathons or digital innovation competitions is a significant opportunity for nascent entrepreneurs to collaborate with external partners, promote new ideas and extend their applications to a new start-up. Prior studies have not thoroughly compared the execution of different strategies in many hackathons or digital innovation competitions. They only focus on the actions that the organizers of a specific hackathon have implemented or the challenges they have faced. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine goals and design strategies that contribute to the successful execution of open data hackathons and innovation competitions. Six case studies of open data hackathons and innovation competitions held between 2014 and 2018 in Thessaloniki have been explored to understand the co-ordination between the multiple stakeholders of these events and improve the execution of open data hackathons and innovation competitions. The outcomes indicate that the most critical design strategy was the involvement of mentors in the event and the level of support provided to nascent entrepreneurs to accelerate their creativity, develop applications and launch their prototypes on the market.     

The elixir (or burden) of youth? Exploring differences in innovation between start-ups and established firms

Despite the widely acknowledged role of start-ups in economic development, little is known about their innovative activities compared with those of established firms. Drawing on a sample of 12,209 UK firms, we differentiate between services and manufacturing firms and, using a matching estimator approach, demonstrate that start-ups differ significantly from established firms in their innovation activities. We find that in services, being a start-up increases the likelihood of product innovations. However, in manufacturing, we find no significant differences in the likelihood of product innovation between start-ups and established firms. When examining the returns to innovation, we find that start-ups have a significant advantage both in services and in manufacturing. We explore the implications of these results for theory and policy.     

基于政府支持的科技担保缓解科技型初创企业融资难问题的研究

融资难问题已成为制约科技型初创企业发展的最大难题,杭州市于2009年创新推出基于政府支持的科技担保——"天使担保"模式,通过国有担保公司担保、银行贷款、风险共担的市场机制将财政科技投入与金融资本有效对接,降低了科技型初创企业贷款门槛。对2009年获得天使担保的66家科技型初创企业的问卷调查结果显示,天使担保已取得较明显成效,有效地解决企业发展的资金缺口,降低企业融资成本,提高了企业发展速度和质量。     

Suppliers versus start-ups: Where do better innovation ideas come from?

In the innovation process of firms, suppliers increasingly play a key role as external sources of ideas. Although the beneficial impact of supplier integration has been acknowledged, there is also evidence that not all such innovation efforts are successful, particularly regarding the identification of truly innovative solutions. Therefore, in recent years, large firms have begun to move beyond their existing supply base, drawing on innovation ideas from start-ups, that is, with young firms with whom they have no pre-existing bonds. Yet there is no empirical evidence regarding whether start-ups’ ideas actually outperform those of established suppliers. We address this question by presenting a unique, real-world comparison of 314 supplier and start-up ideas – ideas that were identified, evaluated, and followed up over the course of an open innovation initiative conducted by a large automotive manufacturer. We find that start-ups’ ideas are characterized by a higher degree of novelty and to some extent higher benefit for end customers but, on the downside, are less likely to be implemented than suppliers’ ideas. Overall, our study adds new dimensions to the discourse on open innovation and provides valuable insights regarding the outcome of supplier and start-up involvement in the front end of the innovation process.     

Autarkic drug discovery in Japanese pharmaceutical companies: insights into national differences in industrial innovation

Structured interviews with eight leading Japanese pharmaceutical companies and industry data show that drug discovery in the Japanese companies occurs predominantly in-house. In contrast, European and US pharmaceutical companies rely more on alliances with university-based start-ups and other biotechnology companies for drug discovery. Personnel policies in the Japanese companies are still geared to on-the-job training for lifetime employment and the accumulation of company-specific tacit knowledge. Despite government policies that discouraged innovative drug development, Japanese companies are discovering innovative drugs at rates comparable to those of overseas rivals of comparable size. However, in view of the explosion of new biomedical knowledge, autarkic innovation may no longer be compatible with global competitiveness. Autarkic innovation may be a characteristic of most Japanese technology-based manufacturers. Thus, the competitive advantage of Japanese companies may be greatest in industries where innovation does not rely upon inputs from universities and independent companies.     

Nash谈判博弈情境异质性对三高创业绩效的影响机理

大量实践显示高层次、高素质、高技能（三高）人才创业企业与科技孵化投资机构的合作对于前者成长具有重要作用,但是信息不对称产生的道德风险会破坏双方合作关系。深层次剖析双边道德风险条件下创业合作决策对合作关系的影响作用机理,构建创业合作的一般性纳什谈判博弈,设计服务协议约束下双方合作的中庸策略,基于促成合作的思想,对双边道德风险条件下的4种创业合作情境的异质性均衡进行比较分析,揭示谈判博弈情境对三高创业者博弈收益的作用机理。实证研究发现：中庸或聚点策略对创业合作绩效及公正性都具有显著的负向影响,收益转移互助模式相比非合作预案模式,对创业合作绩效具有更为关键的正向推动作用。基于此,分别从谈判、博弈规则、信息与资源管理等方面提出了最优化创业合作建议,以有效抑制双边道德风险,真正消除创业过程中的漠然状态,最大限度地促进创业合作关系,提升创业合作绩效,加快创业企业成长,更好地实现三高人才创业企业的长期可持续性发展目标。理论层面上,该研究结论铺垫并夯实了双边道德风险条件下创业合作关系的基础,丰富了创业组织间合作关系理论和不同谈判情境下的创业合作收益分配模型;实践层面上,为当代我国三高人才创业企业良性成长及合作管制给出科学指引、经验依据和策略建议。     

Innovation by start-up firms: The role of the board of directors for knowledge spillovers

This paper investigates whether board directors interlocked with or employed by innovative firms affect start-up firms’ propensity to be innovators themselves. Drawing upon a sample of more than 50,000 Swedish start-up firms, we find that board connections to incumbent innovators have a causal impact on the new firms’ probability to apply for patents. The results are robust when controlling for industry, geography, firm age, as well as spillovers through worker and managerial mobility, external knowledge sourcing through patent disclosure, access to venture capital and board attributes.     

What do growing early-stage digital start-ups look like? A mixed-methods approach

Digital entrepreneurship is one of the most important and impactful forms of entrepreneurship. However, the majority of digital start-ups fail to scale, despite their potential to achieve growth. Moreover, what constitutes growth is significantly different for start-ups as compared with established firms: they have limited financial performance, and their growth cannot be accurately measured by metrics such as customers, revenues, profits, and turnover at the early stages of the new venture creation process or before the start-up has reached sustainability. Therefore, the first objective of this research is to contribute to the definition of growth by examining less tangible dimensions of growth. Moreover, the second objective is to identify the characteristics of early-stage digital start-ups experiencing growth. Based on a mixed-methods approach, which combines an adapted Delphi study, a questionnaire-based survey, and a comparative case study, our results suggest that growing digital start-ups exhibit a set of characteristics that include: an agile culture combining clan with adhocracy; the ability to nurture their absorptive, innovative, and adaptive capabilities effectively; and a human capital with adequate entrepreneurial skills, emotional attachment to and fitness with the start-up.     

Patents, venture capital, and software start-ups

This paper analyzes the relation between the patenting behavior of startup firms and the progress of those firms through the venture capital cycle. Linking data relating to venture capital financing of software startup firms with data concerning the patents obtained by those firms, we find significant and robust positive correlations between patenting and several variables measuring the firm's performance (including number of rounds, total investment, exit status, receipt of late stage financing, and longevity). The data also show that (1) only about one in four venture-backed software firms acquired even one patent during the period of the study; (2) patenting practices very considerably among the sub-sectors of the software industry; and (3) the relationship between patent metrics and firm performance depends less on the size of the patent portfolio than on the firm's receipt of at least one patent.     

风险投资或自我积累——初创期企业的融资策略选择

本讨论了创业企业在创立初期所普遍面临的决策问题：采用风险投资还是通过自我积累来获取发展所需资金。章采用理论模型和实际案例相结合的方式，重点分析了风险投资环境、企业核心能力柔性、团队融资能力以及融资中介等因素对创业企业资金获取方式决策的影响。章最后得出结论，认为在融资环境和条件不佳的情况下，具有较高核心能力柔性的创业企业应该选择自我积累的方式来保证企业的生存和发展。