SESS0041
THE ECONOMICS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ASSESSMENT 2. GROUP PROJECT PROPOSAL PRESENTATION:
GUIDELINES
Academic year 2024-25
Spring Term
Assessment 2 (10% of the weighting) is a group-based project presentation accompanied by the submission of the ppt slides. For this assignment you will be divided into groups of 4-5 students, and you will work on a project as a team, expected to investigate an empirical question, utilizing STATA or alternative statistical software. A group should prepare a research proposal presentation based on 5-8 slides, summarizing their research question, discussing some motivation behind it, identifying provisional literature related to their research topic and theoretical framework for the analysis, and suggesting the methods to be used for the analysis and hypotheses to be tested. Based on the feedback received during the last interactive 2-hour lecture, in which students will have to present their proposals in the class, students will have to undertake an empirical investigation of their research question and to write up a final project (Assessment 3).
Guidelines
• Please choose one of the research topics given below. You may also submit a project on a relevant topic of your choice (subject to agreement with your lecturer).
• You should undertake an empirical exploration of the chosen topic, using recommended databases/sources below or any other available datasets.
• You should delegate a team member to submit the presentation slides in .ppt or pdf format on Moodle, saving it with indicating course code, No of assessment and student number [SESS0041CWK2_CandidateNumber].
Group Project Proposal Presentation submission deadline: The project should be submitted electronically on Moodle by the 17th of March 2025, 3pm.
Suggested structure of your group project proposal presentation
1. Research Question
2. Motivation
a. what gap in the literature does your research question address?
3. Provisional literature overview
a. Conceptual Framework (preliminary)
b. A Short overview of the empirical evidence
4. Proposed Data and Methodology
5. Hypotheses to be tested
Assessment rubric criteria
1. Research question and its motivation
• Relevance of a research question to the module
• Good motivation provided for examining this research question.
• A question should be answerable through the proposed empirical investigation with findings discussed clearly to provide support/reject your hypotheses
2. Provisional literature review
• Relevance of the literature discussion to research question
• A suitable theoretical framework for analysis is identified
3. Data & Methodology
• The data and methodology are clearly discussed
• Preliminary data exploration is undertaken
• Hypotheses are reasonably formulated and testable
4. Presentation
• Clear expression
• Slides are well structured
• References, backing up the provisional literature review, are acknowledged
Recommended datasets:
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Datasets
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) databases,http://www.gemconsortium.org/data
(the site contains individual-level datasets on entrepreneurship that can be used for exploring the determinants of entrepreneurial entry, high-growth aspirations of entrepreneurs; financing patterns; gender differences in entrepreneurship; innovation orientation of entrepreneurs etc.; and National Expert Surveys of cross-country entrepreneurial environments that can be used jointly with individual-level data to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial environment on entrepreneurial entry etc.).
Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS)http://www.beeps-
ebrd.com/data/ (firm-level dataset; can be used for examining firm access to finance; firm
capital structure; the impact of business environment on firm performance etc.). The
equivalent of this for a broader sample of countries worldwide is World Enterprise Survey
(WES) which is a World Bank project:http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/
Orbis, a database of comparable financial information for public and private companies worldwide, including small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups. (available electronically through UCL library service/data).
World Bank World Development Indicators (available electronically through UCL library web-site). Among various macroeconomic indicators it also contains cross-country cross- time data on new firm creation rate that can be used as a proxy for entrepreneurship development.
Institutional and Business Environment Data
Heritage Foundation, Index of Economic Freedom,
https://www.heritage.org/index/pages/all-country-scores (can be used for measuring institutions)
World Bank Doing Business Indicators, assesses the regulatory framework and public
services directed at firms (B-ready database), available fromhttp://www.doingbusiness.org Financial Inclusion database, World Bank, available from here
http://datatopics.worldbank.org/financialinclusion/
The Global Findex database provides in-depth data on how individuals save, borrow, make payments, and manage risks. It is the world’s most comprehensive database on financial inclusion that consistently measures people’s use of financial services across countries and over time. The Global Findex consists of over 100 indicators, also shown by gender, income, and age. Collected in partnership with the Gallup World Poll and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Findex is based on interviews with about 150,000 nationally representative and randomly selected adults (age 15+) in over 140 countries. It contains individual-level microdata data and country-level aggregated data.
Financial Inclusion database, IMF, available from http://data.imf.org/?sk=E5DCAB7E- A5CA-4892-A6EA-598B5463A34C
IMF provides an alternative Financial Inclusion database based on Financial Access Survey. The data coverage is better than in World Bank.
Academic journals:
The course is largely based on academic journal articles available via SSEES electronic library. A guide to supplementary sources, including journal articles, will be provided in the detailed course outline and under ‘further reading’ at the end of the lecture notes. Students are expected to complete this reading before the tutorial at which the topic is presented so that they can contribute to the class discussion.
Small Business Economics
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Journal of Business Venturing
The Academy of Management
International Business Review
International Small Business Journal
Journal of International Business Studies
Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal
Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship
Suggested coursework topics
Topic 1: Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development
(a) Explore the relationship between entrepreneurial entry and firm growth/firm growth aspirations/national or regional economic growth. Within this topic you may wish to also explore the distinctive effect of innovation-oriented (opportunity-based) entrepreneurship vis-à-vis necessity-driven entrepreneurship on growth.
Recommended reading:
Aghion, P. and Akcigit (2015) Innovation and Growth: The Schumpeterian Perspective, http://www.coeure.eu/wp-content/uploads/Innovation-and-Growth.pdf.
Arrighetti, A. and Vivarelli, M. 1999. The role of innovation in the post entry performance of new small firms: evidence from Italy. Southern Economic Journal 65: 927-39.
Audretsch, D. and M., Keilbach (2004) “Entrepreneurship Capital and Economic Performance”, Regional Studies, 38(8), November, pp. 949-59.
Audretsch, D.B. and M. Keilbach (2008) Resolving the knowledge paradox: Knowledge- spillover entrepreneurship and economic growth, Research Policy 37 (2008) 1697–1705.
Gavrila Gavrila, S. and De Lucas Ancillo, A., 2022. Entrepreneurship, innovation, digitization and digital transformation toward a sustainable growth within the pandemic environment. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 28(1), pp.45- 66.
Kraus, S., McDowell, W., Ribeiro-Soriano, D.E. and Rodríguez-García, M., 2021. The role of innovation and knowledge for entrepreneurship and regional development. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 33(3-4), pp.175-184.
Stel, A., M. Caree and R. Thurik. 2005. ‘The Effect of Entrepreneurial Activity on National Economic Growth, Small Business Economics, 24:311-321
Vivarelli, M. and Audretsch, D.B. 1998. The link between the entry decision and post-entry performance: evidence from Italy. Industrial and Corporate Change 7: 485-500.
(b) Analyse the role of entrepreneurship in alleviating poverty and inequality in emerging economies. Within this topic you may also explore the gender differences.
Recommended reading:
Amoros Jose Ernesto and Oscar Cristi. 2011. Poverty and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries, In Minniti, M. (Ed.) “The Dynamics of Entrepreneurship”, pp.209-230.
Bruton, G., Sutter, C. and Lenz, A.K., 2021. Economic inequality–Is entrepreneurship the cause or the solution? A review and research agenda for emerging economies. Journal of Business Venturing, 36(3), p.106095.
Bruton, G. D., Ketchen, D. J., & Ireland, R. D. 2013. Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty. Journal of Business Venturing , 683-689. This paper contains useful summary of references.
Hussain, M. D., Bhuiyan, A. B., & Bakar, R. 2014. Entrepreneurship development and poverty alleviation: An empirical review. Journal of Asian Scientific research , 558-573.
Korosteleva, J. and Stępień-Baig, P., 2019. Climbing the poverty ladder: the role of entrepreneurship and gender in alleviating poverty in transition economies. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, pp.1-24.
McMullen, J.S., 2010. Delineating the domain of development entrepreneurship: a market- based approach to facilitating inclusive economic growth. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 34, 185–215.
Si, S., Ahlstrom, D., Wei, J. and Cullen, J., 2021. Introduction: Business, entrepreneurship and innovation toward poverty reduction. In Business, entrepreneurship and innovation toward poverty reduction (pp. 1-20). Routledge.
Si, S., Yu, X., Wu, A., Chen, S., Chen, S. and Su, Y., 2015. Entrepreneurship and poverty reduction: A case study of Yiwu, China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 32(1), pp.119- 143.
(c) Analyse the effect of the distance from the technology frontier and the role of different types of entrepreneurial activity in facilitating economic growth, depending on the distance from the technology frontier.
Recommended readings:
Acemoglu, D., Aghion, F. and Zilibotti, F. (2006) Distance to Frontier, Selection and Economic Growth, Journal of European Economic Association, 4(1):37–74
Lafuente, E., Acs, Z.J., Sanders, M. and Szerb, L., 2019. The global technology frontier: productivity growth and the relevance of Kirznerian and Schumpeterian entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, pp.1-26.
Minniti, M., Lévesque, M. 2010. Entrepreneurial types and economic growth. Journal of Business Venturing 25: 305-314.
Topic 2: Determinants of entrepreneurial activity: Individual traits
(a) Explore the effect of specific individual entrepreneurial traits on entrepreneurial entry. You can focus on entrepreneurs’ psychological characteristics (e.g. level of confidence; perception of risk) or their socio-economic-demographic background (e.g. level of income; age; gender; experience etc.).
Recommended readings:
Ardagna, S. and A. Lusardi (2008) “Explaining International Differences in Entrepreneurship: the Role of Individual Characteristics and Regulatory Constraints”, NBER working Paper, No. 14012.
Arenius, P., & Minniti, M. (2005). Perceptual variables and nascent entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 24, 233-247.
Boudreaux, C. J., Nikolaev, B. N., & Klein, P. (2019). Socio-cognitive traits and entrepreneurship: The moderating role of economic institutions. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(1), 178-196.
Koellinger, P., Minniti, M., & Schade, C. (2007). “I think I can, I think I can”: Overconfidence and entrepreneurial behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 28(4), 502- 527.
Langowitz, N., & Minniti, M. (2007). The entrepreneurial propensity of women. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31(3), 341-364.
Minniti, M. and Nardone, C. (2007). Being in someone else’s shoes: the role of gender in nascent entrepreneurship. Small business economics, 28, pp.223-238.
Parker, S. (2018) The Economics of Entrepreneurship, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, Chapter 5.
Verheul, I., Stel, A.V. and Thurik, R. (2006). Explaining female and male entrepreneurship at the country level. Entrepreneurship and regional development, 18(2), pp.151-183.
(b) Discuss the role of education/human capital in promoting entrepreneurship dynamics, undertaking a comparative study of a group of economies (e.g. developed vis-à-vis emerging economies; EU new member states vis-à-vis old member states)
Recommended readings:
Korosteleva, J. and Belitski, M., 2017. Entrepreneurial dynamics and higher education institutions in the post-Communist world. Regional Studies, 51(3), pp.439-453.
Martin, B.C., McNally, J.J. and Kay, M.J., 2013. Examining the formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship education outcomes. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(2), pp.211-224.
O'Connor, A., 2013. A conceptual framework for entrepreneurship education policy: Meeting government and economic purposes. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(4), pp.546- 563.
Parker, S. (2018) The Economics of Entrepreneurship, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, Chapter 5.
Walter, S.G. and Block, J.H., (2016). Outcomes of entrepreneurship education: An institutional perspective. Journal of Business Venturing, 31(2), pp.216-233.
Topic 3: Determinants of entrepreneurship: Institutional Context
(a) Explore various institutional domains (e.g. corruption; entry regulation; government size) and their effect on entrepreneurial entry. You may explore this focusing on specific group of economies.
Recommended readings:
Aidis, R., Estrin, S. and Mickiewicz, T. (2008) “Institutions and Entrepreneurship Development in Russia: A Comparative Perspective”, Journal of Business Venturing, 23, pp. 656-672. comprehensive approach but with emphasis on business networks; ‘insider entrepreneurship’ phenomenon.
Anokhin, S. and Schulze, W.S., 2009. Entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption. Journal of business venturing, 24(5), pp.465-476.
Boudreaux, C. J., Nikolaev, B. N., & Klein, P. (2019). Socio-cognitive traits and entrepreneurship: The moderating role of economic institutions. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(1), 178-196.
Bruno, R.L; Bytchkova, M; Estrin, S; (2011) Institutional Determinants of New Firm Entry in Russia: a Crossregional Analysis. (Economics Working Papers 114). Centre for Comparative Economics, SSEES, UCL: London, UK, available from
http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1370605/.
Bylund, P.L. and McCaffrey, M., (2017). A theory of entrepreneurship and institutional uncertainty. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(5), pp.461-475.
Estrin, S., J. Korosteleva and T. Mickiewicz (2013) ‘Which Institutions Encourage Entrepreneurs to Create Larger Firms?’, Journal of Business Venturing, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.05.001.
Estrin, S. and T. Mickiewicz (2010) Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies; The Role of Institutions and Generational Change, CCE WP, No. 106 (March 2012), available from http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/19438/1/19438.pdf.
Thai, M.T.T. and Turkina, E. (2014). Macro-level determinants of formal entrepreneurship versus informal entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(4), pp.490-510.
(b) Research whether financial intermediation or the emergence of alternative finance facilitates financing of start-ups and small businesses
Recommended reading:
Beck, T., A., Demirgüç-Kunt and V. Maksimovic 2005. Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does the Firm Size Matter? The Journal of Finance, Vol. LX (1).
Beck, T., A. Demirgüç-Kunt and V. Maksimovic 2008. Financial Patterns Around the World: Are Small Firms Different? Journal of Financial Economics, 89(3): 467-487.
Hryckiewicz, A., Korosteleva, J., Kozłowski, Ł., Rzepka, M. and Wang, R., 2024. The paradox of progress: Technological advancements in banking and the dual impact on SME bank borrowing (No. 1468). ADBI Working Paper (available on Moodle)
Love, I., Pería, M.S.M. and Singh, S., 2016. Collateral registries for movable assets: does their introduction spur firms’ access to bank financing? Journal of Financial Services Research, 49(1), pp.1-37.
Korosteleva, J. and Mickiewicz, T. 2011. Startup finance in the age of globalisation. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade 47(3): 23-49.
(c) Explore the link between national culture and entrepreneurial dynamics (e.g. entry, survival, growth)
Recommended Readings:
Javidan, M., House, R. J., Dorfman, P. W., Hanges, P. J., & Sully de Luque, M. 2006. Conceptualizing and measuring cultures and their consequences: A comparative review of GLOBE’s and Hofstede’s approaches. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(6), pp. 897–914.
Kreiser et al. (2010) Cultural influences on Entrepreneurial orientation, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(5): 959-984.
Mickiewicz, T. and Kaasa, A., 2022. Creativity and security as a cultural recipe for entrepreneurship. Journal of Institutional Economics, 18(1), pp.119-137.
Stephan, U., & Uhlaner, L. M. (2010). Performance-based vs socially supportive culture: A cross-national study of descriptive norms and entrepreneurship. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(8), 1347-1364.
Wennberg, K., Pathak, S., & Autio, E. (2013). How culture moulds the effects of self- efficacy and fear of failure on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 25(9-10), 756-780.
Topic 4: High-potential entrepreneurship
(a) Analyse the effect of migrant entrepreneurship (ethnic origin) on high-impact entrepreneurial activity (e.g. you may wish to examine such effect in the context of other countries, or the effect of immigration on innovative entrepreneurship/internationalisation of entrepreneurial activity)
Korosteleva, J., T. Mickiewicz, D. Parrilli, 2024. Ethnic composition of management teams: transforming digital strategies, innovation, and exporting into employment growth, Small Business Economics, available from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-024-00985-1
Levie, J. and M. Hart (2011) The contribution of migrants and ethnic minorities to entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom, In Minniti, M. (Ed.) “The Dynamics of Entrepreneurship”, pp.101-124.
(b) Analyse the effect of social capital on high-growth entrepreneurship aspirations Recommended readings:
Estrin, S., Korosteleva, J., Mickiewicz, T. (2013) Which Institutions Encourage Entrepreneurial Growth Aspirations? Journal of Business Venturing 28, 564–580.
Efendic, A., Mickiewicz, T. and Rebmann, A., (2015). Growth aspirations and social capital: Young firms in a post-conflict environment. International Small Business Journal, 33(5), pp.537-561.
Note: students can choose to examine any other aspects of high-impact entrepreneurship both from the perspective of their determinants or impact on economic growth/inequality/poverty alleviation.
Topic 5: Social Entrepreneurship
(a) Explore the determinants of social entrepreneurship either in terms of
individual characteristics of entrepreneurs, or institutional determinants.
Recommended Readings:
Estrin, S., Mickiewicz, T. and Stephan, U., 2016. Human capital in social and commercial entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 31(4), pp.449-467
Stephan, U., Uhlaner, L.M. & Stride, C., 2014. Institutions and Social Entrepreneurship. The Role of Institutional Voids, Institutional Support and Institutional Configurations. Journal of International Business Studies - On Moodle
GEM 2015 and 2011 Reports on Social Entrepreneurship, available from
https://www.gemconsortium.org/report
Lepoutre, J., Justo, R., Terjesen, S. and Bosma, N., 2013. Designing a global standardized methodology for measuring social entrepreneurship activity: the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor social entrepreneurship study. Small business economics, 40, pp.693-714.
(b) Is social entrepreneurship complimentary to commercial entrepreneurship? Recommended readings:
Estrin, S., Mickiewicz, T. M., & Stephan, U., 2013. Entrepreneurship, social capital, and institutions: Social and commercial entrepreneurship across nations. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 37(3), 479–504.
Topic 6: Digital and/or Greening transition of young firms/SMEs
Within this topic you can explore firms’ greening and/or digital transition towards sustainable development. Businesses are increasingly transforming their businesses digitally and environmentally, a strategy known as 'twin transition', as a response to the globally established sustainable development goals (SDGs). This has become particularly acute following the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent geo-political crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Over the past several decades, the advancement of digital technology has modernized the organizational structures and processes of companies, leading to significant economic transformations, positively shaping entrepreneurial dynamics firm performance globally with also having a positive imprint on environmental sustainability.
(a) How does firm/industry/country digital transformation shape entrepreneurial dynamics (entry; survival; performance)?
Recommended readings:
Barteková, E. and P. Börkey, 2022. Digitalisation for the transition to a resource efficient and circular economy. OECD Environment Working Papers, No. 192, OECD Publishing, Paris,https://doi.org/10.1787/6f6d18e7-en.
Belitski, M., Korosteleva, J. and Piscitello, L., 2023. Digital affordances and
entrepreneurial dynamics: New evidence from European regions. Technovation, 119,
p.102442,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2021.102442.
Bruno, R., Korosteleva, J., Osaulenko, K., and S. Radosevic, 2023. Sectoral Digital Capabilities and Complementarities in Shaping Young Firms ’ Growth: Evidence from Europe, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08985626.2023.2218314.
Dhahri S and Omri A, 2018. Entrepreneurship contribution to the three pillars of
sustainable development: what does the evidence really say? World Development, 106:64–
77, https ://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.01.008.
Verhoef, P.C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Dong, J.Q., Fabian, N. and Haenlein, M. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889-901.