Rebmann, AS; (2015) Essays on entrepreneurship, high growth firms and institutions. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis presents four quantitative empirical studies on the interrelated themes of entrepreneurship, high growth firms and institutions. All four studies highlight the importance of contextual factors, such as the institutional environment, in in shaping entrepreneurs’ motivations and firm growth paths. In chapter 2, I add to the literature on institutions and entrepreneurship by focusing on the complexities of the association between corporate bankruptcy laws and entrepreneurship. One one hand, some provisions in bankruptcy laws that provide more power to the creditor, impact positively on individuals’ entrepreneurial aspirations. On the other, for loss-averse individuals, other aspects of bankruptcy laws - removing management control - reduces entrepreneurial aspirations. The chapters 3 and 4 present single country studies of firms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Latvia respectively. Both chapters include analysis of how entrepreneurs’ perceptions of their institutional environments influence their growth aspirations (chapter 4) and attitudes towards tax evasion (chapter 5). In both chapters, the findings underline the importance of social capital for productive entrepreneurship, in particular institutional trust and factors relating to social cohesion. These studies also highlight the value of a micro-perspective on institutions since individuals’ experiences of their institutional environment can differ even within the same regulatory framework. Chapter 5 extends the literature on innovation and high growth firms by studying the relationship in a new context – transition countries where innovation is found to be a characteristic of high growth firms. This study is novel in showing that the country context matters for the relationship between firm growth and innovation. In non-EU transition countries imitative innovation is found to be a strategy that can enable high firm growth. For firms in EU transition countries, however, more innovative forms of innovation are required.

Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Title:	Essays on entrepreneurship, high growth firms and institutions
Event:	UCL (University College London)
Language:	English
UCL classification:	UCL
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1473500

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