Cooperation Patterns of Incubator Firms and the Impact of Incubator Specialization: Empirical Evidence from Germany
Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych
Technovation,
2010
Abstract
The article examines cooperation patterns of 150 firms located in German business incubators (BIs). More specifically, this study distinguishes between networking within the tenant portfolio and the academic-industry linkages of the tenant firms. We further contribute to the relevant literature by explicitly considering differences in cooperation patterns between firms located on diversified and specialized incubator facilities. Empirical results do not support the common assumption that specialized incubation strategies increase the effectiveness of incubator-internal networking compared to diversified BIs. Also, incubator specialization is not superior to diversified incubators with respect to the promotion of linkages of their tenants with academic institutions. For academic linkages, industry effects matter more than incubator characteristics.
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What are the Long-Term Benefits of the Economic Stimulus Package II for German Local Governments? – The Case of Saxony
Peter Haug
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2010
Abstract
This article deals with the question whether the investments subsidized by the economic stimulus package II („Konjunkturpaket II“) do not only have short-term effects on demand but also long-term effects e.g. on local economic growth. As far as the short-term effects are concerned, the case of the German state of Saxony shows – with some delay – a rise in local government´s investments. Hence, the time-lag problem inherent in all governmental spending programmes seems to keep within reasonable limits. Up to now there have been no signs of inflationary price tendencies in the construction sector.
According to - for example - the „new“ economic growth theory, one ought to be sceptical about the long-term effects of the projects supported by the programme: Even for genuine public intermediate goods the withdrawal effects of financing have to be weighed against the positive effects on private enterprise sector productivity. Furthermore, the effects on factor prices caused by the investment grants might encourage the excess use of physical capital in public production.
This sceptical attitude of the theory is confirmed for Saxony by the fact that primarily public consumption goods (sports and leisure facilities) or educational facilities (kindergartens, primary schools), which are of no direct relevance to the local enterprises, are supported by the programme. Investments in vocational training, research and development play only a minor role at the local government level or are explicitly excluded from the programme.
Especially because of the incentives to misallocate public resources it is recommended to rely on unconditional grants in future support programmes. Then the local governments could use the grants for either „investments” in human capital (new [fixed-term contract] hires, qualification) or in physical capital, according to their needs.
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Unternehmensnetzwerke in der Photovoltaik-Industrie – Starke Verbundenheit und hohe Kooperationsintensität
Christoph Hornych, Matthias Brachert
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2010
Abstract
The Photovoltaic-(PV)-Industry is a comparatively new industrial sector which is affected by high level of uncertainty. This uncertainty is derived from different technology paths as same as uncertainty about the future market developments. Important instruments to come up with uncertainty are firm networks. Thereby the state of the knowledge about the degree of interconnectedness between the German PV-industry is poor. This article aims to close this gap by giving an overview about the integration of PV-enterprises in firm networks.
The empirical analysis of the network structure of the German PV-industry thereby confirms the expected high level of network relations. Almost nine out of ten firms cooperate with other PV-firms in Germany. Also, the intensity of cooperation turns out to be above the average compared to other industrial sectors. On average one PV-firm cooperates with 5.8 other PV-firms. This indicates possibilities for a better knowledge exchange in the sector. Overall the high cooperation intensity supports the assumption that PV-industry is able to benefit from the spatial concentration of the industry in the region.
Despite the dense network which has already emerged, the promotion of networks can still be an efficient paradigm to support innovativeness and growth in this sector. This is going to be even more successful if the results of the network analysis are integrated into the government supporting scheme.
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Ende der 'Gemischtwarenläden': Spezialisierung von Technologie- und Gründerzentren als Option kommunaler Wirtschaftsförderung
Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych
List Forum für Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik,
2009
Abstract
In the context of policy measures that focus on the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovative start-ups on the level of cities and municipalities, since the beginning of the 21st century, there is an explicit tendency to establish a new type of business incubators and technology centers. These support facilities focus their support infrastructure and processes on firms from one specific sector and its particular needs. In Germany, since 1999, nearly one-third of all new business incubators opened with a sector-specific focus. Despite the continuously increasing importance of such specialized business incubators in local and regional development strategies, there is no analysis of these support facilities. On the basis of the key principles of business incubation functionality, supplemented by recent findings of incubator/ incubation research, this article investigates the evolution of this incubator concept in Germany, its regional distribution and describes the benefits to firms of being part of a specialized incubator. Moreover, this article details what are the general conditions and requirements for the long-term success of specialized business incubation initiatives.
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A Multidimensional Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Business Incubators: An application of the PROMETHEE outranking method
Michael Schwartz, Maximilian Göthner
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy,
2009
Abstract
Considerable public resources are devoted to the establishment and operation of business incubators (BIs), which are seen as catalysts for the promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation activities and regional development. Despite the vast amount of research that focused on the effectiveness of incubator initiatives and how to measure incubator performance, there is still a lack of understanding of how to determine incubators that are more effective than others. Based on data from 410 graduate firms, the present article concentrates on this crucial question and compares the long-term effectiveness of five BIs in Germany by applying the multi-criteria outranking technique PROMETHEE. In particular, we investigate whether PROMETHEE is a well suited methodological approach for the evaluation and comparisons in the specific context of business incubation.
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Municipal Enterprises as Shadow Budgets – How do they Affect the Actual Budgetary Situation of Germany´s Local Governments?
Peter Haug
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 5,
2009
Abstract
Outsourcing of municipal tasks from the core budget to municipal enterprises tends to distort the perception of the actual financial position, net assets and results of operations of the German local governments. Excess supply or -demand of/for local public services might be possible consequences of this development. Hence, this article attempts to develop a more comprehensive picture of the municipal budgetary position by a simultaneous analysis of selected indicators. Furthermore, the methodological problems of the calculations are illustrated.
If these shadow budgets are taken into account, the total per capita revenues, -investments and -debts will increase by approximately one third to 50%. However, the share of the municipal employees belonging to the core administration in the total number of municipal employees is 75%. Although only about 22% of the expenditures for certain voluntary municipal tasks have been outsourced, there seems to be an upward trend.
The study also indicates that there are significant differences between Eastern and Western German cities. These include the higher revenues from municipal enterprises, the higher debts per capita and the higher expenditures on culture, sports, leisure services or the promotion of science in Eastern Germany.
The results should be interpreted carefully due to some shortcomings of the official statistics. For example, internal cash flows cannot be totally eliminated. Moreover, indirect municipal majority holdings as well as the municipal savings banks are not included in the results.
All in all, it remains to be seen whether the initiated reforms concerning the introduction of double-entry accounting into the local government budgeting system will help to achieve the ideal goal of a meaningful “consolidated financial statement” for the “city company”.
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Investment (FDI) Policy for Azerbaijan, Final report
Jutta Günther, Björn Jindra
One-off Publications,
No. 4,
2009
Abstract
The report has been prepared on behalf of the Association for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) as integral part of the “Private Sector Development Program” run by the GTZ in Azerbaijan. A comprehensive investment policy is outlined with particular focus on the possibilities to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in Azerbaijan’s manufacturing industry (non-oil sector). The report makes particular reference to the experiences with investment policy development in Central and East European transition economies. It touches legal and institutional framework conditions in Azerbaijan as well as possible investment incentives schemes including investment promotion. Major recommendations refer to trade integration within the region, introduction of tax incentives as well as further improvements in business climate. Furthermore, the importance of complementary policies, such as competition and education policy, is stressed.
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A Novel Approach to Incubator Evaluations: The PROMETHEE Outranking Procedures
Michael Schwartz, Maximilian Göthner
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 1,
2009
Abstract
Considerable public resources are devoted to the establishment and operation of business incubators (BIs), which are seen as catalysts for the promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation activities and regional development. Despite the vast amount of research that has focused on the outcomes or effectiveness of incubator initiatives and how to measure incubator performance, there is still little understanding of how to determine incubators that are more effective than others. Based on data from 410 graduate firms, this paper applies the multi-criteria outranking technique PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation) and compares the long-term effectiveness of five technology-oriented BIs in Germany. This is the first time that outranking procedures are used in incubator evaluations. In particular, we investigate whether PROMETHEE is a well-suited methodological approach for the evaluation and comparisons in the specific context of business incubation.
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Determinants of Academic-Industry Linkages and Incubator-internal Cooperation Patterns of Incubator Firms: Empirical Evidence from Germany
Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 2,
2009
Abstract
The article examines cooperation patterns of firms located in German business incubators (BIs) and technology centers. Based on cross-sectional data, the study explores the network activities within the tenant portfolio and the academic-industry linkages of the tenant firms. In this respect, we contribute to the literature on the impact of business incubation by explicitly considering differences regarding cooperation patterns between diversified and specialized incubator facilities. Contrary to common assumptions, we do not find a higher propensitiy for incubator-internal cooperation activities for firms located in specialized BIs. However, firms located in specialized BIs show significantly higher propensity to engage in academic-industry linkages compared to firms located in diversified incubators.
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