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Technology-Based Entrepreneurs: Does Internet Make a Difference?

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  • Colombo, Massimo G
  • Delmastro, Marco

Abstract

This paper is an empirical analysis of the personal characteristics of Italian high-tech entrepreneurs. We analyze differences in the characteristics of founders according to the sector of operation of the start-up. In particular, we investigate whether entrepreneurs in Internet related activities differ from those operating in other ICT industries (especially in manufacturing). For this purpose, we analyze a sample composed of 246 entrepreneurs that between 1984 and 1999 established 116 new firms that operate in ICT manufacturing and service industries and are located in Northern Italy. The findings highlight that Internet entrepreneurs generally are younger and less educated (especially in technical fields) than the other sample founders. They quite often are at their first professional experience; if they have prior working experience, it generally is in unrelated industries. Such findings are related to evolutionary theories that emphasize the role of the nature of technical change and of the stage of the industry life cycle in influencing the characteristics and behavior of new firms and their founders. Copyright 2001 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

Suggested Citation

  • Colombo, Massimo G & Delmastro, Marco, 2001. "Technology-Based Entrepreneurs: Does Internet Make a Difference?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 177-190, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:16:y:2001:i:3:p:177-90
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. André van Stel & Ingrid Verheul, 2007. "Entrepreneurial diversity and economic growth," Scales Research Reports H200701, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    2. Nicola Del Sarto & Alberto Di Minin & Giulio Ferrigno & Andrea Piccaluga, 2021. "Born global and well educated: start-up survival through fuzzy set analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1405-1423, April.
    3. Sérgio Nunes, 2012. "Information Security Value In E-Entrepreneurship," Portuguese Journal of Management Studies, ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, vol. 0(2), pages 107-131.
    4. Lianne Hans & Sierdjan Koster, 2018. "Urbanization and start-up rates in different geographies: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1033-1054, December.
    5. Muammer Zerenler & Esen Åžahin, 2013. "The Impact on Electronic Commerce Activities of SMEs: A Study of the Turkish Automotive Supplier Industry," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 2, October.
    6. Colombo, Massimo G. & Delmastro, Marco, 2002. "How effective are technology incubators?: Evidence from Italy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1103-1122, September.
    7. Panagiotis Ganotakis, 2012. "Founders’ human capital and the performance of UK new technology based firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 495-515, September.
    8. Lagle Laidoja & Xuanye Li & Wenyuan Liu & Ting Ren, 2022. "Female Corporate Leadership and Firm Growth Strategy: A Global Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, May.
    9. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Niels Noorderhaven, 2005. "Personality Characteristics of Self-Employed; An Empirical Study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 159-167, March.
    10. Zaheer, Hasnain & Breyer, Yvonne & Dumay, John, 2019. "Digital entrepreneurship: An interdisciplinary structured literature review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    11. Cacciolatti, Luca & Wan, Tingting, 2013. "A Study of Small Business Owners’ Personal Characteristics and the Use of Marketing Information in the Food and Drink Industry: A Resource-Based Perspective," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 3(2), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Muhammad Naveed Anwar & Elizabeth Daniel, 2016. "The Role of Entrepreneur-Venture Fit in Online Home-Based Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(04), pages 419-451, December.
    13. Elisa Salvador, 2012. "Italian Science Parks And Incubators: Some Considerations Arising From A Questionnaire Investigation On Research Spin-Off Firms," Post-Print hal-02093934, HAL.
    14. Chowdhury, Sanjib, 2005. "Demographic diversity for building an effective entrepreneurial team: is it important?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 727-746, November.
    15. Panka Bencsik & Tuugi Chuluun, 2021. "Comparative well-being of the self-employed and paid employees in the USA," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 355-384, January.
    16. Yenni Viviana Duque Orozco & Carolina Ortiz Riaga, 2011. "La actividad empresarial del Graduado Neogranadino," Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, June.
    17. Elisa Salvador, 2011. "How effective are research spin-off firms in Italy?," Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(1), pages 99-122.
    18. Siepel, Josh & Cowling, Marc & Coad, Alex, 2017. "Non-founder human capital and the long-run growth and survival of high-tech ventures," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 34-43.

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