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Why Entrepreneurs Choose Risky R&D Projects - But Still Not Risky Enough

Author

Listed:
  • Färnstrand Damsgaard, Erika

    (National Institute of Economic Research)

  • Norbäck, Pehr-Johan

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Persson, Lars

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Vasconcelos, Helder

    (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto)

Abstract

Entrepreneurs face higher commercialization costs than incumbents. We show that this implies that entrepreneurs will choose more risky projects than incumbents, aiming to reduce their high expected marginal commercialization cost. However, entrepreneurs may select too safe projects from a social point of view, since they do not internalize the business stealing effect. We also show that commercialization support induces entrepreneurship but may lead to mediocre entrepreneurship by inducing entrepreneurs to choose less risky projects, whereas R&D support encourages entrepreneurship without affecting the type of entrepreneurship. Using Swedish patent citation data, we find empirical support for predictions of the model.

Suggested Citation

  • Färnstrand Damsgaard, Erika & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars & Vasconcelos, Helder, 2012. "Why Entrepreneurs Choose Risky R&D Projects - But Still Not Risky Enough," Working Paper Series 926, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0926
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    12. Yin, Xiangkang & Zuscovitch, Ehud, 1998. "Is firm size conducive to R&D choice? A strategic analysis of product and process innovations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 243-262, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Murat Yalcintas & Oyk㜠Iyigãœn & Gokhan Karabulut, 2023. "Personal Characteristics And Intention For Entrepreneurship," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 68(02), pages 539-561.
    2. Magnus Henrekson & Anders Kärnä & Tino Sanandaji, 2022. "Schumpeterian entrepreneurship: coveted by policymakers but impervious to top-down policymaking," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 867-890, July.
    3. Francesco D'Alessandro & Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2024. "The KSTE+I approach and the AI technologies," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0039, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    4. Heyman, Fredrik & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars & Andersson, Fredrik, 2019. "Has the Swedish business sector become more entrepreneurial than the US business sector?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1809-1822.
    5. Pehr-Johan Norbäck & Lars Persson, 2024. "Why generative AI can make creative destruction more creative but less destructive," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 349-377, June.
    6. Montserrat Manzaneque & Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez & Julio Diéguez-Soto & Maria J. Martínez-Romero, 2020. "How negative aspiration performance gaps affect innovation efficiency," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 209-233, January.
    7. Persson, Lars & Seiler, Thomas, 2022. "Entrepreneurial optimism and creative destruction," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars, 2023. "Why Big Data Can Make Creative Destruction More Creative – But Less Destructive," Working Paper Series 1454, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    9. Kärnä, Anders & Karlsson, Johan & Engberg, Erik & Svensson, Peter, 2020. "Political Failure: A Missing Piece in Innovation Policy Analysis," Working Paper Series 1334, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 21 Apr 2022.
    10. Andersson, Fredrik W. & Jordahl, Henrik & Kärnä, Anders, 2021. "Ballooning Bureaucracy: Tracking the Growth of High-Skilled Administration within Swedish Higher Education," Working Paper Series 1399, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    11. Chunhuan Xiao & Ziyin Zhuang, 2022. "Do R&D Tax Credits Incentivize Radical or Incremental Innovation? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Start-ups; Ownership; Breakthrough; Quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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