Knowledge spillovers and new ventures’ export orientation

Abstract

We draw on the knowledge spillover literature to suggest that a country's proportion of export-oriented new ventures represents an outcome of knowledge spillovers that stem from foreign direct investment (FDI) and international trade (export spillovers) as well as a source of knowledge spillovers (entrepreneurship spillovers). To test the hypotheses, we use macrolevel data from 34 countries during the period 2002-2005. We find that the relationship between FDI and international trade on the one hand and a country's proportion of exportoriented new ventures on the other differs for higher-and lower-income countries. In addition, a country's proportion of export-oriented new ventures affects the subsequent emergence of new businesses.

Entrepreneurship, export orientation, and economic growth

“…De Clercq et al (2008) find evidence that export orientation of (early-stage) entrepreneurs is negatively influenced by the size of the domestic market. 6 Note that we avoid reversed causality in two other ways as well.…”

“…However, the results of our study reveal that export-oriented new ventures do not seem to make an additional contribution (as compared with domestic new ventures) to economic growth in lowerincome countries. It has been suggested that inward FDI is the dominant source of entrepreneurial activity in many lower-income countries (Acs and Virgill 2009) and may in particular result in increased opportunities for entrepreneurs in the domestic market (De Clercq et al 2008), which may explain why domestic-oriented activities are no less important than export-oriented activities in developing countries. Overall, our results underline that a development strategy based on FDI and its associated entrepreneurial activity may be beneficial for achieving economic growth in developing countries (Acs and Virgill 2009;Naudé 2008).…”

Varieties of export-oriented entrepreneurship in Asia

“…As the economic environment can impact entrepreneurial activity and new ventures export orientation across countries (De Clercq, Hessels, & van Stel, 2008;Wennekers & Thurik, 1999), we include the following controls: GDP per capita, real exchange rate, inflation rate and prevalence of trade barriers. Furthermore, given the impact of the technological environment on entrepreneurship (Acs & Audretsch, 2000), we include controls for FDI and technology transfer, prevalence of foreign technology licensing and firm-level technology absorption.…”

Entrepreneurship, economic development and institutions

“…In addition to differences in the nature of competition across stages, there are also differences in the degree of integration of countries into the world economy. In particular, since innovation contributes to competitive advantage in foreign markets (Roper and Love 2002;Sterlacchini 1999;Wakelin 1998), developed economies are better integrated globally (UNCTAD 2006) and tend to have higher levels of export-oriented entrepreneurship than developing economies (De Clercq et al 2008). In order for economies to move into the innovation-driven stage, it is necessary for them to develop environmental conditions conducive to entrepreneurship.…”