A special issue of International Journal of Business and Systems Research
Since the late 1990s, growing attention has been devoted by economists and policy makers to entrepreneurship, new technology-based firms (NTBFs) and internet-based firms. The reason may be traced to the evidence that small and new firms account for a substantial share of the new jobs created in developed countries. In addition, the view has been rapidly gaining ground that high-growth start-ups, especially those operating in high-tech industries and Internet, play a crucial role for the renewal of the economic system. In particular, they are believed to provide the innovation-based competitive advantage in key sectors of the so-called “new economy” such as software and E-commerce.
Additionally, in recent years, the spinning-off of university-based scientific inventions into separate companies represents a potentially important and increasingly utilised option to create wealth from the commercialisation of research. Such view is corroborated by the success stories of Infoseek, Intel, 3Com, Google, Yahoo, and other Internet and NTBFs outfits.
However, there are important differences between spin-offs from universities and new technology based firms. These differences generally concern the environment and research policies in which spin-offs are created and the entrepreneurs involved in their creation. The university environment raises a number of potential issues. For example, as universities have traditionally been non-commercially oriented various organisational barriers may be erected to frustrate the development of entrepreneurship.
The concern that the European Union is behind the US in terms of venture creation in NTBFs triggered a policy-oriented research effort aimed at analysing factors that favour or inhibit the birth of NTBFs and Internet-based firms. Recent literature on this topic has shown that there are significant differences on how NTBFs use information technologies and create value in their organisations. Other scholars have found significant differences on the profile of the entrepreneurs that create NTBFs and other internet-based firms and the process of firm creation in comparison to more traditional entrepreneurs. Other researchers focus on the institutional environment and its influence on the emergence of an entrepreneurial spirit and culture, and the rate of entrepreneurial activity. They state that certain countries, regions and cities have created environments and a flourishing entrepreneurial economy while others have not.
Accordingly, this special issue will focus on research into NTBF, specifically on how information technologies and the entrepreneur influence the creation, development and growth of such firms. Additionally, a second aim is to analyse the main institutional factors/constraints (legislation, public policy, social values, norms and habits) that foster and explain the creation of NTBFs.
Subject coverage of the special issue includes, but is not limited to:
- The economics of NTFBs, university-based and internet-based firms
- The job market created by NTFBs, university-based and internet-based firms
- The global impact of information technologies on NTFBs, university-based and Internet-based firms' organisational structures and processes
- Collaborative learning, training, management and work in NTFBs, university-based and Internet-based firms
- Similarities and differences between cyberentrepreneurs, high-technology entrepreneurs and traditional entrepreneurs
- Organisational similarities and differences between NTFBs, university-based spin-offs and Internet-based firms
- Virtual enterprises and cyberentrepreneurship
- The effectiveness of incubators and science parks in the creation of NTBFs, university-based spin-offs and internet-based firms
- Funding issues relating to NTBFs, university-based and internet-based firms
- Process of NTBFs, university-based spin-off and internet-based firm creation
- The management problems of NTBFs, university-based spin-offs and internet-based firms at different stages in their evolution
- The role of the founders
- The influence of regulation on new firm creation (NTBFs, university-based spin-offs and internet-based firms)
- How does legislation and public policy affect the entrepreneurial activity of NTBFs, university-based spin-offs and internet-based firms?
- The macro-economic environment, levels of economic development and rate of entrepreneurial activity in the knowledge economy
- Regional and local policy and entrepreneurship.
- The role of the University in business creation in the knowledge economy
- Spinning-off companies from research institutions
- Institutional environment and the emergence of clusters of NTBFs, university-based spin-offs and internet-based firms
- Culture (social values, norms and habits) and entrepreneurship.
- Legal issues, taxation and property rights;
- All other related issues that impact the overall utilisation and management of information technologies in NTBFs, university-based spin-offs and internet-based firms
Important Dates
Full paper deadline: 15 September, 2007
Notification of acceptance and review results: 15 November, 2007
Revised submission deadline: 15 January, 2008
Notification of acceptance: 15 March, 2008
Camera-ready version deadline: 15 July, 2008
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