Abstract
We investigate the manifold posed question: "To what extent does investment in human and social capital, besides the effect of 'talent', enhance entrepreneurial performance?" We distinguish between three different performance measures: survival, profits, and generated employment. On the basis of the empirical analysis of a rich Dutch longitudinal data set of firm founders, we conclude that specific investments indeed affect the three performance measures substantially and significantly. Specific attention is paid to the unobserved talent bias. Moreover, the effect of the emergence of so called "knowledge industries" is explored.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 227-236 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Small Business Economics |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This paper has been written in the framework of the research programme SCALES (Scientific AnaLysis of Entrepreneurship and SMEs), which is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. We acknowledge the support of Hessel Oosterbeek and the comments of Jan de Kok, Lorraine Uhlaner and an anonymous referee. Earlier versions of the paper have been read at the RENT Conference in Prague, November 2000 and