Congratulations to Peter Vogel for obtaining his PhD!

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is considered to be among the main drivers of innovation, economic- and societal prosperity and job creation. It therefore does not come as a surprise that researchers have become increasingly interested in understanding entrepreneurs as well as both the process of new venture creation and the mechanisms necessary to support founders in their endeavors. Since the recent financial crisis, having led to particularly high rates of unemployment around the world, the global awareness of entrepreneurship as a central strategy to combat global unemployment and re-ignite the labor market has rapidly increased. To ensure the implementation of successful strategies leading to the promotion of entrepreneurship, an improved understanding of this phenomenon is of critical importance.
By employing an entrepreneurial process perspective, this dissertation investigates three current and interrelated research questions surrounding the process and outcomes of firm creation by formerly unemployed individuals – a comprehensive topic that has important implications for research, practice and public policy. First, it addresses the early stages of the entrepreneurial process by proposing a novel and integrative conceptual framework, which describes how individuals generate business ideas and develop them over time through purposeful action (Chapter 2). Second, it empirically investigates the influence of specific human- and social capital endowments on the probability of new venture survival. It demonstrates that industry experience can be a double-edged sword, with the depth of experience increasing, and the breadth of industry experience decreasing the probability of new venture survival. It further shows that someone lacking industry experience can compensate for this lack by acquiring external knowledge and emotional support (Chapter 3). Third, this dissertation studies the role of the sociopolitical context on the process of new venture creation by comparing 12 European government programs which help the unemployed transition to self-employment. This first-of-its-kind comparative analysis reveals distinct characteristics in the structure and execution of these programs across countries and regions (Chapter 4).
Considering the globally exacerbating labor market conditions, it is vital to assess entrepreneurship as an important avenue for not only ensuring sufficient jobs for the jobseekers of today and tomorrow, but also for improving the support mechanisms which help aspiring entrepreneurs to successfully embark on their entrepreneurial journey. This dissertation aims not only at helping to advance our scientific knowledge of entrepreneurship but it also aims at assisting policymakers and other involved stakeholders in their decision making processes towards improved support for novice entrepreneurs.

Keywords

Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs), Creativity, Emotional Support, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Opportunities, Entrepreneurial Process, Government Programs, Business Ideas, Industry Experience, Innovation, Knowledge Support, Self-Employment, Unemployment.