Call for Papers
for
The 15th Uddevalla Symposium 2012
on:
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Networks
June 14-16, 2012

Hosted by 
Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO),
University of Algarve, Portugal

Conference venue: Campus de Gambelas , Faculty of Economics,
University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.

The notion of entrepreneurship is loaded with complex meanings, ranging from finding a source of income when no jobs are available to the drive of individuals to create novelties, while the strive for temporary entrepreneurial rent remains the centre of entrepreneurial gravitation. However, many researchers emphasize institutional arrangements (formal and informal) as an explanation of why the frequency as well as quality of entrepreneurship varies between different, places, regions, and countries.

In view of this, one of the main questions that we hope will be analyzed at this symposium is: Which features make such structural differences remain invariant between decades, and how can such knowledge be employed in policy? Such analyses can now be carried out with the help of considerably long time series with clear opportunities to investigate dynamic interdependencies. Andersson and Koster (2010) find that spatially sticky and durable determinants of start-ups, which implies, that there are sources of persistence to be examined in detail to increase the understanding of how certain regions can maintain a start-up rate which is close to double that of the average.

The start of new firms and the introduction of new products (goods and services) to the market is a process which on the micro level reveals a high frequency of entry and exit. This context concerns how entrepreneurs discover new business opportunities, and how they develop and exploit networks for mobilizing joint innovation efforts. What is the pre-history of new entrepreneurs, and which networks do they carry with them when they leave an employment to start a company (cf., Almeida and Kogut 1999)? During the life-time of their entrepreneurial venture they will continuously develop and exploit their networks. In which networks do entrepreneurs, for example, find employees when the firm grows? Relevant networks comprise links to knowledge, technology, capital sources and customer opportunities. Again, new databases will help to illuminate these questions and provide guidelines to innovation network and entrepreneurship policies.

A recent example of research in this vein is Andersson, Baltzopoulos and Lööf (2010). Examining entrepreneurial ventures of ex-employees of firms with different R&D-strategies three findings not well documented in the previous literature are presented. First, firms with persistent R&D-investments with a general superiority in sales, exports, productivity, profitability and wages are less likely to generate entrepreneurs than firm with temporary or no R&D-investments. Second, start-ups from knowledge intensive business service (KIBS) firms with persistent R&D-investments have a significantly increased probability of survival. No corresponding association between the R&D-strategies of incumbents and survival of entrepreneurial spawns is found for incumbents in manufacturing sectors. Third, spin-outs from KIBS-firms are more likely to survive if they start in the same firm, indicating the importance of inherited related knowledge. The findings suggest that R&D-intensive firms spur fewer entrepreneurs, but their entrepreneurial spawns tend to be of higher quality. The results corroborate and extend previous findings in the literature (Kepper 2001, Klepper and Sleeper 2005).

The research questions launched in the call for papers associate to many pertinent policy issues. The most apparent concerns conditions conducive for entrepreneurship in the form of new firms and firm growth. It also related to knowledge-intensive services and their policy relevance. The frequency of product introduction and formation of new firms increase in knowledge-intensive service industries and especially knowledge-intensive industries and the bulk of new firms is indeed knowledge-intensive service firms. Moreover, entrepreneurial knowledge is spatially sticky, embodied in individuals and networks connecting relevant people and thereby tacit in nature. This suggests that spatial relocation and establishment of new interaction links are important in the development of sectoral networks. But, what is the role of public policies in this connection?

This year the themes are divided into one overall theme and several special sub-themes / mini-tracks.

For specific information please look in the menue to the left. A printable version (pdf) of Call for papers, is to be found below in the document list.

• Call for Paper - 15th Uddevalla Symposium 2012 (pdf)(update 01/31/12)

Co-operating organisations
The Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal will host this years' Uddevalla Symposium, organized by the University West, Trollhättan, Sweden in cooperation with Jönköping International Business School, Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovations Studies (CESIS), Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and George Mason University, USA.