Where good ideas come from?

Hans Rosling!

Biannual Nordic Conference on Small Business Research 2012

The NCSB 2012 will continue its tradition but also widen the perspective to more interdisciplinary areas following the so called "Aalto Spirit". Even if the name of the Conference refers to Nordic countries contributors and participants from all over the world are warmly welcome. The objective of this 17^th Nordic Conference on Small Business Research is to foster the exchange of ideas and to introduce the research findings in the different fields of small businesses and entrepreneurship.

One purpose of the Conference is to create links between university scholars and practitioners. We would like to welcome papers for example in the following fields:

• Identification and development of opportunities
• Innovations and commercialization processes in SMEs
• Family businesses and habitual entrepre­neurship
• Growth and performance of SMEs
• Entrepreneurial finance and venture capital
• International entrepreneurship
• Networking and cooperation in SMEs
• Design thinking and entrepreneurship
• Modernization and diversification in SMEs
• Strategies in SMEs
• Theoretical and methodological issues in studying SMEs
• SMEs and Entrepreneurship policy
• Gender and diversity in SMEs and entrepreneurship
• Sustainability and entrepreneurship
• Social entrepreneurship

Start-up rates begin to show signs of slowdown in most OECD countries in 2011

OECD's brand new numbers indicate that start-up rates are once again beginning to show signs of a slowdown across the member countries.

As start-ups are an important source of job creation in OECD economies. At the height of the global economic crisis, start-up rates fell precipitously in all OECD countries where data is available. In subsequent quarters, start-up rates began picking up, toward pre-crisis levels, but in recent quarters this momentum appears to have stalled. The most notable exception is Australia, where start-up rates continued to grow in the first and second quarter of 2011. A similar but less robust trend is evident in Norway. Start-up rates in Spain were also marginally up in the second quarter of 2011, but the overall rate remains at crisis levels. Rates in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States all showed signs of a slowdown in the first and second quarter of 2011.

How to gain more high-impact entrepreneurs in your country

Our (Stenholm, Acs, Wuebker) forthcoming paper (@JBV) put in one slide:

http://rwuebker.tumblr.com/post/12930338014/if-i-prepare-a-talk-about-a-paper-its-gonna-be

Current version of the paper "Exploring Country-Level Institutional Arrangements on the Rate and Type of Entrepreneurial Activity" is viewable at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1639433.

A country-by-country look at how entrepreneurship works in some countries

By Inc. Magazine.

http://www.inc.com/ss/global-entrepreneurship-week-facts#0

GEW kicks off, Finland is out

Nothing to brag about this year. This could have been easily avoided but no... At least I didn't active anything.
Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011 kicks off in 123 countries engaging more than 10 million current and aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide. During one week each November, GEW inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. These activities, from large-scale competitions and events to intimate networking gatherings, connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors—introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities.



[http://www.unleashingideas.org/]

TSE Entre's Nordic Tour Fall 2011

Five of us will be arriving to Bodo, Norway, later this week. TSE Entre's crew is participating in the RENT 25th Annual Conference. The conference's preliminary talks will be broadcasted online:

Thursday November 17th: http://www.serialive.com/watch.php?id=42149
0900 - 0920 (CET) Welcome and Opening Plenary Session
Principal Pål Pedersen, University of Nordland
Prof. Thomas Cooney, President of ECSB
Chair: Prof. Odd Jarl Borch, UiN

0920 - 1030 (CET) Academic “Talk show” Theme: Entrepreneurship Research in Europe in Times of Crisis: What is the Future?
Prof. Sara Carter, Strathclyde University
Prof. Johan Wiklund, Syracuse University
Prof. Paul Westhead, Durham University
Moderators:
Prof. Lars Kolvereid, University of Nordland
Senior Res. Elisabet Ljunggren, Nordland Research Inst.

Friday November 18th: http://www.serialive.com/watch.php?id=42152
0830 - 0920 (CET) Keynote speech: Entrepreneurship, Business and Society
Prof. Shaker A. Zahra, University of Minnesota 

In the US millennials see entrepreneurship as path to success, but are delaying because of the economy

Kauffman Foundation launched results on millennials' perceptions on entrepreneurship: In a beleaguered economy, the country (USA) needs entrepreneurs – the nation's job creators. Fortunately, a recent poll shows that the so-called millennial generation – those ages 18-34 – are an entrepreneurial bunch. A few key barriers are holding them back, especially the economy. The nationwide cell phone and landline survey, conducted by the Young Invincibles in conjunction with Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, polled 872 millennials on their thoughts about the economy and entrepreneurship.

Read more.

Is this also happening in Finland? The hype around startups and entrepreneurship societies let's you expect something else but on the other hand that sample is slightly biased.

EURAM 2012

EURAM 2012 conference which will be held in Rotterdam next June, will have a track for Entrepreneurship Studies. Brilliant! Track is called "Shaping the Entrepreneurship Research Agenda" and track chairs are welcoming contributions that cover issues like:

• Use novel approaches from other correlated disciplines (psychology, sociology, anthropology etc.),
• "Export" entrepreneurship models to other discipline to gain insights to develop new theories for the entrepreneurship field
• Employ novel or new combinations of the already known methodologies,
• Test unexplored relations which have yet to receive thorough attention,
• Utilize new units of analysis or datasets,
• Compare different national European and non-European realities,
• Contextualize findings through “environmental” circumstances in either national or international setting.

See this flyer for closer info.

This is how we roll

Sorry, it's in Finnish only. Notes from yesterday's Research Seminar.

Finnish fast growth 50

Now it's out again, Deloitte's list of Finnish fast growth firms in tech industries. Yes, that breed is present in Finland, too, even if you don't expect it. Deloitte defines fast growth firms based on the average growth in turnover during the last five years.

This year nr 1 is Eniram Oy (insane growth of 6209%) which focuses on advanced decision support systems to the owners and operators of large commercial vessels. Eniram was followed by SLM Finland Oy (5146%, software and www-projects) and Analyse² (2630 %, products and services for utilising customer information and market trends). Deloitte's guys are also pleased with the fact that greentech business are now more prevalent than earlier even if their total number in the top 50 is still possible to be improved.

Here's the top 10 (based on 5 year's average growth):

1. Eniram Oy (6209 %)
2. SLM Finland Oy (5146 %)
3. Analyse² (Analyse Solutions Finland Oy) (2630 %)
4. Retail Logistics Excellence – RELEX Oy (2015 %)
5. Klikkicom Oy (1826 %)
6. Priorite Oy (1707 %)
7. Endero Oy (1106 %)
8. Confidex Oy (1083 %)
9. Sympa Oy (1010 %)
10. Hibox Systems Oy (923 %)

They also list Rising stars -list which covers firms which have operated 3-5 years and which generated at least 50 000 € during the first year in operation. Here's top 5 Rising stars (based on 3 year's average growth):

1. Proactum Oy (359 %)
2. Aito Technologies (236 %)
3. Vincit Oy (218 %)
4. Infigo Finland Oy (212 %)
5. Alekstra Corporation (125 %)

 [source: www.deloitte.com/fi/fast50]

Nordic Entrepreneurship Conference, Helsinki

Hmmmm... due to sudden changes in my health status I wasn't able to attend this conference organized by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Their website says that the event "was intended for Nordic growth entrepreneurs and developers, researchers, civil servants and trainers specialising in growth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Speeches, thematic panels and other discussions seeked answers and best practices in facing the common challenges of growth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education."

But no worries...conference presentations can be found from here.