L26 - EntrepreneurshipReturn

In this article, corruption is treated as an expression of human entrepreneurship, which does not fully fit in the commonly accepted moral and legal standards. Despite being negatively perceived, it is persistently present in the public, economic and political life of every country as evidenced by a number of press releases on corruption.
Research literature analysis reveals the existence of two conflicting opinions with regard to the way in which corruption affects innovative activity of companies and economic growth. The more morally correct theory, which can be dubbed the sand-the-wheels theory, assumes that corruption negatively influences innovative activity and economic growth. Whereas, the grease-the-wheels theory, which is inconsistent with the principles of social responsibility of business, argues for the positive influence of corruption on innovative activity of companies and economic growth. This article is a voice in that discussion.

A high proportion of nascent entrepreneurs do not make it to an operational venture. Even though entrepreneurial exit decisions occur more frequently than many think, the literature on entrepreneurial discontinuance is not much developed. The paper first examines whether factors influencing early-stage discontinuance differ in the Czech Republic in comparison with Western countries. Second, it contributes to existing theories on nascent entrepreneurial activity of ""modest majority"" low-growth businesses by focusing on the role of expectations in discontinuance decisions. A sample of nascent entrepreneurs was interviewed in 2011 and then in two follow-up waves in 2012 and 2013. Building on hubris theory of entrepreneurship and theory of performance thresholds, the paper discusses subjective decision-making about entrepreneurial launch and exit. The results show that people with higher industry experience are more likely to discontinue from nascent entrepreneurship, a finding contrasting most research in Western countries. The paper also provides added value in relating growth aspirations to solo vs. team entrepreneurship. Solo entrepreneurs with high initial expectations were found more likely to discontinue from their efforts, whereas teams disbanded more often in case of low-ambition plans on new venture.

Since Schumpeter, entrepreneurs and innovative activities belong together. Innovativeness as a personality trait is also found to be related to entrepreneurial status and business success. However, not much is known about the specific facets of the entrepreneur's innovative behaviour. This study aims first at better understanding how entrepreneurs differ from managers in the various areas of their innovative behaviour at work. Second, how this behaviour differs for entrepreneurs who have and do not have employees. Representative samples of the working population from Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and Switzerland (N=3508) were interviewed with the use of the Innovative Behaviour Inventory. Individuals involved in independent entrepreneurial activities create new ideas and attempt to overcome obstacles during implementation more than employed individuals. People who manage other people communicate new ideas and seek to engage other individuals in the implementation of new ideas more than those without subordinates. Finally, what differentiates entrepreneurs from all other groups is their higher involvement in preparatory activities that start the implementation of new ideas. Overall, these differences led to the foremost position of entrepreneurs in achieving the innovation outputs.