The Entrepreneurship-Philanthropy Nexus: Implication for Internationalization

Zusammenfassung

---

This paper examines how Sweden and the US have been impacted by philanthropic activities, commercialization of university-based knowledge and international entrepreneurship. The analysis has important implications for knowledge creation as a source of economic growth through international entrepreneurship taking advantage of globalization, especially for smaller countries. The results show that the US has prompted a university system based on competition and variety, with an emphasis on philanthropy, promoting knowledge creation. International entrepreneurship has been an important mechanism by which this knowledge is globalized leading to increased economic growth. Swedish universities were characterized by less commercialized R&D and weak links to the commercial sector, rooted traditionally in dependence on tax-financed and homogenous university structure. The Swedish model has begun to change with important implications for development in smaller domestic markets.

Siehe den Gesamtinhalt dieses Dokumentes

Auszug

---

The Entrepreneurship-Philanthropy Nexus: Implication for Internationalization

Introduction

This paper focuses on often-neglected link between the academic and commercial sectors that distinguish the US from Europe, namely, the roles played by philanthropic private funding in knowledge creation and international entrepreneurship in global commercialization - what Acs/Phillips (2002) call the entrepreneurshipphilanthropy nexus. Philanthropy, as opposed to charitable donations to the poor and needy, is designed to augment knowledge in either existing or new organizations (Acs/Dana 200 1 ) . It is in this context that philanthropy may have an impact on growth: by contributing to the accumulation of knowledge (America 1995, Sachs 2000) that can serve as a basis for entrepreneurship internationally. Several of the most distinguished US universities were initially financed by philanthropic donations from wealthy entrepreneurs. Such institutions include the universities of Chicago, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Stanford.

Philanthropy can generate knowledge accumulation in several unique ways. First, philanthropic donations increase the amount of resources available for research (Barro/Sala-i-Martin 1998). Second, government grants and similar sources of funding may be more risk-averse than donations coming from wealthy individuals. Government grants can be restricted by different regulations, forcing a major part of funding to go into mainstream areas of research. Hence, private donations are more likely to fund a greater variety and even a greater portion of knowledge creating activities (Pfeffer/Salancik 1978, Letts/Ryan/Grossman 1997). The U.S. government has long recognized the importance of philanthropy in this respect. Aa early as 1965, the Treasury Department described philanthropy as being "...uniquely qualified to initiate thought and action, experiment with new and untried ventures, dissent from prevailing attitudes, and act quickly and flexibly (emphasis added)" (Toepler/Feldman 2003). Third, a donation from wealthy entrepreneurs can also influence the culture and attitudes of knowledge producing entities. In particular, links to the private sector and a willingness to engage in unrestricted, if not global, commercial activities can distinguish between private (entrepreneurially-initiated) and governmental initiated knowledge centers. Traditionally, philanthropically funded knowledge creating projects have been open to all, including international scholars, while government funded projects have been restrictive. Thus, philanthropic-initiated projects have contributed more than government-supported initiatives to the internationalization of entrepreneurship. These observations resonate with the arguments of path dependence (Rosenberg 2003). Rosenberg (2003) claims that there is a "path-dependence" in the culture and attitudes of knowledge-intense environments that can be traced back to the founders of universities and ot...

Siehe den Gesamtinhalt dieses Dokumentes

---