InnoCAP: Increasing the innovation capacity of SMEs
This project, delivered by the Austrian research promotion agency (FFG), tests an intervention offering innovation support tools to SMEs.
Ongoing research
Promoting E-Commerce in Georgia
The study is an impact evaluation of a training program that induced SMEs to adopt broadband connections, establish presence on online retail and potentially export their goods or services.
DINNOS: Diversity Innovation Support Scheme for SMEs
This collaboration between the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and researchers at Aston Business School, Bergische University Wuppertal and the Kienbaum Institute involves scaling up a pilot programme that has shown promising initial results in preventing and even reversing the adverse impact of age diversity on innovation.
InDemandRCT: Demand-driven and business co-creation for a new innovation business model
The Regional Development Agency of the Region of Murcia in Spain aims to explore and test a new demand-driven business model based on co-creation patterns between business customers and SMEs. The co-creation model will include customer input on the technology solutions provided by the SMEs, to jointly find innovative solutions to meet customer business challenges.
Can Soft Skills Training Improve Enterprise and Employment growth in Tanzania?
This evaluation will determine the impact of the STRYDE 2.0 program on several economic and social outcomes using a randomized controlled trial. The program’s large scale allows for a robust evaluation sample.
Anonymity in Brainstorming
Research on the effect of anonymity on individual’s creativity in idea generation sessions is inconclusive: anonymous brainstorming techniques supposedly perform better since they preclude evaluation apprehension; non-anonymous brainstorming techniques supposedly perform better since they reduce free riding. This project suggests brainstorming with selective anonymity as a new method (anonymous brainstorming in which the identity of the idea creators is revealed after evaluation, but only for the top rated ideas).
How Do Nascent Social Entrepreneurs Respond to Rewards? A Field Experiment on Motivations in a Grant Competition
We conducted a field experiment to identify the causal effects of extrinsic incentive cues on the sorting and performance of nascent social entrepreneurs. The experiment, carried out with one of the United Kingdom’s largest support agencies for social entrepreneurs, encouraged 431 nascent social entrepreneurs to submit a full application for a grant competition that provides cash and in-kind mentorship support through a onetime mailing sent by the agency.
Effects of mentoring on SMEs in Norway, a randomized control trial
This study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effects of mentoring on SMEs in Norway. We aim to get a better understanding of firm development and dynamics in the presence of public interventions. Does mentoring affect firm performance and firm-survival? Does it matter what type of state aid a firm is granted; mentoring versus the financial equivalent of the service?
Purpose and Productivity: Evidence from a Cross-Country Field Experiment
Differences in productivity may be driven by heterogeneity in skills but also the extent to which individuals are motivated to do their job over and above financial compensation. The proposed research will unpack the sources of intrinsic motivation and test whether these can be leveraged to increase productivity. To do so we will run a cross-country field experiment in collaboration with a multinational company that offers one-day workshops that guide employees on how to connect their individual purpose with their work.
What are the Effects of Improving Management Practices on Exporting among SMEs in Middle-Income Countries? A Comparison of Bayesian and Frequentist Impact Evaluation Approaches
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