and (iii) examining any specific risks linked to the online sale of medicinal products. The Commission conducted a public consultation on a common logo for legallyoperating online pharmacies/retailers offering medicinal products for human use for sale at a distance.
which fully harmonises some key areas of e-commerce transactions (e g. pre-contractual information, formal requirements for contracts, the right of withdrawal, delivery, the passing of risk, etc.)
Prepare to take risks: changing a business model is a continuous process. Integrate an ongoing strategic reflection of your business model.
mitigating risks related to the use of chemicals and improving the data management of the chemicals2. www. aga. com CAR2GO:
Saves costs of raw materials, transport, storage, management etc. over relatively short time periods and with generally low-risk investments.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Report 2012 ranked extreme volatility of commodity prices as the fifth most important risk in terms of potentially negative impacts7.
especially for fossil fuels and metals8. 3. 2 Material and energy productivity Many companies are exposed to risks of raw material supply shortages,
World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2012, www. weforum. org/reports/global-risks-2012-seventh-edition 8 European Environment Agency 2010:
and energy productivity can save costs and lower risk by making companies less dependent on imports.
What are the risks and opportunities of implementing a sustainable supply chain management approach? Eco-innovate!
Evaluate risks and opportunities through a risk management approach or an opportunitybased approach. Establish a common language Set sustainability targets and procurement criteria for the supply chain.
Evaluating risk, especially long-term costs and benefits may be challenging. Understanding the environmental impacts across the life-cycle is essential,
price, cost reduction, risk reduction, accessibility, convenience and/or usability? How does improved envi-Business case for eco-innovation Feedback from market research
and other stakeholders environmental awareness and understanding may help to reveal business opportunities or threats.
What are associated the risks with each source of funding? What types of free or subsidised funding or business support is available from government programmes or SME business support agencies in your country?
or adopting it) and which results, throughout its life cycle, in a reduction of environmental risk,
lack of information on the environment and its risks; lack of knowledge (mostly from the management part) regarding the environment, eco-innovation, lifecycle approach,
they present the risk that they undermine the strengths of ADR and ODR, in terms of accessibility, flexibility, low costs and speed.
Business leaders in particular must ensure awareness among managers of the potential benefits and risks of new technologies;
Europe's policymakers must follow through on their pledge to foster an entrepreneurial culture by encouraging new firm creation and risk-taking,
particularly for organisations with an ingrained aversion to risk and change. However, countries such as Ireland and Sweden show what can be achieved
take risks and embark on new ventures. According to Tarek Ghouri, director of government practice for Nokia Enterprise Solutions, the technology is available today to create compelling solutions that grow productivity;
and ingrained risk aversion compared to the US is a relatively noncontroversial view, accepted by virtually all the studies we have reviewed for this report,
and a willingness to take risks. Empirical research indicates that new firms tend to be the most innovative in their markets,
even Europe's more innovative countries tend to be risk-averse. Martti af Heurlin, deputy director-general of Tekes, Finland's National Technology Agency, says that
and says Europe's risk-averse business culture does not encourage managers to innovate. The more familiar a firm is with changing structures and processes,
At the risk of adopting yet another management fad, this suggests that Europe's managers must take on board the lessons of change management
This includes schemes to build awareness among firms of security threats and of options for dealing with them.
When it comes to security threats such as viruses, SMES are thought to be particularly vulnerable as they tend to have fewer resources available to handle problems
Common standards remove much of the risk associated with investing in competing technologies. Europeans fondly recall the development of the GSM standard,
and thus no less of a threat to innovative activity in this field. At the time of writing, the revised European commission directive appeared to weaken the applicability of patents to software.
risks and Part III Unleashing the enablers of growth 24 The Economist Intelligence Unit 2004 Reaping the benefits of ICT Europe's productivity challenge commercial impact of new technology.
Taking practical measures to encourage new firm creation and risk-taking. Reducing the complexity of tax compliance,
But it is up to business leaders to take advantage of this more supportive environment to encourage risk-taking and innovation in their organisations.
(and thereby helps avoid the risk of confusing the role of ICT with other variables).
it reduces investment risk; Smartgrids: The Vision Europe's electricity networks in 2020 and beyond will be:
The need to reduce uncertainty and risk to businesses making investment decisions; The progress in technology,
It's not a vision for specific infrastructure projects or about the details of investment funding and risk management;
and the security of electricity supplies is under threat. Environmental issues have moved to the fore
The perceived risk of adopting new technology will be mitigated and commercial adoption will follow when companies know it works. 31 VISION AND STRATEGY I ELECTRICITY NETWORKS OF THE FUTURE As in other ETPS,
By definition it brings risks by and these have to be managed; The risk profile varies significantly across the innovation chain and its stages;
New grid technology cannot be fully proven in the laboratory or on a simulator; Pilot operation, in a controlled situation on a real grid is a prerequisite for adoption;
and communication technology ISP internet service provider MOOC Massive open online courses (MOOCS) NBIC nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science SCENIHR Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks 4
Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks SCENIHR 2009; Siegrist 2010. While NBIC technologies may be expected to bring along cumulatively substantial societal changes until 2030,
but also as potential threats to human dignity and autonomy (Heersmink 2011; Hildebrandt 2012; Wright 2011.
European Agency for Safety and Health At work, Foresight of New and Emerging Risks to Occupational safety and Health Associated with New Technologies in Green Jobs by 2020:
. and Melling, K.,Gender inequalities in the risks of poverty and social exclusion for disadvantaged groups in thirty European countries, Expert Group on Gender, Social Inclusion and Employment report, Luxembourg:
Risk and Regulatory Policy; Improving the Governance of Risk, OECD, 2010. Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, Paris;
OECD Publishing, 2011. As of August 2012: http://dx. doi. org/10.1787/9789264119536-en,"An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries:
Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR), Risk Assessment of Products of Nanotechnologies European commission, Directorate-general for Health and Consumers 2009.
Review of public perception studies of nanotechnology,"Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2010, pp. 837-846.
and C. Yaffe,"Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia: a 27 year longitudinal population based study,"BMJ, Vol. 330, No. 7504,2005, pp. 1360-1365.
particularly their risk-taking drive and level of perseverance qualities identified as essential for an entrepreneur.
or the willingness and ability to take the risk of joining an innovative start-up as an employee. 12 Figure 10 details a conceptual model for the factors influencing
A positive attitude towards entrepreneurship and risk as an enabler for selecting an entrepreneurial career with relevance throughout the process.
and financial risks of creating or joining a new venture. Challenges for promoting entrepreneurship Attitude:
and seems to be more prevalent in Europe than in other regions. 14 Studies have found evidence that the recent economic turbulence has resulted in entrepreneurs taking less risk overall.
Impact Attitude Perceived reward/status of entrepreneurship Perceived risk Personality type Determination 1 Skills Markets/business intelligence Management skills Social skills Creativity
and essential skills and attitudes, including creativity, initiative, tenacity, teamwork, understanding of risk and a sense of responsibility. 18 Cultural/Social framework:
in Europe by encouraging young Europeans to take more risks in innovation and entrepreneurship, and encouraging governments, businesses, society and individuals to support
and reward such risk-taking through policy frameworks and access to mentors, finance and markets.
Part of it is linked to higher levels of risk aversion following the financial crisis as investors struggle with an increased regulatory burden. 39 This drop in private investment has seen the role of government agencies in venture capital raised from institutional investors increase from pre-crisis
Chairman, Europe, Microsoft Corporation Benefit for large corporates Benefit for entrepreneurs Risk to one or both partners Company shares in high-potential entrepreneurial ventures Access
and competencies of both organizations. 51 An overview of the benefits and risks of collaboration for entrepreneurs and large corporates is shown in Table 3. 26 Enhancing Europe's Competitiveness The analysis is based on the six dimensions
and a threat to one's own organization should be overcome. The degree and scope of openness are crucial:
or without a considerable time allocation for R&d inherits major risk for entrepreneurs. 53 Scouting for partners Developing transparency on available partners Any firm may find an enormous number of potential market
not months otherwise the opportunity to accelerate processes is turned into a risk. Fridolin Stary, Senior vice-president, Research and development, Wacker Chemie Fostering Innovation-driven Entrepreneurship in Europe 31 Dimension Practice/example Developing collaboration and exploiting results Being adaptable to the needs
The inherent risk of innovation, quoted by 22%of small firms The direct cost of innovation,
Moreover, connecting actors to improve access to capital is of key importance to enable progress towards a more transparent, single European market for risk finance.
Investments in pan-European fund structures support the above-mentioned development towards a European single market for risk finance.
We need to create an entrepreneur-friendly culture that encourages young people to take risks
or contain the risk of collisions. Able to innovate cooperatively, both amid and driven by contextual changes,
They would be able to minimize the three critical types of risk in any new venture:
market risk, technology risk and team risk. What does this mean for how organizations operate?
To master risk and reap the benefits of new sources of growth in an increasingly volatile and uncertain environment,
O'neill, M. 2013), Mini-bonds come with no small risks, Investorschronicle. co. uk, based on research from Capita Registrars. 48. http://www. tekes. fi/en/tekes/.
Nevertheless, the small-and medium-sized enterprises of Germany have not been able to overcome the risks inherent in a high degree of specialisation,
and especially their vulnerability to market changes. 45. Despite their specialisation, the German Mittelstand companies pursue a strategy that is not blindly committed to the technological frontier.
Benefits could include gaining a larger share of the target market, risk diversification, or access to vital information about potential inputs or market opportunities.
professional risk evaluators for new technologies and new business; and rapid access to secondary markets. 67.
as well as government bodies, have difficulty assessing the risk-profit trade offs of innovative ventures. Uncertainties about the technical feasibility, the time period of development, the total financing needed,
commercial risk, and managerial capacity of an SME and its proposed innovative project. Technological rating organisations can be public or private bodies,
including to ensure the rapid diffusion of expertise in technological rating that would help reduce the uncertainty that limits private sector investments in high risk innovation projects (Box 1). They may also want to consider subsidising programmes that help
A combination of high extra-cluster ties and risk taking exert a positive impact on innovative performance.
Surprisingly we find that risk taking negatively moderates the influence of intra-cluster ties on innovative performance.
and risk-taking because we believe they have a unique role in leveraging innovation. Furthermore, we differentiate among a network based on internal and external cluster ties
and risk taking and examine their specific roles in generating innovative gains through ICTS and ECTS.
Risk-taking orientation reflects a firm s tolerance of uncertainty and capture a firm s willingness to involve in
while risk taking affects innovation directly, as well as by reinforcing the positive innovation effect of a firm s ties.
such ties carry major risks. The firm s partner may not be reciprocative in information exchanges,
In spite of these risks, a firm that nurtures its ties through the necessary investments in relationship building and knowledge sharing might stand to benefit more from its linkages than a firm that makes little investments in its ECTS.
While both ICTS and ECTS carry risks, the risks associated with the latter are likely to be higher due to the relatively higher differences in business practices,
norms and such like between the partners. On the other hand, the pay offs to 6 risk taking may also be higher in respect to ECTS,
given the potentially novel and non-redundant information that such ties bring about. Our paper contributes to the literature on SMES
defined as the extent to which top managers are inclined to take business-related risks and seek opportunity in anticipation of future demand (Covin & Slevin,
Risk taking is a complementary EO characteristic that reflects the commitment to high-risk investment or the willingness to invest resources into unpredictable opportunities,
Studies affirm that a successful entrepreneur makes calculated risks for potentially rewarding future benefits (Low & Abrahanson, 1997.
In short, proactiveness and risk taking are two important 9 features that shape how a firm acquire
and risk taking in relation to a firm s ICTS and ECTS. However, prior literature does emphasize how a firm s absorptive capacity (Larrañeta, Zahra,
and risk taking on a firm s network ties (ICTS and ECTS) in the specific context of an emerging-economy,
While proactiveness and risk-taking orientation both contribute to innovation and enhanced firm performance, we suggest they do so in distinct ways.
risk taking ensures that the firm makes the necessary commitments in order to derive value from its network ties.
How Does Risk Taking Moderate the Effect ICTS and ECTS on Innovative performance? Establishing network ties do not necessarily mean that a firm is fully tapping into the resources available to it through such ties.
However, such commitments carry an inherent risk. In the first place partners may renege on their promises so the firm may stand to loose the resources it has committed.
Another significant risk is associated the uncertainty with innovation (Zahra & Covin, 1995; Zahra, Nielsen, & Bogner, 1999.
As regards an acceptable level of risk, psychologists posit that this level may be chosen as a compromise between the desire for success
and the desire to avoid risk (Mandel, 2003). Too low a risk tolerance will prevent a firm from making progress (Naldi, Nordqvist, Sjoberg, & Wiklund, 2007.
As observed by Ward (1997, p. 323) without risk taking the prospects for business growth wane.
This suggests that some level of risk taking is essential for effective use of firms ICTS and ECTS.
When ICTS and ECTS are supported by an adequate degree of risk taking though investment of time, money,
and effort, the rate of innovation will increase. The interplay between risk taking on the one hand and ICTS and ECTS on the other can contribute to innovation, right from the discovery of an opportunity or the conception of an idea to its planning and implementation.
Nevertheless we suggest that the extent to which risk taking is essential can vary for ICTS and ECTS.
Within a cluster there is certain degree of mutual interdependence, implying that 11 firms need to honor their commitments
Greater trust and the threat of sanction can make risk taking less salient for ICTS compared to for ECTS.
A firm's risk-taking orientation positively moderates the positive impact of its network ties (both ICTS and ECTS) on innovative performance.
A firm's risk-taking orientation has a greater moderating effect on the impact of its ECTS,
ECTS, proactiveness and risk taking affects innovation. Figure 1 Innovative performance and the interplay between ICTS, ECTS,
Proactiveness and Risk-Taking METHODS Proactiveness Intra-cluster ties Extra-cluster ties Innovation Risk taking H1a H1b H1a H1b H2b H2a
Proactiveness and Risk Taking We followed the approach of Covin and Slevin (1989) to measure proactiveness and risk taking.
Respondents were asked about their firms proactive-orientation and risk-taking behavior on a scale of 1,
strongly disagree, to 5, strongly agree. We derived multi-item variables using factor analysis, testing for their reliability and validity.
and 0. 78 for risk taking well above the minimum accepted value of 0. 70 (Field, 2013).
and risk taking with innovative performance respectively (r=0. 30, p<0. 01) and (r=0. 30, p<0. 01)).
. Risk-taking orientation 6. 16 1. 22 4 9 0. 30**0. 29**0. 39**0. 47**6. Age of owner
In model 1, we include the two EO variables, proactiveness and risk taking, along with the control variables.
*Firm Size-0. 78 0. 35***0. 21**-0. 14-0. 17+Risk taking 0. 19*0. 17+0. 19*0
-0. 16 0. 31*ECTB H1b 0. 30**0. 13 Two-way interactions ICT x Risk taking H2a-0. 41**ECT
x Risk taking H2b 0. 22*R2 0. 17 0. 22 0. 38 0. 22 0. 34 Adjusted R2 0
the interaction terms ICT x Risk taking and ECT x Risk taking (model 5). We find a positive and significant coefficient for ECT x Risk taking (ß
However in contrast to our assumption in this hypothesis we find a negative and significant coefficient for the variable ICT x Risk taking (ß=-0. 41, p<0. 01.
Figure 2 The Moderating Effect of Risk-Taking on the Relationship between ECTS and Innovative Performance 18 From figure 2 we can better understand the extent to which risk taking moderates the effect of ECTS on innovative performance.
It shows the predicted innovative performance across a range (from low to high) of ECTS for high-and low-risk taking firms.
and the dotted and solid lines respectively represent firms with high and low risk taking. Both lines have a positive slope indicating the positive effect of ECTS on innovative performance.
underscoring that risk taking substantially moderates the impact of ECTS on innovative performance. This suggests that firms that are greater risk takers benefit the most from increasing the number of their ECTS.
The EO literature identifies proactiveness and risk taking as two key EO characteristics (Lee et al.
We argued that the EO traits of risk taking and proactiveness interact differently with a firm s ICTS and ECTS.
Risk taking on the other hand positively moderates the impact of ICTS and ECTS. We empirically tested our conjectures on a sample of 120 SMES in a creative-industry manufacturing cluster in an emerging economy, Indonesia.
We found that risk taking strengthens the relationship between ECTS and innovative performance. For SMES in particular, external knowledge is a key source of innovation (Jacob & Szirmai, 2007;
) In this context, firms that take calculated risk are able to invest resources in their ECTS such that they are able to draw potentially valuable external resources.
We however found that risk taking negatively moderates the effect of ICT on innovative performance.
The Effects of Self-Construal Priming on Consumer Risk-Taking. Journal of Consumer Research, 30 (1), 30-40.
willing to take risks and naturally entrepreneurial in mindset. The region could consider ways and means of harnessing this economic potential through new forms of policy support not restricted to Spaniards or Andalusians in the strict sense.
an over-emphasis upon internationalisation may run the risk of=running before you can walk‘for many SMES.
in high and low-risk ventures, and in pretty much all sectors and sub-sectors of the economy (OECD, 2001).
and the environment and risk prevention on the other. The Spanish labour market differs somewhat from that of most European countries.
However, the risk in this restructuring is that it does not address the innovation needs of traditional sectors.
and go to work for a start up company with any assurance that they will be able to return from that employment to their university position.
NRC-IRAP operates on a shared-risk model providing cost-shared financial assistance for research and development projects that meet both the firm and project assessment criteria.
Chances and Risks of the Merger Between Cohesion and Innovation Policy. Euro 18 (1, vol. 18, no. 1,).Laestadius, S. 1998.
in high and low-risk ventures; and in pretty much all sectors and sub-sectors of the economy (OECD, 2001, p. 35.
such as a willingness to engage in risk-taking, desire to achieve independence, and self-fulfilment of the entrepreneur.
Environment, natural surroundings, water resources and risk prevention (29.7%of total expenditure. Priority 4: Transport and energy (31%of total expenditure.
willing to take risks and naturally entrepreneurial in their mindset. The region could consider ways
but the level at which prices are pitched should be designed to minimise the risk of crowding out private sector providers.
) For many SMES, the risks involved in supplying international markets often outweigh the returns, and indeed, previous research is replete with examples of small firms who have had disastrous attempts at international expansion.
an over-emphasis upon internationalisation may run the risk of=running before you can walk‘for many SMES.
Despite this, in the late 1980s the Danish Government identified the threat of increased global competition to the position of its firms in international markets.
Financial vulnerability and low levels of managerial competence are also common problems (Maskell, 1998) and increasing competitive pressures on SMES are making some of the sectoral-wide policies more difficult to finance
courage to assume risk, and especially about how to be independent. Still about my parents,
the risk-taking propensity by the CEO, and evidence of proactiveness (Miller and Friesen, 1982;
That is, in an uncertain environment where an atmosphere of high risk predominates, fewer opportunities, and with tremendous competitiveness, an entrepreneurial behavior is recommended specially.
and environment to the EO dimensions of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking propensity. Especially the environment has long been considered one of the critical contingencies in organizations theory and strategic management.
Environmental hostility represents the degree of threat to the firm posed by the multifacetedness, vigor and intensity of the competition.
and risk-taking propensity of the firm's CEO. Innovativeness refers to a firm's tendency to support new ideas
) Risk-taking reflects a firm's willingness to commit more resources to projects in which the expected returns are uncertain.
Hence, risk-taking is the tendency to engage in high-risk project and managerial preferences for bold versus cautions actions
and risk-taking (Covin et al.,2006). 44 Several authors, when referring to the firm's strategic posture,
In turn, EO suggests a proclivity towards the creation of new products or services, proactiveness and risk-taking propensity (Miller, 1983;
Finally, entrepreneurial firms are defined as those willing to take on high-risk projects for the chance of high return, namely, a strong risk-taking propensity by top management under highly uncertain conditions (Covin and Slevin
Risk-taking involves taking bold actions by venturing into the unknown (Rauch et al. 2009), it reflects the tendency to assume relatively high levels of riskseeking profitable opportunities in the face of uncertainty and the achievement of longterm profitability.
In this way, Robertson and Chetty (2000) say that environments characterized by high levels of uncertainty are used to encourage greater levels of innovation and risk-taking,
innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking propensity. We applied the exploratory factor analysis to assess dimensionality and validity.
while the second and third dimension measure the pro-activeness and the propensity for risk-taking, respectively.
917 Pro-activeness 3 items 0. 865 Risk-taking 3 items 0. 896 Source: Self-elaborated Environmental Hostility (EH) EH is measured with a three-item scale (See Appendix 3). This scale was developed by Khandwalla (1977)
proactive behavior and risk-taking propensity is more clearly in firms which operate in hostile environments.
in an uncertain environment where an atmosphere of high risk predominates, few opportunities, and with tremendous competitiveness, an entrepreneurial posture of the firm is recommended specially.
and a risk-taking propensity. Considering that networks are both cognitive structures in the minds of individuals and actual structures of relationships that link individuals (Balkundi and Kilduff, 2006),
Members of social networks can directly influence the propensity to assume greater or lesser risk activities. 72 In addition, Ripollés and Blesa (2005;
and a moderate risk-taking approach (Ripollés and Blesa, 2005 p. 243). According to these results, the following general hypothesis about the relation between firm networks and EO can be addressed.
Empirically, Miller and Friesen (1982), then Miller (1983) have used five items related to risk-taking and innovation to distinguish between entrepreneurial and conservative firms.
Finally, entrepreneurial firms are defined as those willing to take on high-risk projects for the chance of high return, namely, a strong risk-taking propensity by top management under highly uncertain conditions (Covin and Slevin, 1989;
and that assume relevant risks to growth (Covin and Slevin, 1991), in the same way Brown et al.
However, their results do not support a positive relationship between risk-taking and growth rates, confirming that the influence of EO on performance can be somewhat more insecure,
innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking propensity. We applied the exploratory factor analysis to assess dimensionality and validity.
while the second and third dimension measure the pro-activeness and the propensity for risk-taking, respectively.
0. 865 0. 965 0. 70 Risk-taking 3 items 0. 896 0. 984 0. 74 Source:
innovation and risk-taking are demanded. Secondly, we argue that it is important to know the effectiveness of network usage as a main resource
Likert 1-7 Risk-taking Strong tendency for high-risk projects (high return. 3 Likert 1-7 Believes that bold acts are necessary,
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