Purpose According to an emerging research trend, which seeks to apply the concept of intellectual capital (IC) to the field of entrepreneurship, the purpose of this paper is to test whether IC can affect the start-up expectations of aspiring entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach Binary logistic regression models, based on empirical data derived from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor website and referring to Italy over the years 2005-2010, are used to test the influence of IC (comprising human, structural and relational capital) on start-up expectations. Findings Binary logistic regression models reveal robust results. Human, structural and relational capitals affect start-up expectations in Italy. Only in 2010 did structural capital fail to do so. Research limitations/implications This study has three main limitations. The first concerns the need for further research to confirm the influence of IC on start-up expectations. The second concerns in-depth, more exhaustive analyses that cannot be carried out due to the use of second- hand data. The third deals with the reference only to Italy, over a limited time-span (2005-2010). Originality/value To the best knowledge of the author, this is one of the first empirical studies that investigate whether IC can affect start-up expectations. Results revealed by the regression models might steer other scholars’ interest toward this research path (linking IC and entrepreneurship) that has not yet been properly considered.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way companies involved in Open Innovation Processes (OIPs) routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound knowledge, i.e. knowledge that comes from the outside and, in particular, from the crowd. In-bound knowledge passes through the phases of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation. Thus, companies need to define mechanisms and paths – related to their potential and realized absorptive capacity –to manage and exploit it. Design/methodology/approach The present paper is based on a longitudinal case study, an OIP launched by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) that has already been implemented for three times. Multiple direct interviews with FCA top managers have allowed rebuilding the routinized procedure through which the company absorbs in-bound knowledge. Findings To routinize the procedure of absorbing in-bound knowledge, the company has settled specific mechanisms and paths and has established some bottlenecks over the process of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of in-bound knowledge. These mechanisms and path, as well as these bottlenecks, are identified and descripted in the paper. Research limitations/implications Beyond the limitations linked to the use of a single case study, another limitation might be the reference to a big company in a specific industry. Anyway, with due caution, achieved findings can be referred to other industries as well. Originality/value This paper contributes to exploring if and how companies managing OIPs routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound knowledge.

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This paper arises from the contents of the Lisbon Strategy, a set of cooperation policies stressing the role of education and training. The findings from a comparative study of the influence that entrepreneurial training – classified as formal or informal – can have on start-up expectations are analysed. The study covers fifteen European countries and uses data derived from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) website. The results of a logistic regression model show significant differences across Europe: in some countries, start-up expectations are influenced only by participation in formal entrepreneurial training programmes; in others, they are affected only by participation in informal entrepreneurial training activities; in yet others, such expectations are induced by both formal and informal entrepreneurial training. Regarding the current status of entrepreneurial training, it appears that although the fifteen European countries are following the correct path there is still much to do to achieve the overall objectives established by the Lisbon Strategy. Some recommendations for policy makers and the implications for future research are suggested in the concluding section of the paper.

PurposeThis paper investigates the link between Intellectual Capital (IC) and Open Innovation (OI). Scholars worldwide consider the topics as standing alone and so they give scarce attention to the possible link between them. Managerial experiences (and few theoretical contributions), instead, hypothesize a significant role that IC can play over OI processes in order make them successful.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of a single case study is used to investigate the link between IC and OI. In particular, an OI process managed by a global company, LEGO, and named Mindstorms is rebuilt and analysed herein.FindingsIntermediate results achieved by LEGO through its OI process were unsuccessful since the company had not developed its own IC (made up of relational, human and structural capital). The subsequent development of IC, instead, has driven to successful results. This suggests that if companies do not develop their IC before launching OI processes, then these processes might be not successful.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation is the use of a single case study. Despite this, the present article is a warning for all the companies: before launching OI processes they need to develop their IC.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of the authors, this is one of the first works that deepens the investigation of the link between IC and OI. Very often, scholars investigating IC shyly refer to OI, without mentioning it, while the scholars investigating OI allude to IC, without citing it. In this study, IC and OI are investigated together.

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In the past, entrepreneurship was considered a young person's endeavour, since it was a working choice made after graduation. Social and demographic changes occurring over the last decades have totally modified that assumption so that entrepreneurship is now a phenomenon involving third age people (aged 55 or older) as well. Scholars have started investigating the differences between young and grey entrepreneurs. This topic of research has always been considered halfway between psychological and social studies on the one hand and entrepreneurial studies on the other. Without denying the relevance that psychological and social studies have in the field of entrepreneurship, in the present paper the phenomenon of grey entrepreneurship is only investigated according to an entrepreneurial perspective. Thus, predictors of entrepreneurial intentions are only rooted in entrepreneurial literature and refer to intellectual capital. The results, based on data retrieved from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) website for Italy in 2013, indicate that grey and young entrepreneurs are not that different regarding intellectual capital affecting their entrepreneurial intentions. This result enriches previous literature about grey entrepreneurs.