Corporate venture capitalists and independent venture capitalists: what do they know, who do they know, and should entrepreneurs care?

While a strong stream of research has examined the value-added by venture capitalists and some recent research has also explored the value added by corporate venture capitalists, the value-added provided by these two types of investors for their portfolio companies has not been compared systematically. This study proposes to make such an evaluation by comparing the social capital based and knowledge-based forms of value added provided by independent and corporate venture capitalists to their portfolio firms. Employing primary data collected from U.S. technology-based new firms that had recently received both corporate venture capital and independent venture capital funding, the present study demonstrates that the value-adding contributions of corporate venture capital and independent venture capital investors are different but complementary.Arthur M. Blank Center kr Entrepreneurship Babson College, Babson Park, Manachueetts 02457-0310 Kauffinan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Kansas City. Missouri 64112-2776 Co-spcesoerd by Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship @ Strathclyde University of Strathclyde. Glasgow. Scotland Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow; Scotland The Entrepreneurial Exchange, Hamilton, Scotland Linc Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow City Council. Glasgow Scotlan

RF power amplifier design optimization using measurement data and statistical methods

Abstract. Constantly growing number of mobile data users, and thus the mobile data, creates challenges for spectral efficient data transmission. A high data throughput of a base station requires linear modulation methods and broadband signals. Radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (PA) as a part of base station has an important role making the output signal of the transceiver as linear and spectral efficient as possible. The key RF parameters such as peak power, efficiency, linearity and gain suffer from productional variety which needs to be taken into account in design process. In this thesis, the RF PA design is optimized to tolerate the productional variety of certain RF parameters. The effects of productional variety are pre-analyzed by building the design using corner sample transistors. The build consists of seven different PA module versions where the RF transistor’s internal matchings are modified. The best information of the PA performance is gathered from measurement results and therefore, the presented design optimization method is based on hardware measuring and tuning. Measurement results are compared to self-defined specification limits of each RF parameter and to the nominal version. Another method for analyzing a build which aims for illustrating large population of PA modules is statistical analysis. Along with the help of process capability index Cpk, the statistical behavior compared to the specification limits is evaluated. Peak power proved to be the optimized parameter. Changing the biasing of the transistor and tuning the external input matching network, the peak power results increased. The measurement results proved that the RF PA design is optimized to tolerate the productional variety better with the design optimization method presented in this thesis.RF-tehovahvistinsuunnittelun optimointi mittausdataa ja tilastollisia menetelmiä käyttäen. Tiivistelmä. Mobiilidatan käyttäjien, ja siten myös mobiilidatan määrä on jatkuvasti kasvussa, mikä luo haasteita spektritehokkaaseen datansiirtoon. Tukiaseman suuri datansyöttö vaatii laajakaistaisia signaaleja sekä lineaarisia modulointimenetelmiä. RF-tehovahvistimella on siis tärkeä rooli tukiaseman osana saada lähtösignaalista mahdollisimman lineaarinen ja spektritehokas. Tehovahvistimen RF-parametrit, kuten huipputeho, hyötysuhde, lineaarisuus sekä vahvistus kärsivät tuotannollisesta vaihtelusta, kun tehovahvistinmoduulia aletaan tuottaa suuria määriä. Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on optimoida RF-tehovahvistimen suunnittelu sellaiseksi, että se on sietokykyinen tiettyjen RF-parametrien tuotannolliselle vaihtelulle. Tuotannollisen vaihtelun vaikutuksia analysoidaan etukäteen käyttämällä tehovahvistimessa kulmanäytetransistoria. Kulmanäytteet koostuvat seitsemästä erilaisesta versiosta, jossa RF-transistorin sisäisiä sovituksia on muunneltu. Paras tieto tehovahvistimen käyttäytymisestä saadaan mittaustuloksista, minkä takia työssä käytetään mittauksiin ja laitteiston hienosäätämiseen perustuvaa optimointimetodia. Kulmanäytteiden mittaustuloksia verrataan itse määrittelemiin RF-parametrien spesifikaatioihin sekä nominaaliversioon. Toinen analyysimetodi suuren tehovahvistinmoduulimäärän havainnollistamiseen on tilastollinen analyysi. Prosessin kyvykkyysindeksin Cpk analysoinnin kanssa, RF-parametrien tilastollinen käyttäytyminen spesifikaatiorajoihin verrattuna voidaan arvioida. Huipputeho osoittautui optimoitavaksi parametriksi. Transistorin biasoinnin muutoksella sekä tulon ulkoisen sovituspiirin muokkauksella huipputehoa saatiin kasvatettua. Mittaustulokset osoittavat, että työssä esitetyllä suunnittelun optimointimetodilla tehovahvistin saatiin sietämään tuotannollista vaihtelua paremmin

Attenuated Semliki Forest virus for cancer treatment in dogs : safety assessment in two laboratory Beagles

Background: Dogs suffer from spontaneous tumors which may be amenable to therapies developed for human cancer patients, and dogs may serve as large-animal cancer models. A non-pathogenic Semliki Forest virus vector VA7-EGFP previously showed promise in targeting human tumor xenografts in mice, but the oncolytic capacity of the virus in canine cancer cells and the safety of the virus in higher mammals such as dogs, are not known. We therefore assessed the oncolytic potency of VA7-EGFP against canine cancer cells by infectivity and viability assays in two dog solid tumor cell lines. Furthermore we performed a 3-week safety study in two adult Beagles which received a single intravenous injection of similar to 2 x 10(5) plaque forming units of parental A7(74) strain. Results: VA7-EGFP was able to replicate in and kill both canine cancer cell lines tested. No adverse events were observed in either of the two virus-injected adult Beagles and no infective virus could be recovered from any of the biological samples collected over the course of the study. Neutralizing antibodies to Semliki Forest virus became detectable in the dogs at 5 days post infection and remained elevated until study termination. Conclusions: Based on these results, testing of the oncolytic potential of attenuated Semliki Forest virus in canine cancer patients appears feasible.Peer reviewe

A terminal assessment of stages theory : introducing a dynamic states approach to entrepreneurship

Stages of Growth models were the most frequent theoretical approach to understanding entrepreneurial business growth from 1962 to 2006; they built on the growth imperative and developmental models of that time. An analysis of the universe of such models (N=104) published in the management literature shows no consensus on basic constructs of the approach, nor is there any empirical confirmations of stages theory. However, by changing two propositions of the stages models, a new dynamic states approach is derived. The dynamic states approach has far greater explanatory power than its precursor, and is compatible with leading edge research in entrepreneurship

High modal number and triple trisomies are highly correlated favorable factors in childhood B-cell precursor high hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated according to the NOPHO ALL 1992/2000 protocols.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.Between 1992 and 2008, 713 high hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemias in children aged 1-15 years were diagnosed and treated according to the Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology acute lymphoblastic leukemia 1992/2000 protocols. Twenty (2.8%) harbored t(1;19), t(9;22), der(11q23), or t(12;21). The median age of patients with "classic" high hyperdiploidy was lower than that of patients with translocation-positive high hyperdiploidy (P53/55 (P=0.020/0.024). In multivariate analyses, modal number and triple trisomies were significantly associated with superior event-free survival in separate analyses with age and white blood cell counts. When including both modal numbers and triple trisomies, only low white blood cell counts were significantly associated with superior event-free survival (P=0.009). We conclude that high modal chromosome numbers and triple trisomies are highly correlated prognostic factors and that these two parameters identify the same subgroup of patients characterized by a particularly favorable outcome.Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation Swedish Cancer Society Swedish Research Counci

Impact of childhood experiences on the development of entrepreneurial intentions

Fostering entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture has become a key policy priority for governments. To encourage entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture, however, there is a need to understand the factors that influence and shape individuals' intentions to start a business. This study extends models of entrepreneurial intentions by investigating the influence of various childhood-experience factors on the perceived feasibility and desirability of starting a business. A structured questionnaire was completed by over 1,000 university students and analysed using regression analysis. Results indicated that perceptions of entrepreneurship were influenced not only by parental ownership of a business, but also by a difficult childhood and frequent relocation

Developing a Global Healthcare Innovation Index

Our understanding of medicine is being revolutionised by the pace of science. But not all the potential innovations in life sciences and medical technology are taken up into everyday practice in healthcare, even when they are shown to be beneficial. For the poorest people in the world, many innovations are not accessible because they are either unaffordable or unsuitable for their health systems. Tackling this gap requires the development of appropriate and affordable health technologies and novel business models. In the more advanced health systems there is a disconnection between the effort on research and development (R&D) and how much of this makes it into mainstream healthcare practice. Even the most evidence-based and affordable innovations can fail or are only taken up patchily, whether we compare across countries, or between localities or health organisations within countries. And technological innovation can be a problem for those responsible for paying for health systems. New technologies often increase costs because they allow us to treat more people for a longer part of their lives. Yet the general view amongst politicians, managers and others involved in healthcare is that health systems across the world need new thinking. They are increasingly facing escalating demand from an ageing population and the growing incidence of chronic disease. Healthcare is consuming an ever-increasing share of gross domestic product (GDP). The search is on for ways of providing the best quality healthcare as affordably as possible. The health technology industries – pharmaceutical and biotechnology, medical devices, information technology and the built environment (design, engineering and construction) – drive much of the innovation that takes place in healthcare. They are very big business. Collectively these companies have global revenues in the order of USD 2 trillion a year, about a quarter of overall global spending on healthcare. But they too are experiencing a changing landscape – an evolving market for their products, a changing balance of power across health systems as governments and payers seek to control costs, hence pressure on their business models. Innovation is regarded by economists and politicians as one of the main drivers of economic growth. It helps to explain why some companies, regions and countries perform better than others in terms of higher productivity and income. For companies involved in the health technology sector, and governments in countries where they are located, there is concern to ensure that their business models are sustainable and continue to successfully deliver new products to the market

Fyysisen aktiivisuuden yhteys lannenikaman kokoon 20- ja 30-vuotiailla aikuisilla

Tiivistelmä. Nikaman pieni koko on tärkeä nikamamurtumien riskitekijä. Tutkimme, vaikuttavatko fyysinen aktiivisuus ja impaktilajeihin osallistuminen nikaman poikkipinta-alan kasvunopeuteen nuorilla aikuisilla. Tutkimusväestönämme käytimme Pohjois-Suomen syntymäkohortin 1986 osakohorttia (n = 375). Tutkimusväestömme kävi kliinisissä tutkimuksissa 15–19-vuotiaina ja täyttivät samalla kyselyn liittyen heidän elintapoihinsa ja terveyteensä. Tutkimuksessamme käytetyt MRI-kuvat otettiin 20- ja 30-vuotiaina. Käytimme yleistä arviointiyhtälöä (generalized estimating equation, GEE) mallintaaksemme yhteyttä muuttujiemme välillä. Kun tarkastelimme yhteyttä nikaman poikkipinta-alan, liikunnallisen aktiivisuuden ja korkean impaktin lajien välillä, emme löytäneet yhtään tilastollisesti merkitsevää tulosta. Aikainteraktion huomioiminen ei myöskään tuottanut yhtään tilastollisesti merkitsevää tulosta. Johtopäätöksenä liikunnan harjoittaminen ei auta kasvattamaan nikaman mittoja tai pinta-alaa, eikä siis sitä kautta ehkäise nikamamurtumia

Entrepreneurs’ age, institutions, and social value creation goals: a multi-country study

This study explores the relationship between an entrepreneur's age and his/her social value creation goals. Building on the lifespan developmental psychology literature and institutional theory, we hypothesize a U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to create social value through their ventures, such that younger and older entrepreneurs create more social value with their businesses while middle age entrepreneurs are relatively more economically and less socially oriented with their ventures. We further hypothesize that the quality of a country’s formal institutions in terms of economic, social, and political freedom steepen the U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to pursue social value creation as supportive institutional environments allow entrepreneurs to follow their age-based preferences. We confirm our predictions using multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions on a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs (aged between 18 and 64 years) in 45 countries from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data. The findings are robust to several alternative specifications. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for theory and practice, and we propose future research directions

‘Better late than never’: the interplay between green technology and age for firm growth

This paper investigates the relationship between green/non-green technologies and firm growth. By combining the literature on eco-innovations, industrial organisation and entrepreneurial studies, we examine the dependence of this relationship on the pace at which firms grow and the age of the firm. From a dataset of 5498 manufacturing firms in Italy for the period of 2000–2008, longitudinal fixed effects quantile models are estimated, in which the firm’s age is set to moderate the effects of green and non-green patents on employment growth. We find that the positive effect of green technologies on growth is greater than that of non-green technologies. However, this result does not apply to struggling and rapidly growing firms. With fast-growing (above the median) firms, age moderates the growth effect of green technologies. Inconsistent with the extant literature, this moderation effect is positive: firm experience appears important for the growth benefits of green technologies, possibly relative to the complexity of their management