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While the study of international entrepreneurship has been dominated by studies of international new ventures, the study of comparative international entrepreneurship has received relatively little attention. We argue that since such international differences are often the underlying drivers for entrepreneurship that crosses borders, this area of research has a rich potential to improve our understanding of international entrepreneurship. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework to examine the effects of the external business environment (the soil) on the entrepreneurial entry by individuals (the seeds). This leads us to fundamental predictions regarding differences in the extent of entrepreneurship in different national contexts. While in developed economies business ventures are more likely to be launched when the turnover rate of incumbent firms is high, the opposite is true in developing economies. Estimates generated using a large-scale data set provide empirical support for our theoretical predictions. Our findings suggest important avenues for new research regarding the role of factors such as the liability of newness and the stigma of failure in different national contexts, as well as the manner in which entrepreneurial dynamics evolve over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We inductively examine how exceptional Principal Investigators (PIs), who are active in biotechnology, medical devices, and nanotechnology, affect new technology trajectories and shape market boundaries by leveraging synergies stemming from their being simultaneously a scientist and a (lead) user. Our central contribution is the scientist-user template that explores how these types of PIs perform successfully their technology transfer task and, consequently, address increasing expectations about PIs as agents of economic and societal development. Building upon five illustrative case histories, we propose that scientist-user PIs exhibit superior capabilities in turning generic technology into several selected market applications, with no negative effects on their academic role. Overall, we develop a holistic view of synergies stemming from the scientist and user sides and offer insights into academic entrepreneurship and research project management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]