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The factors determining the success of crowdfunding projects is one of the central issues for crowdfunding researchers. Quantitative approaches recognise the number of funds targeted as an important control variable. However, little is known about the impact of the funding goal on other factors that impact crowdfunding success. We hypothesise that the effect of crowdfunding success factors varies contingent on the funding goal level. A dataset of 338 crowdfunding projects from the largest German crowdfunding platform StartNext in the years 2015 to 2016 is analysed by conducting regression analyses controlling for varying funding goal sizes. We use the dependent variables success, the degree of success and the number of project supporters and control whether the effect of independent variables such as comments, updates and social media depend on different funding goals. Our study indicates that the impact of the investigated success factors, in fact, strongly depends on the funding goal levels of crowdfunding projects. By grouping projects into clusters of varying funding goals, we find that the impact of individual success factors changes and that the funding goal plays a moderating role for factors impacting project success. Implications for Central European audience: Many crowdfunding studies focus on the most popular US-based platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. We examined projects on the largest German reward-based crowdfunding platform StartNext. These results help both researchers and future entrepreneurs in Europe to better understand supporter behaviour. We suggest that future entrepreneurs should be aware that factors influencing the success of a crowdfunding project strongly depend on the set funding goal, which should be adequately considered in future crowdfunding research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many new model launches in Europe do not meet the quality, cost and production targets set by automotive companies during production ramp-up. Although increasing car complexity could be a key factor in explaining this issue, it is not sufficient to explain why production sites are not able to meet these important targets. This article analyses whether the production system used in European car manufacturing plants are suitable for achieving performance goals during the production ramp-up phase. First, the differences between serial production and the production ramp-up phase are analyzed through the conceptual framework of the European Production System in the automotive industry. Second, a case study using real data from a European automotive plant is presented, and the evidence calls into question the appropriateness of maintaining the same production system during the ramp-up phase. The study concludes that there is a need to make the production system in Europe more flexible during the ramp-up phase. In particular, changes should be more oriented towards fostering organizational improvement capability in order to reduce the stops that occur in the production line, avoid using pull systems as a constraint or limitation, and help to build a new culture of stopping to fix problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business incubators have been developed as a key component of entrepreneurial activities in countries all over Europe. These incubators have a non-profit or a for-profit profile, with one-third located in Germany. The increased engagement of private business in what was a public-dominated incubation landscape may influence established theoretical frameworks. Within this context, this paper analyses 11 German business incubators to look at the most common types of for-profit business incubators in Germany and their main characteristics. Moreover, it introduces classification criteria for these incubators. Another aspect of the analysis is the effect of the triple helix dimensions of the different incubation types. The results show that two additional types of incubators can be identified in addition to the traditional public business incubator model, namely 'company builders' and 'accelerators'. Implications for research and practice, as well as directions for future research, are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the reasons behind the rise and fall of Take Eat Easy, a Belgian home food delivery platform, in order to understand better the competitive dynamics that are at play in the sharing economy. We start by describing the home food delivery market in Europe and by summarizing the key milestones in the short existence of Take Eat Easy. We propose next a brief review of what the economic literature on digital platforms teaches us about what they do and how they compete. On that basis, we analyse more deeply the strategic choices taken by the leadership of Take Eat Easy, and their implications. Finally, we combine the two previous analyses to question the sustainability of the current business model of platforms in the sharing economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the heart of the economy. They generate added-value, create opportunities and more than anything, jobs. As Europe is emerging from an economic crisis, we would like to study what the trend is regarding the SMEs, which are the fields in which start-ups have been founded and whether the crisis has been an enabler for growth. Using statistical methods, we will investigate the status of SMEs in Romania in an EU context with a focus on their job generator function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some important hurdles hamper the commercialisation of (scientific) knowledge, especially in Europe. Currently, the support provided by investors and technology transfer offices seems insufficient for new technology-based firms (NTBFs) and academic spin-offs to overcome these. Both from a financial perspective and from an operational perspective, opportunities are emerging for investment models to support their development. This paper introduces the founding angels' (FAs) concept as an emerging subtype of the angel investment model and provides empirical evidence based on 16 case studies in Germany and Switzerland to elucidate the potential of this investment model. FAs join the start-up teams of NTBFs, complementing the scientific members coming mainly from universities and research institutions with business expertise and scientific understanding. They make significantly fewer investments than in the case of business angels (BAs), but because of their very early engagement, they hold more shares and are much more engaged operationally. FAs have more the role of a founder and an entrepreneur and less that of an investor because of their early engagement in the venture. They complement BAs and venture capitalists and normally support the start-up's efforts to raise funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]