New paper accepted for publication

My paper with Toke Reichstein, "Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Firms", has been accepted for publication in the international peer-reviewed journal, Industry and Innovation. It analyses the relationship between general industry experience and the type of firms in which the experience is achieved and how this influences the survival probabilities of new firms. It is expected to be published in the journal in the December 2007 issue.

Michael S. Dahl and Toke Reichstein (2007), "Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Organizations", Industry and Innovation. Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 497-511. ISSN: 1366-2716.

Tietgen Gold Medal Award 2006

I am very much honored to receive the Tietgen Gold Medal Research Award 2006 for my Post-Doc research. The Tietgen Gold Medal is awarded to younger Post-Doc researchers, which have completed a significant degree of internationally published research within business and economics.

C. F. Tietgen was one of the great forces behind the industrial revolution in Denmark. He was behind a number of the greatest corporations at the time. Many of which still exist today, notably GN Store Nord, Danisco, Tuborg, DFDS and Burmeister & Wain.

The award is administred by the Danish Society for the Advancement of Business Education [Foreningen for Unge Handelsmænds Uddannelse] and its Danish Business Research Academy [Dansk Erhvervsforskningsakademi].

The Gold Medal is accompanied with 100,000 Danish Kroner (€13,500 / $16,500) to support a longer visit at an international university.

More information:

• About C. F. Tietgen (1828-1901) [in English] [in Danish here and here]
• The Tietgen Gold Medal Award [in Danish]
• Aalborg University's Press Release [in Danish]

Spar Nord Foundation Research Award 2005

I am very much honored to receive the Spar Nord Foundation Research Award 2005 based on my PhD thesis, “Knowledge Diffusion and Regional Clusters: Lessons from the Danish ICT Industry” and the journal publications coming from this thesis.

The Spar Nord Foundation gives this annual research award to particularly outstanding doctoral work completed at Aalborg University by a young researcher.

• Read the official press release (in Danish)
• Read the news on the CTIF web page (in English)

New DRUID Working Paper

I have released a new DRUID working paper co-authored with Christian Ø. R. Pedersen and Bent Dalum. It is called "Entrepreneurial Founder Effects in the Growth of Regional Clusters " and it is a focused and improved version of our case study of spin-offs in the wireless communication industry around Aalborg in North Denmark from 2003.

Abstract

How can the growth of regional clusters be explained? This paper studies in great detail the growth of the wireless communication cluster in Northern Denmark. Unlike the dominant theories, we argue that initial success of the first firms are the main driving force behind the generation of new firms that eventually lead to the formation of clusters. The success of the first firms tend to generate spinoffs, which becomes successful themselves due to the background of the founders.

Download here

Social networks in the R&D process: the case of the wireless communication industry around Aalborg, Denmark

Michael S. Dahl and Christian Ø. R. Pedersen (now Christian R. Østergaard)

Whether social networks diffuse knowledge across firm boundaries has been the topic of much debate. To inform these theories, this article considers two questions. First, who has contacts across firm boundaries? And second, when do these relations diffuse knowledge? Our empirical evidence comes from a survey of 346 engineers in the wireless communication industry around Aalborg in Northern Denmark. Our analysis finds that social contact between these engineers is frequent and is used to diffuse knowledge that receivers find useful. More experienced engineers are more likely to receive valuable knowledge from their networks. These findings show that the long-term relationships, which are more likely based on trust and reputation, are also more likely to be a channel valuable knowledge.

Michael S. Dahl and Christian Ø. R. Pedersen (2005), “Social Networks in the R&D Process: The Case of the Wireless Communication Industry Around Aalborg, Denmark”, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. Vol. 22, No. 1-2, pp. 75-92. ISSN: 0923-4748. [DOI Link]

Paper accepted for INFO

A paper with Christian Ø. R. Pedersen and Bent Dalum has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal INFO. This journal is fairly unknown, but specializes in articles  on the economic, social, political and regulatory aspects of the telecommunications industry. We have contributed to a special issue on the strong Nordic telecommunications industry with scholars from Sweden and Finland. Our contribution, "The Danish ICT Industry: A Mismatch between Demand and Supply" is a rather descriptive account for the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of this industry in Denmark.

Christian Ø. R. Pedersen, Michael S. Dahl and Bent Dalum (2006), "The Danish ICT Sector in an International Perspective: A Mismatch between Demand and Supply", Info. Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 85-99. ISSN: 1463-6697.

Paper published in JET-M

I have written a new paper (with Christian Ø. R. Pedersen) on the characteristics of social networks in the R&D process. It is a more general follow up on our paper from 2003 on informal networks in clusters (recently published in Research Policy), where more advanced techniques have been applied on the NorCOM Survey in a more general context. Comments from my PhD committee have been incorporated in this new paper, which has now been published in the Elsevier.

Michael S. Dahl and Christian Ø. R. Pedersen (2005), "Social Networks in the R&D Process: The Case of the Wireless Communication Industry Around Aalborg, Denmark", Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. Vol. 22, No. 1-2, pp. 75-92. ISSN: 0923-4748.

New DRUID Working Paper

New working paper is now available. It is a paper co-authored with Toke Reichstein (from Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London) called “Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Organizations“. An early draft was presented at the 10th International Schumpeter Society Conference at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy in June 2004.

This paper investigates the relationship between the level of experience of managers and founders, and the likelihood of survival of their new firms. We take advantage of a comprehensive dataset covering the entire Danish labor market from 1980-2000. This is used to trace the activities of top ranked members of start-ups prior to their founding, and follow the fate of these firms. More specifically, we compare the survival of spin-offs from surviving parents, spin-offs from exiting parents, and other start-ups.

Michael S. Dahl and Toke Reichstein (2007), "Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Organizations", Industry and Innovation. Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 497-511. ISSN: 1366-2716.

Knowledge flows through informal contacts in industrial clusters: myth or reality?

Michael S. Dahl and Christian Ø. R. Pedersen (now Christian R. Østergaard)

The role of informal networks in the development of regional clusters has recently received a lot of attention in the literature. Informal contact between employees in different firms is claimed to be one of the main carriers of knowledge between firms in a cluster. This paper examines empirically the role of informal contacts in a specific cluster. In a questionnaire survey, we asked a sample of engineers in a regional cluster of wireless communication firms in Northern Denmark a series of questions on informal networks. We analyze whether the engineers actually acquire valuable knowledge through these networks. We find that the engineers do share even quite valuable knowledge with informal contacts. This shows that informal contacts represent an important channel of knowledge diffusion.

Michael S. Dahl and Christian Ø. R. Pedersen (2004), “Knowledge Flows through Informal Contacts in Industrial Clusters: Myth or Reality?”, Research Policy, Vol. 33, No. 10, pp. 1673-86. ISSN: 0048-7333. [DOI Link]

Født til Succes? Knopskydninger som kilde til innovation

Michael S. Dahl

Denne artikel præsenterer den nyeste teoretiske forskning i sammenhængen mellem entreprenørers erfaringsmæssige baggrund og deres fremtidige succes og innovationsevne. En række studier tyder nemlig på, at disse faktorer er tæt forbundet i kraft af nedarvede organisatoriske rutiner, som entreprenøren har med fra sin tidligere arbejdsplads. Denne teoretiske påstand undersøges gennem et detaljeret studie af udviklingen af den trådløse kommunikationsindustri omkring Aalborg samt gennem referencer til et kvantitativt studie af 3.500 opstartsvirksomheder i den danske fremstillingssektor. Begge studier peger i retningen af, at knopskydende virksomheder med erfaringer fra gode virksomheder har større sandsynlighed for succes, samt at disse virksomheder også er mere innovative i deres første tid end andre ældre virksomheder.

Michael S. Dahl (2004), “Født til Succes? Knopskydninger som kilde til innovation [Born for Success? Spin-offs as sources of innovation]“, Ledelse & Erhvervsøkonomi, Vol. 68, No. 4, pp. 285-292. ISSN: 0902-3704. [PDF]