Prof. Laura Rosendahl Huber, Ph.D.

Articles in Refereed Journals

Kleine, Marco; Heite, Jonas; Rosendahl Huber, Laura (2022). Subsidized R&D Collaboration: The Causal Effect of Innovation Vouchers on Innovation Outcomes, Research Policy, 51 (6). DOI

• We study the causal effect of subsidized R&D collaboration on external collaborations and innovation outcomes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, we make use of a randomized controlled trial to analyze the effect of a nationwide innovation voucher scheme in the United Kingdom that grants SMEs across all industries financial support of up to 5,000 GBP for engaging the services of experts, e.g., from universities, research institutes or IP advisors, when pursuing an innovation-related project. Our results show that the innovation voucher program has an immediate, short-term impact on the execution of these innovation projects with positive effects on product and service development, internal processes, and intellectual property protection. However, we also observe that these results fade out quite quickly, i.e., two years after the intervention many effects caused by the innovation voucher program have disappeared. Based on our results, we also provide some practical guidance to further improve the effectiveness of voucher programs.
• Also published in: Academy of Management Proceedings Vol. 2020, No. 1
• Also published as: Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No. 20-11

Bechthold, Laura; Rosendahl Huber, Laura (2020). Peer Effects in Entrepreneurship Education Field Experimental Evidence on the Role of Gender and Team Emotional Intelligence, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020 (1), 2020 (1)90. DOI

• This study builds on the assumption that the common experiential design of entrepreneurship education stimulates entrepreneurial learning via social interaction with peers. We present data from a field experiment in higher entrepreneurship education with 498 valid observations, including 314 female and 184 male students across 174 randomly assigned teams. We investigate peer effects in two ways. First and to the best of our knowledge, we present the first attempt to explore gendered peer effects at the pre-nascent stage of the entrepreneurial process. We theorize that having same-gender entrepreneurial peers in the team positively influences the development of entrepreneurial intentions, attitudes, as well as entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Second, we explore the role of team emotional intelligence in the context of entrepreneurship education. Our analysis provides some indications for positive same-gender peer effects, especially when it comes to the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy among female students. Further, we find support that team emotional intelligence is not only an antecedent of entrepreneurial propensity, but also being assigned to a team with emotionally intelligent peers positively influences entrepreneurial learning and may even mitigate same-gender effects."

Chochoiek, Nadine Alexandra; Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Sloof, Randolph (2020). Optimism & Overconfidence in Strategic Decision Making - Are Managers & Entrepreneurs Really Different?, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020 (1), 2020 (1)1523abstract. DOI

• Empirical evidence supports the conventional wisdom that entrepreneurs are more optimistic and overconfident than others. However, the same holds true for top managers. In this lab-in-the- field experiment we directly compare the scores of entrepreneurs, managers and employees on a comprehensive set of measures of optimism and overconfidence (n = 2,404). The results show that on average entrepreneurs and managers are more optimistic than employees in their dispositional optimism and explanatory style of past events. For an incentivized measure of overconfidence we find no difference between entrepreneurs and managers, who both are more likely to overestimate their own abilities compared to employees. Finally, exploration of within-group heterogeneity shows that these observations hold true for various sub-groups of entrepreneurs and managers. We conclude that optimism and overconfidence are indeed characteristics of entrepreneurs, but they are not unique when compared to (top) managers."

Heite, Jonas; Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Kleine, Marco (2020). Subsidized R&D Collaboration: The Effect of Innovation Vouchers on Innovation Activity & Performance, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020 (1), 2020 (1)7665abstract. DOI

• We study the causal effect of subsidized R&D collaboration on innovation performance. In particular, we make use of a randomized controlled trial to analyze the effect of an innovation voucher scheme in the United Kingdom that grants small and medium-sized enterprises financial support of up to 5,000 GBP for engaging the services of experts, e.g., from universities, research institutes or IP advisors, when pursuing an innovation-related project. Our findings provide evidence that the innovation voucher program successfully accelerates the execution of R&D projects with short-term effects on innovation outcomes. We find that being awarded a voucher has a positive short-term impact on product development for firms that collaborated with a university. In addition, we find a positive effect on the number of patent applications for firms indicating to be in need for specialist IP knowledge. In terms of collaboration outcomes, we can show that subsidized university-industry collaborations result in an increase of joint ventures two years after the voucher has been awarded."
• Also published as: Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No. 20-11
• Also published in: Research Policy Volume 51, Issue 6, July 2022, 104515

Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Sloof, Randolph; Van Praag, Mirjam; Parker, Simon C. (2020). Diverse Cognitive Skills and Team Performance: A Field Experiment Based on an Entrepreneurship Education Program, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 177, 569-588. DOI

• Verbal and mathematical reasoning are key cognitive skills which individuals use throughout their lives to create economic value. We argue that individuals undertaking entrepreneurial tasks also draw on these skills, and we study how best these skills should be combined in entrepreneurial teams. To that purpose we conduct a randomized field experiment using data from the BizWorld entrepreneurship education program. Four different types of teams are created which differ in terms of their cognitive skill composition. Our results show that balanced skills are beneficial for a team’s venture performance only if it comes from within-person skill balance, and that combining team members with different skills in mixed teams does not compensate for a lack of members who individually possess balanced cognitive skills.

Streicher, Magdalena; Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Moberg, Kåre; Jørgensen, Casper; Redford, Dana (2019). Filling in the Blanks? The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on European High School Students, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2019 (1), 2019 (1)68. DOI

• This paper provides causal evidence on whether entrepreneurship education programs constitute an effective policy tool to promote entrepreneurial self-efficacy, attitudes and intentions. In a unique empirical setting we analyze the impact of a large scale European entrepreneurship program by means of a randomized field experiment in upper secondary education and find that the educational intervention is associated with a significant increase in entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and financing, ambiguity and marshalling skills. Our estimations further suggest that children who had been exposed to experiential entrepreneurship education prior to the program, or whose parents are of low educational attainment profit disproportionately more from the intervention than other students. We thus conclude that ex ante differences between children have important implications on the extent to which the benefits of educational initiatives can be reaped.

Nagel, Hanskje; Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Van Praag, Mirjam; Goslinga, Sjoerd (2019). The Effect of a Tax Training Program on Tax Compliance and Business Outcomes of Starting Entrepreneurs: Evidence from a Field Experiment, Journal of Business Venturing, 34 (2), 261-283. DOI

• This paper estimates the long-term impact of a short, partly personalized, mandatory tax training program on tax compliance and business outcomes of first-time entrepreneurs. To this end, we combine survey data, audit data and unique register data from the Netherlands' Tax and Customs Administration with a three year long randomized experiment. The results show that the training affects specific domains of tax compliant behavior. Moreover, it has no impact on business survival, but treated entrepreneurs have significantly higher profits compared to the control group due to lower business costs. These outcomes are partially supportive of our hypotheses developed from theories on tax compliance and mental accounting.

Bechthold, Laura; Rosendahl Huber, Laura (2018). Yes, I Can! - A Field Experiment on Female Role Model Effects in Entrepreneurship. Working Document, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2018 (1). DOI

• This study draws on social learning theory and research concerning role model effects to understand how exposure to female entrepreneurial role models influences the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, attitudes and intentions among female students. We present results from a field experiment including data from 547 students and 98 entrepreneurs. The combination of a mandatory entrepreneurship course, random assignment of students to teams and entrepreneurs, as well as a pre-test/post-test design, allows us to draw robust causal inferences about the impact of female entrepreneurial role models. We find that exposure to female entrepreneurs particularly boosts the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and attitudes towards entrepreneurship of female students. We explore five mechanisms to explain role model effects as an emergent outcome of a reciprocal relationship between student and entrepreneur. We find that if entrepreneurs signal high levels of supportiveness and interest in the student’s project outcomes, the importance of working with an entrepreneur of the same-gender decreases. In sum, this study provides evidence that role model effects do not only occur by chance, but can be purposefully triggered in an educational setting. Hence, exploiting female role model effects may serve as an effective mechanism to foster female entrepreneurship.

Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Sloof, Randolph; Van Praag, Mirjam (2017). The Effect of Incentives on Sustainable Behavior: Evidence From a Field Experiment, Labour Economics, 45, 92-106. DOI

• This study investigates how children respond to different treatments aimed to foster sustainable behavior in a productive (firm like) setting. We conduct a field experiment using teams of children (aged 11 or 12) that are participating in an entrepreneurship education program in the last grade of primary school in the Netherlands. Schools participating in this program are randomly assigned to one of three treatments: the first is purely financially oriented, the second promotes sustainable behavior and the third also induces sustainability by (monetary) incentives. Comparing the first two groups we find that solely promoting sustainability does not lead to a change in sustainable behavior. However, once the monetary reward is linked to sustainable outcome measures, we find a significant positive effect on sustainable behavior. In our specific setting, the choice to behave more sustainable comes at the cost of weaker financial performance of the team.

Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Sloof, Randolph; Van Praag, Mirjam (2014). The Effect of Early Entrepreneurship Education: Evidence from a Field Experiment, European Economic Review, 72, 76-97. DOI

• The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of early entrepreneurship education. To this end, we conduct a randomized field experiment to evaluate a leading entrepreneurship education program that is taught worldwide in the final grade of primary school. We focus on pupils׳ development of entrepreneurship knowledge and a set of non-cognitive skills relevant for entrepreneurial activity. The results indicate that knowledge is unaffected by the program. However, the program has a robust positive effect on non-cognitive entrepreneurial skills. This is surprising since previous evaluations found zero or negative effects. Because these earlier studies all pertain to entrepreneurship education for adolescents, our result tentatively suggests that non-cognitive entrepreneurial skills are best developed at an early age. As the entrepreneurship program has various features besides its entrepreneurship content, we must leave it to future research to determine which specific element has the greatest impact on the development of non-cognitive entrepreneurial skills.

Conference papers

Rosendahl Huber, Laura (2015). Working Document II, in: Youth Education and Entrepreneurship. Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies, Culture and Education. Workshop Documentation 2015, 26-49.

• http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/563390/IPOL_STU(2015)563390_EN.pdf
• Event: Youth Education & Entrepreneurship, 2015-03-24

Monographies

Rosendahl Huber, Laura (2015). Entrepreneurship, Teams and Sustainability - A Series of Field Experiments. Amsterdam: Tinbergen Institute.

• http://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.471066

Discussion Papers

Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Lane, Jaqueline N.; Lakhani, Karim R. (2020). Learning With People Like Me: The Role of Age-Similar Peers on Online Business Course Engagement, Harvard Business School Working Paper, 21-072.

• Over the past decade, online learning has witnessed tremendous growth in popularity due to its ability to reach diverse participants in a scalable manner. However, one primary area of concern is the low course completion rates in digital platform-based learning, compared to face-to-face counterparts. Given that most education tends to be organized by age, we ask: how does the degree of age-similarity among cohort peers affect course engagement and persistence? Using a unique dataset of 17,000 working professionals enrolled in business skills training courses offered by an elite U.S. business school over a three year period, we show that age similarity has a positive effect on individual course completion: an individual’s likelihood of course completion increases by 3% for every 10 same-age cohort peers. Given that the average cohort size is 220 people, this suggests that a small threshold of same-age peers can have a substantial impact on course engagement and persistence. To examine mechanisms, we turn to participants’ motivations for taking the course, and find that similar-age peers are more likely to affiliate with one another because they share a common motivation for taking the course. Our results suggest that there is an implicit trade-off between social engagement and diversity of perspectives in online courses, and that the organization and structure of online courses ought to balance both objectives.

Kleine, Marco; Heite, Jonas; Rosendahl Huber, Laura (2020). Subsidized R&D Collaboration: The Causal Effect of Innovation Vouchers on Innovation Performance, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 20-11. DOI

• We study the causal effect of subsidized R&D collaboration on innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, we make use of a randomized controlled trial to analyze the effect of a nationwide innovation voucher scheme in the United Kingdom that grants SMEs across all industries financial support of up to 5,000 GBP for engaging the services of experts, e.g., from universities, research institutes or IP advisors, when pursuing an innovation-related project. Our results show that the innovation voucher program successfully promotes the execution of these innovation projects with positive short- and medium-term effects on product and service development, internal processes and intellectual property protection. Based on our results, we also provide some practical guidance to further improve the effectiveness of voucher programs.
• Also published in: Academy of Management Proceedings Vol. 2020, No. 1
• Also published in: Research Policy Volume 51, Issue 6, July 2022, 104515

Rosendahl Huber, Laura; Sloof, Randolf; Van Praag, Mirjam (2014). Jacks-of-all-trades? The effect of balanced skills on team performance, IZA Discussion Paper, No. 8237.

• Previous empirical studies have shown that solo entrepreneurs benefit from having balanced skills: Jacks-of-All-Trades (JATs) are better entrepreneurs than specialists are. Nowadays however, the majority of entrepreneurs start up and run ventures together in teams. In this paper we test whether the effect of more balanced skills is also positive in a team of entrepreneurs. We also explore whether (a lack of) individual balanced skills can be substituted by combining the skills of various specialists within one team. Our field experiment studies teams of children participating in an entrepreneurship education program. Based on pupils’ precisely measured level of verbal and mathematical ability, we exogenously compose 179 teams separated into four different types: JAT teams, math- specialist teams, verbal-specialist teams and mixed specialist teams. Our results show that balanced skills are beneficial to team performance, and that it is hard to substitute individual balanced skills by combining different specialists within one team.
• http://ftp.iza.org/dp8237.pdf