L'objectif de cette thèse est d'identifier les effets des coûts à l'échange sur la structure du commerce par qualité. Dans le premier chapitre, nous analysons empiriquement les déterminants des exportations de Cognac et nous nous focalisons sur l'impact des coûts à l'échange. Nous montrons que, comme pour d'autres produits de luxe, l'élasticité des exportations de Cognac à la distance est négative et relativement faible. Les droits de douane n'ont par ailleurs pas d'impact significatif sur la marge intensive, mais nous trouvons un impact négatif sur la marge extensive, une fois corrigé d'un biais d'endogénéité. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous testons empiriquement la validité de l'effet Alchian-Allen qui stipule que les couts unitaires augmentent la demande relative des biens de haute qualité. Nous exploitons la dimension « qualité » de nos données sur les exportations de Cognac. La mesure de la qualité du Cognac est objective et ne varie pas dans le temps. Nos résultats montrent que la distance et les droits de douane spécifiques augmentent la part relative des exportations de Cognac de haute qualité. Nous examinons également l'impact de la conteneurisation sur la structure par qualité des exportations de Cognac entre 1967 et 2013. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous construisons un modèle théorique de duopole Nord-Sud en concurrence à la Bertrand sur les deux marchés. Nous étudions l'impact de plusieurs instruments (droit de douane, quota et standard de qualité) sur l'investissement en R&D de produit de la firme du Nord. Nous montrons que cet investissement augmente avec chaque instrument de politique commerciale à l'exception du quota d'importation.. / The objective of this dissertation is to identify the effects of trade costs on the quality structure of international trade flows. In chapter one we empirically analyze the determinants of Cognac export flows and emphasize the role of trade costs. We show that, as with other luxury products, the elasticity of Cognac exports to distance is negative and relatively small. Meanwhile, average customs duties do not have a significant impact on the intensive margin, but we find that they negatively affect the probability of trade, after correcting for an endogeneity bias. In chapter two we empirically test the validity of the Alchian and Allen effect that states that per-unit charges increase the relative demand of higher quality goods. We use data on Cognac exports by quality designations. The measure of Cognac quality is objective and invariant over time. Our results show that distance and specific duties increase the share of exports of higher quality Cognac. We also examine the impact of containerization on Cognac's quality mix from 1967 to 2013. In chapter three we build a theoretical model of a North-South duopoly where firms compete in prices on both markets. We use this framework to study the impact of several trade policy instruments (import tariff, quota and quality standard) on the product R&D investment of the Northern firm. Our results show that the Northern firm's R&D expenditures increase with each policy instrument except for the import quota.

This thesis analyses the causes of states interventions in the market environment and the risk associated with them, in particular with the state support of research and development. There are several types of support, each of them has benefits on the one hand and inducted costs on the other one. The thesis assesses the benefits and inducted cost of the various types of state support of research and development from the perspective of the company Vyzkumny ustav organickych syntez. In the case of this business entity there is the economic analysis performed and the decision rule for the most appropriate aid derived. At the same time thesis tries to find how to increase efficiency of the government support.

Cette thèse de doctorat met l’emphase sur les défis rencontrés par les patients atteints de maladies rares. Elle est structurée en trois parties, chacune d’entre elles dédiée aux enjeux d’un acteur au cœur de l’Odyssée diagnostique et thérapeutique des patients atteints de maladies rares. La première partie de la thèse s’intéresse au patient et à son réseau social. Le chapitre 1 considère les sources de délai à l’accès au diagnostic, et explore notamment l’effet du capital social sur le délai d’obtention du diagnostic. Le chapitre 2 évoque les externalités négatives sur la santé maternelle d’un diagnostic d’une maladie chronique chez l’enfant. La seconde partie de la thèse est dédiée à l’industrie pharmaceutique et s’intéresse aux décisions d’investissements de R&D ciblant les maladies rares. Le chapitre 3 évalue l’effet causal de l’Orphan Drug Policy sur l’effort de recherche, et le chapitre 4 envisage les inégalités d’allocation des investissements de R&D entre les maladies rares. La partie 3 est dédiée aux décideurs publics et discute des enjeux d’évaluation des bénéfices de l’innovation thérapeutique et de la définition des conditions d’accès à cette innovation. Le chapitre 5 évalue l’effet causal de l’innovation thérapeutique sur la longévité des patients atteints de maladies rares. Le chapitre 6 est une discussion critique relative à l’utilisation d’outils. / This dissertation emphasizes the challenges raised by the management of rare diseases and is structured around three key actors of the diagnostic and therapeutic “odyssey” of patients with rare diseases. Part I is devoted to patients and their social networks. Chapter 1 considers demand-side sources of delay in receiving a diagnosis; Chapter 2 explores the health spillover effects from patients’ health to their direct support structure. Part II considers pharmaceutical firms and examines how firms’ decisions to allocate R&D investment to rare diseases are impacted by innovation policies in rare arenas. Chapter 3 evaluates the causal impact of the EU Orphan Drug policy on R&D efforts in orphan drugs, while Chapter 4 investigates the inequality in allocation of R&D investment within rare diseases. Part III focuses on policymakers and addresses the issues in measuring pharmaceutical innovation benefits along with costs in rare disease arenas, while considering the opportunity cost of healthcare expenditures. Chapter 5 measures the causal impact of pharmaceutical innovation in rare diseases on longevity, while Chapter 6 is a critical discussion of decision-making tools for rational allocation of healthcare resources, and the use of a cost-effectiveness threshold.

It is a sandwich Thesis. The first and the second essay are joint works with my Supervisor, Dr. Ronald Balvers. The third essay is joint work with Fangxing Liu, a Ph.D. candidate (Finance) at DeGroote School of Business, where we have equally shared the work responsibility. / First essay deals with Productivity shocks. Productivity shocks transmitted from productivity leaders to trailing sectors are systematic sources of risk. Global technology and knowledge diffusion leads to predictable patterns in productivity dynamics across countries and industries. Productivity gaps determine the level of exposure to the systematic leader productivity shocks. Firms in a country-industry with larger productivity gaps relative to the world leader are more dependent on the leader's innovations compared to their own productivity improvements. They thus have higher loadings on the leader productivity shocks and higher average stock returns. For OECD panel data, a country-industry's productivity gap significantly predicts the stock returns of the country-industry: holding the quintile of country- industry portfolios with the largest gaps and shorting the quintile with the smallest gaps generates annual returns of 9.8% (6.7% after risk adjustment with standard factors). A factor associated with the productivity gap explains country-industry portfolio returns substantially better than standard factor models. Loadings on leader-country-productivity shocks are found to have substantial correlation with productivity gaps, and leader productivity shocks are more important for stock returns than idiosyncratic productivity shocks. These findings suggest that the productivity gaps and associated higher average returns are indeed tied to systematic risk. The second essay deals with Technology shocks. Technology shocks from technological frontier economies are a critical determinant of productivity shocks. These shocks spill over, pervading all lagging economies and are true systematic shocks. A country's aggregate technology gap with the frontier determines the potential for the systematic innovation shocks to affect it, but the country's absorption capacity determines its effective sensitivity to these shocks. We find conforming evidence that the technology gap, R&D intensity, and absorption capacity can explain stock returns. For OECD panel data, a one standard deviation increase in the technology gap increases excess stock returns by 0.578 percent per month. A one standard deviation increase in R&D intensity increases the excess return by 0.637 percent per month. An increase in absorption capacity of one standard deviation increases the excess return by 0.275 percent per month. When global FF factors are included, the results are diluted, which suggests that the FF factors may alias for the three variables associated with the systematic risk arising from frontier technology shocks. The third essay deals with Political risk. We find that the differences in Hassan et al. (2019) political Risk proxy derived from text processing of analyst transcripts can price cross-sectional returns after controlling for standard factor risks. A mimicking factor for the political risk measure, when added to the standard Fama French 5 factor model or the Q5 model, explains the test asset returns better than these models. In our limited sample, the changes in PRisk measure captures more information about political risk than the traditional measures from Baker et al. (2016), which suggests that one can start using changes in PRisk characteristic as a political risk proxy. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Today, the automotive industry is facing a transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles due to demand changes and sustainability concerns. As a result, new actors have entered the automobile market and gained market shares in the EV sector. Further, this entails that pressure is put on the incumbents in terms of implementing new solutions of e-mobility. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to provide managerial recommendations concerning how the incumbents can manage the transition and at the same time stay competitive in the market. Moreover, as this transition is ongoing, the authors aim to contribute within the theoretical field of incumbent’s transition to EVs. In order to achieve this purpose, the authors have conducted a multiple embedded qualitative case study with an explorative approach, where four incumbents have been investigated and two researchers in the field have been interviewed. The research questions, results & analysis and discussion have been divided into three parts: Strategic Management, Transition Management and R&D Management. In terms of the first sub-research question, the incumbents must restructure its managerial levels, decision making processes and communication. Moreover, the incumbents should emphasize innovation and collaboration. Regarding the second sub-research question, the incumbents should identify niches in the supply chain, further developing expert systems and extend collaborations with authorities. In addition, the second-hand value of the EV and strategies of HRM should be considered. In terms of the last and third sub-research question, the incumbents should develop competence within batteries through collaborations with suppliers. Furthermore, investments should be made in collaborative R&D projects regarding recycling and waste processes, battery solutions and emerging technologies such as AI and3D printing. / Idag står bilindustrin inför en övergång från förbränningsmotorer till elektriska fordon på grund av den ökade efterfrågan på elbilar samt miljökrav. Detta har resulterat i att nya aktörer har trätt in på bilmarknaden och erhållit allt större marknadsandelar inom elbilssektorn. Detta har i sin tur pressat de etablerade aktörerna att implementera nya lösningar för e-mobilitet. Syftet med detta examensarbete är därför att ge företagsledningen rekommendationer gällande hur de etablerade företagen kan hantera övergången gentemot elbilar och samtidigt hålla sig konkurrenskraftiga på marknaden. Eftersom denna övergång är pågående, strävar författarna till att bidra till att utöka det teoretiska området gällande de etablerade företagens övergång till elbilar. För att uppnå detta syfte har författarna genomfört en kvalitetsstudie med flera inbäddade fall med en explorativ metod, där fyra etablerade företag har undersökts och två forskare inom området har intervjuats. Forskningsfrågorna, resultatet och analysen samt diskussionen har delats in i tre delar; Strategisk ledning, Transformations hantering och FoU- implementering. När det gäller den första forskningsfrågan, bör de etablerade företagen omstrukturera sina ledningsnivåer, beslutsprocesser och kommunikation. Dessutom bör de etablerade företagen betona innovation och samarbete. När det gäller den andra forskningsfrågan, bör de etablerade aktörerna identifiera nischer i försörjningskedjan, vidareutveckla expertsystem och utöka samarbetet med myndigheterna. Dessutom bör andrahandsvärdet av elbilar och strategier för HRM övervägas. När det gäller den tredje och sista forskningsfrågan, bör de etablerade företagen utveckla kompetens inom batterier genom samarbete med leverantörer. Dessutom bör investeringar göras i samarbetsvilliga FoU-projekt med avseende på återvinnings- och avfalls processer, batterilösningar och framväxande teknik som AI och 3D-printing.

[ES] La literatura sobre redes de conocimiento se ha centrado históricamente en dos líneas de investigación. La primera analiza los orígenes de las conexiones entre nodos, explorando cómo los actores eligen a sus socios. La segunda se centra en las implicaciones de la estructura de red resultante para el intercambio de conocimiento y el rendimiento individual o colectivo. Muchos estudios han reconocido el papel fundamental que juega la proximidad social como impulsora de la creación de conexiones y como requisito para la transferencia de conocimiento tanto tácito como complejo. Sin embargo, el entendimiento académico de la proximidad social como concepto y las implicaciones de establecer vínculos fuertes sigue siendo relativamente limitado. El objetivo principal de esta tesis es abordar dos preguntas de investigación. En primer lugar, pretendemos investigar el impacto de diversas formas de proximidad social en la formación de vínculos dentro de las redes de conocimiento. En este contexto, distinguimos entre las experiencias compartidas en solicitudes de proyectos exitosas y no exitosas, ya que ambas interacciones constituyen fuentes de conexión social entre los participantes. En segundo lugar, analizamos las diferencias entre las conexiones fuertes respecto a su papel y función. Investigamos si, y bajo qué condiciones, las organizaciones aprovechan las colaboraciones repetidas para explotar varias veces el mismo tema (lo que denominamos especialización) o para explorar nuevas áreas temáticas (diversificación). Estos aspectos contribuyen a dos corrientes importantes de la literatura: la dinámica de las redes de conocimiento, al destacar el origen y las implicaciones de los vínculos fuertes; y la gestión estratégica, al analizar las respuestas estratégicas de las organizaciones frente al rechazo de financiamiento. La tesis se enfoca en la red regional valenciana de I+D financiada con fondos públicos. Para llevar a cabo el análisis empírico, creamos una base de datos que contiene información sobre todas las asociaciones de I+D formadas entre 2016 y 2022. Estas asociaciones solicitaron subvenciones públicas a dos entidades regionales, que administran conjuntamente el 75% de los 1.6 millones de euros asignados para la implementación de la estrategia regional de especialización inteligente. En general, esta investigación introduce un aspecto inexplorado de la proximidad social, que desafía las hipótesis existentes sobre el tipo de interacción previa necesaria para establecer un nivel adecuado de confianza y familiaridad que motive futuras colaboraciones entre los actores. Además, este estudio demuestra de manera empírica que los vínculos de red que son estructuralmente equivalentes pueden desempeñar roles fundamentalmente diferentes, dando lugar a la especialización o diversificación temática. Estos resultados indican que el peligro de una excesiva concentración en un tipo de actividad tras varias colaboraciones no es simplemente un resultado del entorno estructural o de la presencia de vínculos fuertes, sino que es el resultado de las decisiones estratégicas tomadas por las organizaciones sobre cómo aprovechar mejor sus vínculos fuertes. Las conclusiones de esta tesis tienen implicaciones significativas para el diseño de políticas y pueden orientar a los responsables políticos a dirigir intervenciones más efectivas sobre redes de conocimiento. / [CA] La literatura sobre xarxes de coneixement s'ha centrat històricament en dues línies d'investigació. La primera analitza els orígens de les conexions entre nodes, explorant com els actors trien els seus socis. La segona es centra en les implicacions de l'estructura de xarxa resultant per a l'intercanvi de coneixements i el rendiment individual o col·lectiu. Molts estudis han reconegut el paper fonamental que juga la proximitat social com a impulsora de la creació de connexions i requisit per a la transferència de coneixement tant tàcit com complex. No obstant això, coneixement acadèmic de la proximitat social com a concepte i les implicacions d'establir vincles forts continuen sent relativament limitats. L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és abordar dues preguntes d'investigació. En primer lloc, pretenem investigar l'impacte de diverses formes de proximitat social en la formació de vincles dins les xarxes de coneixement. En aquest context, diferenciem entre les experiències compartides en sol·licituds de projectes exitosos i no exitosos, ja que ambdues interaccions constitueixen fonts de connexió social entre els participants. En segon lloc, analitzem les diferències entre els vincles forts segons el seu paper i funció. Investiguem si, i sota quines condicions, les organitzacions aprofiten les col·laboracions repetides per explotar diverses vegades el mateix tema (el que anomenem especialització) o per explorar noves àrees temàtiques (diversificació). Aquests aspectes contribueixen a dues corrents importants en la literatura: la dinàmica de les xarxes de coneixement, en destacar l'origen i les implicacions dels llaços forts; i la gestió estratègica, en analitzar les respostes estratègiques de les organitzacions davant el rebuig de finançament. La tesi es centra en la xarxa regional valenciana de I+D finançada amb fons públics. Per dur a terme l'anàlisi empíric, s¿ha creat una base de dades que conté informació sobre totes les associacions de I+D formades entre 2016 i 2022. Aquestes associacions van sol·licitar subvencions públiques de dues entitats regionals, que administren conjuntament el 75% dels 1,6 milions d'euros assignats per a la implementació de l'estratègia regional d'especialització intel·ligent. En general, aquest document introdueix un aspecte inexplorat de la proximitat social, que qüestiona les hipòtesis existents sobre el tipus d'interacció prèvia necessària per establir un nivell adequat de confiança i familiaritat que motivi futures col·laboracions entre els actors. A més, aquest estudi demostra de manera empírica que els vincles de la xarxa que són estructuralment equivalents poden assumir rols fonamentalment diferents, conduint a l'especialització o diversificació temàtica. Aquests resultats indiquen que el perill d'una excessiva concentració en un tipus d'activitat després de diverses col·laboracions no és simplement un resultat de l'entorn estructural o la presència de vincles forts. En canvi, és el resultat de les decisions estratègiques preses per les organitzacions sobre com aprofitar els seus vincles forts. Les conclusions d'aquesta tesi tenen implicacions significatives per al disseny de polítiques i poden orientar els responsables polítics a l'hora de dirigir intervencions més efectives sobre xarxes de coneixement. / [EN] The literature on knowledge networks has long grappled with two types of questions. The first concerns the antecedents of tie formation; that is, how actors select their partners. The second concentrates rather on the implications of the resulting network structure for knowledge exchange and individual or collective performance. Many studies have acknowledged the critical role of social proximity as a driver of link formation and an important prerequisite for the transfer of both tacit and complex knowledge. Yet, scholarly understanding of social proximity as a concept remains somewhat constrained and the implications of building strong ties are subject to ongoing debates. Hence, the primary objective of this doctoral work is to address two sets of research questions. First, we aim to investigate how various forms of social proximity influence the formation of ties within knowledge networks. In this context, we differentiate between prior joint experiences in successful and unsuccessful project applications, as both forms of engagement constitute a source of relational embeddedness between actors. Second, we examine how the emerging strong bonds between organizations differ in their role and function. We test whether and under what conditions organizations leverage repeated collaborations to exploit the same topic multiple times (what we call specialization) or to explore new ones (diversification). These questions contribute to two separate streams of literature: the one on knowledge network dynamics by highlighting the origin and consequences of strong coupling; and the one on strategic management by tracing organizations' strategic response to funding rejection. The thesis zooms in on Valencia's regional publicly-funded R&D network. To conduct the empirical analysis, we build a unique dataset which contains information on all R&D partnerships, formed between 2016 and 2022, which requested public subsidy from one of the top two regional sources of innovation-related funding. The two entities together manage 75% of the 1.6 billion Euros designated for the implementation of the regional smart specialization strategy. Overall, this document introduces a new, vastly unexplored facet of social proximity, thus challenging existing assumptions on what type of former interaction is necessary to generate sufficient levels of trust and familiarity so as to motivate further engagement between actors. Moreover, it demonstrates empirically that structurally equivalent network ties can assume fundamentally distinct roles, leading either to thematic specialization or diversification. These findings suggest that the danger of over-embeddedness in one type of activity after several collaborations may not necessarily be a product of the structural setting alone and the presence of strong ties. It is rather a product of organizations' strategic choices about how they harness their strong bonds. The conclusions of this thesis hold far-reaching implications for policy design, and can guide policymakers in steering more effective network interventions. / Yankova, DN. (2024). Exploring the Dynamics of Regional R&D Networks: a Closer Look at Valencia's Inter-Organizational Partnerships [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/202886

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Economics / Yang-Ming Chang / Innovation is development of new ideas that leads to better solutions to current problems. From an economic standpoint, innovation is the engine of economic growth. The appearance of innovation is not uniform in the market, and neither are its affects. The development of new products and technology is significant in any industry. As a result, understanding the path of progress within an industry is necessary to maximize the benefit from innovation. The focus of this research is to further understand the relationship between producers, consumers, and the environment, in the context of innovation. Three scenarios are evaluated. First, innovation evaluated in the context technology intensive industries with product differentiation. Using an optimal control approach with product differentiation and firm outlook we examine conditions that maximize social welfare. When firm(s) have the same discount rate regardless of market structure, a monopoly will develop more innovative products. However, it is shown that competition may increase innovation if firms alter their outlook in a duopoly market structure. Next, influence of consumers on producer adoption of clean technology is evaluated. A spatial model is developed to analyze welfare implications of environmental policies in a competitive market with production and consumption heterogeneity. Consumers with heterogeneous preferences choose between non-green and certified green products, while firms with heterogeneous production costs decide whether to engage in green production. In order for green products to be recognized by consumers, firms must join a green club. The number of green firms, environmental standard, and overall welfare under the market solution are all found to be socially sub-optimal. Finally, producer innovation in markets characterized by public policy due to emission concerns is evaluated. Using a dynamic approach, we derive a firm’s optimal R&D investment strategy to develop clean technology. Explicitly allowing for the cumulative nature of R&D shows that emissions per unit of output are lowest when the firms cooperate in R&D, and show that a profit-maximizing merged entity will never choose the most efficient investment strategy in clean technology, which has implications for emission tax policy and environmental innovation to improve overall welfare.

It is frequently argued that the high costs of clinical trials prior to the admission of new pharmaceuticals are stifling innovation. At the same time, regulation of the access to markets is often justified on the basis of consumers` inability to detect the true quality of a product. We examine these arguments from an information economic perspective by setting a framework where the incentives to invest in R&D are influenced by the information structure prevailing when the product is launched in the market at a later stage. In this setting, by changing the information structure, regulation (or the lack of) can thus indirectly affect R&D efforts. More formally, we construct a moral hazard - cum - adverse selection model in which a pharmaceutical firm exerts an unobservable effort towards developing an innovative (high quality) drug (moral hazard) and then announces the (unobservable) quality outcome to an uninformed regulator and/or consumers (adverse selection). We compare the outcomes in regard to innovation effort and expected welfare under two regimes: (i) regulation, where products undergo a clinical trial designed to ascertain product quality at the point of market access; and (ii) laissez-faire with free entry, where the revelation of quality is left to the market process. Results show that whether or not innovation is greater in the presence of entry regulation crucially depends on the efficacy of the trial in identifying (poor) quality, on the probability that unknown qualities are revealed in the market process, and on the preference and cost structure. The welfare ranking of the two regimes depends on the differential effort incentive and on the net welfare gain from implementing full information instantaneously. For example, in settings of vertical monopoly, vertical differentiation and horizontal differentiation with no variable cost of quality, entry regulation tends to be the preferred regime if the effort incentive under pooling is relatively low and profits do not count too much towards welfare. A complementary numerical Analysis shows how the outcomes vary with the market and cost structure. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

The purpose for this paper is to determine whether there is any direct connection between board composition and R&D investments of Swedish listed companies. A century ago, Sweden was among the poorest nations in Europe, yet today Sweden is 3rd among world leaders in innovation. Innovation is approximated as a good proxy measurement for R&D investments. R&D has been the primary source for innovation because of today’s nature of economies in which firms are challenged with competitive advantage. R&D investments have become very essential for every organization as well, yet there is no clear relationship between board composition and R&D investments. The researchers sought to confirm whether the effects of board composition are not only to monitor but also to provide resources since R&D spending requires appropriate forms of control systems and proper level of resources in the form of skill, experience and knowledge. The researchers obtained that the Swedish code of corporate governance is the main form of regulation and control mechanism that are mandatory for the boards of listed companies to adapt and comply with. In this study, the researchers integrated agency theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder theory and stewardship theory perspectives to explain the effects of board composition on R&D investments. The hypotheses were derived from these mentioned theories, tested from the sample data of 68 companies extracted from listed firms in Stockholm Stock Market. Board tenure, board interlock, independent directors, and ownership of shares, board size, age diversity and gender diversity were used as the influential factors for R&D investments. Additionally, firm size, ROA, firm age and leverage were adopted as moderating variables to test the effect of board membership composition against R&D spending. However, only board interlock came out to be negative and significantly correlated at 5% level with R&D investments and the remaining variables were detected to have negative low correlations with R&D investment, though no significant associations were found. Out of the control variables chosen only ROA obtained a significantly negative low correlation at 1% level. The epistemological and ontological choices for this study were positivism and objectivism with deductive approach. In order to examine if there is a relationship between board composition and R&D investment, the researchers employed multiple regression analysis. The researchers also identified a research gap since they did not find any evidence of a study that examines board composition in relation to R&D investments in Sweden. As indicated by the results of this study, only board interlock has effect on R&D spending. Therefore, there is need for further research on R&D investments by examining other forms of board composition characteristics such as education and professional experience. Both qualitative and quantitative studies are recommendable in this area. The authors concluded that the board characteristics do not directly matter for Swedish corporations to invest annually in R&D activities. This paper provides full support to stakeholders’ theory and stewardship theory while partially agrees with agency theory and resource dependence theory. Key words: Corporate governance, Research and Development (R&D), board tenure, board interlock, independent directors, ownership, board size, age diversity and gender diversity.

The positive contributions of entrepreneurship towards the economic development were already proved by the previous researchers. The main aim of this study was to analyse the determinants of entrepreneurial activity in the Nordic countries over the period of years 2004‑2013 to provide the supportive empirical analysis for the Nordic entrepreneurial policy makers. Data were obtained from the various databases and were formed into the panel dataset. Entrepreneurial activity was quantified by the two variables, rate of registered business activity and established business ownership rate. For each entrepreneurial activity, acting as the dependent variable, was estimated the set of econometric models following the econometric approach with the Fixed Effects Estimator. The results obtained for the both dependent variables did not substantially differ from each other and were generally in agreement with the results obtained by the previous scholars. The hypothesis stating the positive relationship between unemployment rate, GDP per capita and entrepreneurial activity, during the analysed period, were accepted. Also the negative impact of administrative barriers on entrepreneurial activity was confirmed. However, no statistically significant empirical support was obtained for the hypothesis assuming the positive relationship between R&D sector and entrepreneurial activity.