v8i2 – Junior Management Science

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Junior Management Science, Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2023

Markus Pfützenreuter, The implementation of financial planning and cost accounting instruments in startups, 270-311
Marissa Ofir, The Effect of Entrepreneurs’ Gender and Gendered Startup Fields on Organizational Attraction for Potential Applicants, 312-332
Simon Mueller, Innovation Performance of Family and Founder Firms: Empirical Evidence from German Listed Companies, 333-357
Mira Sophia Ulz, The glamorization of overwork – an empirical study of causes and perceptions of excessive work attitudes in the pursuit of managerial careers, 358-403
Samuel Jonas Kaltenhauser, Determinants and Capital Market Consequences of Net Zero Targets, 404-430
Elena Kowalik, Ethical Problems in Family Firms, 431-452
Arun Anandakrishnarajah, Visual Appeal of Product Novelty: The Role of the Brand in Design Adaptation, 453-472
Tobias Ruf, Passive ownership and long-term orientation around the world, 473-504
Enes Mert Sirakaya, Accounting for Player Values in German Professional Soccer – A Critical Comparison of German Commercial Law and IFRS Accounting, 505-531
Radu-Andrei Maldea, Winning when Going Global – On the Role of Heritage and Strategic Moves for Internationalization Endeavors of Start-ups, 532-568

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The implementation of financial planning and cost accounting instruments in startups

Markus Pfützenreuter, Technische Universität Berlin (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 270-311

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This master thesis examines the question of how financial planning and cost accounting instruments are implemented in startups depending on their development stages. For this purpose, eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with executives of startups in different development stages and an external expert. The results of this study show that startups follow a uniform approach along the development stages when implementing financial planning. Regarding the implementation of the individual financial planning instruments and cost accounting, various implementation differences and development steps between the development stages were identified. These differences and development steps are related to the industry, company growth, and business model expansion of the startups. Overall, this master thesis provides new and valuable insights for startups and scientists. For startups, the results are indications for the implementation and expansion of financial planning and cost accounting. For the scientific community, the results of this thesis represent the first cross-stage investigation of the implementation of specific management control systems.

Keywords: Startups; Financial planning; Cost accounting; Management control systems.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp270-311

The Effect of Entrepreneurs’ Gender and Gendered Startup Fields on Organizational Attraction for Potential Applicants

Marissa Ofir, Technische Universität München (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 312-332

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Entrepreneurship is growing, and thereby applicants are more often presented with the opportunity to work in a start-up. Simultaneously, a lack of gender diversity in start-up leadership has been reported, and gender stereotyping has manifested itself in the entrepreneurial world. These developments motivate further studies on how potential applicants are attracted to start-ups. In this study, I examine the effect that the entrepreneur’s gender and gendered start-up field has on potential applicants’ organizational attraction to the company. The present study investigates four fabricated start-ups: 1. Male founder of a technology start-up, 2. Male founder of a sustainable start up, 3. Female founder of a technology start-up, and 4. Female founder of a sustainable start up, where participants are randomly selected to reveal through an online experiment their intent to pursue the start-up. Data from 246 prospective graduates, graduates, and young professionals indicates that the start-up field is more valuable when considering one’s organizational attraction to a company than the entrepreneur’s gender. Unforeseeably, both the female and male participants preferred a sustainable context start-up, but with varying founder gender preferences.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Gender stereotypes; Applicant recruitment; Organizational attraction.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp312-332

Innovation Performance of Family and Founder Firms: Empirical Evidence from German Listed Companies

Simon Mueller, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 333-357

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Based on the agency perspective and the resource-based view of the firm, this study explores the impact of lone founder and family influence on innovation input and innovation output. By separating the lone founder and family effect into ownership, management, and governance influence dimensions, we analyze a panel data set of 165 German listed companies from 2013 through 2017. We first investigate R&D intensity in lone founder and family firms versus other firms by using investments in research and development as a measure for innovation input. Secondly, we apply a negative binomial regression model to analyze R&D productivity within the three types of firms by proxying innovation output with the filed number of granted patents within a certain year. According to the results, we mainly find that founder firms superiorly invest in innovation and strengthen their competitive position in the market through their entrepreneurial orientation. Family firms, on the other hand, might weaken future growth potential as they invest less in R&D and are not able to convert this lower input in superior innovation output.

Keywords: Lone founder firms; Family firms; Innovation performance; R&D intensity; R&D productivity.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp333-357

The glamorization of overwork – an empirical study of causes and perceptions of excessive work attitudes in the pursuit of managerial careers

Mira Sophia Ulz, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 358-403

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Excessive work behavior remains an issue in pursuing managerial careers. In this context, the glamorization of overwork takes on a crucial role, meaning that unhealthy work behavior is often falsely portrayed in a positive light. This paper provides an overview of influencing factors stimulating overwork behavior and its glamorization within different settings. Relating thereto, a qualitative research approach in the form of semi-structured open interviews was employed. Building on the main propositions of the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), this paper finds that individuals are inclined to mirror the behavior of others. In addition, job demands emerging on multiple levels and personality-related intrinsic factors have significant explanatory power for the development of overwork tendencies. The empirical results further reveal that the level of perceived familiarity and trust plays a decisive role in whether individuals are prone to glamorize unhealthy work attitudes. In both professional and non-professional environments, low to medium perceived levels of familiarity and trust in combination with certain stimuli appear to spark the active emphasis on excessive work behavior or the neutralization of strain. In turn, in high-trust settings, this cannot be observed.

Keywords: Workaholism; Overwork; Work engagement; Job Demands-Resources model.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp358-403

Determinants and Capital Market Consequences of Net Zero Targets

Samuel Jonas Kaltenhauser, Technische Universität München (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 404-430

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Net zero emission – Recently, a frequently cited climate target in the corporate sector. Meeting public pressure, gaining reputation, and optimizing resources are among the core motivations to pursue such a target. Opposed to this stand a high level of complexity and costs. Thus, from an investor’s view, an assessment of profitability can be mixed. Moreover, the risk of greenwashing renders it challenging to assess the sincerity of such a target. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, I analyze which firm and industry determinants might explain net zero target announcements by Russell 1000 listed companies. Second, I measure the capital market reaction by means of an event study and examine the influence of target characteristics defined within a purpose-developed ESG score. The results reveal a significant correlation between a variety of determinants and a net zero target announcement (e.g., industry profile, firm size) and show a significant negative capital market response irrespective of a target’s individual attributes. The latter result indicates a general skepticism of investors towards net zero pledges. I conclude that enhanced external enforcement options and greater transparency by companies regarding their actual target realization plans may reduce this skepticism.

Keywords: Net zero; Carbon neutral; Climate target; Determinants; Capital market consequences.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp404-430

Ethical Problems in Family Firms

Elena Kowalik, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 431-452

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Various articles suggest that particular ethical problems occur in family firms, but until now, no attempt has been made to collect and structure available information on them. Based on the systematic review of 110 articles from peer-reviewed academic journals, we show that family firms face a set of unique ethical dilemmas and define those. They can either be family-based or business-based and we uncover the antecedents and outcomes of the processes that family firms employ to solve them. When family firms manage to deal with ethical problems appropriately, they will be rewarded for that in various ways, including improved financial performance and the preservation of potentially all SEW dimensions.

Keywords: Family firms; Business ethics; Socioemotional wealth.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp431-452

Visuelle Wirkung von Produktneuheiten: Die Rolle der Marke bei der Designanpassung

Arun Anandakrishnarajah, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 453-472

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Das Produktdesign spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der Kaufentscheidung von Gütern wie Autos oder Smartphones. Um bei der Vorstellung eines Nachfolgers einer Pro-duktserie Neuheit zu symbolisieren, wird in der Praxis oft die Proportion von Desig-nelementen verändert. Trotz der Popularität von Proportionsveränderungen wurde die Wirkungsweise dieser Designanpassungsmethode auf das ästhetische Gefallen der Konsumenten bislang noch nicht untersucht. Auf Basis der Kategorisierungstheo-rie und der Processing Fluency Theorie wird in dieser Arbeit ein konzeptuelles Framework entwickelt, welches die Wirkung der Proportionsveränderung auf die visuelle Verarbeitung theoretisch erklärt. Dabei wird erläutert, wie die Veränderung der Proportion als Determinante der Processing Fluency agieren könnte, um das ästhetische Gefallen zu beeinflussen. Zur Überprüfung des konzeptuellen Frame-works wird in einem zweifaktoriellen Onlineexperiment anhand von Smartphones einer starken sowie schwachen Marke die postulierte Wirkungsweise der Proporti-onsveränderung getestet. Dabei wird festgestellt, dass die Proportionsveränderung eines Produktdesigns einer starken Marke die Processing Fluency reduziert. Die Proportionsveränderung wirkt sich jedoch nicht auf das ästhetische Gefallen aus.

Keywords: Verarbeitungsflüssigkeit; Produktdesign; Markenbildung; Ästhetik; Kategorisierungstheorie.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp453-472

Passive ownership and long-term orientation around the world

Tobias Ruf, Technische Universität München (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 473-504

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The recent growth of passive investors led to concerns regarding their economic impact. This thesis investigates the influence of passive investors on the long-term orientation of their portfolio firms by using global panel data of publicly listed firms from 2000 to 2019. To tackle endogeneity concerns an instrument variable approach with MSCI All Country World Index membership as the instrument is applied. I find that exogenous increases in passive ownership enhance long-term investment in tangible assets, human capital, and organizational capital. While my results suggest that capital expenditures, number of employees, staff cost, and selling, general & administrative expenses are positively connected with higher passive ownership, I find no evidence for an effect on research & development expenses and average staff costs. In additional analyses I find the effect of passive investors to be time-variant and dependent of a firm’s country of origin. My findings suggest that passive investors globally foster long-term orientation in their portfolio firms.

Keywords: Passive investors; Index funds; Long-term orientation; Innovation; Instrumental variables estimation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp473-504

Bilanzierung von Spielerwerten im deutschen Profi-Fußball – Ein kritischer Vergleich der handelsrechtlichen und IFRS-Rechnungslegung

Enes Mert Sirakaya, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 505-531

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Während die zentralen Werttreiber klassischer Unternehmen aus Produkten oder Dienstleistungen bestehen, bilden das zentrale Vermögen von Fußballclubs ihre Spieler. In der bilanzrechtlichen Literatur werden Sportunternehmen nur unzureichend berücksichtigt, was die Grundlage dieser Arbeit bildet. Diese Thesis fokussiert sich auf die deutsche Bundesliga. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es die Frage zu beantworten, ob Fußballspieler überhaupt bilanziell ansatzfähig sind und wie diese zu bewerten sind. Dabei wird das deutsche Handelsrecht den IFRS gegenübergestellt. Die Ansatzkriterien und Bewertungsvorschriften beider Standards werden erarbeitet, ehe eine literaturbasierte Subsumtion unter Anbetracht der unterschiedlichen Ziele der Standards erfolgt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Ansatz von Spielerwerten nach Handelsrecht umstrittener ist als nach den IFRS und bei der Bewertung wichtige Unterschiede bei Leihgeschäften und Spielerverkäufen bestehen. Ferner erweist sich die Nutzbarkeit und Ermittlung des Fair Values von Fußballspielern nach den vorrangigen Verfahren der Standards als schwierig. Die Literatur sollte sich daher stärker mit Modellen für die Ermittlung des Fair Values von Fußballspielern beschäftigen, da hier kein gängiges Verfahren existiert und ein Nutzen für mehrere Zwecke gegeben wäre.

Keywords: Fußballclub; Fußballspieler; Bundesliga; Ansatz; Bewertung.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp505-531

Winning when Going Global – On the Role of Heritage and Strategic Moves for Internationalization Endeavors of Start-ups

Radu-Andrei Maldea, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 8(2), 2023, 532-568

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As the chief subjects for global progress, international new ventures (INVs) are gaining worldwide economic importance at an increasing pace. Most recently, they have received growing attention in the research literature because the validity of existing internationalization theories for has been questioned when used in a new venture setting. So far, prior literature has focused on understanding INV characteristics and the effect that their properties have on the internationalization performance. Aiming to develop a new framework for start-up internationalization, this thesis combines results from a quantitative study on the Strategic Moves of early internationalizing start-ups with results from a literature review on the Heritage of these new ventures. Within the study researching the Strategic Moves, data from 51 European start-ups show the optimal moves start-ups can undertake. The complementary literature review, based on 45 papers from the INV research field, shows what characteristics the ideal Heritage of an INV should consist of. Taken together, the findings construct the Startup Internationalization Framework which establishes the first holistic perspective on start-up internationalization.

Keywords: International new ventures; Early internationalizing start-ups; Internationalization strategy; Market entry; Global management.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v8i2pp532-568