Entrepreneurial organizing activities and nascent venture performance

This research provides an improved understanding of how ventures successfully organize via resource allocations. Conceptually, we apply elements of action theory to account for resource trade-offs that occur as entrepreneurs make decisions about adding staff members to boundary spanning, technical core, and management functions. We then model how these allocation decisions differentially impact nascent venture performance. Empirically, we test our model with a sample of 2484 entrepreneurs captured in the Kauffman Firm Survey, a longitudinal dataset that tracks a random sample of US startups over an 8-year period. Results from dynamic panel estimation reveal evidence of both performance penalties and performance boosts as the result of entrepreneurs adding staff to specific areas, revealing optimality in specific configurations of entrepreneurial organizing elements.

The Contingent Effects of Intrateam Abusive Behavior on Team Thriving and New Venture Performance

This study sheds light on the dark side of entrepreneurship by examining how and under what conditions abusive behavior within new venture teams (NVTs) relates to new venture performance. Using a national (USA) random sample of NVTs, we find that the relationship of intrateam abusive behavior (i.e., degree to which NVT members exhibit “hostile” verbal behaviors toward each other) with new venture performance (i.e., sales and employment growth) is mediated by NVT thriving (i.e., level of vitality and learning exhibited within the NVT). Results further demonstrate that perceived competitive intensity of the industry moderates this relationship, with the indirect effect of intrateam abusive behavior on new venture performance (via thriving) being significantly less negative at high, than at low, levels of competitive intensity. We therefore conclude that perceived competitive threats to the survival of startups act to mitigate the otherwise deleterious effects of abusive behavior occurring within NVTs. These results broaden existing knowledge regarding the dark side of entrepreneurship by expanding the conversation on this topic to include the NVT and providing evidence for why some NVTs, but not others, are able to sustain the growth of their firms despite the occurrence of abusive behavior between their members.

Entrepreneurial Grit: Insights and Applications for New Ventures

The pursuit of entrepreneurship is often characterized by high levels of struggle and adversity, and even those who ultimately succeed in their entrepreneurial endeavors routinely experience failures and setbacks along the way. Therefore, it is likely that individuals who are more skilled at coping with, and conquering, such obstacles in their quest for success are more apt to enter, and be successful at, entrepreneurial careers. While several factors contribute to an individual’s ability to persevere through adversity and to continue to work to accomplish long-term goals, individual grit has garnered an increasing level of attention as a key element in such persistence, particularly in entrepreneurial contexts. Grit, conceptualized as an individual’s passion and perseverance in the pursuit of accomplishing long-term goals, can play several roles in the entrepreneurial process. While grit is a potential outcome of entrepreneurial passion, it also has important associations with several key entrepreneurial outcomes. For instance, given that entrepreneurship is linked with risk-taking, grit is an asset for individuals who chase entrepreneurial opportunities. Higher levels of risk incur a greater likelihood of failure, and the ability to persist with entrepreneurial initiatives in the face of failures is potentially bolstered by high levels of grit. Furthermore, persistence against adversity can often translate into improved venture performance as a result of entrepreneurs’ continued, focused efforts at developing and improving their new venture. Furthermore, grit may play an even more important role for individuals who face heightened levels of adversity during their entrepreneurial careers. Women and younger individuals often experience unique challenges that their counterparts who are men or older do not have to face. Therefore, having high levels of grit may be an advantage in women and youth. While the relationship between grit and entrepreneurship has gained considerable momentum as a topic of scholarly interest, there are important avenues available for future research to further develop understanding of the topic.

The Curvilinear Relationship Between Collective Team Identification and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Uncertainty

Many new ventures are founded and developed by teams rather than solo entrepreneurs. Therefore, the extent to which entrepreneurs identify with their teams is likely to have an important impact on the process and outcome of new venture creation in new venture teams. However, most of the relevant studies focus on entrepreneurs’ individual identity, and the identity at the team level has been overlooked. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the effect of collective team identification on new venture performance. The relationship between collective team identification and new venture performance was examined using a sample of 54 new venture teams in Internet Technology (IT) industry. The results show that the relationship between collective team identification and new venture performance is inverted U-shaped. Moreover, environmental uncertainty may moderate this curvilinear effect, such that this inverted U-shaped relationship is more salient at a low level of environmental uncertainty rather than at a high level of environmental uncertainty.

New Ventures Competitiveness and Success; Do Intellectual Capital, IT Capabilities, Entrepreneurial and Market Orientation Really Matter?

The failure ratio of new ventures across the globe pushes researchers towards finding solutions, but the response is not effective. This research project surveyed 297 new manufacturing enterprises from China to find factors that significantly contribute to the success of new ventures. The results indicated that intellectual capital significantly sustains performance and sustainable competitive advantage in new ventures. The relationship between intellectual capital and new venture performance is partially mediated by a sustainable competitive advantage. Information technology capabilities do not positively impact new venture performance and competitiveness. Entrepreneurial orientation has a significant influence on differentiation strategy and new venture performance. Sustainable competitive advantage does not mediate the path between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance, but it fully mediates the association between market orientation and new venture performance. This study recommends that new enterprises focus on intellectual capital, entrepreneurial orientation, and market orientation to acquire a sustainable position in the competitive market. New ventures should also evaluate their technological capabilities to understand why they do not play a vital role. Further implications have been stated.

Impact of entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of new ventures in China: the roles of entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition

Purpose This study aims to examine how entrepreneurial orientation affects new venture performance in a dynamic environment. The authors examine whether entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition mediate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on new venture performance and whether environmental dynamics moderate the above effects. Design/methodology/approach This study uses questionnaires to collect data. The sample includes responses of managers from 274 new Chinese ventures. Regression analysis and bootstrapping are used to test the hypotheses. Findings Entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition play mediating roles between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance. Environmental dynamism positively moderates the relationship between opportunity recognition and new venture performance. Practical implications In a dynamic environment, new ventures should strengthen their entrepreneurial orientation, which would gradually improve their performance by improving their entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition ability. Originality/value This study innovatively explains the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance from the perspectives of “flexible solutions to current problems” and “discovering and grasping potential new opportunities.” It does so by using the concepts of entrepreneurial bricolage and entrepreneurial opportunity identification in the context of a dynamic environment.

Digital entrepreneurship vs. Traditional entrepreneurship : the setting up of a global conceptual model

A review of the contemporary literature on entrepreneurship suggests that, in general, entrepreneurship in the digital sphere is more or less different from " traditional " entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, faced with this assertion, the question that remains slightly discussed is to determine which are foremost the main variables that allow us to compare these two phenomena in order to be able to distinguish them? Based on an in-depth study of variables used in the literature to describe entrepreneurs and their businesses, this paper attempts to introduce a global conceptual model that opens new tracks research to compare, in an empirical way, digital entrepreneurship and traditional entrepreneurship. This framework takes into account three main elements: The entrepreneur profile, the entrepreneurial process and finally the measurement of the venture performance and outcomes. This work also provides useful informations on digital entrepreneurship while demonstrating that it is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon.