Standing up against crisis-induced entrepreneurial uncertainty: Fewer teams, more habitual entrepreneurs

The global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus–2) has led to drastic infection control measures that have dramatically affected societies and economies worldwide. Against this background, it is the purpose of this commentary to illustrate how innovative entrepreneurial activity in particular has been affected by the rising uncertainty caused by the first COVID-19 wave. By comparing innovative North American and European startups established pre-crisis and during the first wave of the pandemic, this commentary suggests that startups founded in the crisis are characterised less by entrepreneurial teams and more by habitual entrepreneurs. Interestingly, women’s entrepreneurial activity seems not to have been affected by the crisis when measured as the proportion of women founders involved in innovative startups pre-crisis and during crisis. The commentary thus, illustrates what particular type of entrepreneur persists during uncertainty and allows us to draw conclusions for policy-making and further research on the interface of entrepreneurship, crisis and uncertainty.

Selected Aspects of the Entrepreneurial Process in Small Innovative Companies – Novice and Habitual Entrepreneurs

Habitual entrepreneurs became an important group of entrepreneurs who make a large contribution to the process of wealth creation. Previous studies have indicated that habitual entrepreneurship is a widespread phenomenon. It highlights the need to focus on the habitual entrepreneurs to understand the dynamic aspect of entrepreneurship. The aim of the article is to present the results of preliminary research on the relationships of entrepreneurial behavior of novice entrepreneurs and habitual entrepreneurs, in particular their motivation and impact on the entrepreneurial process. Research were conducted on a sample of 373 small innovative enterprises in the fourth quarter of 2017. The scale of habitual entrepreneurs in the examined sample is 32.44% and is comparable with research carried out in other countries. Survey results reveal that habitual entrepreneurs have greater tendency to create opportunities (introduction new products or services) than novice entrepreneurs. Habitual entrepreneurs also have higher development rate (increase of turnover) and larger share in the international market than novice entrepreneurs. The article also contains indications for further research into the phenomenon of multiple entrepreneurship.

Habitual Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial behaviour is increasingly recognized as being heterogeneous. One notable source of heterogeneity is variations in the level and nature of entrepreneurs' experience. This has led to the distinction between experienced (‘habitual’) entrepreneurs and first-time (‘novice’) entrepreneurs. A number of high profile entrepreneurs have successfully owned several businesses. These individuals are known as habitual entrepreneurs, to reflect their ownership in more than one business, either sequentially (i.e. serial entrepreneurs) or concurrently (i.e. portfolio entrepreneurs). Although habitual entrepreneurs are widespread and have received media attention, there has been limited conceptual and theoretical understanding of this group. This article seeks to address this void by utilizing human capital theory to provide a framework for studying habitual entrepreneurs.