Start-Up REsources and Entrepreneurial Discontinuance: The Case of Nascent Entrepreneurs
Abstract
Built on the resource-based view of the firm, this study addresses two major research questions: (1) what resources are salient in entrepreneurial discontinuance; (2) To what extent, does the impact of resources on the odds of discontinuance vary across the nature of startup between high technology and non-technology? These questions are examined using 830 nascent entrepreneurs from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED). Overall, we find that not all resources are equally salient, especially when comparing technology-based and non-technology-based nascent entrepreneurs. With the exception of education and managerial experience, human capital has limited influence on discontinuance. Our results lend no support for our social capital hypothesis. Financial capital significantly decreases the odds of discontinuance. Additionally, the odds of discontinuance of technology-based and non-technology-based nascent entrepreneurs are affected by a different set of resources. Implications and future research directions are proposed.References
Adler, P. & Kwon, S. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept, Academy of Management Journal, January, 17-40.
Amaral, A.M, Baptista, R., & Lima, F. (2007). Entrepreneurial exit and firm performance, In:
Zaharakis, A. et al. (Eds.). Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, Babson Park.
Barney, J. (2003). Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (2nd Ed.) Uppers Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120.
Bates, T. (1990a). Entrepreneurial human capital inputs and small business longevity. Review of Economics and Statistics, 72, 551-559.
Bates, T. (1990b). Self-employment trends among Mexican Americans. (Discussion Paper No. 90-9). Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Bureau of Census: Washington DC.
Becker, G. (1975). Human Capital. (2nd ed). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Birch, D. (1987). Job creation in America. New York, NY: Free Press.
BizMiner Business Failure Index. (2008). Two Digit SIC Level: Startup Detail. Brandow Company Inc, www.bizminer.cpm.
Bruderl, J., Preisendorfer, P., & Ziegler, R. (1992). Survival chances of newly founded business organizations. American Sociological Review, 57, 227-242.
Bruns, V., Holland. D., Shepherd, D., Wicklund, J. (2008). The role of human capital in loan officers' decision policies. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, May, 485-506.
Brush, C. & Greene, P. (1996). Resources in the new venture creation process: Strategies for acquisition. Presented at the National Academy of Management Meeting, Cincinnati, OH.
Burt, R.S. (1992). Structural holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press.
Burt, R.S. (1997). The contingent value of social capital. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(2): 339-363.
Caves, R.E. (1980). Industrial organization, corporate strategy and structure. Journal of Economic Literature, 58, 64-92.
Chandler, G. & Hanks, S.H. (1994). Market attractiveness, resource-based capabilities, venture strategies and venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 13(5), 353-370.
Coleman, J.S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press.
Cooper, A., Gimeno-Gascon, F.J., & Woo, C. (1994). Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 9, 371-395.
Dean, T., Turner, C.A., & Bamford, C.E. (1997). Impediments to imitation and rate of new firm failure. Academy of Management Proceeding.
Gartner, W. (1985). A conceptual framework for describing the phenomenon of new venture creation. Academy of Management Review, 10, 696-706.
Gimeno, J., Folta, T.B., Cooper, A.C., & Woo, C.Y. (1997). Survival of the fittest? Entrepreneurial human capital and the persistence of underperforming firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 750-783.
Granovetter, M.S. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociolog, 91, 481-510.
Grant, R.M. (1991). Contemporary strategy analysis: Concepts, techniques, applications. Cambridge, MA: Basis Blackwell.
Hager, M., Galaskiewicz, J., Biefeld, W., and Pins, J. (2006). Takes from the grave: Organizations' accounts of their own demise. American Behavioral Scientist, 39(8), 975-994.
Hall, G. (1994). Factors distinguishing survivors from failures among small firms in UK construction sector. Journal of Management Studies, 31, 5.
Hall, R. (1992). The strategic analysis of intangible resources. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 135-144.
Hannan, M. & Freeman, J. (1977). The Population Ecology of Organizations. American Journal of Sociology. 82, 929-964.
Hatch, N. & Dyaer, J. (2004). Human capital and learning as a source of sustainable competitive advantage, Strategic Management Journal, 25(120), 1155-1178.
Headd, B. (2003). Redefining Business Success: Factors Leading to Surviving and Closing Successfully. Small Business Economics, 21(1), 51-61.
Katz, J. & Gartner, W. (1988). Properties of Emerging Organizations. Academy of Management Review, 13, 429-441.
Knotts, T., Jones, S., & Brown, K. (2008). Effect of strategic orientation and gender on survival: A study of potential mass merchandising suppliers. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 99-113.
Kuratko, D. & Welsch, H. (2004). Strategic entrepreneurial growth (2nd ed.) Mason, Ohio: homson Southwestern.
Liao, J. & Welsch, H. (2003). Social capital and entrepreneurial growth aspiration: A comparison of technology and non-technologybased nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of High Tech Management Research, 14(1), 149-170.
Lichtenstein, B.M. & Brush, C.G. (2001). How do "resource bundles" develop and change in new ventures? A dynamic model and longitudinal exploration. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37-58.
McGrath, R.G. (1996). The trouble with competence: Opportunities and limitations of the adolescence of the resource-based view. Presented at the National Academy of Management Meeting, Cincinnati, OH.
McGrath, R.G. (1999). Falling forward: Real options reasoning and entrepreneurial failure. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 13-30.
Nahapiet, J. & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital and the organizational Advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242-266.
Preisendorfer, P. & Voss, T. (1990). Organizational mortality of small firms: The effects of entrepreneurial age and human capital. Organization Studies, 11, 107-129.
Reynolds, P. (2000). National panel study of U.S. business startups: Background and methodology. In: Databases for the Study of Entrepreneurship, 4, 153-227. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press/Elsevier.
Romanelli, E. (1989). Environments and strategies of organization start-up: Effects of early survivals. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, 369-387.
Shane, S. & Venkataraman, S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217-227.
Stinchcombe, A. (1965). Social structure and organization, In: March, J. (Ed.). Handbook of Organizations. Chicago: Rand McNally, 142-193.
Stevenson, H. & Gumpert, J. (1985). The heart of entrepreneurship. Harvard Business Review. April/May: 85-94.
Timmons, J.A. (1994). New venture creation (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Irwin.
Vinogradov, E. & Isaksen, E. Survival of new firms by natives and immigrants in Norway. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 21-38.
Wernerfelt, B. (1984) A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 171-180.