Most recent papers:

• International Entrepreneurship: A Meta‐Analysis on the Internationalization and Performance Relationship.
  Christian Schwens, Florian B. Zapkau, Michael Bierwerth, Rodrigo Isidor, Gary Knight, Rüdiger Kabst.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 23, 2017
  The article conducts a meta‐analysis on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance in international entrepreneurship. Empirical evidence from 15,648 internationalizing entrepreneurial firms nested in 43 independent samples reveals a positive relationship between degree and scope of internationalization and performance. Knowledge intensity positively moderates the relationship between speed of internationalization and performance and negatively moderates the scope of internationalization and performance association. In contrast, we neither find a relationship between speed of internationalization and performance nor for knowledge intensity's moderation on the degree of internationalization–performance association. Based on the findings, the article systematically points at future research opportunities.

  March 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12280   open full text
• More Than Words: Do Gendered Linguistic Structures Widen the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Activity?
  Diana M. Hechavarría, Siri A. Terjesen, Pekka Stenholm, Malin Brännback, Stefan Lång.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 20, 2017
  Leveraging linguistic relativity theory which suggests that language systems structure thought and action, we investigate the relationship between gendered linguistic structures and the persistent gender gap in early‐stage entrepreneurial activity. We use country‐level data from 105 countries in 2001–2015 with 55 different languages, and incorporate 32 controls covering a broad range of factors previously associated with entrepreneurial activity. We find that in countries where the dominant language's structure incorporates sex‐based systems and gender‐differentiated pronouns, there is a greater gender gap in entrepreneurial activity. Our results suggest that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage women's entry into entrepreneurship.

  March 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12278   open full text
• The More the Merrier? Immigrant Share and Entrepreneurial Activities.
  Chengguang Li, Rodrigo Isidor, Luis Alfonso Dau, Rudy Kabst.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 08, 2017
  We examine the relationship between immigrant share and entrepreneurial activities in a country. Building on knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE), we hypothesize that immigrant share positively relates to the creation, growth, and export activities of new firms through knowledge spillover between immigrant and native communities. We further suggest that favorable attitudes of natives toward immigrants positively moderate this relationship. Using data for 32 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, we find support for the hypothesized direct relationships and for the moderating influence of a nation's attitude toward immigrants. Our study has implications for KSTE and research on entrepreneurship and immigration.

  March 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12277   open full text
• Does Desperation Breed Deceiver? A Behavioral Model of New Venture Opportunism.
  Han Jiang, Albert A. Cannella, Jie Jiao.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 07, 2017
  We develop a behavioral‐decision model to highlight entrepreneurs’ decision making behind venture opportunism. We find that opportunism can present to entrepreneurs and their new ventures a risky yet beneficial choice to secure short‐term gains at potential social costs. We posit that, motivated by loss aversion, entrepreneurs may accept the risk and engage in opportunism when their ventures confront economic losses. For instance, a high risk of venture failure may motivate entrepreneurs to act opportunistically in the hope that the failure can be averted. We further posit that such loss‐averse decisions will be moderated by the entrepreneurs’ personal bonds to their new ventures. That is, the scale of entrepreneurs’ personal investment in their ventures will intensify their economic loss aversion posed by venture failure risk. In contrast, when entrepreneurs use their personal social capital to support their ventures, they will personally bear more of the down‐side risks of opportunistic behavior and thus be less likely to act opportunistically to countervail a potential economic loss. Results based on the data collected from 244 NEEQ‐listed new ventures in Beijing and Tianjin in China support our predictions.

  March 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12279   open full text
• Slack, Innovation, and Export Intensity: Implications for Small‐ and Medium‐Sized Enterprises.
  Andreea N. Kiss, Stephanie Fernhaber, Patricia P. McDougall‐Covin.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 20, 2017
  Despite the acknowledged importance of resources to small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) internationalization, scholars have largely focused on the absolute level of resources rather than excess resources. Drawing on behavioral theory and literature on SME internationalization, we argue that SMEs intensify exports when pressured to find a way to survive at low levels of resource slack or when adequately prepared at high levels of slack. In contrast, moderate levels of slack result in a domestic focus by SMEs. We also suggest that for highly innovative SMEs, this pattern of effects changes. Analyses performed on a cross‐country sample of 3,280 SMEs confirm our hypotheses.

  February 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12276   open full text
• Crowdfunding Innovative Ideas: How Incremental and Radical Innovativeness Influence Funding Outcomes.
  C. S. Richard Chan, Annaleena Parhankangas.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 07, 2017
  We investigate the effect of innovativeness on crowdfunding outcomes. Because crowdfunding campaigns characterized by greater incremental innovativeness are more comprehensible and generate more user value for typical crowdfunders, incremental innovativeness may result in more favorable funding outcomes. By comparison, campaigns that feature greater radical innovativeness are riskier to develop, harder for crowdfunders to understand and result in less favorable funding outcomes. This negative effect of radical innovativeness may be mitigated by incremental innovativeness, which may help crowdfunders to understand and appreciate radical innovativeness more. A sample of 334 Kickstarter campaigns provides support for our hypotheses.

  February 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12268   open full text
• Toward a Kinship Perspective on Entrepreneurship.
  Michiel Verver, Juliette Koning.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 06, 2017
  This article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the role of kinship in entrepreneurship. Kinship, we argue, is a key ingredient of the social and cultural environment of entrepreneurs, and, therefore, essential in understanding how and why entrepreneurship happens. Building on qualitative research conducted among Cambodian Chinese entrepreneurs in Phnom Penh, we define kinship as interpersonal ties grounded in relatedness. We distinguish different categories of kinship ties that involve different levels of relatedness and are used for different aspects of entrepreneurship, and we identify different types of reciprocity and trust as the sociocultural dynamics that buttress kinship involvement in entrepreneurship.

  February 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12274   open full text
• Serial Crowdfunding, Social Capital, and Project Success.
  Vincenzo Butticè, Massimo G. Colombo, Mike Wright.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 02, 2017
  In this paper, we focus attention on serial crowdfunders, that is, entrepreneurs who repeatedly turn to crowdfunding to finance their projects. We argue that serial crowdfunders take advantage of the social contacts with those that backed their previous campaigns. This internal social capital developed within the platform, which is not available to “normal” serial entrepreneurs, makes serial crowdfunders' campaigns more successful than those launched by novice crowdfunders. However, this type of social capital is a substitute for the internal social capital built by backing other campaigns, and has a limited lifespan. Econometric results on a sample of 31,389 Kickstarter campaigns confirm our contentions. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.

  February 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12271   open full text
• Gender Stereotypes and Venture Support Decisions: How Governmental Venture Capitalists Socially Construct Entrepreneurs’ Potential.
  Malin Malmström, Jeaneth Johansson, Joakim Wincent.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 02, 2017
  In the present study, we conduct a discourse analysis on a set of longitudinal observations of government venture capitalists’ decisions to identify how gender stereotypes are socially constructed and activated when assessing entrepreneurs’ potential in the financial distribution of venture support. The present study finds that female entrepreneurs risk receiving significantly less venture capital, which is caused by the language and rhetoric used that relates to gender differences when funding decisions are made. We consider and discuss the implications of our results for related research about distributing venture capital and the social constructions of female and male entrepreneurs.

  February 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12275   open full text
• The Influence of Internal Social Capital on Serial Creators’ Success in Crowdfunding.
  Vitaly Skirnevskiy, David Bendig, Malte Brettel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 31, 2017
  Interactions between project creators and backers on the crowdfunding platform represent the linchpin of every campaign. However, the resulting internal social capital has received little academic attention. To address this topic, we frame how internal social capital can develop through project track record and how internal social capital can spill over to external online communities. Focusing on the long‐term implications of these manifestations of social capital, we empirically assess whether they can increase funding success beyond a single campaign. We test our hypotheses with two data sets derived from platform and survey sources and find support for the proposed relationships.

  January 31, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12272   open full text
• Keep Calm and Carry On: Emotion Regulation in Entrepreneurs’ Learning From Failure.
  Vivianna Fang He, Charlotta Sirén, Sheetal Singh, George Solomon, Georg von Krogh.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 31, 2017
  While failure urges entrepreneurs to learn, it also generates strong emotions that may hinder learning behaviors. Drawing on affective events theory, we develop a model reconciling the countervailing effects of failure. In particular, we focus on failure velocity—rate at which failure events are experienced—to understand entrepreneurs’ learning from failure. Survey data from entrepreneurs in the information technology industry reveals an inverted U‐shaped relationship between failure velocity and learning behaviors. Emotion regulation moderates this relationship. When failure velocity rises beyond an inflection point, its relationship with learning behaviors is more positive for entrepreneurs with higher emotion regulation.

  January 31, 2017   doi: 10.1111/etap.12273   open full text
• Resolving Information Asymmetry: Signaling, Endorsement, and Crowdfunding Success.
  Christopher Courtney, Supradeep Dutta, Yong Li.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 29, 2016
  This article draws on information economics to examine when signals and endorsements obtained from multiple information sources enhance or diminish one another's effects. We propose that signals through start‐up actions (use of media) and characteristics (crowdfunding experience) can mitigate information asymmetry concerns about project quality and founder credibility, enhancing the project's likelihood of attaining funding. Further, we posit that while start‐up–originated signals offset each other's effects, third‐party endorsements (sentiment expressed in backer comments) validate and complement start‐up–originated signals. Empirical analyses based on a comprehensive dataset of crowdfunding projects on the Kickstarter website during 2009–2015 confirm our predictions.

  December 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12267   open full text
• The Interdependence of Planning and Learning Among Internal Corporate Ventures.
  Jeffrey G. Covin, Robert P. Garrett, Jyoti P. Gupta, Donald F. Kuratko, Dean A. Shepherd.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 05, 2016
  The novelty of new business domains demands that internal corporate ventures (ICVs) exhibit an ability to learn over the course of the venture's development. Nonetheless, ICV learning proficiency may be differentially related to venture performance as a function how various aspects of business planning for the venture are initially approached and evolve. Results from the current research indicate that ICV learning proficiency is more positively related to venture performance when the ICV's initial value propositions are unclear and when the ICV's goals do not extensively evolve over the course of the venture's development.

  December 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12265   open full text
• Get It Together! Synergistic Effects of Causal and Effectual Decision‐Making Logics on Venture Performance.
  Katrin M. Smolka, Ingrid Verheul, Katrin Burmeister‐Lamp, Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 30, 2016
  Entrepreneurs rely on different decision‐making logics when starting new ventures, including causal and effectual reasoning. Extant research suggests that venture performance is positively associated with both causal business planning and effectual action‐orientation, but studies have not yet tested the synergistic potential of these two logics. We contribute to the debate on entrepreneurial decision making by exploring the interrelationship between causation and effectuation, detailing their main and interactive effects on venture performance. Using survey data collected on 1,453 entrepreneurs residing in 25 countries, we find that ventures benefit from using these two entrepreneurial logics in tandem.

  November 30, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12266   open full text
• Firm Structure and Environment as Contingencies to the Corporate Venture Capital–Parent Firm Value Relationship.
  Varkey K. Titus, Brian S. Anderson.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 16, 2016
  Corporate venture capital (CVC) is a valuable strategic tool associated with numerous innovative outcomes. However, less is known about whether CVC investing creates value for the investing (or parent) firm. Drawing from the attention‐based view and contingency theory, we suggest that an increase in firm value from CVC investing is contingent on attentional mechanisms that discipline the selection of new investment opportunities. We posit that increases in firm value associated with CVC investing accrues to firms adopting specific operational structures and operating in particular environmental contexts. We find support for our research model in a sample of 95 companies between 2000 and 2008.

  November 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12264   open full text
• Information Cascades Among Investors in Equity Crowdfunding.
  Silvio Vismara.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 16, 2016
  Finance studies on information cascades, usually in an initial public offering setting, typically differentiate between institutional and retail investors, as this is the only information available to potential backers. Information available through equity crowdfunding platforms includes details on individual investors as they may disclose information about themselves by linking their profile to social networks or websites. Using a sample of 132 equity offerings on Crowdcube in 2014, we show that information cascades among individual investors play a crucial role in crowdfunding campaigns. Investors with a public profile increase the appeal of the offer among early investors, who in turn attract late investors.

  November 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12261   open full text
• The Role of Community in Crowdfunding Success: Evidence on Cultural Attributes in Funding Campaigns to “Save the Local Theater”.
  Matthew Josefy, Thomas J. Dean, Lumina S. Albert, Markus A. Fitza.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 16, 2016
  Despite increased interest in examining the factors that influence crowdfunding success, the effects of community context have been relatively unexamined. We address this void by examining the role of cultural context in crowdfunding success. Our unique data set of crowdfunding projects to “save the local theater” are homogenous in their goal, allowing us to test whether crowdfunding campaigns in certain communities lead to better funding outcomes than others. Theoretically, our results suggest the need for further integration of community and cultural constructs into models of venture funding, as such variables may have more relevance than previously believed.

  November 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12263   open full text
• Motivational Cues and Angel Investing: Interactions Among Enthusiasm, Preparedness, and Commitment.
  Melissa S. Cardon, Cheryl Mitteness, Richard Sudek.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 17, 2016
  Angel investors often make investment decisions based on motivational cues communicated during pitches—including enthusiasm, preparedness, and commitment—to evaluate potentially important qualities of entrepreneurs. We tested the independent and interaction effects of these cues by having 72 angels complete 1,995 evaluations of 133 live pitches. We found a positive effect of preparedness on angel evaluations, an effect enhanced by one form of commitment. The relationship between enthusiasm and evaluations of funding potential varies depending on the type of commitment considered. Our findings suggest that enthusiasm, preparedness, and commitment should be treated as conceptually and empirically distinct.

  October 17, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12255   open full text
• Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship.
  Satish Nambisan.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 12, 2016
  New digital technologies have transformed the nature of uncertainty inherent in entrepreneurial processes and outcomes as well as the ways of dealing with such uncertainty. This has raised important questions at the intersection of digital technologies and entrepreneurship—on digital entrepreneurship. We consider two broad implications—less bounded entrepreneurial processes and outcomes and less predefined locus of entrepreneurial agency—and advance a research agenda that calls for the explicit theorizing of concepts related to digital technologies. In articulating the promise and value of such a digital technology perspective, we consider how it would build on and enrich existing entrepreneurship theories.

  October 12, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12254   open full text
• The Impact of Collective Optimism on New Venture Creation and Growth: A Social Contagion Perspective.
  Aaron H. Anglin, Aaron F. McKenny, Jeremy C. Short.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 11, 2016
  Social contagion research suggests that individual decision making is shaped by collective, social processes. We extend the entrepreneurial optimism literature by arguing that collective optimism—the shared, positive expectations about future outcomes—is salient to key entrepreneurial outcomes. We test our position by examining how fluctuations in U.S. collective entrepreneurial optimism influence venture creation and growth using 1993–2010 NFIB entrepreneurial optimism data. Results indicate that collective entrepreneurial optimism exhibits a curvilinear relationship with venture creation and growth, which is moderated by environmental dynamism. We validate the NFIB measure by constructing an alternative measure of collective entrepreneurial optimism using media reports.

  October 11, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12256   open full text
• Multiculturalism and Entrepreneurial Intentions: Understanding the Mediating Role of Cognitions.
  Ratan J. S. Dheer, Tomasz Lenartowicz.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 11, 2016
  Biculturals, or people who identify with two or more cultures, are said to play an important role in economic development by starting new ventures. However, little research has theorized or analyzed the factors that influence their propensity to do so. Based on an identity integrationist perspective, we contribute to filling this gap. We hypothesize that identity integration is a critical factor that influences entrepreneurial intentions of bicultural individuals. In addition, we hypothesize that cognitive and metacognitive cultural intelligence mediate this relationship. Empirical analyses based on survey data supported our hypothesized arguments. The findings provide guidance on the role of psychological and cognitive factors in influencing intentions.

  October 11, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12260   open full text
• Conflicting Selves: Family Owners' Multiple Goals and Self‐Control Agency Problems in Private Firms.
  Alfredo De Massis, Josip Kotlar, Pietro Mazzola, Tommaso Minola, Salvatore Sciascia.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 11, 2016
  This study examines the self‐control agency problems associated with family ownership in private firms. Theorizing that family owners' inner conflicts between economic and non‐economic goals lead to competing preferences in the allocation of financial resources, we predict that the relationship between financial slack and firm profitability is contingent on factors that increase the potential salience of either economic or noneconomic goals for family owners. Accordingly, our findings suggest that self‐control is a separate source of agency costs in private firms and that family ownership is not as crucial as owners' goals in predicting the impact of financial slack on firm profitability.

  October 11, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12257   open full text
• The Quagmire of Legacy in Family Firms: Definition and Implications of Family and Family Firm Legacy Orientations.
  Nathan L. Hammond, Allison W. Pearson, Daniel T. Holt.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 26, 2016
  Family firm scholars often reference the legacy concerns or intentions of families when explaining strategic decision making in family firms. Yet, the concept of family legacy is not clearly defined or delineated in the literature. As such, we define and explore the family legacy construct from the integrated perspectives of psychosocial development and sense‐making literatures. We identify three forms of family legacy: biological, material, and social. Further, we present the family and family firm legacy orientations as unique constructs, offering a theoretical model that proposes the linkages from these distinct orientations to strategic decision making and behavioral outcomes in family firms.

  August 26, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12241   open full text
• Why Is Family Firms' Internationalization Unique? A Meta‐Analysis.
  Jean‐Luc Arregle, Patricio Duran, Michael A. Hitt, Marc Essen.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 15, 2016
  Despite its importance, there is no clear understanding of the uniqueness of family firms' internationalization. This article sheds new light on this issue with a meta‐analysis of 76 studies covering 41 countries. We show that the considerable study and cross‐country differences in the relationship between family firm and internationalization are explained by the roles of family control, internationalization types, and home countries' institutional contexts (i.e., minority shareholders protection and generalized trust of people from other countries). Therefore, we examine the existing divergent results using theories that reconcile some of these mixed findings and shed light on family firms' specific internationalization challenges.

  August 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12246   open full text
• Toward the Validation of Family Legacy Orientation.
  Matthew W. Rutherford, Donald F. Kuratko.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 10, 2016
  Family legacy orientation (FLO) and Family firm legacy orientation (FFLO) are novel and compelling constructs for the field of family business. In the paper, the authors introduce these constructs and offer implications for strategic decision making in the firm. They also note that, while FLO and FFLO could have a substantial impact on the field of family business, the constructs must be measured. We concur, because while more theorizing is necessary, part of this theorizing should include the development of observable and measurable phenomena for the construct in question (Schwab, ). In addition, by engaging in the steps to gauge construct clarity and validity, important considerations, concerns, and value will certainly come to light.

  August 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12244   open full text
• Bringing Successors Into the Fold: The Impact of Founders’ Actions on Successors.
  Timothy P. Blumentritt.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 08, 2016
  Parker credibly contends that founders of family businesses can address the willing successor problem by improving the value of the firm through purposeful efforts and investments in tangible and intangible assets. This commentary explores how different types of potential successors might respond to those enticements.

  August 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12245   open full text
• Informal Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies: The Impacts of Starting Up Unregistered on Firm Performance.
  Colin C. Williams, Alvaro Martinez‐Perez, Abbi M. Kedir.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 08, 2016
  To advance understanding of the entrepreneurship process in developing economies, this article evaluates whether registered enterprises that initially avoid the cost of registration, and focus their resources on overcoming other liabilities of newness, lay a stronger foundation for subsequent growth. Analyzing World Bank Enterprise Survey data across 127 countries, and controlling for other firm performance determinants, registered enterprises that started up unregistered and spent longer operating unregistered are revealed to have significantly higher subsequent annual sales, employment, and productivity growth rates compared with those that registered from the outset. The theoretical and policy implications are then discussed.

  August 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12238   open full text
• An Assemblage‐Theoretic Perspective on the Internationalization Processes of Family Firms.
  A. Rebecca Reuber.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 05, 2016
  Much scholarly attention has been paid to the internationalization of family firms. In this paper, I contend that our knowledge remains limited because of a dominant focus on decision making. I problematize this dominant focus in the literature, propose assemblage theory as a new lens through which to examine family business internationalization, and draw attention to new research questions constructed around the conceptualization of internationalization as a destabilizing influence on family firm logics and routines. In doing so, I pay particular attention to processes associated with internationalization triggers, geographic distance, cultural differences and the family firm as an unfamiliar market actor, and to temporal considerations associated with these processes.

  August 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12243   open full text
• Family Firms and the “Willing Successor” Problem.
  Simon C. Parker.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 05, 2016
  Many family business owners want their offspring to continue the family business after they have retired. However, they may lack “willing successors.” Drawing on resource‐based logic, this paper proposes parental business strategies which enhance the attractiveness of continuation by offspring. These strategies include investment in intangible capital, which is less valuable if offspring sell the firm, and high levels of parental effort. As a by‐product, these strategies enhance the financial performance and longevity of those family firms which adopt them, and might help explain the global prevalence of family firms as an organizational form.

  August 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12242   open full text
• Family Firm Challenges in Intergenerational Wealth Transfer.
  Jon C. Carr, James J. Chrisman, Jess H. Chua, Lloyd P. Steier.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 05, 2016
  Family firm owners accumulate economic and noneconomic wealth that they may wish to transfer to the next generation. Their challenges in doing so include: what, to whom, when, and how to transfer this wealth. The decisions made and actions taken will impact behavior and performance as well as the type and amount of wealth eventually transferred. The articles and commentaries in this special issue address some of these challenges, specifically the what of family firm legacy, the who of willing intra‐family successors, and the how of both family and business destabilization and re‐stabilization after a major strategic move as illustrated by internationalization.

  August 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12240   open full text
• Exploring the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation, CEO Dual Values, and SME Performance in State‐Owned vs. Nonstate‐Owned Enterprises in China.
  Jintong Tang, Zhi Tang, Birton J. Cowden.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 05, 2016
  Most entrepreneurial orientation (EO)–performance research focuses on identifying organizational‐level contingent factors in developed countries. In this study, we advance EO research by examining how CEO self‐enhancing and self‐transcending values shape the relationship between EO and performance, differentially, in Chinese state‐owned enterprises vs. nonstate‐owned enterprises. Supporting self‐concern and other‐orientation theory, our sample of 148 manufacturing firms in the chemical industry in Eastern China indicates that the EO–performance relationship is stronger for high self‐enhancing CEOs in state‐owned enterprises, whereas the focal link is stronger for low self‐enhancing CEOs in nonstate‐owned enterprises.

  August 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12235   open full text
• Beyond Red Tape and Fools: Institutional Theory in Entrepreneurship Research, 1992–2014.
  Jing Su, Qinghua Zhai, Tomas Karlsson.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 25, 2016
  Institutional theory has become an increasingly common lens in entrepreneurship research. Over the past years, the number of entrepreneurship studies that adopt institutional perspective (EIn research) has grown dramatically. This review systematically examines extant EIn research, analyzing 194 articles published in 11 leading journals from 1992 to 2014. In this review, we focus on three characteristics of the articles: institutional logic, level of analysis, and methodology. Further, we identify three distinct periods of EIn research: the conceptual phase, 1992–2000, the exploration phase 2001–2007, and the acceptance phase 2008–2014. This allows us to provide detailed discussion on main characteristics of the articles and identify evolutionary trends of this research area. The overall surge of articles with institutional perspective in entrepreneurship research is promising. We can see an increasing variation of methods being applied and a growing mutual interest between entrepreneurship and institutional theory researchers. Yet, we find substantial biases and omissions in the application of institutional theory. There is a focus on national level analysis with assuming state and market logics. For EIn to move forward it has to move closer to field/industry level analysis and add new insights into entrepreneurship and alternative logics. Based on our framework and additional insights gained from the review, we outline directions for future EIn research.

  July 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12218   open full text
• Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Dimensions' Shared Effects in Explaining Firm Performance.
  Carina Lomberg, Diemo Urbig, Christoph Stöckmann, Louis D. Marino, Pat H. Dickson.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 25, 2016
  We shed new light on the structure of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance and how this relationship varies across contexts. Using commonality analysis, we decompose the variance in performance—in terms of the effects of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking—into parts that are attributable to unique variations in these dimensions (unique effects) and those attributable to covariation between these dimensions (shared effects). By demonstrating the empirical relevance of unique, bilaterally shared, and commonly shared effects in a heterogeneous sample of low‐tech, high‐tech, and multi‐sector firms, we consolidate existing conceptualizations of EO and propose an extension of the extant theoretical views of the construct.

  July 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12237   open full text
• Conflict Between Controlling Family Owners and Minority Shareholders: Much Ado About Nothing?
  Geoffrey Martin, Luis R. Gómez‐Mejía, Pascual Berrone, Marianna Makri.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 21, 2016
  We examine the unique nature of conflict between controlling family owners and minority shareholders (principal–principal conflict) in publicly traded family controlled firms through examining shareholder proposals. Implicit in prior governance and family business research has been that nonfamily shareholders are likely to be in conflict with the dominant family owners. In general, we find that much of this fear may be unwarranted except under specific circumstances. Our findings elucidate sources of heterogeneity in family firm principal–principal conflict and add greater nuance to our understanding of this type of agency problem within family firms.

  July 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12236   open full text
• Temporal Change Patterns of Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Longitudinal Investigation of CEO Successions.
  Bastian Grühn, Steffen Strese, Tessa C. Flatten, Nikolai A. Jaeger, Malte Brettel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 20, 2016
  This study investigates the temporal change patterns of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) subsequent to chief executive officer (CEO) successions. Integrating prior research, we hypothesize that CEO successions lead to a change in EO and that this change exhibits an inverse U‐shape over time. Based on data collected for 67 CEO successions, our empirical results support our hypotheses, showing that successions effectuate changes in EO and tend to increase the level of EO in firms. Changes in EO peak in the second to fourth year of a new CEO's tenure, with less change before and after. We also demonstrate that changes in EO occur later but are more pronounced if the newly appointed firm leader is an outside CEO.

  July 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12239   open full text
• Fail but Try Again? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Multiple‐Owner Experience on Failed Entrepreneurs' Reentry.
  Massimo Baù, Philipp Sieger, Kimberly A. Eddleston, Francesco Chirico.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 12, 2016
  We investigate what leads failed entrepreneurs to reenter entrepreneurship by taking a developmental career perspective. Specifically, we hypothesize that the age of failed entrepreneurs has a nonlinear relationship with the likelihood of reentering entrepreneurship that follows different career stages (early, middle, and late). The gender of failed entrepreneurs and multiple‐owner experience in the failed firm are hypothesized to be moderators of this relationship. We test our hypotheses using a database consisting of the Swedish population, including 4,761 entrepreneurs who failed between 2000 and 2004. Analyzing their career paths over the years following their failure offers support for our theoretical expectations.

  July 12, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12233   open full text
• From Venture Idea to Venture Opportunity.
  Peter Vogel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 30, 2016
  Opportunities are a core construct in the field of entrepreneurship. Despite recent advances suggesting the separation of ideas from opportunities, the field still suffers from conceptual deficiencies. This article builds on this distinction and leverages insights from creativity and innovation management literature to propose a framework that allows tracing the evolution of a venture from first insight to exploitation. It discusses real‐time/longitudinal and retrospective measurement techniques from the fields of entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation management to empirically capture the framework. Several research questions for future studies are provided, concluding with a discussion of implications for research and practice.

  June 30, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12234   open full text
• Entrepreneurial Team Composition Characteristics and New Venture Performance: A Meta‐Analysis.
  Linlin Jin, Kristen Madison, Nils D. Kraiczy, Franz W. Kellermanns, T. Russell Crook, Jing Xi.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 03, 2016
  Upper echelon theory highlights the importance of top management teams in large and established firms; however, effects are not always clear outside of this context. Due to the unique nature of new ventures, the composition of entrepreneurial teams and its effects on performance is worthy of investigation. Accordingly, we meta‐analyze the effect of three characteristics of entrepreneurial team composition (i.e., aggregated, heterogeneity, team size) on new venture performance. Our meta‐analysis, which includes 55 empirical samples and 8,892 observations, finds significant and unique effects of entrepreneurial team characteristics on new ventures. Based on our findings, we derive avenues for future research.

  May 03, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12232   open full text
• Capturing the Familiness of Family Businesses: Development of the Family Influence Familiness Scale (FIFS).
  Hermann Frank, Alexander Kessler, Thomas Rusch, Julia Suess‐Reyes, Daniela Weismeier‐Sammer.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 18, 2016
  This article develops a familiness scale measuring the family influence on the business via decision premises that express familiness. In three studies, we examine familiness with qualitative and quantitative approaches based on new systems theory. Narrative interviews are employed to generate items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses led to a multidimensional scale (Family Influence Familiness Scale [FIFS]) comprising six dimensions: (1) ownership, management, and control; (2) proficiency level of active family members; (3) sharing of information between active family members; (4) transgenerational orientation; (5) family–employee bond; and (6) family business identity. Results indicate high reliability and validity levels.

  March 18, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12229   open full text
• Venture Capitalists’ Experience and Foreign IPOs: Evidence from China.
  Jing Zhang, Huizhi Yu.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 04, 2016
  Integrating signaling theory with social network theory, we investigate the influence of venture capitalists’ (VCs’) IPO experience on the likelihood of foreign IPO successes. Using data from VC‐backed Chinese companies listed on the U.S. or Chinese stock markets from 2002 to 2012, we find that U.S. VCs’ experience in either market increases the chance of listing in the United States. However, Chinese VCs’ experience in the United States plays the same role, but not in China. For entrepreneurs who desire to pursue opportunities in international capital markets, the novel findings offer important implications in their VC selection decisions.

  March 04, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12228   open full text
• The Role of Gender in Entrepreneur–Investor Relationships: A Signaling Theory Approach.
  Gry Agnete Alsos, Elisabet Ljunggren.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 10, 2016
  This study adopts a gender perspective to analyze funding decisions made by an investment fund that invests equity stakes in new ventures. Prior research has indicated that there is gender skewness in risk capital investments resulting from a combination of demand‐ and supply‐side issues. We apply signaling theory to examine the interface between demand and supply to understand gender biases related to risk capital investments. In‐depth analyses of decision documents from four investment cases show that gender plays a role in the signals that are communicated in the prefunding entrepreneur–investor relationship.

  January 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/etap.12226   open full text
• Entrepreneurs’ Exploratory Perseverance in Learning Settings.
  Katrin Muehlfeld, Diemo Urbig, Utz Weitzel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 17, 2015
  We introduce “exploratory perseverance” as a novel construct that captures perseverant behavior in settings in which several alternatives can be explored and evaluated. We suggest that entrepreneurs display exploratory perseverance reflected by a tendency to keep exploring broader sets of alternatives, to adopt a parallel rather than sequential approach to trial‐and‐error learning, and, after negative experiences with some alternatives, to be more inclined to give them a second chance. The results from an experimental study of 449 individuals participating in the Iowa Gambling Task indicate that more entrepreneurially experienced individuals display greater exploratory perseverance than those with little to no entrepreneurial experience.

  December 17, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12224   open full text
• Do Effectuation Processes Shape the Relationship Between Product Diversification and Performance in New Ventures?
  Ioanna Deligianni, Irini Voudouris, Spyros Lioukas.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 12, 2015
  This study applies the lens of effectuation to product diversification and examines the moderating effects of effectuation processes on the relationship between diversification and performance in new ventures. Effectuation processes are conceptualized in terms of experimentation, affordable loss, flexibility, and pre‐commitments. The findings indicate that, with the exception of affordable loss, effectuation processes exert a positive effect on the diversification–performance relationship. Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.

  November 12, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12210   open full text
• Attributes of Angel and Crowdfunded Investments as Determinants of VC Screening Decisions.
  Will Drover, Matthew S. Wood, Andrew Zacharakis.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 11, 2015
  This research explores whether relationships between young firms and certain early‐stage seed funders portray certification effects that influence venture capitalist (VC) screening decisions. Specifically, we analyze how varying attributes of angel and crowdfunded investments certify venture quality in the minds of VCs as they make due diligence screening decisions. Results from two experiments utilizing 104 VCs making 1,036 screening decisions demonstrate that the heterogeneous nature of the attributes of angels and the crowd can produce highly influential certification effects.

  November 11, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12207   open full text
• CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation, Entrenchment, and Firm Value Creation.
  Thomas Keil, Markku Maula, Evangelos Syrigos.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 11, 2015
  We investigate how CEO entrepreneurial orientation affects firm value creation and how this relationship is moderated by three sources of CEO entrenchment. We conducted a longitudinal analysis of S&P 500 firms between 1999 and 2007, and, in line with our predictions, we found that CEO entrepreneurial orientation enhances firm value creation and that this positive effect is reduced when CEOs are entrenched (1) due to corporate governance provisions that protect them from the majority will of shareholders, (2) due to substantial ownership that provides them too much decision‐making power, and (3) because their family has substantial holdings in the corporation.

  November 11, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12213   open full text
• The Study of Bias in Entrepreneurship.
  Stephen X. Zhang, Javier Cueto.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 09, 2015
  Scholars use the theoretical lens of bias to research various behavioral phenomena in entrepreneurship. We assess this body of research, focusing on definitional issues and relationships. Furthermore, we discuss how the study of bias in entrepreneurship can be advanced, given the new development in related fields such as cognitive sciences. The assessments and discussions help reveal as well as address tensions in the literature, identify numerous research opportunities that may not be obvious by looking at previous work individually, and contribute to how the theory of bias can further help to understand entrepreneurship.

  November 09, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12212   open full text
• If You Fight With Me, I'll Get Mad! A Social Model of Entrepreneurial Affect.
  Nicola Breugst, Dean A. Shepherd.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 09, 2015
  Although studies have highlighted economic and psychological antecedents of negative affect, social antecedents have been neglected. Building on attribution theory, we distinguish between relationship and task conflict to investigate the generation of negative affect during entrepreneurial team tasks including the team members’ context in terms of uncertainty and satisfaction with the team. Two studies, in the field and in the laboratory, highlight the importance of social contexts: while uncertainty attenuates negative affective reactions to conflict, satisfaction with the team magnifies them. We discuss our contributions for research on affect, conflict, uncertainty, and satisfaction with the team in entrepreneurial contexts.

  November 09, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12211   open full text
• Determinants of Social Entrepreneurial Intentions.
  Kai Hockerts.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. September 28, 2015
  This article tests the model proposed by Mair and Noboa (2006) who identify four antecedents which they suggest predict social entrepreneurial intentions. The study extends the model by including prior experience with social problems as an additional variable. Findings show that prior experience predicts social entrepreneurial intentions. This effect is mediated by the antecedents suggested by Mair and Noboa. Social entrepreneurial self‐efficacy has both the largest impact on intentions as well as being itself most responsive to prior experience. Lastly, the study shows that the amount of optional social entrepreneurship electives students enroll in is predicted by social entrepreneurial intentions.

  September 28, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12171   open full text
• The Effects of Founder and Family Ownership on Hired CEOs’ Incentives and Firm Performance.
  Peter Jaskiewicz, Joern H. Block, James G. Combs, Danny Miller.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 06, 2015
  Although large owners monitor managers effectively, they differ in important ways. Whereas founder owners focus on firm performance, family owners also pursue socioemotional goals. We leverage this distinction to theorize that family owners offer hired CEOs more incentive pay—to attract nonfamily CEOs, signal good governance, and achieve better firm performance. Without socioemotional wealth distractions, founder owners do not need high incentives and overusing them is counterproductive. Bayesian regressions using a panel of 335 S&P 500 firms support our theory. A key implication is that founder and family owners approach governance differently and these differences affect firm performance.

  August 06, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12169   open full text
• The Role of Spiritual Capital in Innovation and Performance: Evidence from Developing Economies.
  Mitchell J. Neubert, Steven W. Bradley, Retno Ardianti, Edward M. Simiyu.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 30, 2015
  Forms of capital play a significant role in the innovation and performance of start‐up firms. Current entrepreneurial research has focused on the role of financial, human, and social forms of capital. We build on a large body of theory and research in sociology and economics, proposing spiritual capital as an additional influence where institutional voids are greater in the development contexts studied. Results from microcredit entrepreneurs in Kenya and Indonesia indicate significant relationships between entrepreneurs’ spiritual capital and business innovation and performance, even after accounting for other forms of capital.

  July 30, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12172   open full text
• The Relational Organization of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.
  Ben Spigel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 25, 2015
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems have emerged as a popular concept to explain the persistence of high‐growth entrepreneurship within regions. However, as a theoretical concept ecosystems remain underdeveloped, making it difficult to understand their structure and influence on the entrepreneurship process. The article argues that ecosystems are composed of 10 cultural, social, and material attributes that provide benefits and resources to entrepreneurs and that the relationships between these attributes reproduce the ecosystem. This model is illustrated with case studies of Waterloo, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The cases demonstrate the variety of different configurations that ecosystems can take.

  June 25, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12167   open full text
• Entrepreneurs' Assessments of Early International Entry: The Role of Foreign Social Ties, Venture Absorptive Capacity, and Generalized Trust in Others.
  Anne Domurath, Holger Patzelt.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 16, 2015
  Drawing on the literature on social ties, we develop a model toward entrepreneurs' assessments of early international entry. We argue that social ties in foreign markets trigger entrepreneurs' assessed attractiveness of exploiting potentially valuable opportunities contingent on their perceptions of the venture's absorptive capacity and their generalized trust in others. We test these hypotheses using a metric conjoint experiment, and data on 4,352 international entry assessments nested within 136 entrepreneurs. Our findings reveal significant cross‐level interactions between the characteristics of entrepreneurs' social ties, venture absorptive capacity, and entrepreneurs' trust in others in explaining how they assess international entry.

  April 16, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12164   open full text
• Biology and Selection Into Entrepreneurship—The Relevance of Prenatal Testosterone Exposure.
  Werner Bönte, Vivien D. Procher, Diemo Urbig.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 16, 2015
  This study examines the relationship between prenatal testosterone exposure (PTE) and selection into entrepreneurship. We argue that the relationship between PTE and entrepreneurial intent is positive and mediated by general and domain‐specific risk‐taking related to financial investment and professional career. Using the second‐to‐fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) as noninvasive retrospective marker for PTE, we identify two‐step mediation effects of PTE on entrepreneurial intent through both general and domain‐specific risk‐taking. To account for possible socialization‐based effects, we control for gender and parental self‐employment. Applying ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses and structural equation models, we provide empirical evidence for a biological association between 2D:4D and entrepreneurial intent.

  April 16, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12165   open full text
• Success, Failure, and Entrepreneurial Reentry: An Experimental Assessment of the Veracity of Self‐Efficacy and Prospect Theory.
  Dan K. Hsu, Johan Wiklund, Richard D. Cotton.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 16, 2015
  This paper develops and tests a model of an individual's intention to reenter entrepreneurship following business exit. Two long‐standing theories, prospect theory and self‐efficacy, seem to develop opposite predictions in this context. To reconcile these conflicting predictions, we theorize a moderating model and test the boundary conditions of both theories. Relying on two experimental studies, we find that prospect theory explains reentry intentions of entrepreneurs who have lost money when their self‐efficacy is moderate or low. Thereby, we provide an explanation for the puzzling empirical finding that so many failed entrepreneurs reenter entrepreneurship even if failure has undermined their self‐efficacy.

  April 16, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12166   open full text
• Why Are There so Few Breweries in the South?
  Stephan F. Gohmann.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 08, 2015
  Most southern states have fewer breweries per population than the rest of the country. This paper examines why. The main outcome is that in the South, the number of breweries is negatively associated with higher campaign contributions from big breweries, the number of beer distributors per capita, and the Southern Baptist adherence rate. In the non‐South, these associations are insignificant or positive. The limited number of breweries in the South follows the idea of bootleggers and Baptists where those who gain economically from limited competition—large breweries and distributors—side with groups morally opposed to alcohol to keep breweries out.

  April 08, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12162   open full text
• Navigating a Sea of Change: Identity Misalignment and Adaptation in Academic Entrepreneurship.
  William R. Meek, Matthew S. Wood.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 08, 2015
  The commercialization of university‐held research discoveries is increasingly seen as a promising source of revenue, and a growing number of universities are adding policies and incentives in an attempt to encourage commercialization activities. The effectiveness of these efforts is in jeopardy, however, because these changes can unintentionally create an environment ripe for misalignment between policies and incentives and university scientists' work identity. We develop a conceptual model that suggests such changes trigger moral and hedonistic cognitive dissonance, and in reaction scientists can engage in identity adaptation via distinct pathways, leading to different levels of commercialization engagement intensity.

  April 08, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12163   open full text
• How Much Am I Expected to Pay for My Parents' Firm? An Institutional Logics Perspective on Family Discounts.
  Thomas Zellweger, Melanie Richards, Philipp Sieger, Pankaj C. Patel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 24, 2015
  Recent evidence suggests that successors do not simply inherit their parents' firm, but have to pay a certain price. Building on institutional logics literature, we explore successors' family discount expectations, defined as the rebate expected from parents in comparison to nonfamily buyers when assuming control of the firm. We find that family cohesion increases discount expectations, while successors' fear of failure and family equity stake in the firm decrease discount expectations. Higher education in business or economics weakens these effects. On average, in our study comprised of 16 countries, successors expect a 57% family discount.

  March 24, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12161   open full text
• Does Size Matter? The Moderating Effects of Firm Size on the Employment of Nonfamily Managers in Privately Held Family SMEs.
  Hanqinq “Chevy” Fang, Robert V.D.G. Randolph, Esra Memili, James J. Chrisman.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 04, 2015
  Family firms' decisions to hire nonfamily managers are influenced by agency costs, socioemotional wealth concerns, and the availability of high‐quality nonfamily managers in the labor pool. We hypothesize that owing to these factors, family ownership and intrafamily succession intentions will be negatively associated with the proportion of nonfamily managers in private small‐ and medium‐sized (SME) family firms. However, firm size is hypothesized to positively moderate those relationships because as family firm size increases, the benefits of hiring nonfamily managers rise faster than the costs. Tobit regression analyses of 7,299 private SMEs support our hypotheses.

  March 04, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12156   open full text
• Much Ado About Nothing? The Surprising Persistence of Nascent Entrepreneurs Through Macroeconomic Crisis.
  Per Davidsson, Scott R. Gordon.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 26, 2015
  We hypothesize that a major macroeconomic crisis triggers four alternative responses among nascent entrepreneurs: disengagement, delay, compensation, and adaptation. We also suggest that commitment and ambition (or “high potential”) moderate these responses. Our most important finding is the relative absence of behavioral crisis responses. However, crises may make high‐tech founders become more likely to disengage, whereas the opposite holds for founders far into the process. Our study sheds light on the mechanisms behind aggregate effects of crises on the number and type of start‐ups in an economy, and can guide future research on the effect of crises on nascent entrepreneurship.

  February 26, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12152   open full text
• Attracting New Talent to Family Firms: Who Is Attracted and Under What Conditions?
  Hannes Hauswald, Andreas Hack, Franz W. Kellermanns, Holger Patzelt.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 26, 2015
  In making a decision to enter into a long‐term employment relationship with a firm, job seekers often compare their needs and values with the perceived organizational characteristics of the firm. In the case of family firms, the communication of family influence can be a unique factor in shaping beliefs about firm attributes. Family influence is often associated with trustworthiness, security, and stability. However, family influence is also associated with inflexibility and resistance to change. Using the idea of person–organization fit, we hypothesize that although family influence attracts job seekers in general, applicants who value conservation or self‐transcendence are particularly attracted, while applicants who emphasize openness to change or self‐enhancement are less attracted. Furthermore, we propose that the attractive effects of family influence are more pronounced in more hostile economic environments. We find evidence for our hypotheses using a conjoint experiment and 5,600 assessments of family influence nested within 175 job seekers.

  February 26, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12153   open full text
• Venture‐Backed Firms: How Does Venture Capital Involvement Affect Their Likelihood of Going Public or Being Acquired?
  Roberto Ragozzino, Dane P. Blevins.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 26, 2015
  This paper investigates how venture capitalists' involvement in new ventures affects the likelihood of entrepreneurial exit, either via an acquisition or via an initial public offering. We examine the prominence of venture capitals (VCs), the number of VCs invested in a company, as well as the timing, duration, and magnitude of their investments in new ventures. We find that each of these dimensions directly explains entrepreneurial exit, although their effects tend to differ depending on whether the exit occurs via an acquisition or an initial public offering (IPO). These results withstand several robustness checks and offer a more precise account of how the relationship between new ventures and VC firms unfolds in the early years of the entrepreneurial cycle.

  February 26, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12154   open full text
• A Tale of Two Kirzners: Time, Uncertainty, and the “Nature” of Opportunities.
  Steffen Korsgaard, Henrik Berglund, Claus Thrane, Per Blenker.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 12, 2015
  This paper discusses the influence of Israel Kirzner on the field of entrepreneurship research. We review Kirzner's work and argue that it contains two distinct approaches to entrepreneurship, termed Kirzner Mark I and Kirzner Mark II. Mark I with its focus on alertness and opportunity discovery has exerted a strong influence on entrepreneurship research in the last decade, and helped catapult the field forward. We propose that Mark II, with its emphasis on time, uncertainty, and creative action in pursuit of imagined opportunities, complements the discovery view and can provide an alternative conceptual grounding for the decade to come.

  February 12, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12151   open full text
• CEO Tenure and Entrepreneurial Orientation Within Family and Nonfamily Firms.
  J. Ruben Boling, Torsten M. Pieper, Jeffrey G. Covin.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 09, 2015
  The current research investigates how entrepreneurial orientation changes during a chief executive officer (CEO)'s tenure in family and nonfamily firms. Based on secondary data collected from 210 firms representing five industries, the results show an inverse U‐shaped relationship between CEO tenure and entrepreneurial orientation, consistent with the executive life cycle literature. Moreover, in family firms the shape of the inverse U is less pronounced and the level of entrepreneurial orientation peaks considerably later in the CEO's tenure when compared with nonfamily firms.

  February 09, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12150   open full text
• It's All About Timing: Age‐Dependent Consequences of Founder Exits and New Member Additions.
  Christina Guenther, Simon Oertel, Peter Walgenbach.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 15, 2015
  This article explores the effects of changes in the initial venture team on a firm's failure risk by considering firm age. The results show that founder exits are especially critical for firm survival in the first years of a firm's existence, whereas the entry of a new team member is more beneficial in later years. Further, an investigation of multiple founder exits shows that the time that elapses between two exits has a U‐shaped relationship with a firm's hazard risk. Discussing these findings in terms of imprinting and the liability of newness, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of venture team dynamics and firm survival.

  January 15, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12148   open full text
• To Be or Not to Be: How Family Firms Manage Family and Commercial Logics in Succession.
  Peter Jaskiewicz, Katharina Heinrichs, Sabine B. Rau, Trish Reay.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 05, 2015
  We draw on the institutional logics perspective to understand different approaches that family firms can use to manage the process of succession. Based on the analysis of 21 case studies of family firms in Germany, we identify four different ways of managing potentially conflicting family and commercial logics that are associated with four different succession processes. Our findings contribute to the family firm literature by improving our knowledge of the heterogeneity of family firms and by explaining different ways that the family logic can influence firm behavior. Moreover, we contribute to institutional theory by showing the importance of filtering mechanisms for organizations that must respond to coexisting logics.

  January 05, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12146   open full text
• Corporate Entrepreneurship Managers' Project Terminations: Integrating Portfolio‐Level, Individual‐Level, and Firm‐Level Effects.
  Judith Behrens, Holger Patzelt.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 05, 2015
  Corporate entrepreneurship managers often need to terminate projects to maximize their innovation portfolios' commercial prospects. Drawing on the attention‐based view of the firm, we develop a model for how past project failure experience, the firm's growth rate, and their hierarchical level impact managers' attention to a project's fit with the corporate portfolio strategy and the balance of the portfolio when terminating projects. Using data from a conjoint study with 6,944 assessments of project terminations made by 217 managers, we provide insights into corporate entrepreneurship decision making and how portfolio‐level, individual‐level, and firm‐level aspects interact in explaining project termination.

  January 05, 2015   doi: 10.1111/etap.12147   open full text
• Long‐Term Orientation in Publicly Traded Family Businesses: Evidence of a Dominant Logic.
  Richard Gentry, Clay Dibrell, Jaemin Kim.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. November 03, 2014
  Drawing from the behavioral theory of the firm, we examine the role of a long‐term orientation in decision making at publicly traded, family‐influenced firms (FIFs). We advance a view of the family as part of a firm's dominant coalition and the resulting effects of a family‐influenced coalition on the FIF's decision making. Using a sample of publicly traded firms, our findings indicate that FIFs' decision making reflects a focus on a long‐term orientation, manifested in the greater accumulation of slack resources, less strategic risk taking, and lower bankruptcy risk than non‐FIF firms.

  November 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12140   open full text
• Outside Board Human Capital and Early Stage High‐Tech Firm Performance.
  Elien Vandenbroucke, Mirjam Knockaert, Deniz Ucbasaran.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 30, 2014
  Early stage high‐tech firms are confronted with a number of challenges related to the homogeneous and technical nature of the start‐up team. Attracting outside board members can alleviate these challenges and consequently enhance firm performance. Building on team production and human capital theory, we study how outside board human capital affects technological and market performance. Our results, based on a longitudinal panel data set consisting of 562 firm‐year observations in 80 young high‐tech ventures in Belgium, show that outside board‐specific experience, diversity, and tenure are important determinants of firm performance. We discuss implications for research and practice.

  October 30, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12141   open full text
• Extending the Role of Similarity Attraction in Friendship and Advice Networks in Angel Groups.
  Cheryl R. Mitteness, Rich DeJordy, Manju K. Ahuja, Richard Sudek.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 08, 2014
  Although similarity attraction theory is often utilized to explain why people form relationships with similar others, we utilize diversity research to look beyond surface‐level demographic characteristics similarity to explain situations when angels form interpersonal relations with angels with dissimilar deep‐level personal characteristics due to a strong desire to receive information and cognitive benefits. We use data collected from a chapter of one of the largest angel organizations in the United States. Our results show that although individuals often form relations with similar others, conditions exist when angels exert the extra effort required to form relations with dissimilar others.

  October 08, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12135   open full text
• Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Research: A Critical Review and Future Directions.
  Matthew R. Marvel, Justin L. Davis, Curtis R. Sproul.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 08, 2014
  Human capital has emerged as a highly utilized theoretical lens through which scholars can better understand entrepreneurship. To synthesize the progress of this stream and promote its use, we review 109 articles in leading management and entrepreneurship journals over two decades. We organize our discussion in terms of multi‐theory approaches, methods and analyses, constructs, and study focus. A number of research gaps and promising areas for inquiry are put forward. We develop a typology of human capital and discuss how future investigations of types of human capital related to the entrepreneurship process can benefit research and practice.

  October 08, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12136   open full text
• Stratification, Economic Adversity, and Entrepreneurial Launch: The Effect of Resource Position on Entrepreneurial Strategy.
  Patrice Perry‐Rivers.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 07, 2014
  This paper analyzes whether or not the simple theory of income choice, which indicates there is a positive relationship between economic adversity and entrepreneurship, is applicable to all groups and may have been overgeneralized in entrepreneurship research. Using social stratification theory and the resource‐based view, I explore how accumulated resource position differences between advantaged and disadvantaged entrepreneurial actor groups could result in their employing different strategies when exposed to economic adversity. I find that economic adversity has no relationship with entrepreneurship (self‐employment rates) in advantaged or disadvantaged groups, and these groups use resources divergently due to their converse resource positions.

  October 07, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12137   open full text
• Productivity Growth in Private‐Equity–Backed Family Firms.
  Annalisa Croce, José Martí.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 07, 2014
  We study the reluctance of family firms to accept private equity (PE) investors and the impact of PE on family firms' performance. We analyze the productivity growth in a sample of 257 PE‐backed family firms, 143 of which were run by the founding generation. We compare these firms with both non‐PE‐backed family firms and non family PE‐backed firms. We find that family firms accessing PE show lower productivity growth before the initial PE round, which is driven by an imbalance between inputs and output, especially in founder‐controlled firms. Our results also confirm the positive impact of PE involvement on productivity growth in founder‐controlled firms.

  October 07, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12138   open full text
• The Role of Job Satisfaction in Transitions Into Self‐Employment.
  Giuliano Guerra, Roberto Patuelli.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. September 02, 2014
  Self‐employment is often seen as an attractive alternative to wage employment, despite lower welfare protection, higher risks, and more required effort than in the latter. It is then important to investigate why individuals choose self‐employment. In addition to potential earnings, other factors may be considered, including displacement, uncertainty, unemployment risk, and dissatisfaction. Building on a job quits model, we propose an empirical representation of transitions to self‐employment, which includes subjective evaluations of pecuniary and nonpecuniary satisfaction on the previous job. Additionally, we focus on the dynamics of job satisfaction, highlighting the role played by shocks in subjective evaluations.

  September 02, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12133   open full text
• How Does Angel Investor–Entrepreneur Conflict Affect Venture Innovation? It Depends.
  Veroniek Collewaert, Harry J. Sapienza.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 29, 2014
  This study examines how angel investor–entrepreneur task conflicts are related to portfolio company innovativeness and how this relationship is moderated by the level of agreement on priorities, diversity of entrepreneurial experience, and the level of communication. Using survey data gathered from 54 teams of angels and entrepreneurs in Belgium and the United States, we show that the negative relationship between task conflict and innovativeness is more severe when the teams have lower levels of agreement on priorities, when there is less diversity of experience in the team, and when the teams communicate more frequently.

  August 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12131   open full text
• Perceptions of Adverse Work Conditions and Innovative Behavior: The Buffering Roles of Relational Resources.
  Dirk De Clercq, Dimo Dimov, Imanol Belausteguigoitia.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 16, 2014
  This study investigates how employees' perceptions of adverse work conditions might discourage innovative behavior and the possible buffering roles of relational resources. Data from a Mexican‐based organization reveal that perceptions of work overload negatively affect innovative behavior, but this effect gets attenuated with greater knowledge sharing and interpersonal harmony. Further, although perceived organizational politics lead to lower innovative behavior when relational resources are low, they increase this behavior when resources are high. Organizations which seek to adopt innovative ideas in the presence of adverse work conditions thus should create relational conduits that can mitigate the associated stress.

  August 16, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12121   open full text
• Do You See What I See? Signaling Effects of Gender and Firm Characteristics on Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures.
  Kimberly A. Eddleston, Jamie J. Ladge, Cheryl Mitteness, Lakshmi Balachandra.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. August 05, 2014
  In this study, we examine whether female entrepreneurs are held to a different standard than male entrepreneurs in obtaining financing from banks. To test this idea, we draw from the literature on signaling theory to propose that characteristics specific to the firm and the entrepreneur act as a means to communicate (i.e., signal) the inherent quality of the venture and thus impact the amount of capital the entrepreneur is able to obtain. We then explore the moderating role of gender based on gender role congruity theory to argue that capital providers reward the business characteristics of male and female entrepreneurs differently to the disadvantage of women.

  August 05, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12117   open full text
• Making the Most of Failure Experiences: Exploring the Relationship Between Business Failure and the Identification of Business Opportunities.
  Brandon A. Mueller, Dean A. Shepherd.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 27, 2014
  Although previous research has extolled the importance of business failure as a precursor to transformational learning, few studies have explored the conditions under which such learning occurs or the content of the resulting knowledge. We explore several cognitive moderators of the relationship between failure experiences and a specific type of opportunity identification knowledge—the use of structural alignment processes. Results indicate that learning from failure is facilitated for entrepreneurs who possess a cognitive toolset that consists of opportunity prototypes and an intuitive cognitive style. Moreover, we found that prior professional knowledge negatively moderates this relationship.

  June 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12116   open full text
• Paradoxes and Innovation in Family Firms: The Role of Paradoxical Thinking.
  Amy E. Ingram, Marianne W. Lewis, Sid Barton, William B. Gartner.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 02, 2014
  Scholars stress that family firms are inherently paradoxical, and that tensions, such as tradition versus change, family liquidity versus business growth, and founder control versus successor autonomy, can both inhibit and foster innovation. Further, theorists propose that firms led by paradoxical thinkers are more likely to manage these tensions and fuel innovative behavior. Leveraging family business and organizational paradox literatures, this multi‐stage exploratory study develops measures of paradoxical tensions and paradoxical thinking in family firms, and tests these propositions. Findings indicate that paradoxical tensions may stymie innovative behavior, but that leaders' paradoxical thinking is positively related to innovative behavior.

  June 02, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12113   open full text
• Knowledge Internalization and Product Development in Family Firms: When Relational and Affective Factors Matter.
  Francesco Chirico, Carlo Salvato.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 02, 2014
  Understanding the forces that support and inhibit product development (PD) in family firms is central to explaining their long‐term success and survival. Our study reveals that social capital and relational conflict among family members do not affect PD directly, as existing theory suggests, but only through the internalization of knowledge among family members. In contrast, family members’ affective commitment to the family firm is so powerful that it has both a mediated and a direct effect on PD. These results differ across generations of the controlling family, therefore offering an extension of existing theories of knowledge and PD in family firms.

  June 02, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12114   open full text
• The Effect of Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Orientations on Microfinance Lending and Repayment: A Signaling Theory Perspective.
  Todd W. Moss, Donald O. Neubaum, Moriah Meyskens.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 04, 2014
  The availability of capital for microenterprises has grown rapidly due to microfinancing platforms such as Kiva. The investment decisions of microlenders are challenged due to the limited information about the microenterprises' characteristics and behavioral intentions. Extending signaling theory, we suggest that microenterprises' narratives on microfinancing platforms are an important means to signal valuable characteristics and behavioral intentions to prospective lenders. Results indicate that microenterprises, which signal autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, and risk‐taking, are more likely to receive funding, and to receive it more quickly. Microenterprises that signal conscientiousness, courage, empathy, and warmth are less likely to get funded. Rhetorical signaling proactiveness, conscientiousness, courage, warmth, or zeal is negatively associated with loan repayment.

  May 04, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12110   open full text
• The Context of Social Capital: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Entrepreneurs in Uganda.
  Gerrit Rooks, Kim Klyver, Arthur Sserwanga.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 21, 2014
  Classical network theory states that social networks are a form of capital because they provide access to resources. In this article, we propose that network effects differ between collectivistic and individualistic contexts. In a collectivistic context, resource sharing will be “value based.” It is expected that members of a group support each other and share resources. In contrast, in an individualistic context, resource sharing will be more often based on reciprocity and trust. Hence, we hypothesized that networks will be more beneficial in individual contexts compared with collectivistic context. We found partial support for our hypotheses.

  April 21, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12107   open full text
• Crowdfunding in a Prosocial Microlending Environment: Examining the Role of Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Cues.
  Thomas H. Allison, Blakley C. Davis, Jeremy C. Short, Justin W. Webb.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 21, 2014
  Microloans garnered from crowdfunding provide an important source of financial capital for nascent entrepreneurs. Drawing on cognitive evaluation theory, we assess how linguistic cues known to affect underlying motivation can frame entrepreneurial narratives either as a business opportunity or as an opportunity to help others. We examine how this framing affects fundraising outcomes in the context of prosocial lending and conduct our analysis on a sample of microloans made to over 36,000 entrepreneurs in 51 countries via an online crowdfunding platform. We find that lenders respond positively to narratives highlighting the venture as an opportunity to help others, and less positively when the narrative is framed as a business opportunity.

  April 21, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12108   open full text
• Organizational Entrepreneurship as Active Resistance: A Struggle Against Outsourcing.
  David Courpasson, Françoise Dany, Ignasi Martí.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 21, 2014
  This paper aims to contribute to the emerging perspective on organizational entrepreneurship by outlining how resistance to managerial policies and decisions can give birth to alternative organizational styles. Drawing on an in‐depth analysis of a personal narrative of an R&D team manager opposition to hierarchical decisions, we link studies on resistance and organizational entrepreneurship to suggest that active resistance, which we define as the capacity to live beyond managerial control to create spaces of creativity and solidarity and alternative modalities of work in an organizational context, can actually contribute to the entrepreneurial process.

  April 21, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12109   open full text
• Network Closure or Structural Hole? The Conditioning Effects of Network‐Level Social Capital on Innovation Performance.
  Justin Tan, Hongjuan Zhang, Liang Wang.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 03, 2014
  This study contributes to the bonding–bridging debate in the social capital literature by examining the conditioning effects of collective social capital. Data generated from simulation reveals that network density, a measure of network‐level social capital, negatively moderates the impacts of firm‐level social capitals, measured separately by degree centrality and structural hole, on a firm's innovation performance. Specifically, in low‐density networks, degree centrality and structural holes are complementary at enhancing innovation performance. In high‐density networks, the positive impact of degree centrality weakens and structural holes turn out to be detrimental. The findings not only advance our understanding of the cross‐level dynamics of social capital, but also provide a possible explanation for the mixed empirical results found in previous studies.

  April 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12102   open full text
• Reaching and Acquiring Valuable Resources: The Entrepreneur's Use of Brokerage, Cohesion, and Embeddedness.
  Salih Zeki Ozdemir, Peter Moran, Xing Zhong, Martin J. Bliemel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 03, 2014
  Entrepreneurs have two key aims in managing their ego‐networks: extending reach to valuable resources and facilitating resource acquisition. This study provides a synthesis of the brokerage, cohesion, and embeddedness literatures to develop and present a multilevel theoretical framework and analytical model that treat both aims jointly. It makes three contributions. First, it highlights a trade‐off that entrepreneurs face in allocating their available networking time and energy while pursuing these two aims. Second, it explores the central role of two types of embeddedness—relational and structural—in resolving this trade‐off. Third, it helps entrepreneurs decide when to embed a particular dyadic connection relationally or structurally. We show that entrepreneurs can better balance their dual aim by structurally embedding some ties rather than trying to relationally embed all. The resultant network is one that meshes characteristics of brokerage and cohesive ego‐network structures.

  April 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12103   open full text
• Venture Capital Contracting in Theory and Practice: Implications for Entrepreneurship Research.
  Jens Burchardt, Ulrich Hommel, Dzidziso Samuel Kamuriwo, Carolina Billitteri.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 03, 2014
  This article provides a comprehensive theoretical and empirical literature review of venture capital contracts. This outlines the differences between theoretical and practical uses of contract designs; that is, (1) how does the choice of securities give rise to different adverse selection problems in terms of attracting different types of entrepreneurial companies; how does the choice of securities in conjunction with cash flow and control rights provisions affect (2) the effort levels by the entrepreneur and the investor; and (3) ultimately affect entrepreneurial outcomes. This article highlights the major discrepancies between theory and practice and points out potential avenues for further research.

  April 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12104   open full text
• International Analysis of Venture Capital Programs of Large Corporations and Financial Institutions.
  Luc Armel G. Da Gbadji, Benoit Gailly, Armin Schwienbacher.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 03, 2014
  In this article, we investigate what drives large companies (nonfinancial corporations and financial institutions) worldwide to run venture capital (VC) programs, specifically targeting Fortune Global 500 companies. Such a decision involves trade‐offs between expected strategic and financial benefits and costs of managing and financing a portfolio of ventures, which are influenced by the institutions and regulations that affect innovation‐oriented entrepreneurship. We determine that companies are more likely to run a program if they are based in countries in which the market for early‐stage investments is well developed and innovation‐related resources are more widely available. Moreover, companies based in countries with costly personal bankruptcy regulations are less likely to run a VC program, which is consistent with the prediction that these regulations discourage entrepreneurial initiatives. These findings emphasize the importance of favorable local conditions for an affiliated VC program. We observe no evidence, however, that unfavorable local conditions affect the degree of internationalization of programs, suggesting that running international programs entails significant extra costs. Finally, no significant difference emerges between U.S.‐based and Western European‐based companies.

  April 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12105   open full text
• Living the Dream? Assessing the “Entrepreneurship as Emancipation” Perspective in a Developed Region.
  Jennifer E. Jennings, P. Devereaux Jennings, Manely Sharifian.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 03, 2014
  This paper seeks to stimulate additional research on the entrepreneurship‐as‐emancipation perspective. We extend extant work by specifying the practices within developed regions from which entrepreneurs arguably pursue liberation and then developing hypotheses pertaining to the incidence, determinants, and outcomes associated with departure from such norms. Our survey findings offer evidence to question not only the prevalence with which entrepreneurs in such contexts deviate from the status quo, but also the characteristics of those who enact greater departure. On average, women are not more likely to do so; moreover, they tend to be less satisfied overall when they do deviate highly.

  April 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12106   open full text
• SME Entrepreneurial Orientation, International Performance, and the Moderating Role of Strategic Alliances.
  Keith D. Brouthers, George Nakos, Pavlos Dimitratos.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 12, 2014
  International entrepreneurship research maintains that firms with strong entrepreneurial orientations expand to international markets to enhance performance. Yet these firms can suffer from resource constraints as they move abroad. To alleviate this problem, previous research has suggested participation in strategic alliances. We developed and tested a theoretical perspective that merged these ideas, maintaining that firm‐level entrepreneurial orientation is associated with higher international performance both directly and in combination with participation in foreign market research or marketing alliances. Based on surveys of U.S. and U.K. firms, our findings indicate that small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have higher international performance when they possess greater entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and when the type of alliance (research or marketing) used is aligned with the capabilities of the firm. Further we find that participating in alliances strengthens the relation between EO and international performance. These results have important implications for managers and policy makers interested in improving SME international performance.

  March 12, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12101   open full text
• “Of Course I Can”: The Effect of CEO Overconfidence on Entrepreneurially Oriented Firms.
  Andreas Engelen, Christoph Neumann, Christian Schwens.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 03, 2014
  Guided by the upper echelons theory, this research examines the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) overconfidence and a firm's entrepreneurial orientation (EO). The study theoretically establishes and empirically validates an increasing effect of CEO overconfidence on EO, although at a decreasing rate. Empirical results are based on a multisource secondary data set for high‐tech S&P 500 firms from 2005 to 2007. Findings further indicate that the proposed relationship between CEO overconfidence and EO is moderated by market dynamism. A theoretically established moderating effect of market concentration could not be validated empirically.

  March 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12099   open full text
• Cognitive Constructions of Low‐Profit and High‐Profit Business Models: A Repertory Grid Study of Serial Entrepreneurs.
  Malin Malmström, Jeaneth Johansson, Joakim Wincent.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 13, 2014
  This study shows how the repertory grid methodology can be used to understand entrepreneurs' cognitive construction of business models and evidence of entrepreneurs' differential cognition of high‐profit and low‐profit business models. We show that entrepreneurs are more cognitively complex and more nuanced in constructing high‐profit business models than low‐profit business models. Furthermore, although they are perceived as meaningful, low‐profit business models are characterized by relatively less clear cognitive constructions. This study suggests that the repertory grid technique may be useful for future research and entrepreneurship practice to understand the entrepreneurial cognition of business models.

  February 13, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12096   open full text
• How Entrepreneurial Firms Profit From Pricing Capabilities: An Examination of Technology‐Based Ventures.
  Tessa Christina Flatten, Andreas Engelen, Timo Möller, Malte Brettel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 13, 2014
  This study sheds light on the evolution of the specialized marketing capability, pricing. We develop an operationalization for and empirically validate the pricing‐capability dimensions from the perspective of the resource‐based view. Using a sample of 420 technology‐based ventures, we examine the relationship between pricing capabilities and firm performance, with a particular focus on how age and uncertainty impact these relationships to determine how entrepreneurial firms can profit. We deconstruct pricing capability into four dimensions—price discrimination, dynamic orientation, performance goal orientation, and value delivery—to show, for example, that young companies should focus on their price discrimination capability to improve performance.

  February 13, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12098   open full text
• The Social and Economic Mission of Social Enterprises: Dimensions, Measurement, Validation, and Relation.
  Robin Stevens, Nathalie Moray, Johan Bruneel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. February 04, 2014
  Social entrepreneurs have a dominant social mission and generate revenue to ensure financial viability. However, most research treats the extent to which social entrepreneurs actually adhere to social and economic mission as a black box. Performing higher order confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of social enterprises (N∼270), this study identifies dimensions and validates measures for understanding and delineating social and economic missions, and shows how the two constructs relate to each other. The theoretical untangling and the empirical validation of social and economic missions as distinct constructs—and multiple potential constellations of attached relative importance—opens up opportunities for quantitative hypothesis‐testing research in social entrepreneurship.

  February 04, 2014   doi: 10.1111/etap.12091   open full text
• Socioemotional Wealth as a Mixed Gamble: Revisiting Family Firm R&D Investments With the Behavioral Agency Model.
  Luis R. Gomez‐Mejia, Joanna Tochman Campbell, Geoffrey Martin, Robert E. Hoskisson, Marianna Makri, David G. Sirmon.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 06, 2013
  Theoretical explanations for family firm underinvestment in R&D relative to nonfamily firms remain nascent. We revisit this question using a refinement to the behavioral agency model (BAM)—the mixed gamble—that allows us to examine the socioemotional trade‐offs that R&D represents for the family firm and how this differentiates their R&D investment decision from nonfamily firms. We do so in an empirical context where R&D investment is of greatest importance—high‐technology industries. Moreover, we examine three contingencies that allow us to explore heterogeneity across family firms in their R&D decisions due to their effect upon the family's socioemotional wealth mixed gamble: institutional investor ownership, related diversification, and performance hazard.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12083   open full text
• Entrepreneurial Behavior in Organizations: Does Job Design Matter?
  Jeroen P.J. Jong, Sharon K. Parker, Sander Wennekers, Chia‐Huei Wu.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 06, 2013
  We take a first step to explore how organizational factors influence individual entrepreneurial behavior at work, by investigating the role of job design variables. Drawing on multiple‐source survey data of 179 workers in a Dutch research and consultancy organization, we find that entrepreneurial behavior, indicated by innovation, proactivity, and risk‐taking items, is a higher order construct. Job autonomy is positively related with entrepreneurial behavior, as well as its innovation and proactivity subdimensions, while job variety is not. This suggests that interventions related to the vertical scope of jobs will promote entrepreneurial behaviors more than horizontal job expansion.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12084   open full text
• The Impact of Entrepreneur‐CEOs in Microfinance Institutions: A Global Survey.
  Trond Randøy, R. Øystein Strøm, Roy Mersland.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 06, 2013
  Microfinance is a global high‐growth industry, in which entrepreneurship is prevalent and substantial. Based on the theoretical argument that microfinance entrepreneur‐chief executive officers (CEOs) are “motivated agents” with a unique ability to hire and socialize mission‐oriented staff, we hypothesize that these CEOs produce more sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs) with better social performance and lower costs. This study utilizes data from 295 MFIs in 73 developing countries, assessed between 1998 and 2010. Our empirical evidence suggests that entrepreneur‐managed MFIs feature higher social performance, greater financial sustainability, and lower costs.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12085   open full text
• Founding a Business Inspired by Close Entrepreneurial Ties: Does It Matter for Survival?
  Jeroen P.J. Jong, Orietta Marsili.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 06, 2013
  Founding a business may be inspired by close entrepreneurial ties, that is, business‐owning relatives or friends. We analyze if and when such inspiration is associated with post‐entry survival. Drawing on longitudinal data on 942 founders, we find a positive relationship only if founders start by taking over an existing business, or spend considerable time at start‐up. Moreover, the impact of close tie inspiration is negative for founders with prior entrepreneurial experience, revealing a dark side to serial entrepreneurship. Our findings show that new firm survival can be better understood by modeling contingency variables.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12086   open full text
• What Do We Know About Private Family Firms? A Meta‐Analytical Review.
  Michael Carney, Marc Van Essen, Eric R. Gedajlovic, Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 21, 2013
  The universe of family firms is heterogeneous, and findings gleaned from publicly listed firms may not apply to the ubiquitous, but less frequently studied, privately held family firm (PFF). As PFFs are insulated from capital market pressures, owner‐managers have greater latitude in setting strategic goals, which may result in different strategic choices and performance outcomes. By employing meta‐analytical techniques on 48 studies conducted in nine countries, we synthesize prior PFF research. We show that PFFs prefer more conservative strategies, but contrary to received wisdom, this risk aversion does not hurt their performance. We conclude with an agenda for future research.

  July 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12054   open full text
• Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Corporate Political Activity: Overcoming Market Barriers in the Clean Energy Sector.
  Jonatan Pinkse, Koen Groot.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 21, 2013
  While sustainable entrepreneurs face market barriers that require them to become politically active, how to accomplish this has not yet been explored. This paper seeks to address this research gap based on an exploratory study of the Dutch clean energy sector. Findings suggest that sustainable entrepreneurs are politically active but pursue these activities using collective action. This raises issues because they face the presence of incumbents in industry associations that seek to thwart their political influence. The paper concludes with propositions about the conditions for sustainable entrepreneurs to realize political access and influence through collective action.

  July 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12055   open full text
• Robustness of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Predicting Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions.
  Teemu Kautonen, Marco Gelderen, Matthias Fink.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 21, 2013
  This analysis demonstrates the relevance and robustness of the theory of planned behavior in the prediction of business start‐up intentions and subsequent behavior based on longitudinal survey data (2011 and 2012; n = 969) from the adult population in Austria and Finland. By doing so, the study addresses two weaknesses in current research: the limited scope of samples used in the majority of prior studies and the scarcity of investigations studying the translation of entrepreneurial intentions into behavior. The paper discusses conceptual and methodological issues related to studying the intention–behavior relationship and outlines avenues for future research.

  July 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12056   open full text
• “Bouncing Back” From a Loss: Entrepreneurial Orientation, Emotions, and Failure Narratives.
  Marcus T. Wolfe, Dean A. Shepherd.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 21, 2013
  In this study, we explore how failure in the form of the first lost game of the college football season for a team influences specific content within the narratives constructed regarding that loss and how those narratives are associated with subsequent performance. Building on theoretical perspectives regarding sports management, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), emotions, and the use of narratives for sensemaking, we develop and test an EO‐related sports management model of failure narratives. Using computer‐aided text analysis of transcripts from head coaches' press conferences directly following their team's first loss of the season as well as regression analysis, we found that the narrative's EO content has a U‐shaped relationship with subsequent (i.e., next game) performance. Additionally, negative emotional content had a similar U‐shaped relationship with subsequent performance. Finally, positive emotional content exhibited an inverse U‐shaped relationship with subsequent performance. We discuss the implications of these results on the literatures regarding EO, emotions, and sports management as well as possible avenues for future research.

  July 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12057   open full text
• Start‐Up Difficulties in Early‐Stage Peripheral Clusters: The Case of IT in an Emerging Economy.
  Edward Kasabov.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 21, 2013
  This paper studies the link between firm‐level predicaments in high‐technology start‐ups and collective, cluster‐level dynamics in early‐stage peripheral locations. We investigate, first, the manner in which high‐technology start‐ups in early stage peripheral clusters accumulate and utilize resources; second, ways in which managers in start‐up businesses and public sector officials work around inadequacies in order to move forward clusters composed mostly of high‐technology start‐ups; and third, the influence of such experiences on the development of clusters. Empirical findings from three IT clusters in Vietnam reveal resource inadequacies, private sector actors' inability to resolve such shortcomings, entrepreneurial passivity, risk aversion, and lack of confidence in governmental initiatives. These findings and the comparison with earlier studies about start‐up difficulties in other high‐technology peripheral locations form the basis for a theoretical framework of high‐technology start‐up difficulties in early‐stage peripheral clusters.

  July 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12058   open full text
• Bifurcating Time: How Entrepreneurs Reconcile the Paradoxical Demands of the Job.
  Danny Miller, Cyrille Sardais.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 07, 2013
  Entrepreneurs have been portrayed in paradoxically contrasting ways in the literature. On the one hand, they are said to be intrepid optimists who venture forth with great persistence even in the face of considerable uncertainty and multiple failures; on the other hand, they are held to be realists who are quick to acknowledge the negative realities of their initiatives and adapt very quickly. In order to reconcile these contrasting views, this study tracks in real time the frequent confidential communications of an entrepreneur and his closest consultant and partner during the last 6 months of a failing venture. We are able to gain insight into how by adopting a positive “frame” or consistent mindset about the future, the entrepreneur is able to sustain confidence in the face of significant challenge while at the same time acknowledging and reacting to significant problems in the present. We propose that an intrinsic quality of an entrepreneur is this ability to integrate or reconcile these seeming opposites—to manage paradox, largely by bifurcating time—by making temporal distinctions, and we show how that person simultaneously can be optimistic and realistic, and persistent and adaptive.

  July 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12049   open full text
• A Multi‐Study Investigation of Outcomes of Franchisees' Affective Commitment to Their Franchise Organization.
  Karim Mignonac, Christian Vandenberghe, Rozenn Perrigot, Assâad El Akremi, Olivier Herrbach.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 07, 2013
  Franchisees' affective organizational commitment refers to the degree to which franchisees experience an emotional attachment to their franchise organization. Using a social exchange theory perspective, this research reports four studies that explore the relationship between franchisee's affective commitment and franchisee outcomes. We found that affective commitment to the franchise organization was positively related to franchisee objective performance (Study 1) and intent to acquire additional units (Study 2), and negatively related to franchisee opportunism (Study 3) and intent to leave the franchise organization, particularly when continuance commitment (i.e., commitment based on the cost associated with membership to the franchise) was low (Study 4). The implications of these findings are discussed.

  July 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12050   open full text
• Do Social Capital Building Strategies Influence the Financing Behavior of Chinese Private Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises?
  Jun Du, Alessandra Guariglia, Alexander Newman.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 07, 2013
  Using data from 65,485 Chinese private small and medium‐sized enterprises over the period 2000–2006, we examine the extent to which firms can improve access to debt by adopting strategies aimed at building social capital, namely entertaining and gift giving to others in their social network, and obtaining political affiliation. We find that although entertainment and gift‐giving expenditure leads to higher levels of total and short‐term debt, it does not enable firms to obtain greater long‐term debt. In contrast, we demonstrate that obtaining political affiliation allows firms greater access to long‐term debt.

  July 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12051   open full text
• Predictors of Later‐Generation Family Members' Commitment to Family Enterprises.
  Alexandra Dawson, Pramodita Sharma, P. Gregory Irving, Joel Marcus, Francesco Chirico.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 07, 2013
  This study examines the antecedents of different bases of organizational commitment and intention to stay of later‐generation family members who are currently working in their family firm. Evidence from 199 Canadian and Swiss firms indicates that when these individuals' identity and career interests are aligned with their family enterprise, they experience affective commitment. Family expectations are associated with normative commitment. Individuals who are concerned about losing inherited financial wealth or who perceive a lack of alternative career paths stay with the family enterprise because of continuance commitment. Finally, individuals driven by desire or obligation exhibit low turnover intentions.

  July 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12052   open full text
• With a Little Help From My Competitors: Peer Networking Among Artisan Entrepreneurs.
  Kristine M. Kuhn, Tera L. Galloway.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 07, 2013
  Although many studies have assessed the effects of networking and government assistance programs on small business success, little attention has been paid to the opportunities afforded by technology for owner–managers in the same industry to offer “soft” support, such as advice, to one another. Here we examine arts and crafts e‐commerce, a context conducive to comparing distinct types of advice and support, and where a great deal of peer assistance is exchanged via formal and informal networks. Survey results from 343 artisan entrepreneurs show that motivational differences influence which types of advice and support they value and which they are most likely to provide to others.

  July 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12053   open full text
• Beyond Affective Valence: Untangling Valence and Activation Influences on Opportunity Identification.
  Maw‐Der Foo, Marilyn A. Uy, Charles Murnieks.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 28, 2013
  Research surrounding how entrepreneurs identify opportunities focuses on the impact of affective valence on entrepreneurs' cognitive processes. Extending this body of research, we theorize how affective valence and affective activation work together to impact opportunity identification. We emphasize that to understand affective influences, both valence and activation should be included because they each influence active search effort and knowledge integration. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study and suggest that future research should include more dynamic relationships among affect and entrepreneurial outcomes.

  June 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12045   open full text
• Different Strokes for Different Folks: Entrepreneurial Narratives of Emotion, Cognition, and Making Sense of Business Failure.
  Orla Byrne, Dean A. Shepherd.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 28, 2013
  This multiple case study of eight entrepreneurial narratives of failed businesses examines how narratives that express different emotional states (folks) reflect different efforts to make sense of failure experiences (strokes). Our comparisons of the narratives' emotional content (describing emotional states at the time of business failure and presently) revealed some new insights. First, high negative emotions motivate making sense of a loss, while high positive emotions provide cognitive resources to facilitate and motivate making sense of the failure event. Second, emotion‐focused coping helped deal with negative emotions. Finally, sensemaking was also facilitated by cognitive strategies that focused attention on the failure event and promoted self‐reflection.

  June 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12046   open full text
• Rising From the Ashes: Cognitive Determinants of Venture Growth After Entrepreneurial Failure.
  Yasuhiro Yamakawa, Mike W. Peng, David L. Deeds.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 28, 2013
  How does previous entrepreneurial failure influence future entrepreneurship? More specifically, under what conditions do entrepreneurs who rebound from failure do better in the next round? Drawing on the cognitive literature in attribution and motivation, we focus on entrepreneurs' reaction to failure and the growth of their subsequent ventures. Leveraging a survey database of new‐venture founders with failure experiences, we investigate how their internal attribution of the cause of failure, their intrinsic motivation to start up another business after failure, and the extent of their failure experiences impact the growth of their subsequent ventures.

  June 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12047   open full text
• The Role of Agents in Private Entrepreneurial Finance.
  Douglas J. Cumming, J. Ari Pandes, Michael J. Robinson.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 09, 2013
  We examine theory and evidence on agents in private‐market entrepreneurial financings. After controlling for the endogenous issuer–agent matching and a whole host of other controls, the empirical findings in this paper indicate that agents attract more investors, broaden the geographic investor and capital base, and increase the percentage of investors and capital from investors that are more vulnerable to the costs of information asymmetry. We also find that more capable agents generally provide more valuable benefits to private entrepreneurial firm financings than less capable agents, and that increasing the number of agents in a financing further increases value to issuing firms.

  May 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12043   open full text
• Family Ties in Entrepreneurs' Social Networks and New Venture Growth.
  Jean‐Luc Arregle, Bat Batjargal, Michael A. Hitt, Justin W. Webb, Toyah Miller, Anne S. Tsui.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 09, 2013
  Family ties are an important conduit of resources for entrepreneurs, but both positive and negative outcomes can arise. Building upon a family embeddedness perspective, we develop hypotheses about curvilinear relationships between the proportion of family ties in entrepreneurs' networks and venture growth. We test them on entrepreneurs from China, France, Russia, and the United States. These effects appear to be related to the type of entrepreneurs' social network (business advice, emotional support, and business resources). Our results confirm effects specific to each network: an inverted U‐shape for advice and emotional support networks but a U‐shape for the business resource network, measuring what proportion of kin in each entrepreneurial network type is valuable to or, conversely, undermines new venture growth.

  May 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12044   open full text
• Job Satisfaction and Wages of Family Employees.
  Joern H. Block, José María Millán, Concepción Román, Haibo Zhou.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 07, 2013
  Although they represent a sizable occupational group, little is known about family employees. Using utility theory and the theory of compensating wage differentials, we hypothesize that family employees have higher levels of job satisfaction and lower wages relative to regular employees. We present several regressions based on a large cross‐country panel data set that support our hypotheses, and we discuss our study's implications for research on family businesses and the labor market.

  May 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12035   open full text
• Motives and Outcomes in Family Business Succession Planning.
  Michael Gilding, Sheree Gregory, Barbara Cosson.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 07, 2013
  The family business succession planning literature routinely assumes two main motives on the part of incumbents: family business continuity across generations and family harmony. The cross‐tabulation of these motives produces a typology consisting of four distinct combinations of motives for succession planning. In turn, these combinations suggest four outcomes of succession planning, framed as institutionalization, implosion, imposition, and individualization. The first two outcomes—institutionalization and implosion—are fully elucidated in the literature. The other two—imposition and individualization—are routinely overlooked. The proposed typology highlights the repertoire of motives that inform succession planning, and how they promote distinct succession outcomes.

  May 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12040   open full text
• An Investigation of Marketing Capabilities and Social Enterprise Performance in the UK and Japan.
  Gordon Liu, Teck‐Yong Eng, Sachiko Takeda.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 07, 2013
  The purpose of this article is to extend the existing research on the relationship between eight different types of marketing capability and social enterprise performance. More specifically, we examine third‐sector organizations that have transformed their traditional business model to become more business‐like social enterprises and how these marketing capabilities influence the success of this transformation in both the UK and Japan. We identify, among other things, that not all marketing capabilities are positively associated with social enterprise performance. These findings challenge the conventional wisdom that market‐driven organizations must develop all types of marketing capability. We suggest that social entrepreneurs should develop their marketing capabilities selectively according to their specific performance objectives.

  May 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12041   open full text
• Measuring the Costs and Coverage of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy: A Pioneering Study.
  Anders Lundström, Peter Vikström, Matthias Fink, Hans Crijns, Paweł Głodek, David Storey, Andreas Kroksgård.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 07, 2013
  This paper documents a methodology used to assess, for the first time, the costs to the taxpayer of small and medium enterprise (SME) and entrepreneurship policy in Sweden. It then uses that data to compare the resulting expenditure patterns with the focus of policy as expressed by experts. It finds important areas where the two diverge, implying a possible mismatch between expenditure priorities and political rhetoric. This approach is then extended beyond Sweden to include Poland, Austria, and the Flanders region of Belgium to demonstrate the application of the approach to other countries and regions.

  May 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12037   open full text
• The Impact of Home Country Institutions on Corporate Technological Entrepreneurship via R&D Investments and Virtual World Presence.
  William Q. Judge, Yuping Liu‐Thompkins, J. Lee Brown, Chatdanai Pongpatipat.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 04, 2013
  In this study, we seek to understand how four dimensions of national business systems surrounding the corporate headquarters of multinational firms influence corporate technological entrepreneurship (CTE). After controlling for fairly well‐established antecedents of corporate technological entrepreneurship at the firm and industry levels, we find that national‐level predictors explain considerable variance above and beyond our control variables. Furthermore, we find that various national‐level dimensions influence different measures of CTE. Overall, our study points to the remarkably strong role of home institutional context for understanding two types of technological entrepreneurship pursued by relatively large, multinational firms based in 24 different economies.

  April 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12036   open full text
• Riding the Practice Waves: Social Resourcing Practices During New Venture Development.
  Andrew Keating, Susi Geiger, Damien McLoughlin.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. April 04, 2013
  This paper investigates how early venture entrepreneurs engage in socially embedded practices to resource their firm. We contribute to an emerging literature that calls for a shift in perspective from “resource” as an object to “resourcing” as a practice. This shift entails a focus away from whom entrepreneurs know toward how they engage with their venture's social contexts. Through the analysis of an in‐depth longitudinal case study of a life‐science venture, we show that social resourcing practices are more reminiscent of a creative coping with ambiguous and ever‐changing environments over time than of “heroic” strategizing. We explore how entrepreneurs mobilize and creatively combine their social resources at hand, seek resources through engaging with other practice nets, negotiate differences between practice nets, and reflectively adapt their resourcing practices toward emerging resource contexts in ways that we describe as “riding the practice waves” of social resourcing.

  April 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12038   open full text
• Proactiveness, Stakeholder–Firm Power Difference, and Product Safety and Quality of Chinese SMEs.
  Jintong Tang, Zhi Tang, Jerome A. Katz.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 26, 2013
  Despite an abundance of research on entrepreneurial orientation and various dimensions of firm financial performance, very little is known about the specific influence of proactiveness on performance. In the current research, we explore the role of proactiveness in firms' interaction with the external environment. In particular, we examine the influence of proactiveness in stakeholder–firm power difference. Further, we investigate the extent to which stakeholder–firm power difference affects product safety and quality. Using a sample of 144 Chinese small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), we found that proactiveness can decrease government– and media–firm power differences. Government–firm power difference reduces product concerns, yet media–firm power difference deteriorates the purported product strengths for Chinese SMEs.

  March 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12029   open full text
• Exploring the Role of Trust in the Deal‐Making Process for Early‐Stage Technology Ventures.
  Harry Scarbrough, Jacky Swan, Kenneth Amaeshi, Tony Briggs.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 26, 2013
  The deal‐making process requires entrepreneurial actors to create and maintain wide networks of weak ties while simultaneously developing stronger collaborative ties that will enable opportunities to be realized. We currently lack an adequate account of how these activities are integrated by deal‐makers under conditions of risk and uncertainty. In an empirical study of deal making in early‐stage technology ventures, we find that deal‐makers rely on different forms of trust in the early and later phases. Based on this study, we develop a process model and propositions on the role of trust in integrating strong and weak ties in deal making.

  March 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12031   open full text
• Networking Behavior and Contracting Relationships Among Entrepreneurs in Business Incubators.
  Joris J. Ebbers.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 26, 2013
  Many studies focus on the relationship between social networks and performance. I study networking behavior as an antecedent of tie formation among entrepreneurs in business incubators. I distinguish between two types of networking behavior: individual networking orientation or building potentially valuable ties for personal gain, and tertius iungens orientation or facilitating tie formation between others. I find that both types of networking behavior are positively related with the number of business partners to whom entrepreneurs give business assignments. Contrary to expectations, I find no relationship between networking behavior and the number of business partners from whom entrepreneurs receive business assignments.

  March 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12032   open full text
• Venture Capitalists' Risk Mitigation of Portfolio Company Internationalization.
  Joseph A. LiPuma, Sarah Park.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 26, 2013
  This study examines the differential application of mechanisms that venture capitalists use to mitigate the risks of portfolio company internationalization. We investigate differences in round size, round interval, and round syndication between new ventures that internationalize (with a fraction of revenue from abroad) and solely domestic new ventures, using longitudinal data of 962 investing rounds in 334 venture capital‐backed technology companies. While opportunistic internationalizers (ratio of foreign sales to total sales less than 10%) receive less funding per round by smaller syndicates over longer intervals than domestic ventures, higher intensity strategic internationalizers receive their funding in shorter intervals.

  March 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12033   open full text
• The Effects of Perceived Control on Venture Capitalist Investment Decisions: A Configurational Perspective.
  Will Drover, Matthew S. Wood, G. Tyge Payne.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  Drawing on agency and configurations theories, this study examines how perceived level of control over the entrepreneur influences venture capitalist (VC) decision making. We model the direct effects of perceived control and the interactive effects of control with entrepreneurial prestige and opportunity attractiveness to determine how various combinations of factors influence VCs’ willingness to invest. We test our conceptualizations using conjoint analyses of 552 VC investment decisions. The results show that perceived control is directly related to investment likelihood, but different configurations of control, entrepreneur prestige, and opportunity attractiveness result in different outcomes. Our findings support a configurational perspective of VC decision making.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12012   open full text
• On the Theory of Entrepreneurial Incentives and Alertness.
  Matthew McCaffrey.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  This paper analyzes the theory of “entrepreneurial incentives” in the work of Israel Kirzner. It argues that there is a logical problem with the notion of profit opportunities as exogenous causal agents: Without additional assumptions, the existence of opportunities alone does not sufficiently explain the alertness of entrepreneurs. The paper considers both stronger and weaker versions of this problem. It also questions the relation between entrepreneurial incentives and the tendency toward entrepreneurial success. Finally, it provides some commentary on the relevance of entrepreneurial incentives for an overall theory of the entrepreneur, and identifies several potential solutions to the problems discussed.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12013   open full text
• Nonfamily Managers, Family Firms, and the Winner's Curse: The Influence of Noneconomic Goals and Bounded Rationality.
  James J. Chrisman, Esra Memili, Kaustav Misra.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  We explain why family‐centered noneconomic goals and bounded rationality decrease the willingness and ability of small‐ and medium‐sized family firms to hire and provide competitive compensation to nonfamily managers even in a labor market composed of stewards rather than agents. Family‐centered noneconomic goals attenuate the ability to attract high‐quality, nonfamily managers by promoting inferior total compensation packages, fewer opportunities for advancement, idiosyncratic strategies, and higher performance expectations. Furthermore, bounded rationality limits nonfamily managers' ability to meet performance expectations when hired. The result is the “winner's curse,” where neither the economic nor noneconomic goals of family owners are fully achieved.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12014   open full text
• Do Incumbents’ Mergers Influence Entrepreneurial Entry? An Evaluation.
  Sumit K. Majumdar, Rabih Moussawi, Ulku Yaylacicegi.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  This analysis has evaluated the impact of mergers on new entrepreneurial firm entry in the territories of firms making up the local exchange sector of the United States telecommunications industry. An analysis of first and second mergers undertaken by the local exchange companies has revealed that where mergers occurred there was significantly lower entrepreneurial entry. The results have implications for policy, since the approval of mergers has been shown to lead to lower entrepreneurial entry where mergers occur, and the approval of mergers may serve to impede entrepreneurship. Hence, greater thought should be given to merger approvals so that entrepreneurship and the process of economic growth are not compromised as a result.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12015   open full text
• The Creation and Configuration of Infrastructure for Entrepreneurship in Emerging Domains of Activity.
  Jennifer L. Woolley.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  Entrepreneurship is a perilous endeavor. Contextual changes, such as nascent technology emergence or new industry creation, can spawn entrepreneurial opportunities; however, these changes do not instantaneously create the resources and structures that new firms need to survive. This study examines the creation and configuration of the contextual infrastructure necessary for nascent technology entrepreneurship in new industries. Using the case of nanotechnology, I show how the elements of infrastructure emerge and configure through systemic coevolution. The data highlight how boundary crossing and obfuscation induces the configuration of separate elements into a cohesive infrastructure through heightened interaction and interdependence of organizations and institutions, both private and public.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12017   open full text
• National Rates of Opportunity Entrepreneurship Activity: Insights From Institutional Anomie Theory.
  John B. Cullen, Jean L. Johnson, K. Praveen Parboteeah.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  We advance and test an institutional anomie theory of opportunity entrepreneurship for understanding the combinative effects of selected cultural values and social institutions to explain national differences in rates of opportunity entrepreneurship. We theorize opportunity entrepreneurship as a creatively deviant response to anomic conditions in societies, i.e., when social institutions block traditional means of achievement. Using 10 years of data for a pooled time series cross‐sectional analysis, we examined a unique mixture of cultural and institutional variables and their interactions as predictors of nation‐level opportunity entrepreneurship rates. We found support for most hypotheses showing that specific institutional contexts mitigate or enhance the effects of cultural drivers of opportunity entrepreneurship.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12018   open full text
• Entrepreneurial Behavior of Academic Scientists: Network and Cognitive Determinants of Commitment to Grant Submissions and Award Outcomes.
  Megan K. Haller, Eric W. Welch.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  We employ the individual‐opportunity nexus perspective to conceptualize entrepreneurial commitment of academic scientists as the pursuit and attainment of external grant funding. We develop and test a model of network characteristics and cognitive biases that predict the likelihood that scientists will commit to a grant opportunity and the likelihood of receiving an award. Using data from our national survey of faculty, we find that the illusion of control and overconfidence reduce grant submissions but increase awards. Collaboration network size increases submissions and awards. Strong ties are positively related to submissions and smaller networks of strong, highly capable collaborators receive more awards.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12022   open full text
• A Signaling Perspective on Partner Selection in Venture Capital Syndicates.
  Christian Hopp, Christian Lukas.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  This paper analyzes the factors impacting partnering decisions in venture capital syndicates using a unique data set of 2,373 venture capitalist (VC) transactions in Germany. We employ a signaling perspective to partner‐selection strategies within VC syndicates. By including time‐varying information about industry experience and cooperation patterns, we explicitly take into account not only the changing social context for partner selection, but also the dynamic nature of signals sent and received. Our analysis documents that the informativeness of investment experience as a signal depends on the existence and frequency of previous joint deals with the lead VC. Experience becomes a much stronger signal if previous invitations to syndicates are bilateral rather than unilateral. The willingness to invite others to deals signals the ability to reciprocate through one's own deal flow. Moreover, we show how the value of signals erodes over time, that is, information from the previous year carries more informational value than signals from more distant years. In sum, the data reveal that different signals carry weight for lead VCs, and that the frequency of signals sent and the stage of development of the portfolio firm positively moderate the value and relevance of signaling behavior. While early stage investments are mainly characterized by need to diversify and to spread risks, value‐added advice is necessary in later rounds, and hence, the strength of the signals sent and received gain in relevance and in value.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12023   open full text
• The Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship in Alliances.
  Chengli Shu, Cuijuan Liu, Shanxing Gao, Mark Shanley.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  We develop and examine a framework for the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship in alliances. Our framework regards entrepreneurial opportunity as endogenous, and entrepreneurial firms as heterogeneous. The empirical findings show that partners' knowledge protection, which is regarded as a knowledge filter, can increase knowledge spillovers in an alliance. Moreover, this relationship is contingent on the strength of a focal firm's entrepreneurial orientation and on alliance type (equity joint venture versus nonequity joint venture). Results also reveal that knowledge spillovers in an alliance enhance alliance performance more significantly than they enhance firm performance.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12024   open full text
• Do International Networks and Foreign Market Knowledge Facilitate SME Internationalization? Evidence From the Czech Republic.
  Martina Musteen, Deepak K. Datta, Marcus M. Butts.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  In this study we draw on the social network and international entrepreneurship literatures to examine the role of structural and relational embeddedness of international networks in firm internationalization. Based on a sample of 169 small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises in the Czech Republic, we found that firms with chief executive officers who had developed strong and diverse international networks exhibited greater knowledge of foreign markets prior to internationalization. However, contrary to our expectations, no relationship was found between network density and such knowledge. In addition, our findings indicate that foreign market knowledge prior to the first international venture had a positive impact on venture performance.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12025   open full text
• The Role of Negative Emotions in the Social Processes of Entrepreneurship: Power Rituals and Shame‐Related Appeasement Behaviors.
  Rachel Doern, David Goss.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  This paper examines the role of negative emotions in the social processes of entrepreneurship. Drawing on a study of Russian entrepreneurs, we develop a model of the emotional effects of social interactions between entrepreneurs and state officials. We found that negative emotions were elicited by these interactions and, in turn, fueled three forms of shame‐related corrective appeasement behavior (reactive, anticipatory, and sporadic), which served to corrode entrepreneurial motivation and direct attention and energy away from business growth and development.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12026   open full text
• International Entrepreneurial Orientation: Conceptual Considerations, Research Themes, Measurement Issues, and Future Research Directions.
  Jeffrey G. Covin, Danny Miller.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. March 22, 2013
  The amount of research conducted on the topic of international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) has grown exponentially in recent years, thus inviting an analysis of the scholarly conversations taking place. This paper is a review and commentary on how the construct of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been leveraged within the international entrepreneurship literature. The possible distinctiveness of the EO and IEO constructs are considered, and the major themes of IEO research are summarized. Several measurement‐related issues particularly pertinent to the assessment of EO as a generalizable/universalistic phenomenon are considered. The paper concludes with the identification of research foci whose pursuit promises to advance IEO knowledge along productive paths.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12027   open full text
• Institutional Determinants of Macro‐Level Entrepreneurship.
  Michael E. Valdez, James Richardson.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  This multicountry study empirically explores the institutional determinants of macro‐level entrepreneurship. Findings suggest that a society's normative, cultural‐cognitive, and regulative institutions are related to entrepreneurial activity. Normative and cultural‐cognitive institutions’ descriptive power in explaining entrepreneurial activity is higher than regulative institutions' or per capita gross domestic product. This suggests that differences in values, beliefs, and abilities may play a greater role than purely economic considerations of opportunity and transaction costs. Specific attention is given to opportunity‐ and necessity‐motivated entrepreneurship due to their relationship to economic development.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12000   open full text
• The Impact of Slack Resources on High‐Tech IPOs.
  Fariss‐Terry Mousa, Richard Reed.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Research on organization slack has focused mainly on its effect in large publicly traded firms, but little work exists on the value of slack resources for other firms. Therefore, here, we address the question: Do slack resources matter in the case of initial public offerings (IPOs)? We argue that firms that possess financial, innovational, and managerial slack resources are sending a positive signal to potential investors regarding the quality of the IPO. Using a sample of high‐tech IPOs, we find support for that contention.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12001   open full text
• Planning for Growth: Life Stage Differences in Family Firms.
  Kimberly A. Eddleston, Franz W. Kellermanns, Steven W. Floyd, Victoria L. Crittenden, William F. Crittenden.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Applying insights from the generational perspective, this study explores when strategic planning and succession planning are most conducive to privately held family firm growth. The results show that the degree to which strategic planning and succession planning are associated with family firm growth depends on the generation managing the firm. Both forms of planning are most conducive to the growth of first‐generation firms; however, neither form of planning confers much growth for second‐generation firms. For third‐and‐beyond‐generation firms, the benefits of succession planning appear to reemerge. However, strategic planning is negatively associated with their level of growth.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12002   open full text
• Entrepreneurship as Elixir and Mutagen.
  Erik Lundmark, Alf Westelius.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Metaphors are powerful tools for sensemaking, sensegiving, and theory development, but they are often concealed in academic writing. This paper uncovers two metaphors underlying entrepreneurship discourse and research—elixir and mutagen. The elixir metaphor is uncovered by examining critiques of entrepreneurship research, and serves as a compact description of problematic aspects entrepreneurship scholars should be mindful of. The mutagen metaphor is uncovered by examining evolutionary frameworks, focusing on the role entrepreneurship plays in them. The paper illustrates how the mutagen metaphor can be used to reframe entrepreneurship, and uses the metaphors to interest, inform, and provoke.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12004   open full text
• Return on Recent VC Investment and Long‐Run IPO Returns.
  Jean‐Sébastien Michel.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  This paper examines the return on recent venture capital (VC) investment and its impact on the long‐run stock market performance of initial public offerings (IPOs). Firms with higher return on recent VC investment underperform firms with lower return on recent VC investment by 32 to 43% in the 3‐year period following the offer. This effect is robust to various risk‐adjustment procedures. Market conditions at the time of the VC valuation and changes in these market conditions thereafter are the main drivers of this result, suggesting that investors are too optimistic or do not properly understand the informational content of the recent return on VC investment.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12005   open full text
• Danger Zone Entrepreneurs: The Importance of Resilience and Self‐Efficacy for Entrepreneurial Intentions.
  Amanda Bullough, Maija Renko, Tamara Myatt.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Little is known about the drivers of entrepreneurial decisions during war. We empirically examine the effects of perceived danger, entrepreneurial self‐efficacy, and resilience on entrepreneurial intentions in adverse conditions with primary survey data from Afghanistan. Our findings suggest that perceived danger is negatively related to an individual's entrepreneurial intentions, but marginally less so among highly resilient individuals. Our findings also suggest that even under conditions of war, individuals develop entrepreneurial intentions if they are able to grow from adversity (resilience) and believe in their entrepreneurial abilities (entrepreneurial self‐efficacy). Practical implications for role modeling and entrepreneurship training are then discussed.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12006   open full text
• Using Resource‐Based Theory to Help Explain Plural Form Franchising.
  William E. Gillis, James G. Combs, David J. Ketchen.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Agency theory is the dominant explanation for entrepreneurs' decisions about how much to grow through franchising vis‐à‐vis company ownership. We introduce a resource‐based explanation and submit that the proportion franchised is influenced by efforts to organize franchisor‐owned and relational strategic assets so that their value can be best leveraged to meet key strategic goals. Using data from 168 franchisors, we found that relational (i.e., interfirm trust and knowledge‐sharing routines), but not franchisor‐owned (i.e., brand reputation and operating routines), strategic assets influence the proportion franchised. The study offers preliminary evidence that resource‐based theory has merit as a complementary explanation for franchising.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12008   open full text
• How Entrepreneurs Use Networks to Address Changing Resource Requirements During Early Venture Development.
  Diane M. Sullivan, Cameron M. Ford.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Access to resources is a key challenge facing entrepreneurs during early venture development. Entrepreneurs' networks serve as a principal means of identifying and acquiring needed resources. However, different stages of venture development may address different resource dependencies, suggesting entrepreneurs' networks may need to change to meet changing resource requirements. By employing network theory and resource‐dependence theory, we investigate how entrepreneurs may use networks to address changing resource needs during early venture development. Results illustrate how structural characteristics of entrepreneurs' networks at venture launch are associated with network structure and content in early venture development in ways that may promote access to newly needed resources.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12009   open full text
• How Exactly Do Network Relationships Pay Off? The Effects of Network Size and Relationship Quality on Access to Start‐Up Resources.
  Thorsten Semrau, Arndt Werner.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  Entrepreneurs are expected to profit from network relationships. Research addressing the link between entrepreneurs' network characteristics and their performance, however, has so far produced inconclusive results. In an attempt to explain these inconsistencies, we investigate the resource returns connected to network size and relationship quality. Based on a sample of 379 nascent entrepreneurs, we find that increasing network size and relationship quality results in diminishing marginal returns in terms of access to financial capital, knowledge and information, and additional business contacts. Additionally, we observe that the returns vary strongly by resource type.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12011   open full text
• Path‐Dependent Evolution Versus Intentional Management of Investment Ties in Science‐Based Entrepreneurial Firms.
  Tom Vanacker, Sophie Manigart, Miguel Meuleman.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January 16, 2013
  This paper studies the role of entrepreneurs in investment tie formation in science‐based entrepreneurial firms. Specifically, we address why investment tie formation is path dependent for some firms but more amenable to intentional management for others. Using longitudinal case studies, our evidence suggests that early investment tie formation is path dependent because scientific entrepreneurs typically approach only one or a few prospective investors from within their institutional context. Differences in experience between early investors affect the professionalization of entrepreneurial teams (or lack thereof), which influences the extent to which subsequent investment tie formation becomes more amenable to intentional management or remains path dependent.

  January 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/etap.12007   open full text
• Learning From Levi‐Strauss' Legacy: Art, Craft, Engineering, Bricolage, and Brokerage in Entrepreneurship.
  Bryan T. Stinchfield, Reed E. Nelson, Matthew S. Wood.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Given the increasing attention to traditionally less “rational” entrepreneurial behaviors, such as bricolage, we used grounded theory techniques to study 23 diverse entrepreneurs. From this, we developed a five‐category typology of entrepreneurial behavior that includes art, craft, engineering, bricolage, and brokerage. Themes such as self‐perceived identity, organization of space, integration of materials, sense of personal limits, and responsiveness to changing market conditions were observed along categorical lines. We discuss the significance of the typology and each category's associations with venture longevity and financial performance for practitioners and for the study of entrepreneurship.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00523.x   open full text
• Bank–Firm Relationships: Do Perceptions Vary by Gender?
  Patrick Saparito, Amanda Elam, Candida Brush.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  This study examines how small‐business owners'/managers' perceptions about their banking relationships are influenced by the gender of both the small‐business owner/manager and the bank manager. This study draws from social network theory and status expectations state theory to test how gender influences key perceptions about the bank–firm relationship. Using 696 matched firm owner/manager–bank manager pairs, our results show that male–male pairs of business owner/managers and bankers had the highest levels of trust, satisfaction with credit access, and bank knowledge, while female–female pairs had the lowest levels for each measure; with mixed pairs in the middle on all accounts.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00524.x   open full text
• Entrepreneurship in Innovation Ecosystems: Entrepreneurs' Self‐Regulatory Processes and Their Implications for New Venture Success.
  Satish Nambisan, Robert A. Baron.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Innovation ecosystems have emerged as an important context for entrepreneurship. Ecosystem entrepreneurs, however, face a unique set of challenges associated with the need to balance the goals and priorities set by the ecosystem leader with the goals and priorities of the new venture. We focus on ecosystem entrepreneurs' self‐regulatory processes and the potential role of these processes in entrepreneurs' efforts to successfully balance requirements set by the ecosystem leader with the goals of their own ventures.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00519.x   open full text
• Technological Turbulence and the Impact of Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Organizations on Product Development Performance.
  Ulrich Lichtenthaler.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Beyond internal exploration and exploitation, firms increasingly explore and exploit knowledge outside their boundaries in corporate entrepreneurship activities with external partners. We provide new theoretical arguments and use data from a multi‐informant survey of 97 medium‐sized firms to show that the interactions of intraorganizational and interorganizational processes allow for simultaneous exploration and exploitation in open innovation. While the positive effects of all interactions of exploration and exploitation on product development performance are limited under stable conditions, they are particularly pronounced at high levels of technological turbulence. These findings have implications for research into strategic entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, organizational learning, ambidexterity, and technological turbulence.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00520.x   open full text
• Business Takeover or New Venture? Individual and Environmental Determinants From a Cross‐Country Study.
  Joern Block, Roy Thurik, Peter van der Zwan, Sascha Walter.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Whereas the determinants of entrepreneurial choice have been thoroughly analyzed in the literature, little is known about the preferred mode of entry into entrepreneurship, such as taking over an existing business or starting a new venture. Using a large international data set, this study reports considerable differences in takeover preferences across 33 countries. Hierarchical (multilevel) regressions are performed to explore individual‐level and country‐level determinants of the preferred mode of entry. At the individual level, a person's human capital, risk attitude, and inventiveness influence the preference for starting a new venture versus taking over an existing business. At the country level, the culture‐inherent level of risk tolerance, the country's level of innovation output, and the administrative difficulty of starting a new business are found to explain the between‐country variation in the preferred mode of entry. Implications of our findings for research and practice are also discussed.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00521.x   open full text
• Early Challenges of Nascent Social Entrepreneurs.
  Maija Renko.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Social entrepreneurs are celebrated as transformational leaders whose accomplishments create opportunities for those less fortunate. However, little is known about the early stages of social enterprise development. This study focuses on how a nascent entrepreneur's prosocial motivation affects the progress in building a new venture. Results show that prosocial motivation decreases the likelihood of firm emergence within a 4‐year follow‐up period, and even more so when the product offering of the emerging venture is new to the markets. These findings are discussed in the light of previous research on prosocial motivation, social entrepreneurship, market novelty, and nascent entrepreneurship.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00522.x   open full text
• Why Do Entrepreneurs Switch Lead Venture Capitalists?
  Douglas Cumming, Na Dai.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  We examine the dynamics of the positive sorting in the venture capital industry. Our findings indicate that switching lead venture capitalists (VCs) is not uncommon during the course of entrepreneurial firms' development. Companies with upwardly revised perceived quality are more likely to switch to more reputable VCs. Further, companies that switch lead VCs obtain larger capital infusion and higher pre‐money valuation. However, companies that switch to more reputable VCs accept smaller investment size and lower pre‐money valuation in follow‐on rounds. In addition, it takes significantly more time for switchers with downwardly revised perceived quality to obtain subsequent financing.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00525.x   open full text
• How Prior Corporate Venture Capital Investments Shape Technological Alliances: A Real Options Approach.
  Vareska Van de Vrande, Wim Vanhaverbeke.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  This article investigates how prior corporate venture capital (CVC) relationships between two firms affect the likelihood of their subsequently entering a strategic alliance. Creating a portfolio of CVC investments provides the investing firm with a set of opportunities that can be pursued once the technological and market uncertainty have been reduced. If the technology appears to be promising, a follow‐on investment, such as a strategic alliance, is made to ensure the transfer of the technological knowledge. This article shows that prior CVC investments can play a role in the formation of strategic alliances and investigates the conditions under which they are most likely to do so.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00526.x   open full text
• Entrepreneurial Risk: Jordan Baltimore and Oyster Digital Media.
  Michael W. Lawless.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  As the global economic downturn entered the last quarter of 2009, Jordan Baltimore, a young but experienced entrepreneur, had to consider alternative funding for his start‐up company, Oyster Digital Media. He had planned for venture capital to develop his “Oysters”—electronic shelf tags for retail stores. He was ready to launch his business just as funding became scarce and uncertain. Should he continue to try for venture capital? Angel investors or Friends‐and‐Family were alternatives, but they could involve less money and delay.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00527.x   open full text
• Imprinting by Design: The Microfoundations of Entrepreneurial Adaptation.
  Peter T. Bryant.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Entrepreneurial ventures need frequently to adapt. Yet their adaptive capacity is often limited by the legacies of imprinted founding characteristics. The question then arises whether it is possible to explain and manage the imprinting process so that the capacity to adapt is enhanced, rather than diminished. I address this question by developing a model of the microfoundations of imprinting based in collective memory. I argue that entrepreneurial founding teams naturally develop transactive autobiographical memory systems. By partially managing the design and imprinting of these memory systems, I argue that founders may improve their venture's long‐term capacity to adapt.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00529.x   open full text
• Filling the Entrepreneurial Orientation–Performance Gap: The Mediating Effects of Exploratory and Exploitative Innovations.
  Tobias Kollmann, Christoph Stöckmann.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. June 05, 2012
  Drawing on previous literature proposing that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) reflects a disposition toward, rather than actual involvement in, entrepreneurial activity, and on the resource‐based view of the firm, we complement the literature concerning the EO–performance relationship with the introduction of exploratory innovation and exploitative innovation as mediating variables accounting for entrepreneurial behavior. Data from 228 adolescent companies indicate the existence of an EO–entrepreneurial behavior gap and support the predicted mediating effects. In this context, the constituent dimensions of EO differ in their effects on exploration and exploitation, and performance, calling for an exacting consideration of the interplay of orientation, activity, and performance.

  June 05, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00530.x   open full text
• Easy Now, Desirable Later: The Moderating Role of Temporal Distance in Opportunity Evaluation and Exploitation.
  Andranik Tumasjan, Isabell Welpe, Matthias Spörrle.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 21, 2012
  How does the temporal distance between the phases of evaluation and exploitation alter entrepreneurs' opportunity evaluation? Building on construal level theory, we argue that the impact of an opportunity's desirability and feasibility on evaluation and exploitation intentions varies systematically with temporal distance. We experimentally demonstrate stronger influences of desirability on evaluation when the exploitation phase is temporally distant rather than near, whereas feasibility more strongly affects evaluation when exploitation is near rather than distant. Using construal level theory, we explain empirical inconsistencies in previous research and demonstrate the usefulness of integrating the concept of temporal distance in entrepreneurship research and education.

  May 21, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00514.x   open full text
• Entrepreneurship at the Periphery: Exploring Framework Conditions in Core and Peripheral Locations.
  Christian Felzensztein, Eli Gimmon, Claudio Aqueveque.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 21, 2012
  This paper reports the findings of the first academic study in Latin America, and one of the few in any emerging economy, to explore entrepreneurial perceptions and activity in peripheral geographic locations. A survey of experts included 139 respondents from three peripheral regions and two core regions in Chile. A key finding is that those located at the periphery perceived critical entrepreneurial resources and access to markets less favorably than their counterparts at the core, but surprisingly, they perceived greater business opportunity in their area. A further survey of 2,200 respondents concerning actual entrepreneurial activities among the total adult population revealed no differences between peripheral and core regions. This study revives the debate about specific regional policies for fostering the growth of local business, and the entrepreneurial framework conditions required at the regional level in emerging economies.

  May 21, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00515.x   open full text
• Founding Team Capabilities and New Venture Performance: The Mediating Role of Strategic Positional Advantages.
  Y. Lisa Zhao, Michael Song, Gregory L. Storm.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 21, 2012
  This study conceptualizes founding team human capital with three multi‐item scales that are related to critical functional areas in new service ventures: marketing capabilities, market‐linking capabilities, and service design capabilities. We develop and empirically test a theoretical framework linking founding team capabilities to service venture performance through two strategic positional advantages: scalability and protectability. Our results provide insight into previous inconsistent findings regarding founding teams' impact on new venture performance, offer important managerial implications, and point to future research directions.

  May 21, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00513.x   open full text
• Differences Between Men and Women in Opportunity Evaluation as a Function of Gender Stereotypes and Stereotype Activation.
  Vishal K. Gupta, Daniel B. Turban, Ashish Pareek.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 21, 2012
  Opportunity evaluation represents a core aspect of the entrepreneurial process. Prior research suggests that evaluation of new opportunities is influenced by biases rooted in subjective beliefs, values, and assumptions. In the present study, we used stereotype activation theory to propose that respondent gender (men–women), content of stereotype (masculine–feminine), and the manner in which stereotype information is presented (subtle–blatant) interact to influence evaluations of a new business opportunity. We found that both masculine and feminine stereotype activation influenced men and women's evaluation of a business opportunity differently depending upon whether the stereotype was blatantly or subtly activated. Our results indicate that gender stereotype activation can both boost and impede men and women's subsequent actions on entrepreneurial tasks such as opportunity evaluation, depending on the content of the stereotype and the manner in which it is presented. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

  May 21, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00512.x   open full text
• The Rate of Proprietorship Among Metropolitan Areas: The Impact of the Local Economic Environment and Capital Resources.
  Paul A. Coomes, Jose Fernandez, Stephan F. Gohmann.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 21, 2012
  Legal rules and the economic environment play an important role in the decision to become an entrepreneur. Many studies examine the effect of such institutions at the national or state level. The metropolitan area may be a more appropriate geography to examine, since entrepreneurs often serve a more localized market and there is wide variation in both the environment for and incidence of proprietorship among metropolitan areas. We find that proprietorship increases with home equity, intangible wealth, unemployment, relative earnings of proprietors, and population. It decreases with higher state income tax rates and minimum wages.

  May 21, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00511.x   open full text
• Impact of the Type of Corporate Spin‐Off on Growth.
  Johan Bruneel, Els Van de Velde, Bart Clarysse.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May 21, 2012
  Although previous research shows that corporate spin‐offs contribute to economic growth, few studies link growth to the type of corporate spin‐off. We distinguish between three types of corporate spin‐offs: incumbent‐backed, opportunity, and necessity spin‐offs. Using empirical data on 46 corporate spin‐offs in Flanders, we find that opportunity spin‐offs outperform the other two types. By identifying the type of corporate spin‐offs, this study aims to add to our knowledge on the relationship between spin‐off type and firm growth.

  May 21, 2012   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00517.x   open full text
• When Contingency Is a Resource: Educating Entrepreneurs in the Balkans, the Bronx, and Beyond.
  Susan S. Harmeling, Saras D. Sarasvathy.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 21, 2011
  The research project described in this paper began as an inductive field study of entrepreneurship education in two very different settings—a university in war‐torn Eastern Croatia and an entrepreneurship program in inner‐city high schools in the United States. It evolved into a study of the two unlikely entrepreneurs who founded these education initiatives. Through a detailed counterfactual analysis of the narratives on the programs' founding and evolution, we offer compelling evidence for the role of contingency in the entrepreneurial process. We present an inductive conceptual framework of responses to contingency based on entrepreneurs' beliefs about agency and environment and conclude with implications of this research for entrepreneurship education.

  October 21, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00489.x   open full text
• Like Mother, Like Daughter? Analyzing Maternal Influences Upon Women's Entrepreneurial Propensity.
  Francis J. Greene, Liang Han, Susan Marlow.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 21, 2011
  Within the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, the extant literature suggests that the normative actor is embodied by and through stereotypical masculinized characteristics. In this paper, we contextualize entrepreneurship as self‐employment in order to explore how such stereotypical characterizations might influence women's attitudes toward this activity. However, rather than analyzing the confirmatory effects of stereotypes, we critically evaluate the effect of counterstereotypical characterizations upon women's propensity for self‐employment. Drawing upon life‐span data, we explore whether self‐employed mothers disconfirm masculinized stereotypes and so act as positive role models for their daughters. As hypothesized, we found that maternal self‐employment has a counterstereotypical effect and so positively influences daughters to become self‐employed. These data indicate, however, that this effect is tempered by personal stereotypes held by daughters; moreover, it is shaped by significant life events (marriage, parenthood, education, and prior managerial experience). By using a robust data set, this paper contributes to our understanding of how stereotypes and role expectations influence women's propensity toward entrepreneurial activity.

  October 21, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00484.x   open full text
• The Development of Social Capital and Financing of Entrepreneurial Firms: From Financial Bootstrapping to Bank Funding.
  Sara Jonsson, Jessica Lindbergh.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 21, 2011
  This paper uses a three‐dimensional perspective on social capital to investigate how entrepreneurs develop their social capital when relying on bootstrapping strategies becomes insufficient and financing needs to be acquired from external debt and equity financiers. Findings from six case studies of entrepreneurs in the fashion industry show that to acquire funding, due to perceived deficiency in the existing network, entrepreneurs develop the structural dimension by adding relationships based on function. However, when seeking financial information that is perceived as sufficient in the existing network, they do so by developing cognitive and relational dimensions to preexisting network ties.

  October 21, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00485.x   open full text
• Biohit: A Global, Family‐Owned Company Embarking on a New Phase.
  Tanja Kontinen.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 21, 2011
  This case concerns Biohit, a family‐owned biotechnology company established in Finland in 1988, selling liquid handling and diagnostics products in the global market. The case also describes the entrepreneurial career of Biohit's CEO Osmo Suovaniemi, since the company is mainly based on the know‐how that Osmo gained as owner‐manager of his two earlier companies, Labsystems and Eflab, during the 1970s and 1980s. Hence, this case describes the prior and initial phases of Biohit, examining also its commitment to innovation and its management practices. The case ends with the situation as of March 2010 and includes the reflections of Biohit's managers on the future of the company. At this point, Osmo was intending to hand over his executive position to someone from outside the family, on the grounds that none of his three sons was able or willing to take up the position. However, he planned to continue as owner, inventor, and full‐time board member of Biohit. The managers of Biohit had high hopes of making a breakthrough with diagnostics products that had been under intensive development over a long period.

  October 21, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00488.x   open full text
• The Effects of General and Specific Human Capital on Long‐Term Growth and Failure of Newly Founded Businesses.
  Andreas Rauch, Serge A. Rijsdijk.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. October 21, 2011
  The model developed in this paper draws on human capital theory to explain how newly founded business ventures achieve long‐term growth and reduce their chances of failure. Using a sample of 201 business start‐ups and assessing growth and venture failure over a period of 12 years, we found that general and specific human capital lead to growth and failure in different ways. More specifically, we found that the effect of general human capital on failure was mediated by growth. Unexpectedly, specific human capital was not related to growth and had direct negative effects on business failure.

  October 21, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00487.x   open full text
• Innovation Types and Network Relationships.
  Jukka Partanen, Sylvie K. Chetty, Arto Rajala.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 03, 2011
  We examine network relationships, particularly the type and strength of these relationships and how firms use them in order to commercialize different types of innovations. We conduct an in‐depth case study of four small firms to provide insight on how and why a portfolio of network relationships (e.g., suppliers, distributors, customers, and research institutes) helps small new innovative firms to gain resources. We develop a framework of four innovation types and expand on how successful commercialization for each innovation type requires certain types and strength of relationships. Both types (systemic and autonomous) of radical innovations require strong collaborative ties with customers, whereas incremental innovations are commercialized through different types of downstream networks.

  July 03, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00474.x   open full text
• Trustworthiness: A Critical Ingredient for Entrepreneurs Seeking Investors.
  Andrew L. Maxwell, Moren Lévesque.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 03, 2011
  We investigate how an entrepreneur's behaviors during an initial interaction with a business angel can build, damage, or violate trust, and how the investor's level of trust (prompted by the entrepreneur's behavior) can affect his/her decision to make an investment offer. Our empirical analysis shows that entrepreneurs who receive offers from business angels exhibit a larger number of trust‐building behaviors during the initial interaction and a smaller number of unintentional trust‐damaging behaviors than those who do not receive an offer, and display few deliberate trust‐violating behaviors. We further observe that the investor's deployment of a control mechanism is a prerequisite for receiving an investment offer for all entrepreneurs who damage or violate trust.

  July 03, 2011   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00475.x   open full text
• Dutch Druggists in Distress: Franchisees Facing the Complex Decision of How to React to Their Franchisor's Strategic Plans.
  Evelien P. M. Croonen, Maryse J. Brand.
  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. December 09, 2009
  This case focuses on the decisions confronting Marc van der Bilt and his family. At the age of 59, Marc had been a franchisee of the Dutch DA drugstore chain for 23 years and had always planned to remain one until his retirement. In the spring of 2003, however, a change of management at the DA headquarters sparked major strategic changes to the DA chain that placed Marc and his family in a difficult position. They must decide on the future of their family business; should they go along with their franchisor's new plans or not?

  December 09, 2009   doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00352.x   open full text