Creative entrepreneurs’ creativity,opportunity recognition,and career success: Is resource availability a double-edged sword?

At the heart of the entrepreneurial process in creative industries are entrepreneurial creativity and opportunity recognition, which influence entrepreneurs’ ability to create new ventures or significantly improve the position of an existing business. Recent entrepreneurship research has suggested that resource availability represents a double-edged sword, simultaneously facilitating and impeding new venture outcomes, while little research has explored how entrepreneurial creativity, opportunity recognition, and resource availability jointly affect entrepreneurial career success. To address the theoretical gap, this paper examines the moderating role of resource availability in the relationship between entrepreneurial creativity, opportunity recognition and career success of creative entrepreneurs.To reflect the career success perceived by business founders in creative industries, five indicators of entrepreneurial success are examined, including career achievement, social reputation, entrepreneurial happiness, capability enhancement, and financial satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis empirically examines a sample of 296 entrepreneurs in creative industries. Results suggest that entrepreneurial creativity and opportunity recognition are positively related to entrepreneurial career success. We also find that resource availability generally strengthens the effect of entrepreneurial creativity and opportunity recognition on entrepreneur-perceived career success. Nevertheless, the relationship between opportunity recognition and financial satisfaction is found to be weakened by entrepreneurs’ resource availability. Integrating the theory of entrepreneurial effectuation and resource dependence theory, our findings indicate that entrepreneurial bricolage is crucial for creative entrepreneurship.     

基于能力视角的创业者人力资本与新创企业绩效作用机制研究

以往关于创业者人力资本与新创企业绩效之间关系的实证研究一直没有得到一致性的结论,导致创业领域的学者们质疑创业者人力资本是否对新创企业绩效产生影响;然而在创业实践中风险投资家评估项目时却十分重视创业者的人力资本。本研究基于能力视角,尝试揭示人力资本与新创企业绩效的作用机制,论证了创业能力在创业者人力资本和新创企业绩效关系中的中介作用,采用因子分析、多元回归分析等方法,通过对173家新创企业进行问卷调查,对理论假设进行了检验。研究发现:(1)创业者人力资本对新创企业绩效的影响是通过创业能力的中间传导促成的,即创业能力发挥了中介作用;(2)不同类型的人力资本对不同的创业能力发挥作用。     

影响新创企业绩效的创业团队因素研究

如何提升新创企业绩效是创业实践和研究的核心问题。创业团队对新创企业的绩效有着决定性的影响,本文从创业团队的视角出发,对如何提升新创企业绩效的问题进行研究。论文对已有研究进行全面的梳理、总结和评论,发现已有研究主要从创业团队构成和合作过程两方面解释新创企业绩效。论文指出,虽然团队构成决定了创业团队的化学成分,但要形成有助于团队化学反应的合作过程,需要有团队制度作为前提条件,否则团队合作关系容易被破坏。因此,本文提出创业团队治理是影响新创企业绩效的重要因素。在此基础上,本文综合团队构成、团队合作过程和团队治理三个维度,建立了影响新创企业绩效的创业团队因素模型,并指出未来研究的重要方向。     

政府的公共补贴对风险投资的促进作用

结合信息不对称条件下的契约设计和存在双边道德风险的激励问题,考虑在风险投资者和创业者之间的最优契约关系中,政府的公共补贴对风险投资者和创业者之间的收益关系的影响。发现在风险投资者和创业者之间存在着一种"财富传递效应",即政府对风险投资者投资损失的补贴可以增加创业者的期望收益,因此这种补贴政策可以激励更多的科技人才和管理人才投入到创业活动中来。在没有政府公共补贴时,一些因投资价值相对较小而无法获得风险资本投资的项目,在有政府公共补贴后能够获得风险资本的投资,即政府的公共补贴不仅能增加风险资本的供给,也能增加创业企业对风险资本的需求。     

Top Management Teams,Business Models,and Performance of Biotechnology Ventures: An Upper Echelon Perspective*

In this paper we introduce a new contingency variable that moderates the effect of top management team composition on organizational performance – the organization's business model. Arguing from an upper echelon perspective and drawing on data from 99 German biotechnology ventures, we show that founder‐based firm‐specific experience of management team members can have either a positive or a negative effect on performance, depending on whether the venture pursues a platform or a therapeutics business model, respectively. Our results also show that managers' experience collected in the pharmaceutical industry has a positive effect on performance, and that this effect is more positive for therapeutics than for platform ventures. We discuss the implications of these findings for the literature on upper echelons and entrepreneurial founding teams.     

新创企业高管团队的团队过程与战略决策绩效 ——认知的调节作用

新创企业的成败很大程度上取决于战略决策绩效,具有决策权力的高管团队在创业情境下的认知和行为过程对战略决策绩效具有重要影响。本文结合创业研究和高管团队研究的现有成果,以122家新创企业为研究对象,从内部团队过程和外部团队过程两个维度考察高管团队的团队过程对战略决策绩效的影响,并从认知的视角分析新创企业高管团队认知需要和认知能力对团队过程与决策绩效关系的调节作用。研究结果表明,新创企业高管团队的内部团队过程和外部团队过程与决策的质量和满意度均有显著的正相关关系,且认知需要和认知能力对这种关系具有调节作用,在认知需要和认知能力较高的情况下,内、外部团队过程对决策质量和满意度的正向影响更强。     

创始团队关键人力资本、战略地位优势与创业绩效

鉴于创始团队关键人力资本对新创企业发展的重要性及已有研究的不足,在界定相关概念及其结构维度的基础上,遵循资源/能力-地位-绩效理论逻辑,构建基于能力视角的创始团队关键人力资本对新创服务企业战略地位优势和绩效影响的概念模型。以环渤海、长三角、珠三角和海西地区的新创高技术服务企业创始团队成员为调研对象,基于182份有效问卷,运用SPSS 19.0和AMOS 17.0软件及多元层级回归方法分析数据。研究结果表明,创始团队关键人力资本的3个维度均显著提升新创高技术服务企业绩效,但作用机理不同,绩效效应存在差异,服务扩展优势部分中介适应性营销能力和市场链接能力与绩效的关系,服务扩展优势和服务差异化优势同时完全中介新服务开发能力与绩效关系;适应性营销能力和市场链接能力直接和通过服务扩展优势间接产生的综合绩效效应均显著高于新服务开发能力通过服务扩展优势和服务差异化优势间接产生的综合绩效效应;服务扩展优势在服务差异化优势转化为企业绩效的过程中发挥部分中介作用。新创高技术服务企业应合理配置和整合创始团队成员多样化能力,促进关键人力资本与战略地位优势的协同匹配。     

Knowledge Diversity and Venture Growth: The Contingent Effects of Early Planning and Experimentation

Drawing on an information processing perspective, we explore to what extent early venture activities allow founding teams to leverage their diverse knowledge to achieve venture growth. Using data from 103 young ventures, we find that early planning enables founding teams to better exploit the diverse knowledge resulting from their heterogeneity in educational background. However, venture growth is highest when diverse teams simultaneously plan and experiment in the early venture phase. This study challenges extant explanations of when early behaviours shape the efficient usage of existing venture resources. We discuss the contribution of these findings to the literature on founding teams, planning and experimentation, and team diversity.     

新企业创业导向与绩效的倒 Ｕ形关系——基于资源整合能力的调节效应研究

近年来, 创业导向与绩效的正向关系不断受到挑战.诸多学者强调, 创业导向与绩效的关系是“难以捉摸”的.新企业由于“新且小”的先天不足抑制了创业导向对绩效的积极功效.新企业的创业实践表明, 资源整合能力之资源识取能力和资源配用能力对于创业导向与绩效的关系具有重要影响.文章基于234份新企业样本实证检验了上述关系, 结果表明, 新企业创业导向与绩效的关系并非主流研究成果所认可的正向线性关系, 而是呈现出了倒U形的曲线关系.资源识取能力和资源配用能力对创业导向与绩效的倒U形关系分别具有调节效用, 即当这两种能力提升时, 低度创业导向对绩效的正面作用会增强, 高度创业导向对绩效的负面作用会降低.这说明了新企业创业导向并不总是有助于绩效的提升, 只有拥有适度创业导向的新企业才会有较好的绩效表现, 而要确保创业导向对绩效的积极作用, 新企业必须完善并提升其资源整合能力.     

A Multi‐level Dialectical–Paradox Lens for Top Management Team Strategic Decision‐Making in a Corporate Venture

This paper aims to critique the process of corporate‐owned, high‐tech start‐up strategizing through an inductive, longitudinal, case study of ‘UK‐Research‐Tech’. Insights are given through the combined ‘dialectical–paradox’ concept, thereby focusing on where ‘dialectic’ and ‘paradox’ theorizing overlap. This linked iterative, ‘dialogical–dialectic’ research approach also reflects chief executive officer/top management team (CEO/TMT) start‐up dynamics over time. These foci fill important gaps that impede better understanding of dialectical, dialogical and paradoxical forces within strategic decision‐making. As an interpretative tool, they illuminate CEO/TMT strategizing and changing interrelationships affected by broader, volatile, techno‐economic contexts and parent‐company influences on ventures. In this case study, it was found that the CEO's relatively autocratic, parent‐framed approach combined with TMT members' contradictory reactions to create ‘dialectical–paradox’ oppositional forces, eventually only resolved through ‘eleventh hour’ business strategy changes to rescue the venture. This research contributes to more nuanced understandings of corporate‐constrained ventures during early business development from start‐up strategic decisions at parent‐company level to subsequent conditions of more independent dynamic equilibrium. The ‘dialectical–paradox’ conceptual lens contributes an innovative critique of processes affecting strategic decision‐making dynamics. Another important contribution is the empirically inspired conceptual model, developed for use both to guide subsequent case‐study research analyses and as a reflective tool for CEO/TMT strategic decision‐making, especially within corporate‐inspired start‐ups.     

Identifying success factors for female entrepreneurs using the AMO framework: Empirical evidence from Japan

This study applies deep insights from the ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) framework as an overarching theoretical perspective to identify critical success factors for female entrepreneurs. In doing so, it investigates how entrepreneurial persistence (i.e., motivation or “M”), together with prior venture experience (i.e., ability or “A”) and competitive intensity (i.e., opportunity or “O”) influence the success of women's entrepreneurial activities. Using data from 308 Japanese female entrepreneurs, we show a positive association between entrepreneurial persistence and female entrepreneurs' venture growth, which becomes stronger when prior venture experience and competitive intensity are considered. Most importantly, the three-way interaction between these factors maximizes the business performance of female entrepreneurs. Thus, venture growth is the highest in the presence of high levels of entrepreneurial persistence, prior venture experience, and competitive intensity. Our findings suggest that policy makers should improve the competitiveness of women-led ventures and create supportive business environments for female entrepreneurs.     

Effectuation or causation as the key to corporate venture success? Investigating effects of entrepreneurial behaviors on business model innovation and venture performance

Corporate Venturing sets the stage for entrepreneurial behavior in order to create business model innovation (BMI). Moreover, prior literature indicates the importance of BMI as a source of performance advantage, especially in growing industries. However, an empirical examination of the effectiveness of entrepreneurial behaviors for achieving BMI is still lacking. Hence, this study investigates the effectiveness of effectuation and causation as primary entrepreneurial logics to create BMI. Analyzing data obtained from 128 corporate ventures with partial least squares structural equation modeling, the effectiveness of both entrepreneurial logics for BMI with respect to different industry growth levels is clarified: The results point out that both behaviors lead to BMI in situations of moderate industry growth while effectuation (causation) is more effective in high (low) industry growth settings. Furthermore, the results point out that BMI in turn enhances corporate venture performance. Thus, corporate entrepreneurs should carefully align their entrepreneurial approach with industry growth projections to effectively develop BMI and achieve high venture performance.     

手段导向、知识获取与新企业创业能力的实证研究

创业能力对于新企业创造和维持竞争优势具有重要意义,相关研究受到创业领域学者们的广泛关注。然而创业能力的实证研究主要集中于创业者个体层面创业能力的前因和结果分析,组织层面的创业能力的实证研究尚处于探索阶段,仍有待运用有效的理论揭示新企业如何构建组织层面创业能力的内在机理和路径。作为新兴的创业理论,手段导向理论有助于面临高不确定性的新企业在创业过程中持续进行迭代式学习,而组织学习理论认为,知识获取作为组织学习的核心环节有助于组织创业能力的构建。因此,手段导向可能通过知识获取提升新企业创业能力。然而,少有学者关注此方面研究。 运用手段导向理论和组织学习理论,深入剖析手段导向各维度对创业能力的积极影响,检验知识获取在手段导向与创业能力关系间的中介作用。采取大样本问卷调查,收集215家中国新企业数据,并运用多元线性回归分析和因子分析等方法进行实证检验。 研究结果表明,手段导向的4个维度均对创业能力具有积极影响,试验、可承受损失和先前承诺3个维度通过知识获取提升新企业创业能力,但是知识获取在柔性与新企业创业能力关系间的中介作用不显著。 研究结论对于丰富和拓展组织层面创业能力相关研究和推动手段导向理论的发展具有重要意义,为新企业如何在高不确定性和强资源约束下构建组织创业能力提供必要的理论指导。     

CEO human capital,top management teams,and the acquisition of venture capital in new technology ventures: An empirical analysis

We combine signalling and human capital theory to analyze how competencies of new venture CEOs impact the amount of money technology ventures acquire in venture capital (VC) financing rounds. Using data on 117 financing events in the biotechnology industry, we show that education in management, founder-based firm-specific experience, international experience, and industry-specific experience of the CEO impact the VCs’ financial commitments. Moreover, we find that the effects of management education and industry experience are moderated by the size of the venture's top management team. We discuss the implications of these findings for the research literature on technology ventures and venture capital.     

Cognitive approaches to new venture creation

Cognitive processes play a critical role in the formation of new ventures. Moreover, the effects of managerial cognition are likely to be more direct and immediate in new venture settings than in the context of larger, more established organizations. For these reasons, the theories and methods of managerial and organizational cognition can provide insight into the process of new venture creation. This paper reviews recent studies that take a cognitive approach to new venture creation and categorizes them according to the stage of new venture creation with which they are concerned. Key issues discussed include the formation of entrepreneurial intentions, the sensemaking processes of scanning, interpretation and action, the use of schema and heuristics in decision-making and the phenomenon of entrepreneurial alertness. Several preliminary research conclusions are drawn, and the implications of these findings for the practice of entrepreneurship are considered. Finally, several promising avenues for future research are explored.     

Serial Entrepreneurs

This study focuses on the dynamic nature of entrepreneurship through an analysis of serial entrepreneurs, those individuals who engage in multiple start-ups, management buyouts, management buy-ins and combinations of these activities. The paper develops a typology of habitual entrepreneurship and then examines serial entrepreneurs in detail as a subset of such entrepreneurs. The processes involved and the effects of individuals undertaking sequential ventures are analysed. The study identifies three types of serial entrepreneurial behaviour namely venture repeaters, organic serials and serial dealmakers, distinguished by the motivations and the methods used to develop their ventures. Case-study evidence from the study also indicates that the role of active investors varies according to the type of serial entrepreneur and venture.     

Two heads are safer than one: Changes in CEO duality and venture failure

We study the dynamics of a major design choice in the governance of ventures: whether to distribute power at the top of the venture between a separate CEO and board chair. We propose that ventures are more likely to combine (separate) their CEO and chair positions when operational performance is poor (strong), demonstrating behavior in line with the threat rigidity thesis. Paradoxically, however, ventures would most benefit from a separate CEO and board chair when operational performance is poor. Empirical analysis of data from the Australian mining industry offers general support for our theory, with some interesting nuances. We discuss the implications of our findings for emerging conversations in the literatures on venture boards, boards of directors, and entrepreneurship.     

Entrepreneurial leadership vision in nonprofit vs. for-profit organizations

This paper explores the role that entrepreneurial leadership vision plays in the entrepreneurial process of nonprofit and for-profit ventures. The results indicate significant differences in the meaning of vision articulated for each type of venture. Differences between ventures were also found with regard to the relationship that vision has with the ventures' strategies and performance. In the nonprofit organizations vision was associated with a wide-range strategy as well as the ventures' performance and growth. In addition, wide-range strategy partially mediated the relationship between the ventures' vision and its performance and growth. In business enterprises, vision directly predicted only a differentiation strategy, which also mediated the relationship between vision and the ventures' performance and growth. In contrast, a wide-range strategy in these organizations actually reduced growth. These findings contribute both to the literature on vision as well as to the literature on entrepreneurship.     

What is the “right” market orientation for new entrepreneurial ventures?

A general notion in research on entrepreneurial marketing is that new ventures that adopt both strong market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation outperform other firms. The present research provides a more fine-grained analysis of this common wisdom. First, while extant research focuses on responsive market orientation, this research seeks to differentiate responsive from proactive market orientations in young ventures. Second, the study examines the moderating effects of the degree of entrepreneurial orientation on proactive and responsive market orientation’s performance consequences in the context of new ventures since these ventures must understand which orientations are worth pursuing, especially given their resource constraints. The theoretically developed research model is tested using survey data of 259 ventures in operation less than fifteen years from five national cultures in order to detect national dependencies and establish the robustness of the findings. Recommendations concerning which type of market orientation entrepreneurial and less entrepreneurial new ventures should follow are provided.