Entrepreneurial Teams, New Venture Direction and Growth: Evidence from Luxembourg

Doctoral thesis (2018)

New ventures can be an important driver of economic growth and technological progress. Yet, many new ventures fail and do not overcome the challenges of the early entrepreneurial phase. Extant research ... [more ▼]

New ventures can be an important driver of economic growth and technological progress. Yet, many new ventures fail and do not overcome the challenges of the early entrepreneurial phase. Extant research has acknowledged that the people who jointly start and manage a new venture have a key impact on its subsequent success and development. However, a discrepancy exists in how the interplay of their characteristics, cognition, and actions ultimately shape the way a new venture evolves. Therefore the primary purpose of this thesis is to contribute to this research stream by exploring the multifaceted role of entrepreneurial teams for new venture direction and growth. This is done with the aid of three research papers relying on a multiple case study and a specifically designed dataset from Luxembourg. The first paper illuminates how the shared pre-start-up transition moments of entrepreneurial team members influence the joint decision logic in the initial venture phase. Focusing on the composition of entrepreneurial teams, the second paper illustrates early activities that allow new ventures to leverage the diverse educational backgrounds of their team members to achieve financial growth. Lastly, the third paper explores aspects of leadership in new ventures and uncovers how agreement on an early shared vision affects subsequent changes in the entrepreneurial team, taking into account members’ relational ties. This thesis makes important contributions to research in entrepreneurship and strategic management, adding to a more fine-grained view on the micro-foundations and outcomes of entrepreneurial action. Also, it has practical implications for entrepreneurs, their mentors and investors, entrepreneurship education and policymakers. [less ▲]

How should entrepreneurial teams behave to achieve firm growth?

Scientific Conference (2018, June)

Should Entrepreneurial Teams Plan or Experiment? The Interplay of Early Behavior, Diversity and Young Firm Growth

Scientific Conference (2017, October)

Venture Creation by Teams: How Joint Pre-Founding Circumstances Imprint on Effectual Decision-Making

in Academy of Management Proceedings (2017), 2017(1), 13570