Abstract
In young, technology-driven firms, founders play an important role in determining the technological direction of the firm. Digital technologies offer risky but promising technological opportunities for those firms that are able to recognize and capture them. This ability is influenced by the technical expertise and experience of the founder. Using a sample of start-ups which were founded in Germany between 1999 and 2016, we investigate the effect of founder technical experience - both prior to founding and acquired through in-firm activities - on the ability of the firm to capture digital opportunities. We find that prior related experience influences the speed at which firms are able to recognize and capture digital technologies and demonstrate the persistence of this effect which extant studies have not directly considered. Related prior experience allows firms to overcome the constraint of their original technology choices and capture opportunities in new technologies. The results have implications for founders in terms of their choice of founding team members and individuals that join the top management team at a later stage.
Published Version
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