Entrepreneurial Capabilities in the Founding and Survival of New Ventures

Abstract

The founding and survival of new ventures are at the heart of entrepreneurship research. Building from dynamic capabilities, previous studies argue that entrepreneurial capabilities (1) is a micro-foundation for dynamic capabilities, and (2) includes firm-level abilities of opportunity identification and enacting in founding a business. However, these studies remain silent about the role of entrepreneurial capabilities in the process of new venture survival, and neglect the micro-foundation of entrepreneurial capabilities itself. Building from previous studies on individual entrepreneurs, we offer a model involving four distinct elements of individual entrepreneurial capabilities: passion and self-achievement, active learning and analysis, leadership and operation skills, and integrity and commitment. We then conduct multiple studies to develop and validate a 30-item entrepreneurial capabilities scale to capture these four dimensions. Results demonstrate strong dimensionality, reliability, and content, convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. In doing so, the article contributes to identifying individual-level entrepreneurial capabilities that underpin the founding and survival process of new ventures and to the debate on the nature of such capabilities.