Structural differentiation, complex organizational boundaries and the survival of internal new ventures

Our study addresses a popular question in entrepreneurship research—to what extent does the quality of a region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem matter for venture survival? To tackle this question, we created a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem quality index based on five key characteristics: supportive entrepreneurial culture, access to finance, availability of human capital, innovation capacity, and formal support organizations. We analyze 301 United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas for these characteristics and measure the aggregated contextual influence on venture survival within these regions over time. In addition to analyzing the relationship between this index and venture survival, we also consider the moderating role of founders’ experience on survival outcomes. Our findings confirm that, in general, higher quality ecosystems shelter ventures, while ventures in weaker ecosystems are more likely to fade away and fail. However, for serial entrepreneurs, we find that ecosystem quality has a much smaller impact on venture survival.

Country risk, national cultural differences between partners and survival of international joint ventures in Brazil

Blessing or blight? How corporate venture units affect the survival of internal new ventures

Whether organizational change is adaptive or disruptive has been an issue among organization researchers. This paper examines the effect of organizational change on organizational failure and compares the result to previous findings. To increase comparability, we replicated Delacroix and Swaminathan’s (1991) format of the California wine industry study using Missouri wine industry data. Event history analysis is used to cover time‐varying variables and censoring problems. Following an organizational ecology perspective, our result supports the finding that organizational change is not related to organizational failure

Innovation ‘labs’ and ‘garages’ and units sometimes simply called ‘X’ are mushrooming in large corporations. Such new venture units are, however, not a novel phenomenon and have gone in and out of fashion since the 1970s. Extant work conceives of these units as vehicles for corporate venturing and discusses them as places that allow internal new ventures to grow in an environment, designed specifically to support and protect the development of fledgling new ventures with the appropriate culture and routines, until they are ready to be adopted by the mainstream organization. This understanding is, however, colored by the common conceptual and methodological choices of prior research and may overlook other meanings of NVUs. In this study, we thus problematize the ‘settled’ view of NVUs in the literature and study corporations’ intersubjectively shared, situated and culturally embedded ideas about NVUs, and their essential characteristics, that are embodied in visual representations of NVUs. For this purpose, we explore recurring, typified symbolic instantiations of actors and acts, as well as the use of visual language, in 464 images used to present and introduce NVUs on the websites of 30 large, European corporations. We find that the habitat of NVUs, and life inside it, (i.e. NVUs way of working and working conditions) and not ventures and outputs are central to the visual discourse.

Purpose: This study aims to identify and propose an entrepreneurship and new business management model relevant for cultivating future industry leaders. The research emphasizes comparative insights into regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, focusing on Bandung Raya and Tasikmalaya Raya, to highlight strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for balanced regional development. Methodology: The study adopts a quantitative and comparative design, analyzing survey data from 76 respondents representing multiple sectors. Using descriptive statistics and ecosystem benchmarking, the research evaluates six domains of the entrepreneurial ecosystem finance, policy, culture, support, human capital, and market access to assess regional variations and strategic needsl. Results The collected data show that Bandung excels in entrepreneurial culture (84.20%), regulatory policy (81.25%), workforce (78.98%), and market access (85.23%), while Tasikmalaya Raya leads in ecosystem support (84.38%) but faces challenges in access to finance (71.25%) and markets (68.13%). Conclusions: The results confirm that entrepreneurial ecosystem disparities significantly affect business sustainability. Bandung’s mature ecosystem offers competitive advantages, while Tasikmalaya’s strong social support is insufficient to compensate for structural gaps in finance and human capital. Limitations: The study is limited to two regions in West Java, restricting generalizability. It also relies on self-reported survey data, which may introduce bias. Contribution: Therefore, enhancement strategies are required, including strengthening financial access, improving human resource quality, as well as digitalization and market expansion for entrepreneurs in Tasikmalaya Raya. With these measures, the entrepreneurial ecosystems in both regions can develop more evenly and contribute to overall regional economic growth.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurship culture affects start-up and venture capital co-evolution during the early evolution of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) and its ability to foster the emergence of ambitious entrepreneurship as an outcome of its activity. Unlike studies that capture entrepreneurship culture at the national level, this study focusses specifically on the culture of venture capital-financed entrepreneurship and understanding its implications to the development of venture capital markets and successful firm-level outcomes within ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachRelying on EE and organisational imprinting theory, this study specifies characteristics of venture capital-financed entrepreneurship of Silicon Valley to illustrate the American way of building start-ups and examine whether they have as imprints affected to the entrepreneurship culture and start-up and venture capital co-evolution in Finland during the early evolution of its EE between 1980 and 1997.FindingsThe results illustrate venture capital-financed entrepreneurship culture as a specific example of entrepreneurship culture beneath the national level that can vary across geographies like the findings concerning Finland demonstrate. The findings show that this specific culture matters through having an impact on the structural evolution and performance of EEs and on the ways how they deliver or fail to deliver benefits to entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe results show that venture capital-financed entrepreneurship and the emergence of success stories as outcomes of start-up and venture capital co-evolution within an EE are connected to a specific type of entrepreneurship culture. This paper also contributes to the literature by connecting the fundamentals of organisational imprinting to EE research.

Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying and developing economic and social opportunities through the efforts of individuals and organizations, which can result in starting and building new businesses, either as independent enterprises or within incumbent organizations. Entrepreneurial opportunities are discovered in markets and organizations; how these opportunities are pursued results in different forms of entrepreneurship, such as independent start-ups, licensing activity, corporate ventures and spin-offs, and nonprofits. Entrepreneurship is therefore an engine of innovation and job creation that results in changing the distribution of wealth and fostering the well-being of individuals and groups in society. The field of entrepreneurship research is composed of interdisciplinary perspectives initially drawing from the social sciences. Because entrepreneurship is inexorably linked to institutional processes and organizational forms, the discipline of sociology has been and still remains central to the development of entrepreneurship research. In the early 21st century, considerable resources have been devoted to the study of entrepreneurship, and this momentum points to an increasing variety of research perspectives. Although this article takes a sociological view, it also includes selected works of authors in the sister social, management, and financial sciences that borrow sociological concepts or that more fully flesh out the relevance of the sociology of entrepreneurship. In keeping with scholarly practice this article strives to include the roots of ideas and theories stemming from the classics, including the initial theoretical formulations and subsequent empirical research, focusing on the mechanisms rather than the phenomena of entrepreneurship.

PurposeWhile extant research has increasingly examined minority entrepreneurs, less attention has been paid to Eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs and the role that marketing agility and risk propensity play in their resilience and survival in Nordic countries. This paper aims to highlight the importance of these factors for Eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs in the developed Nordic economy of Denmark.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts the dynamic capabilities view as a theoretical framework and uses a qualitative research approach with interviews as the main data collection method. The empirical sample comprises 12 entrepreneurs originating from Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, who operate in Denmark.FindingsThe findings show that contrary to prior studies that have highlighted a reliance among the migrant entrepreneurial community on ethnic networks as their dominant target market, Eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs located in Denmark, in contrast, focused on attracting Danish consumers as their target market audience. Leveraging multiple networks was therefore found to be critical to the survival of these immigrant ventures. Additionally, the entrepreneurs' marketing agility, underpinned by their optimistic approach, growth ambitions and passion for entrepreneurship, was found to play a pivotal role in their survival. Finally, despite the stable institutional environment in Denmark and the ease of doing business (both of which are influential factors in shaping the risk propensity and risk perception of entrepreneurs), the authors found immigrant entrepreneurs' risk propensity to be rather low, which was contrary to the expectations.Originality/valueThe current paper is one of the first studies that explicitly analyzes the roles of marketing agility and risk propensity in the resilience and survival of the ventures of relatively skilled immigrant entrepreneurs from Eastern Europe in a developed Nordic economy (Denmark). The paper's findings also challenge the notion associated with immigrant entrepreneurial ventures being primarily focused on ethnic customers or enclaves. The paper also specifies the peculiarities of marketing agility in immigrant entrepreneurial contexts and solidifies the importance of diverse networks in immigrant business survival and development.

The literature on new venture units (NVUs) has suggested how these units may improve but also attenuate the survival chances of new ventures within the host corporation. Yet, there has been little ...

Promotion of new entrepreneurial activity has been increasingly visible in many economies across the globe and is currently being shaped by an emerging literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems (see e.g. Stam 2015). In this paper we argue that within the regional entrepreneurship ecosystems approaches, entrepreneurship culture should be seen as one of the essential elements: we propose that regional entrepreneurship culture represents the glue that links the elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, entrepreneurial culture includes many facets and there is there is to date limited empirical research on how different dimensions of entrepreneurial culture (e.g. how individuals perceive and deal with opportunities, risk attitudes, status of successful entrepreneurs, media coverage etc.) connect to entrepreneurial outcomes. This paper brings together the literature on entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial ecosystems and comes up with regional indicators for entrepreneurship culture in European regions by combining data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the European Value Survey and the Eurobarometer Surveys on entrepreneurship. Supported by our results we argue – without being able to infer causal relationships - that entrepreneurship culture can be seen both as one of the key elements of an entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as an essential feature that ensures optimal connections between other elements of a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The concept of the entrepreneurial ecosystem has recently gained renewed attention in the international business and entrepreneurship fields, focusing specifically on investigating the role of entrepreneurial environments in driving growth and internationalisation of new firms. This is an important theme to address, as the strengths and weaknesses of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem directly affect the international success and survival of new ventures. In this exploratory study, we assess the entrepreneurial ecosystems from the point of view of born globals and do so comparatively across two countries: Finland and Estonia. Through a survey method and data analysis with STATA and t tests, this study contributes to the literature on international entrepreneurship by 1) outlining the entrepreneurial ecosystem elements that are the most and least critical for the development of born globals and 2) comparing the performance of ecosystems between different countries as seen by born global firms. Therefore, the study helps in applying a neglected concept and level of analysis to the international entrepreneurship research arena.

The concept of the entrepreneurial ecosystem has recently gained renewed attention in the international business and entrepreneurship fields, focusing specifically on investigating the role of entrepreneurial environments in driving growth and internationalisation of new firms. This is an important theme to address, as the strengths and weaknesses of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem directly affect the international success and survival of new ventures. In this exploratory study, we assess the entrepreneurial ecosystems from the point of view of born globals and do so comparatively across two countries: Finland and Estonia. Through a survey method and data analysis with STATA and t tests, this study contributes to the literature on international entrepreneurship by 1) outlining the entrepreneurial ecosystem elements that are the most and least critical for the development of born globals and 2) comparing the performance of ecosystems between different countries as seen by born global firms. Therefore, the study helps in applying a neglected concept and level of analysis to the international entrepreneurship research arena.

The interdependence between the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Entrepreneurial Culture - An analysis with sustainable and traditional entrepreneurs

We develop a theoretical framework for corporate ventures where corporations' know-how gives them an advantage over regular financiers in identifying profitable projects. Corporations and venture capitalists compete to fund entrepreneurs in an environment featuring risk, adverse selection, and limited liability. The expected surplus of each project is independent of the financier and the efficient scale of each project differs among entrepreneurs. We characterize the optimal financial contracts arising in equilibrium and use this characterization to explore the effect corporations' knowledge has in this environment. We show that the presence of corporations in the financial market could be detrimental to welfare when corporations' selection advantage is small. When large, corporate venture capitalists' knowledge reduces the extensive margin inefficiency arising from adverse selection, meaning less socially inefficient projects are enacted. We also show that increasing the depth or breadth of corporations' knowledge leads to higher aggregate gains.