Context Of Startups Research Articles

Influences of UX factors in the Agile UX context of software startups

Software startups work under uncertain market conditions, constant time pressures, and extremely limited resources. Startup practitioners commonly adopt agile practices and lean development to build and release software quickly. Within this context, User eXperience (UX) work is critical for generating user value and creating a competitive advantage. However, integrating agile and UX remains an open question and little explored in software startups. In this study, we investigate how startup practitioners understand the UX concept and what are the influences of UX factors on the agile context of software startups. To achieve this goal, we surveyed software practitioners from software startups in Brazil. We obtained 97 valid responses from professionals working in different areas, in positions of UX experts, software engineers, and managers. Our findings show that most software startup practitioners understand UX from a perspective that gives value to the user/customer interaction with the product and company, focusing on achieving a good UX. Regarding the influences of UX factors, we found that most selected factors carried the meaning of delivering value to the business and the user for producing successful products. On the other hand, the lack of resources is a factor that significantly hinders UX work in early-stage startups and with small teams. By analyzing our results on four dimensions, covering business & market, product & process, customers & users, and UX work & teams, we provided four takeaways to help practitioners with the adoption of Agile UX in software startups context. • Understanding of UX concept by software startup professionals. • Factors influencing UX work in the agile context of Brazilian software startups. • Reasons for adoption of UX practices in Brazilian software startups. • Factors that hinder UX work in Brazilian software startups. • Takeaways for helping the adoption of Agile UX in software startups.

Elevate Company's Social Media as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Platform: Multi Cases Study to Digital Technology Companies

Introduction: Social media platforms have allowed people of different backgrounds to reach out and share what they know, giving us a glimpse of people's lives worldwide. By doing this, diversity and inclusion are promoted and celebrated. It is critical to our success as a company. In contrast to traditional diversity programs, diversity and inclusion programs concentrate a higher emphasis on developing individual values as opposed to teaching soft skills. Social media platforms have enabled people from all backgrounds to reach out and share their knowledge, giving us a window into people's lives worldwide. Diversity and inclusivity are therefore fostered and celebrated. Method: This study uses a qualitative approach to understand the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the startup context with Meta, TikTok, and Twitter objects. Result: The result showed that, during the COVID-19 epidemic, the social media presence of Meta, Twitter, and TikTok had expanded significantly, as seen results. This modification reflects the urgent requirement to connect with candidates in a quickly evolving environment. It is also the outcome of the growing significance of social media presence in a society that is becoming increasingly digital. Conclusion: Social media also plays a crucial role in promoting diversity by providing a platform for representation and opportunities for different voices to speak to a broader audience. These platforms allow us to represent ourselves and our diverse cultures as we'd like to be seen by others.

Elevate Company's Social Media as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Platform: Multi Cases Study to Digital Technology Companies

Introduction: Social media platforms have allowed people of different backgrounds to reach out and share what they know, giving us a glimpse of people's lives worldwide. By doing this, diversity and inclusion are promoted and celebrated. It is critical to our success as a company. In contrast to traditional diversity programs, diversity and inclusion programs concentrate a higher emphasis on developing individual values as opposed to teaching soft skills. Social media platforms have enabled people from all backgrounds to reach out and share their knowledge, giving us a window into people's lives worldwide. Diversity and inclusivity are therefore fostered and celebrated. Method: This study uses a qualitative approach to understand the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the startup context with Meta, TikTok, and Twitter objects. Result: The result showed that, during the COVID-19 epidemic, the social media presence of Meta, Twitter, and TikTok had expanded significantly, as seen results. This modification reflects the urgent requirement to connect with candidates in a quickly evolving environment. It is also the outcome of the growing significance of social media presence in a society that is becoming increasingly digital. Conclusion: Social media also plays a crucial role in promoting diversity by providing a platform for representation and opportunities for different voices to speak to a broader audience. These platforms allow us to represent ourselves and our diverse cultures as we'd like to be seen by others.

Increasing the effectiveness of display social media ads for startups: The role of different claims and executional characteristics

Although social media ads are the preferred advertising format for entrepreneurs, the literature has paid little attention to this advertising form in the startup context. In collaboration with a startup, we conducted randomized field experiments reaching more than 800,000 potential customers to assess the effectiveness of display social media ads and explore how different claims and executional characteristics impact this effectiveness. The experiments were the company’s first advertising campaign in an effort to expand to a new country. Our analyses show that the elasticity of display social media ads is equal to 0.815 and 98% of the effect occurs within two hours. We also find that adding informative claims to an ad reduces the click-through rate (CTR) by between 24.8% and 43%. Regarding executional characteristics, we find that ad repetition significantly increases the CTR by 19.9%, whereas including a character and using gender-congruity in ads do not significantly increase their CTR.

Does personality still matter in e-commerce? How perceived hubris influences the assessment of founders’ trustworthiness using the example of reward-based crowdfunding

Reward-based crowdfunding broadens the scope of e-commerce transactions, as prototypical products are pre-sold under conditions of considerable uncertainty. To date, we know little about the mechanisms that underlie decisions to back reward-based crowdfunding campaigns. However, it is likely that startup founders’ possibility of showcasing their personalities in video pitches signals their trustworthiness, particularly, as other features, such as quality seals and customer testimonials, are often unavailable. We use signaling theory to reinforce the move from a feature-oriented perspective to a signaling perspective, as signals can transmit information about startup founders’ otherwise imperceptible qualities and abilities. Based on a survey (N = 108), we investigate how perceived hubris – proven to be particularly salient in startup contexts – influences the funding decision of potential backers. We find that abilities and legitimacy of a startup founder are rated positively when s/he is perceived as hubristic. These results have implications for crowdfunding campaigns and highlight the relevance of personality traits in electronic markets.

Start-up Context, Social Ties, and Growth Strategies of Second-Generation Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Second generation immigrant entrepreneurs (SGIEs) in developed economies have contributed to the emergence of new areas of business activity. An understanding of their growth strategies can shed light on the role of individual immigrants in the founding of potentially global firms competing with large multinational enterprises. Based on eleven case studies of SGIEs of Indian origin in the UK, our findings reveal that SGIEs are heterogeneous in their growth strategies contingent on their start-up context and use of social ties. Founder SGIEs combining non-co-ethnic ties with non-family co-ethnic ties geographically expand outward to other foreign countries, including their country of origin. In contrast, successor SGIEs combining non-co-ethnic ties with family ties expand their product/ service scope within the UK; they exploit foreign market links, including their country of origin, to source supplies or customers through inward internationalization. These findings contribute to the immigrant entrepreneurship, international business and international entrepreneurship literatures.

Exploring everyday experiences of entrepreneurial labour: gender and work in collaborative workspaces of Athens

This paper explores how gender shapes the everyday experiences of entrepreneurial labour in Greek collaborative workspaces (CWS), highlighting a relatively understudied segment of coworking research. Drawing upon a wider study of collaborative workspaces in Athens, it explores how these spaces, which are the site of an enactment of entrepreneurial subjectivity, present themselves as gender-neutral but rest on highly masculinized assumptions about an archetypical masculine user of the space. Firstly, the article reveals divergence in the ways women and men entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurial labour. Secondly, it identifies how women entrepreneurs struggle to fit into narrow understandings of start-up entrepreneurship and innovation during the early stages of venture capital seeking. It then focuses on the way associations between bravery, risk and entrepreneurship appear in conversations with founders of CWS and are reinforced through their practice. Lastly, it examines how gendered structural constraints are rarely discussed by women start-up entrepreneurs. The article concludes by arguing that gender is not simply undone, but rather rearranged in a coworking landscape which is embedded in a start-up entrepreneurial context.

Welcoming Newcomers in Start-Ups: Challenges for Strategic Internal Communication

ABSTRACT Start-ups operating under conditions of uncertainty and limited resources face several challenges for strategic internal communication. Meanwhile, their efforts in welcoming newcomers are of vital importance for the achievement of organisational success. This study investigates what the start-up context means for strategic organisational entry communication. Following a review of research at the intersection of HRM and entrepreneurship with implications for strategic entry communication, entrepreneurs and newcomers in six start-ups were interviewed. A thematic analysis resulted in the identification of three themes of challenges for strategic communication connected to welcoming newcomers in start-ups, namely: Aspects related to the overall organisational context and situation, aspects related to newcomers’ job content and design, and finally entrepreneurs’ communication skills, knowledge, and time resources. The discussion shows implications of the start-up context for strategic organisational entry communication as regards opportunities for strategic communication, as well as the content and form of the strategic entry communication. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on strategic communication in start-ups by drawing on research from the intersection of HRM and entrepreneurship, as well as generating new empirical insights highlighting challenges to strategic internal communication in start-ups, especially for the purpose of welcoming newcomers.

Carving Start-up Character: Effects of Symmetrical Communication on Start-up Corporate Character, Customer-Start-up Identification, and Customer Advocacy

ABSTRACT This study took a personification approach and examined how strategic communication influences the development of startup corporate character and associated outcomes in China. Specifically, it examined the relationships among startups’ symmetrical communication model, startup characters of agreeableness, enterprise, competence, and ruthlessness, customer identification with the startup, and eventually, customer advocacy. Results from an online survey with 641 startup customers in China revealed the importance of practicing symmetrical communication at startups, which effectively helps shape startup character. In turn, startup corporate character would affect customer identification with the startup, which eventually contributes to customer advocacy. This study provides valuable theoretical grounds to advance the growing literature on corporate character, stakeholders-organization identification, and symmetrical communication, emphasizing a unique startup context in the culturally distinctive market of China. It also provides practical insights for startup leaders, communication practitioners, and entrepreneurs on how to build a favorable corporate character, strengthen connections with customers, and win support from customers.

Do leaders have an influence on strengthening entrepreneurial orientation? Empirical evidence from SMEs of Turkish techno-parks

PurposeIn this study, the authors aim to test the reflections of two so-called universal leadership styles -paternalistic leadership (PL) and transformational leadership (TL)- on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and ultimately on firm performance (FP) within the context of SMEs of a developing country, Turkey. Moreover, examining the contingency of uncertainty avoidance (UA) on the relationship between EO and firm performance is another aim of the study.Design/methodology/approachIn this explanatory cross-sectional study, by studying a dataset of 345 small and medium-sized (SME) Techno-park companies in Turkey based on using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method, the authors try to examine the antecedent role of PL and TL on EO and ultimately on FP. Moreover, we followed a mediation procedure to reveal the mediator role of EO on the relationship between leadership style and firm performance. Finally, the authors also conducted a moderation analysis through SmartPLS 3.0 to explore the contingency of UA on the relationship between EO and firm performance.FindingsStudy results indicate that TL is a significant antecedent of EO that results in higher firm performance. However, while PL has a negative impact on entrepreneurial orientation, the results provide no statistical evidence in support of a significant relationship between PL and firm performance. Moreover, the findings indicate that the higher UA, the weaker the relationship between EO and firm performance.Practical implicationsManagers, following a TL approach, can successfully encourage their subordinates to be innovative and creative. Transformational leaders are conducive to both entrepreneurship and firm performance within the context of technology-based startups. Besides, avoiding the risks and uncertainties naturally weakens the consequences of EO. Hence, EO, as an essential intangible resource, requires a proper cultural context to result in a competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis research provides a comprehensive understanding regarding the interrelationships amongst transformational and paternalist leadership styles, EO and firm performance within an UA context in Small Business and Technology Development Centers (SBTDCs) and Techno-parks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no other researcher has studied those links in a holistic manner in general, particularly on the SMEs of Techno-park firms of a developing Eastern country. The findings significantly enrich the literature on paternalist leadership and entrepreneurship orientation in a cultural context.

Visão geral dos fatores que influenciam a competitividade das startups: uma revisão sistematizada da literatura

Abstract: This research presents a systematized literature review to identify the main critical success factors (CSFs) that influence startups’ competitiveness. Considering that aspects related to competitiveness should be the target of organizations, especially early-stage companies, this paper identifies a broad of factors regarding startups’ competitiveness. A total of 36 articles were selected in Scopus and Web of Science databases and an in-depth bibliometric analysis of the corpus was performed using the VOSviewer software. 25 CSFs that influence startups’ competitiveness were identified and categorized into three fundamental points of view (FPVs), namely: organizational, human, and environmental. Organizational FPV covers factors that define the internal characteristics of startups. Human FPV, in turn, consists of characteristics of human capital, while the Environmental FPV refers to external factors and the startup context. This work could help practitioners and policymakers by enlightening them about startups’ competitiveness and the elements involved therein, along with providing them with a robust conceptual framework.

Influência de configurações organizacionais no desempenho de startups

ABSTRACT This article aimed to investigate the influence of organizational configurations on startup performance. The gap addressed by the article involved analyzing factors simultaneously, considering the possibility of equifinality with regard to the understanding about startup performance. A survey was conducted of 112 southern Brazilian startups. To compose the configurations, the cluster analysis technique was used. The chi-squared and covariance analysis (ANCOVA) tests were used to identify the effect of organizational configurations on startup performance. The results reinforced the assumptions of the configurational approach, highlighting the relationship of interdependence of imperatives in explaining organizational performance. The main distinctive characteristics of the three startup configurations found were: size; characteristics of the information from the management control system (MCS); entrepreneurial orientation (EO); cost leadership strategy (CLS); acceleration; and entrepreneurial source of investment (ESI). The results showed that differences in the characteristics of the information from the MCS and in the level of EO represent a deviation from the ideal configuration and are related with a drop in performance. The paper extends the knowledge on the imperatives investigated for the context of startups and on how these interact to compose the configurations. The results were shown to be relevant in explaining performance, corroborating the idea of equifinality, in which two distinct configurations presented similar performance. By analyzing the configurations that presented the best performance, managers can evaluate in which configuration they find themselves so as to guide actions to improve the startup success rate.

Knowledge and innovation in start-up ventures: A systematic literature review and research agenda

This paper studies the use of knowledge for innovation purposes in start-ups. Studies at the thematic intersection of knowledge, innovation, and start-ups are spread across different research fields and exhibit various aims and foci. Thus, we conducted a systematic literature review of 90 academic articles using a three-stage approach (planning, conducting, and reporting and dissemination) to investigate the relationship between knowledge and innovation, categorise knowledge (into sources, mechanisms, and types), and identify antecedents of knowledge, innovation measures, descendants of innovation, moderators, and mediators. This study contributes to the existing literature by developing an integrated framework for knowledge and innovation research in the start-up context, thereby enabling researchers and practitioners to gain insights into areas researched previously and identify existing literature gaps. This paper's findings suggest that most research focuses on one level of analysis, collects data at one point in time, and concentrates on for-profit start-ups. At the same time, the interplay between knowledge sources, mechanisms, and types receives little attention. Furthermore, actual financial performance measures have seldom been included, and a better connection between qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical research findings would be beneficial.

The Impact on Idea Selection of the Intrinsic Qualities of a Creative Idea and Its Presentation: The Case of Pitch Evaluations during Start-Up Weekends

What criteria are used to judge a creative idea? We attempt to answer this question by analyzing 57 idea pitches from two start-up weekends. Following the scientific and managerial literature, we identify four conditions intrinsically linked to the idea and three conditions linked to the presenter that could influence the evaluation of an idea. A comparative case analysis in Fuzzy Set mode highlights three configurations of sufficient conditions for the positive evaluation of a pitch. In addition, a good enunciation of the pitch is found to be a necessary condition. This research therefore shows that the intrinsic qualities of an idea are not sufficient for it to be favorably evaluated; it must also be well presented. Conversely, good presentation is not enough; the idea must have intrinsic qualities to be favorably evaluated. In addition, the physical appearance of the pitcher can be an asset in the specific context of start-up weekends.JEL Codes: O31

Staying In or Stepping Out? Growth Strategies of Second Generation Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Second generation immigrants in developed economies have contributed to the emergence of new areas of immigrant business activity, especially in information technology and the creative industries; however, an understanding of their growth strategies is limited. Compared to native entrepreneurs, immigrant entrepreneurs are more likely to have human and social capital resources needed to start international new ventures, and potentially global firms competing against multinational enterprises. Using case studies, we examine the growth strategies, and the factors influencing choice, of 12 SGIEs of South Asian origin in the UK. Our findings reveal that SGIEs are heterogenous in their pursuit of inward and outward internationalization, geographic and product-related growth, contingent on their start-up context and use of social ties. In linking founder and successor SGIEs’ use of co-ethnic (family and non-family) and non-co-ethnic ties with the product and geographic scope of their ventures, these findings contribute to the immigrant entrepreneurship, international entrepreneurship and international business literatures. Keywords: Second generation immigrant entrepreneurs; immigrant entrepreneurs; growth strategies; internationalization

Cultivating Relationships with Startup Employees: The Role of Entrepreneurs’ Leadership Communication

This study examines how CEOs’ use of motivating language influences employee relationships within startup organizations. Informed by self-determination theory and social identity theory, the study proposes psychological need satisfaction and organizational identification as mechanisms accounting for the influence of startup leaders’ use of motivating language on employee relational outcomes. Through an online survey of 1,027 startup employees across various industries in Mainland China, the study found that startup CEO use of motivating language positively influenced employee-startup relationships both directly and indirectly through enhanced psychological need satisfaction and organizational identification from startup employees. This study advances theoretical understanding of executive leader public relations functions and their role as important communication agents in the unique Chinese startup context. Further, this research tested the explanatory boundaries of motivating language theory and provides practical insights for startup leaders, communication practitioners, and entrepreneurs regarding how to develop long-term and quality relationships with startup employees.

Why context matters for start-ups' critical success factors

Current research in the field of critical success factors of start-ups refers to general factors with which important information about the start-up is lost. Start-ups are too individual for a generalistic assessment, so a novel approach is presented in this paper that allows the context of start-ups to be included in the assessment of critical success factors. This results in the context-based critical success factor, which is defined for the first time in this paper.

Identifying contradictions in an incumbent–startup ecosystem–an activity theory approach

PurposeDiscussion regarding systems that promote innovation, aptly named innovation ecosystems, has been intensifying both in academia and business. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the activity theory as a theoretical framework for conceptualising and studying innovation ecosystems. Using the activity theory, it investigates elements that affect the success and viability of innovation ecosystems formed between startups and incumbent firms, collaborating with an established firm within the context of an open innovation programme.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an exploratory case research approach and proposes the activity theory as a theoretical background to be used in innovation ecosystem research. Based on this approach, this study draws from interviews and research observations in an innovation ecosystem formed between an established firm and various startups that aim to co-develop innovative offerings.FindingsBy applying the activity theory tools, this study identifies several contradictions between interacting actors of this innovation ecosystem that can adversely affect the innovation process. Furthermore, it proposes the use of the activity theory as a fitting theoretical lens to study innovation ecosystems.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is related to the focus on the incumbent–startup context for extending the innovation ecosystem literature. Using the activity theory as a viable methodological tool allows us to conceptualise firms as social constructs and hence pinpoint inner characteristics that can affect and shape their interactions and the broader ecosystem. This process is further enhanced by the use of primary data that give unique insights into the inner workings of innovation ecosystems by identifying underlying contradictions.

Exploring the Effects of Trust and Its Outcomes in B2B Relationship Stages: A Longitudinal Study

Temporal dynamics in business-to-business (B2B) relationships are the evolution of B2B relationship stages. This study offers new insights in examining the impact of the temporal dynamics on firm performance during the B2B relationship stages. Drawing on B2B stage models, social exchange theory and the evolution of trust, the results show that the link between trust and firm performance weakens when a relationship between two parties reaches a particular stage. trust has a positive effect on firm performance in the same period; however, this positive effect decreases over time. Thus, the impact of trust on firm performance is insignificant in subsequent relationship stages in the start-up context. The impact of trust on firm performance is unstable and decreases over time. This study offers new theoretical and managerial insights regarding the temporal dynamics in B2B relationships.

Fostering product innovations in software startups through freelancer supported requirement engineering

This research paper explores the involvement of freelancers in requirement engineering activities to continuously innovating the value propositions and utilizing their expertise in various requirement engineering tasks. This paper reports the case study conducted with the startups that involve freelancers for the requirement engineering activities. The findings are then compared with the literature to explore the freelancer supported requirement engineering domain. Results indicate that the freelancers could help innovate value proposition by providing different perspectives of the global segments and also expertise in executing requirement engineering activities. The freelancers have varying levels of involvement in requirement engineering activities depending on on startup contexts and is highly challenged by various inhibitors. The inhibitors include difficulty to select freelancers optimally, ensuring their long term association for continuous rework arising because of continuous learnings in the market, building trust, mechanism to integrate their perspective, establishing communication, negotiations and strategic pricings. However, there is a need to optimally establish the freelancer involvement from beginning of the startup life cycle with a promise for long term benefits in exchange for their trustworthy and accurate perspectives, which is harder to get by involving crowds of customers due to resource limitations. Further research is required to investigate how freelancers could represent the samples of globally distributed customer segments as input source of information on one side and on another side become startup team representatives to establish direct interactions with global customer segments.