I can't get no sleep—The differential impact of entrepreneurial stressors on work-home interference and insomnia among experienced versus novice entrepreneurs

When founding and managing a new business, entrepreneurs are frequently confronted with stressors hampering their daily work. The present study examines how these entrepreneurial stressors affect two important interrelated indicators of entrepreneurs' recovery and well-being—that is, their ability to detach from work during non-work times (work-home interference) and their sleep (insomnia). We introduce prior entrepreneurial experience as an important moderator to these relationships, arguing that due to their different learning and coping experiences and their different interpretations of the entrepreneurial role, experienced versus novice entrepreneurs would react differently to entrepreneurial stressors. In an empirical study with 122 entrepreneurs, we found that among experienced entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial stressors primarily had a direct sleep-impairing effect. Among novice entrepreneurs, the same stressors primarily initiated an indirect effect by leading to increased work-home interference and consequently also increased insomnia. Overall, thus, our study shows that both novice and experienced entrepreneurs suffer from insomnia when encountering entrepreneurial stressors—however, the underlying mechanisms differ. Implications are discussed in terms of both theory and practice.     

Knowledge and internationalization of returnee entrepreneurial firms

This study aims to answer whether and how returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience and returnee entrepreneurial firms’ international market knowledge influence these firms’ internationalization. Anchored in a framework combining an entrepreneurial and knowledge-based view, we develop a model and four hypotheses on the relations between returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience, international market knowledge, international market commitment, and level of internationalization of the returnee entrepreneurial firm. Empirical evidence of the proposed model is derived from a recent sample of Chinese returnee SMEs in knowledge-intensive and high-technology industries. The main finding is that returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience nurtures international market knowledge of returnee entrepreneurial firms, which in turn has a positive effect on these firms’ international market commitment and level of internationalization. In terms of theory, the study extends our understanding of returnee entrepreneurial firms by uncovering the role of returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience and returnee firms’ international market knowledge during their initial and early international expansion.     

How do entrepreneurs' cross-cultural experiences contribute to entrepreneurial ecosystem performance?

While research on the cross-cultural experience of entrepreneurs has demonstrated that exposure to diverse cultures is beneficial for new venture growth, it has neglected the performance implications of entrepreneurs’ cross-cultural experience at the ecosystem level. This study endeavors to explore the micro-macro link between cross-cultural entrepreneurs and the performance of entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they are embedded. Building on the dynamic capability perspective, we argue that entrepreneurial ecosystem orchestrators can leverage entrepreneurs’ cross-cultural experiences to develop ecosystem dynamic capabilities and consequently improve entrepreneurial ecosystem performance. Based on multi-wave survey data of 2,981 business incubators in China, our findings show that cross-cultural entrepreneurs are positively associated with entrepreneurial ecosystem performance via increased ecosystem innovation. Moreover, the integrative capability of ecosystem orchestrators moderates the relationship between cross-cultural entrepreneurs and ecosystem innovation. Our findings contribute to the literature on cross-cultural experience by extending it to the ecosystem level and inject fresh insights into the dynamic capability literature by uncovering the formation process of ecosystem dynamic capabilities.     

Not so silent partners: Exploring the interconnected roles of entrepreneurs and their spouses

When launching their ventures, the majority of entrepreneurs are married. Yet, our understanding of the spousal influence on the entrepreneurial process remains limited. This is surprising considering the spouse represents one of the most influential figures in an individual's life. Through an inductive qualitative analysis of 18 spouse-entrepreneur pairs, we explore the interactive nature of venture-related roles between the spousal couple and how these spousal roles evolve over the course of the venture. Our study shows that the dynamic alignment between entrepreneurial roles and spousal roles allows the venture to progress through various stages of firm innovation, creation, and growth. Thus, our paper extends the broader literature on roles during the venturing process as we illuminate the “not-so-silent role” of spouses in entrepreneurship.     

Practice makes perfect: Entrepreneurial-experience curves and venture performance

This study tackles the puzzle of why increasing entrepreneurial experience does not always lead to improved financial performance of new ventures. We propose an alternate framework demonstrating how experience translates into expertise by arguing that the positive experience–performance relationship only appears to expert entrepreneurs, while novice entrepreneurs may actually perform increasingly worse because of their inability to generalize their experiential knowledge accurately into new ventures. These negative performance implications can be alleviated if the level of contextual similarity between prior and current ventures is high. Using matched employee–employer data of an entire population of Swedish founder-managers between 1990 and 2007, we find a non-linear relationship between entrepreneurial experience and financial performance consistent with our framework. Moreover, the level of industry, geographic, and temporal similarities between prior and current ventures positively moderates this relationship. Our work provides both theoretical and practical implications for entrepreneurial experience—people can learn entrepreneurship and pursue it with greater success as long as they have multiple opportunities to gain experience, overcome barriers to learning, and build an entrepreneurial-experience curve.     

Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?

Previous research on the psychology of entrepreneurs found that personality traits such as locus of control failed to distinguish entrepreneurs from managers. In search of an individual characteristic that is distinctively entrepreneurial, we proposed an entrepreneurial self-efficacy construct (ESE) to predict the likelihood of an individual being an entrepreneur. ESE refers to the strength of a person’s belief that he or she is capable of successfully performing the various roles and tasks of entrepreneurship. It consists of five factors: marketing, innovation, management, risk-taking, and financial control.We conducted two studies, one on students and the other on small business executives. Study 1 found that the total ESE score differentiated entrepreneurship students from students of both management and organizational psychology, and that across the three types of students, ESE was positively related to the intention to set up one’s own business. We also found the entrepreneurship students to have higher self-efficacy in marketing, management, and financial control than the management and psychology students. In study 2, we simultaneously tested effects of ESE and locus of control on the criteria of founders vs. nonfounders of current businesses. After controlling for individual and company background variables, the effect of ESE scores was significant, but the effect of locus of control was not. More specifically, it was found that business founders had higher self-efficacy in innovation and risk-taking than did nonfounders.The results of this study demonstrate the potential of entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a distinct characteristic of the entrepreneur. From these results, some important implications can be drawn on entrepreneurial assessment, education, counseling, and community intervention. First, ESE can be used to identify reasons for entrepreneurial avoidance. There may be many individuals who shun entrepreneurial activities not because they actually lack necessary skills but because they believe they do. This is especially true for sectors of the population such as women or those minority groups who are perceived as lacking entrepreneurial traditions. Communities and individuals could benefit from identifying sources of entrepreneurial avoidance by targeting their efforts toward enhancing ESE of particular groups or individuals for specific aspects of entrepreneurship.An additional use of ESE is to identify areas of strength and weakness to assess the entrepreneurial potential of both an individual and a community. Once entrepreneurial potential is identified, resources can be channeled and more effectively used to promote entrepreneurship. Finally, diagnosis and treatment of ESE can be performed on real entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur may be completely avoiding, or performing less frequently, certain critical entrepreneurial activities because s/he lacks self-efficacy. For example, the entrepreneur may be avoiding company growth for fear of losing control. Identification and removal of self-doubt will enable the entrepreneur to be actively engaged in entrepreneurial tasks, more persistent in the face of difficulty and setbacks, and more confident in meeting challenges.Overall, ESE is a moderately stable belief and requires systematic and continuous efforts to be changed. Two broad approaches can be taken toward desired change. One is the micro-approach that directly focuses on people’s beliefs. In designing and conducting entrepreneurship courses, training institutions should not just train students in critical entrepreneurial skills and capabilities but also strengthen their entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The current state of entrepreneurship courses in most management schools may fall short in both respects. Courses focus on commonly identified management skills, but often ignore entrepreneurial skills such as innovation and risk-taking. Furthermore, the teaching of entrepreneurial skills tends to be technical, with insufficient attention paid to the cognition and belief systems of the entrepreneur. Educators should take into account entrepreneurial attitudes and perceptions when designing or assessing their course objectives. Conscious efforts could be made to enhance ESE by involving the students in “real-life” business design or community small business assistance, by inviting successful entrepreneurs to lecture, and by verbal persuasion from the instructor and renowned entrepreneurs.The second approach to enhancing ESE is to work on the environment of potential and actual entrepreneurs. According to the reciprocal causation model, the environment may affect self-efficacy not only directly but also indirectly through performance. An environment perceived to be more supportive will increase entrepreneurial self-efficacy because individuals assess their entrepreneurial capacities in reference to perceived resources, opportunities, and obstacles existing in the environment. Personal efficacy is more likely to be developed and sustained in a supportive environment than in an adverse one. A supportive environment is also more likely to breed entrepreneurial success, which in turn further enhances entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Communities can work toward creating an efficacy enhancing environment by making resources both available and visible, publicizing entrepreneurial successes, increasing the diversity of opportunities, and avoiding policies that create real or perceived obstacles.     

Internationalisation of SMEs from the perspective of social learning theory

Internationalisation is seen as an important issue for the globalised economy. Therefore, it has been widely investigated among multinational enterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Even though earlier work acknowledges that internationalisation consists of entrepreneurial actions (e.g. discovery and exploitation of an international business opportunity) and learning from the market, detailed understanding of the process of social learning in internationalisation is still lacking. In this study, we use the cycle of expansive learning as a conceptual framework. It shows that entrepreneurial actions between SMEs construct international business opportunities. More specifically, entrepreneurial actions are about learning that constructs and co-creates knowledge. The cycle of expansive learning assumes that such knowledge is social in nature making the very nature of knowledge the basis of claims to explicate what the process of social learning entails. In the context of international entrepreneurship, there is also a by-product of that type of co-created and object-oriented action: the internationalisation of SMEs. The purpose of this study is to explore the internationalisation of SMEs through the cycle of expansive learning to better understand how such a by-product can be created. In examining a story of collaboration between two entrepreneurs, we found the start of the cycle to be more significant than the later stages. From the perspective of social learning, this suggests that entrepreneurs create meanings rather than exploit international opportunities in the business-sense alone. That said, internationalisation happens as a by-product of social acting.     

The paradox of new venture legitimation within an entrepreneurial ecosystem

The current rise in research on entrepreneurial ecosystems notes that many questions are still unanswered. We, therefore, theorize about a unique paradox for entrepreneurs trying to establish legitimacy for their new ventures within and beyond an entrepreneurial ecosystem; that is, when pursuing opportunities with high levels of technological or market newness, entrepreneurs confront a significant challenge in legitimizing their venture within an entrepreneurial ecosystem, while those entrepreneurs pursuing ventures using existing technologies or pursuing existing markets have a much easier path to garnering legitimacy within that ecosystem. However, the diffusion of that legitimacy beyond the ecosystem will be wider and more far-reaching for those pursuing the newer elements compared to those using existing technologies or pursuing existing markets, thus, creating a paradox of venture legitimation. Prior research outlines approaches for new venture legitimacy but it is unclear when these approaches should be applied within and beyond an entrepreneurial ecosystem. To address this paradox, we integrate ideas from the entrepreneurship and innovation literature with insights from the legitimacy literature to describe how different types of venture newness employ different legitimation strategies which results in different levels of legitimacy diffusion beyond an ecosystem. We conclude with a discussion of our concepts and offer suggestions for future research efforts.     

The network of relationships between the economic environment and the entrepreneurial culture in small firms

In this article we maintain that the cultural evolution processes of small firms are strongly influenced by the type of relationships that they establish with the economic environment.In the first part of the article, the main points of the discussion are set forth. Here, the theoretical debate is presented and the existing relations between the entrepreneurial culture and the interaction of firms with their economic environment is analyzed. In the second part of the article, the methodologies adopted for the statistical analysis are explained, and the results of the empirical analysis are presented. Finally, in the third part the implications for practitioners, industrial policies, and future directions in research are discussed.The importance of openness to change in the entrepreneurial culture is a basic assumption in this study. It is well known that in small and medium firms, entrepreneurs often demonstrate “a resistance to change” that limits the firm's competitiveness. In some observed territorial and industrial contexts this resistance to change is determined by a cultural entrepreneurial homogeneity. This homogeneity is a result of the similarity of the social, educational, and entrepreneurial experiences of the subjects observed. Indeed, the entrepreneurs studied had, for generations, received the same education, lived in the same area, and come from the same social setting. This entrepreneurial culture is typified by distrust of innovation and discontinuity, which leads these entrepreneurs to favor already proven solutions and initiate the behaviors of others, rather than take innovative actions. Principal component analysis has been used to identify the influences that various factors, within and external to the firm, have in the forming of an entrepreneurial culture and thus on the openness of entrepreneurs and firms to learning. In the sample, a trade-off emerged between tendencies to homologous behaviors and the spirit of initiative. Through cluster analysis we identified categories of entrepreneurs with a different propensity to innovation regarding established firm routines. “Learning entrepreneurs” belong mainly to industries that serve the final consumer while “bounded entrepreneurs” tend to specialize in commodities more often for export.The implications of our results might interest new entrepreneurs who can include this element when analyzing the viability of new ventures. Small, already operational firms, can evaluate opportunities arising from export processes or might adjust their position on the production filiére to be closer to the final market.This empirical analysis should be reapplied to firms in areas with different environmental characteristics or to production filiéres where the relationship between customer and supplier is different, as for example in high-tech-industries, so as to verify whether the intensity of the relations with the market differs according to external factors or the technological intensity of the industries examined.     

From grassroots to international markets: A qualitative study of marginalized entrepreneurs in India

Much of the growing literature on international entrepreneurship focuses on how positive circumstances, such as having prior international experience, business networks, or formal institutions lead to international entrepreneurial action and overlooks the role more challenging circumstances might play. In this study, we extend and refine challenge-based entrepreneurship theory to explore what influences international entrepreneurial action undertaken by marginalized entrepreneurs in an emerging economy. Despite widening economic and social disparities in emerging economies, little is known about entrepreneurs who have traditionally been “left behind.” Our findings suggest that these marginalized entrepreneurs have not only a set of liabilities but also advantages, including creative problem solving and perseverance, as well as local knowledge and networks. To spur the first-person international opportunity belief associated with international entrepreneurial action, an intermediary with resources and networks is needed to offset the liabilities. These intermediaries act as gatekeepers, helping some marginalized entrepreneurs but holding back others.     

Understanding the relationships between online entrepreneurs’ personal innovativeness,risk taking,and satisfaction: Comparison of pure-play and click-and-mortar

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of personal innovativeness and risk taking on online entrepreneurs’ satisfaction. Two types of online entrepreneurs (pure-play and click-and-mortar) are compared and contrasted. Specifically, our study investigates the effect of personal innovativeness and risk-taking propensity on the satisfaction of online entrepreneurs, and compares the similarities and differences among varying types of online entrepreneurs. A survey of online entrepreneurs conducted in Taiwan, a country characterized as good for small and medium enterprises entrepreneurship and as having substantial e-commerce development, indicates that personal general innovativeness has a significant positive effect on personal information technology innovativeness (the entrepreneur’s level of innovation regarding information technology), entrepreneurial satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Entrepreneurs’ life satisfaction also determined by their degrees of entrepreneurial satisfaction. Finally, risk-taking propensity significantly influences entrepreneurial satisfaction for pure-play entrepreneurs only. The results can be referenced by other countries in general, and Chinese regions in particular.     

The nature of entrepreneurial experience,business failure and comparative optimism

Entrepreneurial (i.e. business ownership) experience may enable some entrepreneurs to temper their comparative optimism in subsequent ventures. The nature of entrepreneurial experience can shape how entrepreneurs adapt. Using data from a representative survey of 576 entrepreneurs in Great Britain, we find that experience with business failure was associated with entrepreneurs who are less likely to report comparative optimism. Portfolio entrepreneurs are less likely to report comparative optimism following failure; however, sequential (also known as serial) entrepreneurs who have experienced failure do not appear to adjust their comparative optimism. Conclusions and implications for entrepreneurs and stakeholders are discussed.     

A tale of two exits: nascent entrepreneur learning activities and disengagement from start-up

This article explores entrepreneurial exit defined as disengagement from the start-up process. It addresses two questions: (1) is disengagement a negative outcome? and (2) are all cases of disengagement homogeneous? The literature identifies two types of disengagements based on the degree of learning by nascent entrepreneurs. Intelligent exit refers to proactive or strategic disengagement precipitated by entrepreneurs?? learning that concluded the business opportunity would not be successful. From this perspective, entrepreneurs could adopt discovering or enacting modes and their related causal or effectual approaches to learning. Reactive or uninformed exit results from lack of planning and an inability to solve problems. Results suggest two different disengagement clusters??the intelligent and reactive exit clusters??but the distinction between discovering and enacting approaches to learning is not supported. Cases of intelligent exit are found to be more similar to cases of operating businesses than they are to cases of reactive exit.     

Entrepreneurial motivation and business performance: evidence from a French Microfinance Institution

This article examines the link between entrepreneurial motivation and business performance in the French microfinance context. Using hand-collected data on business microcredits from a Microfinance Institution (MFI), we provide an indirect measure of entrepreneurial success through loan repayment performance. Controlling for the endogeneity of entrepreneurial motivation in a bivariate probit model, we find that “necessity entrepreneurs” are more likely to have difficulty repaying their microcredits than “opportunity entrepreneurs”. However, type of motivation does not appear to make a difference to business survival. We test for the robustness of our results using parametric duration models and show that necessity entrepreneurs experience difficulties in loan repayment earlier than their opportunity counterparts, corroborating our initial findings. Our results are also robust to a sharper analysis of motivation, focusing on unemployment (on the necessity side) and non-pecuniary benefits from success (on the opportunity side).     

What explains the degree of internationalization of early-stage entrepreneurial firms? A multilevel study on the joint effects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy,opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship,and home-country institutions

Integrating recent theories of entrepreneurship with new institutional economics, we develop a multilevel model to deepen our knowledge of how micro-level entrepreneurs’ personality and motivational antecedents interact with macro-level home-country institutions in determining internationalization by early-stage entrepreneurial firms. Data were collected from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Adult Population Survey, GEM National Expert Survey, and the World Economic Outlook Database for the year of 2014. The results show that the personality trait of entrepreneurial self-efficacy contributes positively to the degree of internationalization via mobilizing opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship and that home-country formal institutions strengthen the above relationship of such young entrepreneurial firms.     

Enablers for end‐user entrepreneurship: An investigation on Italian food bloggers

This article examines unconventional entrepreneurship (accidental or end‐user entrepreneurs) to determine whether the decision‐making phase of the entrepreneurial process is collective. The analysis identified a virtuous circle that links knowledge, innovation, judgment, and decision making to collective interactions built on passion, experience, and sharing. To study food bloggers as unconventional user entrepreneurs, data were collected and analyzed using netnographic analysis. A supplementary online survey of food bloggers and their followers was also performed. Three groups of food bloggers are identified: amusing, functional, and fervent. Only fervent food bloggers, thanks to the virtuous circle built on passion, experience, and sharing as enablers, can be considered accidental or end‐user entrepreneurs.     

The community dynamics of entrepreneurship: The birth of the american film industry, 1895–1929

This paper provides insight for practitioners by exploring the collective process of entrepreneurship in the context of the formation of new industries. In contrast to the popular notions of entrepreneurship, with their emphasis on individual traits, we argue that successful entrepreneurship is often not solely the result of solitary individuals acting in isolation. In many respects, entrepreneurs exist as part of larger collectives. First and foremost, there is the population of organizations engaging in activities similar to those of the entrepreneurial firm, which constitute a social system that can affect entrepreneurial success. In addition, there is also a community of populations of organizations characterized by interdependence of outcomes. Individual entrepreneurs may be more successful in the venturing process if they recognize some of the ways in which their success may depend on the actions of entrepreneurs throughout this community. Thus, we urge practitioners and theorists alike to include a community perspective in their approach to entrepreneurship. We also suggest that one way of conceptualizing the community of relevance might be in terms of populations of organizations that constitute the value chain. For example, in the early film industry a simple value chain with three functions—production, distribution, and exhibition—is a convenient heuristic for considering what populations of organizations might be relevant. As we show in our case study of that industry, a community model offers insights into the collective nature of entrepreneurship and the emergence of new industries.Our basic thesis is that the role of entrepreneurship in the creation of new industries can be conceptualized in terms of the dynamics of a community of organizational populations. At least three implications of this view may be important for practitioners. First, the kind of widespread and fundamental economic and social change that has often been linked with entrepreneurship requires a variety of behaviors. While most definitions of entrepreneurship have recognized that entrepreneurship requires the introduction of innovation, they have tended to ignore the importance of behaviors that subsequently support that innovation. To encompass these important behaviors, we believe that a broad definition of entrepreneurial behaviors is justified. To capture this, the framework of entrepreneurial behaviors that we develop includes the variety of behaviors that are important to the success of a collective process of entrepreneurship. We believe that recognition of a variety of different behaviors that are important to the success of the entrepreneurial process can help practicing entrepreneurs to understand more fully the complex dynamics of new industry creation. In terms of our framework, the range of behaviors of potential importance to entrepreneurship includes all of the following: creating a firm that innovates, creating a new business that imitates the practices of others, innovating within an existing business, and imitating by creating change in an existing business. In addition, we recognize that the kinds of innovative change that support entrepreneurship in the context of new industry creation are not narrowly technological; other kinds of product and service changes as well as administrative innovations may also be relevant.Second, entrepreneurship in one part of the community often creates the opportunity for entrepreneurial activity elsewhere in the community. For example, the founding of movie palaces did not begin until feature length films appeared. The challenge for entrepreneurs is to recognize these opportunities and act on them. Third, and related, the long-term success of entrepreneurial behaviors in one population of the community frequently requires that supportive entrepreneurial behaviors occur in other populations in the community. For example, the success of feature length films was hastened by the development of distribution organizations to replace traveling shows and localized markets. Their success was also hastened by the movement away from nickelodeons towards larger, more comfortable exhibition outlets, such as theaters and show palaces. When the interdependence among populations in the community is stated this way, another challenge to entrepreneurs becomes clear: the facilitation and encouragement of supportive behaviors in other populations.We are not the first to propose that the community is important, but we contribute to this idea by showing in a specific context how various types of behaviors interact and ultimately promote entrepreneurship throughout the community. Our contribution for practitioners is twofold. We would urge practitioners to consider the variety of behaviors necessary to create, reinforce, and maintain fundamental and widespread change. Further, we would suggest that practitioners consider how activities in a broad community of organizations can set the stage for entrepreneurship and have a high impact on its ultimate success or failure. Thus, we would suggest that practitioners who seek to innovate should search broadly for opportunities and understand the importance of relations with businesses elsewhere in the community. The success of their entrepreneurial efforts may depend on the occurrence of supportive entrepreneurial changes in those businesses as well. Their ability to do this will be enhanced by a broad understanding of entrepreneurial behaviors and sensitivity to the opportunities that their entrepreneurial behaviors may create for others.     

Navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurial identity threats to persist: The countervailing force of a relational identity with God

While an economic paradigm has been productive for entrepreneurship, religion has been proposed as an alternative rationality to advance research in our field. To extend a theological turn in entrepreneurship and identity research, our study inductively develops a conceptual model that explains how individuals navigate entrepreneurial identity threats based on the interaction between a relational identity with God (RIG) and an entrepreneurial identity to persist in entrepreneurial action. Our study suggests this can happen when entrepreneurs engage in inter-identity work mechanisms - affirming and humbling - to mitigate these identity threats. Specifically, a relational identity with God acts as a countervailing force to an entrepreneurial identity during times of identity threats to generate inter-identity meaning change, resulting in interidentity stability and entrepreneurial persistence. Through our study, we advance knowledge on the theological turn in entrepreneurship and identity by inductively developing theory on a new religious identity construct (RIG), elaborating theory of inter-identity work by shifting the focus from structural to content changes, and extending theory on entrepreneurial action, persistence, and well-being based on theological rather than economic considerations.     

Location choice of academic entrepreneurs: Evidence from the US biotechnology industry

Where knowledge-based firms are located is important because entrepreneurship, firm creation and innovation are typically associated with regional economic development, wealth creation and increased employment. In this paper we examine where academic entrepreneurs locate their firms. We begin by developing a theoretical model that examines the location choice of the academic entrepreneur within the standard utility maximization theory. Academic entrepreneurs are assumed to maximize their utility by allocating their efforts between academic and entrepreneurial pursuits which, in turn, determine their future streams of income and end-period wealth. Optimal allocation turns out to be a function of both personal and external factors that condition the relevant payoffs and such factors can be empirically observed. We then use several candidate explanatory variables to examine those factors that may influence the firm location choice for 187 biopharmaceutical firms started by 275 academic entrepreneurs in the US. From our empirical analysis we find that location-specific factors such as proximity to certain knowledge assets and to the funding venture capital firms, affect the firm location choice of academic entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, entrepreneur-specific characteristics, such as their age, seem to dominate the choice of firm location.     

Rags to riches? Entrepreneurs' social classes,resourceful time allocation,and venture performance

Social classes shape entrepreneurial pursuits in that entrepreneurs from lower social class groups face more resource deficiencies compared to those from higher social class groups. In this study, we theorize that being resourceful with a particular resource—time—helps ventures run by lower-class entrepreneurs achieve better performance. However, we further argue that the extent to which entrepreneurs use time resourcefully is affected by the cognitive schemas stamped on them by their social class backgrounds. Our empirical analysis of 8663 Chinese private entrepreneurs between 2006 and 2010 lends robust support to these arguments. By revealing both material and cognitive constraints stemming from entrepreneurs' social classes, our study contributes to research on social classes and entrepreneurial resourcefulness and has important implications for understanding the persistence of inequality in entrepreneurship.