The Effects of Early Stage Venture Capitalist Actions on Eventual Venture Disposition

This study examines the relationship between venture capitalist actions and the eventual disposition of a venture through an IPO, which is the most profitable exit strategy. The actions included in this study were ( 1) altering the amount of their investment; ( 2) securing a concentrated equity position; ( 3) diversifying their syndicate investments; and ( 4) introducing their investees to other sources of financing. After five years, this study found a positive relationship between IPO exit and ( 1) the amount of their investment; and ( 2) the diversification of their VC syndicate. However, it found only mixed results for ( 1) venture capitalist concentrated equity position; and ( 2) introductions to other sources of funding. Finally, implications for future research are discussed

Entrepreneurial Risk and Strategic Decision Making: It’s a Matter of Perspective

Risk taking has long been a central theme of the entrepreneurship literature. However, research on the risk propensity of entrepreneurs has met with virtually no empirical support even though entrepreneurs consistently engage in risky events. This article attempts to resolve this paradox by examining entrepreneurial risk through the lens of cognitive psychology and decision making. The author proposes that entrepreneurial risk may be explained by recognizing that entrepreneurs use biases and heuristics more, which is likely to lead them to perceive less risk in a given decision situation. The data indicate that entrepreneurs do indeed use representativeness more in their decision making and are more overconfident than managers in large organizations. These findings provide a new perspective for understanding how entrepreneurs deal with the inordinate amount of risk associated with starting new ventures.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The Effects of Cost and Asset Retrenchment on Firm Performance: The Overlooked Role of a Firm’s Competitive Environment

When firms face declining financial performance, research suggests that cost and asset retrenchment can lead to improved performance among poorly performing firms. However, previous studies have largely focused on firms operating in mature industries. This research develops and tests arguments that cost and/or asset retrenchment strategies will have different effects on firm performance in competitive environments characterized as growing and declining. In growth industries, asset retrenchment was positively related to performance improvement while cost retrenchment was unrelated. In declining industries, cost retrenchment was positively related to improved performance while asset retrenchment had a negative effect on firm performance. Implications of these findings for turnaround strategies are discussed.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

To start or not to start: Outcome and ability expectations in the decision to start a new venture

This study seeks to better understand why some individuals decide to start new businesses and others do not, particularly in light of high base rates of failure. In addressing the question of "Why do some individuals choose to start new ventures?" a common perspective is that potential entrepreneurs with high levels of confidence in potential outcomes are likely to start new ventures. Alternatively, it also may be that firm creation decisions are based largely on individual expectations of one's ability. Hypotheses examining these perspectives are tested using a sample of 316 nascent entrepreneurs with the start-up decision tracked longitudinally. The results indicate that confidence in one's ability to perform tasks relevant to entrepreneurship is a robust predictor of start-up while outcome expectancies appear to play a marginal role. Theoretical and practical implications stemming from these results are discussed.Entrepreneur decision-making Ability expectations Outcome expectations New venture creation

The role of charismatic rhetoric in crowdfunding: An examination with computer-Aided text analysis

Purpose - Social entrepreneurs often make public appeals for funding to investors who are motivated by nonfinancial considerations. This emerging research context is an opportunity for researchers to expand the bounds of entrepreneurship theory. To do so, we require appropriate research tools. In this chapter, we show how computer-Aided text analysis (CATA) can be applied to advance social entrepreneurship research. We demonstrate how CATA is well suited to analyze the public appeals for resources made by entrepreneurs, provide insight into the rationale of social lenders, and overcome challenges associated with traditional survey methods. © 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited