The topic of entrepreneurship is often analysed, either as a social or economics phenomenon. However, these two dimensions cannot be easily separated. In fact, when several authors have started investigating the drivers of entrepreneurial success, human capital emerged as a predominant topic. Extensive research has been made to understand how entrepreneurs’ education, work experiences, wealth and social network could affect the performance and the survival of their companies. However, less attention has been given to the value of entrepreneurial experience itself as a means to guarantee continuous performance improvement over the career of the entrepreneur. Moreover, we know that the phenomenon of habitual entrepreneurship actually makes up for about a fifth of all entrepreneurial activities, thus becoming of absolute relevance. This study investigates how serial and portfolio entrepreneurs differ from novice ones using information about entrepreneurs owing Italian innovative start-ups operating in the R&D sector. We observed how having a habitual entrepreneur as a member of the founding team guarantees easier access to venture capital funding as well as higher internal investment capabilities. Moreover, we found differences in both their educational background and work experiences: whereas habitual entrepreneurs have more often pursued a business-related education and have had longer work experience in managerial roles, novice ones have developed greater experience in the industry in which their company is operating and have higher probability of having worked in an academic environment. Finally, through the method of regression analysis, we have been able to determine that, whereas entrepreneurial experience accelerates the growth of a start-up, it does not have a significant impact on its profitability. Moreover, we have also found that there is no direct link between the entrepreneurs’ past and present performances.
Habitual entrepreneurship and its effect on the performance of Italian innovative start-ups in the R&D sector
MELCHIONDA, SIMONE MICHELE
2015/2016
Abstract
The topic of entrepreneurship is often analysed, either as a social or economics phenomenon. However, these two dimensions cannot be easily separated. In fact, when several authors have started investigating the drivers of entrepreneurial success, human capital emerged as a predominant topic. Extensive research has been made to understand how entrepreneurs’ education, work experiences, wealth and social network could affect the performance and the survival of their companies. However, less attention has been given to the value of entrepreneurial experience itself as a means to guarantee continuous performance improvement over the career of the entrepreneur. Moreover, we know that the phenomenon of habitual entrepreneurship actually makes up for about a fifth of all entrepreneurial activities, thus becoming of absolute relevance. This study investigates how serial and portfolio entrepreneurs differ from novice ones using information about entrepreneurs owing Italian innovative start-ups operating in the R&D sector. We observed how having a habitual entrepreneur as a member of the founding team guarantees easier access to venture capital funding as well as higher internal investment capabilities. Moreover, we found differences in both their educational background and work experiences: whereas habitual entrepreneurs have more often pursued a business-related education and have had longer work experience in managerial roles, novice ones have developed greater experience in the industry in which their company is operating and have higher probability of having worked in an academic environment. Finally, through the method of regression analysis, we have been able to determine that, whereas entrepreneurial experience accelerates the growth of a start-up, it does not have a significant impact on its profitability. Moreover, we have also found that there is no direct link between the entrepreneurs’ past and present performances.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/126481