Abstract
Our study examines how experimenting with multiple businesses simultaneously can drive startup performance. We hypothesize that entrepreneurs who experiment with multiple businesses simultaneously face two interrelated tradeoffs: firstly, experimentation allows these so-called portfolio entrepreneurs to generate more innovative startups, but at the same time, they are more resource-constrained than their peers. Secondly, the startups of portfolio entrepreneurs underperform in the short run but, given the benefits of experimentation and selection, outperform their peers in the long run. To test our hypotheses, we use linked employer-employee data for Finnish entrepreneurs between 1995 and 2015. Our findings support our hypotheses and, as such, provide new insight into the drivers of entrepreneurial performance.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings |
| Publication date | 01.08.2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 01.08.2019 |
| MoE publication type | A4 Article in conference proceedings |
| Event | Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2019: Understanding the Inclusive Organization - Boston, United States Duration: 09.08.2019 → 13.08.2019 Conference number: 79 |
Keywords
- 512 Business and Management
Areas of Strength and Areas of High Potential (AoS and AoHP)
- AoHP: Strategic and entrepreneurial praxis
- AoS: Leading for growth and well-being