Melissa Cardon | Pace University (original) (raw)
Papers by Melissa Cardon
Journal of Business Venturing, 2010
We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and... more We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and firm sale for both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. This represents four distinct exit routes. In developing the model, we complement the prevailing theoretical framework of exit as a utility-maximizing problem among entrepreneurs with prospect theory and its recent applications in liquidation of investment decisions. We empirically test the model using two Swedish databases which follow 1,735 new ventures and their founders over eight years. We find that entrepreneurs exit from both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. In addition, commonly examined human capital factors (entrepreneurial experience, age, education) and failure-avoidance strategies (outside job, reinvestment) differ substantially across the four exit routes, explaining some of the discrepancies in earlier studies.
In this research we examine how the selection and assembly of initial strategic resources (financ... more In this research we examine how the selection and assembly of initial strategic resources (financial, human, and technological) impact the entrepreneurial exit strategy. Our results suggest that an IPO exit strategy is positively related to all three types of strategic resources, while a strategic sale exit strategy is positively related to financial resources or total initial investment, and a sale to an individual exit strategy is positively associated with percentage of ownership, a financial resource. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Small Business Economics, 2012
Entrepreneurial exit-the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm the... more Entrepreneurial exit-the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm they helped to create (DeTienne, J Bus Venturing, 2010)-is an important component of the entrepreneurial process, yet researchers know very little about it. We examine entrepreneurs' intentions to exit by a range of possible exit paths [acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), family succession, employee buyout, independent sale, liquidation], building on Gimeno et al.'s (Adm Sci Q 42:750-783, 1997) notion of thresholds as they apply to a simple survival/exit dichotomy, and expanding this to include different intended paths of exit. Our results indicate that entrepreneurs intend to pursue different exit paths based on previous entrepreneurial experience, industry experience, age, and education level. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that differences between intended exit and failure are underspecified in the literature, since exit consists of many unique paths. Also, in support of threshold theory, we find that the intended exit path is driven by factors other than firm performance.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2012
Entrepreneurial emotion refers to the affect, emotions, moods, and/or feelings-of individuals or ... more Entrepreneurial emotion refers to the affect, emotions, moods, and/or feelings-of individuals or a collective-that are antecedent to, concurrent with, and/or a consequence of, the entrepreneurial process, meaning the recognition/creation, evaluation, reformulation, and/or the exploitation of a possible opportunity. In this paper, we explore this working definition of entrepreneurial emotion, what it means, and some important advances the field has made in this area of research. We also highlight fundamental avenues for future research that are sorely in need of study. Finally, we introduce the seven papers in this special issue on the Heart of Entrepreneurship and how they move the conversation on entrepreneurial emotion forward.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explor... more Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explored firm exit, little research has explored entrepreneurial exit-the decision by the majority-owner founders of privately-held firms to harvest their profits and remove themselves from the primary ownership and decision-making structure of the firm. Yet, all entrepreneurs in one way or another will leave the firm they created. Using theories of goal-setting and human capital we explore two specific questions: (1) why do some entrepreneurs consider an exit strategy while others do not, and under what conditions are entrepreneurs most likely to utilize a specific strategy.
Journal of Business Venturing, 2010
We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and... more We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and firm sale for both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. This represents four distinct exit routes. In developing the model, we complement the prevailing theoretical framework of exit as a utility-maximizing problem among entrepreneurs with prospect theory and its recent applications in liquidation of investment decisions. We empirically test the model using two Swedish databases which follow 1,735 new ventures and their founders over eight years. We find that entrepreneurs exit from both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. In addition, commonly examined human capital factors (entrepreneurial experience, age, education) and failure-avoidance strategies (outside job, reinvestment) differ substantially across the four exit routes, explaining some of the discrepancies in earlier studies.
Journal of Business Venturing, 2005
While most organizational theories avoid emotion, many entrepreneurs act with emotion. Entreprene... more While most organizational theories avoid emotion, many entrepreneurs act with emotion. Entrepreneurs often describe their businesses as their ''babies,'' expressing personal connection and even identification with their businesses. We therefore suggest that through exploring associated relational metaphors, we can gain additional insight into entrepreneurship. Specifically, we propose that parenting, with its nurturance, passion, or even neglect or abuse, offers a particularly fruitful metaphor for examining entrepreneurship that may better resonate with entrepreneurs themselves than does current theory. We examine various aspects of the progression of children and ventures, including nascent forms of entrepreneurship (gestation of babies), emergence, and postemergence activities, and highlight the ideas of passion, identification, attachment, and entrepreneurial context. D
Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 2009
Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explor... more Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explored firm exit, little research has explored entrepreneurial exit-the decision by the majority-owner founders of privately-held firms to harvest their profits and remove themselves from the primary ownership and decision-making structure of the firm. Yet, all entrepreneurs in one way or another will leave the firm they created. Using theories of goal-setting and human capital we explore two specific questions: (1) why do some entrepreneurs consider an exit strategy while others do not, and under what conditions are entrepreneurs most likely to utilize a specific strategy.
Small Business Economics, 2012
Entrepreneurial exit—the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm the... more Entrepreneurial exit—the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm they helped to create (DeTienne, J Bus Venturing, 2010)—is an important component of the entrepreneurial process, yet researchers know very little about it. We examine entrepreneurs’ intentions to exit by a range of possible exit paths [acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), family succession, employee buyout, independent sale, liquidation], building on Gimeno et al.’s (Adm Sci Q 42:750–783, 1997) notion of thresholds as they apply to a simple survival/exit dichotomy, and expanding this to include different intended paths of exit. Our results indicate that entrepreneurs intend to pursue different exit paths based on previous entrepreneurial experience, industry experience, age, and education level. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that differences between intended exit and failure are underspecified in the literature, since exit consists of many unique paths. Also, in support of threshold theory, we find that the intended exit path is driven by factors other than firm performance.
Human Resource Management Review, 2004
While much of our knowledge concerning traditional HR topics (e.g., recruiting, compensation, or ... more While much of our knowledge concerning traditional HR topics (e.g., recruiting, compensation, or performance management) in large firms may also apply in small or emerging organizations, evidence suggests that new ventures are different and that management of people within them may not clearly map to management within larger, more established organizations. This paper reviews extant research on managing people within small and emerging ventures and highlights additional questions that have not yet been addressed. Our review suggests that as scholars, our understanding of the HR issues important to small and emerging firms is limited. While we have begun to understand how these firms should hire, reward, and perhaps even motivate their employees, we lack much of the theory and data necessary to understand how small and emerging firms train their employees, manage their performance, promote or handle organizational change, or respond to potential labor relations and union organization issues. The existing literature presents an often-confounded relationship between size and age, between the issues important to small firms and the issues important to young ones. Given the potential early HR decisions have to impact the organization's downstream success, it is important that we understand how these functional areas of HR (as well as their integration and evolution) affect small and emerging firms, and how the HR decisions made during the formative stages of firm development impact the firm's long-term goals.
This study examines cultural views of venture failure through the lens of sensemaking, which incl... more This study examines cultural views of venture failure through the lens of sensemaking, which includes attributions of causality. Specifically, we explore failure accounts that are attributed to mistakes made by entrepreneurs, and those attributed to misfortunes outside the control of the entrepreneur. Reports of entrepreneurial failures from 1999 to 2001 were collected from seven major US newspapers, and 389 accounts of failure were analyzed for statements identifying the failure's cause. The data suggest that cultural sensemaking of failure varies by the geographical area where failure occurs. In addition, 331 accounts of the consequences of failure were analyzed which suggest that failure has a large impact on the stigmatization of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship within the local area, as well as on the individual entrepreneur's view of themselves following failure.
The scholarly entrepreneurship community is coming to recognize what practicing entrepreneurs hav... more The scholarly entrepreneurship community is coming to recognize what practicing entrepreneurs have known for some timethat passion is a central element of the entrepreneurial process. Recent developments have more carefully defined the construct of entrepreneurial passion and modeled its impact on entrepreneurial behaviors. This paper takes the next step by building a model of how that passion may be transferred from entrepreneur to employees. The question of interest is how entrepreneurs can facilitate the contagion of their own passion to others.
Journal of Business Venturing, 2010
We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and... more We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and firm sale for both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. This represents four distinct exit routes. In developing the model, we complement the prevailing theoretical framework of exit as a utility-maximizing problem among entrepreneurs with prospect theory and its recent applications in liquidation of investment decisions. We empirically test the model using two Swedish databases which follow 1,735 new ventures and their founders over eight years. We find that entrepreneurs exit from both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. In addition, commonly examined human capital factors (entrepreneurial experience, age, education) and failure-avoidance strategies (outside job, reinvestment) differ substantially across the four exit routes, explaining some of the discrepancies in earlier studies.
In this research we examine how the selection and assembly of initial strategic resources (financ... more In this research we examine how the selection and assembly of initial strategic resources (financial, human, and technological) impact the entrepreneurial exit strategy. Our results suggest that an IPO exit strategy is positively related to all three types of strategic resources, while a strategic sale exit strategy is positively related to financial resources or total initial investment, and a sale to an individual exit strategy is positively associated with percentage of ownership, a financial resource. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Small Business Economics, 2012
Entrepreneurial exit-the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm the... more Entrepreneurial exit-the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm they helped to create (DeTienne, J Bus Venturing, 2010)-is an important component of the entrepreneurial process, yet researchers know very little about it. We examine entrepreneurs' intentions to exit by a range of possible exit paths [acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), family succession, employee buyout, independent sale, liquidation], building on Gimeno et al.'s (Adm Sci Q 42:750-783, 1997) notion of thresholds as they apply to a simple survival/exit dichotomy, and expanding this to include different intended paths of exit. Our results indicate that entrepreneurs intend to pursue different exit paths based on previous entrepreneurial experience, industry experience, age, and education level. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that differences between intended exit and failure are underspecified in the literature, since exit consists of many unique paths. Also, in support of threshold theory, we find that the intended exit path is driven by factors other than firm performance.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2012
Entrepreneurial emotion refers to the affect, emotions, moods, and/or feelings-of individuals or ... more Entrepreneurial emotion refers to the affect, emotions, moods, and/or feelings-of individuals or a collective-that are antecedent to, concurrent with, and/or a consequence of, the entrepreneurial process, meaning the recognition/creation, evaluation, reformulation, and/or the exploitation of a possible opportunity. In this paper, we explore this working definition of entrepreneurial emotion, what it means, and some important advances the field has made in this area of research. We also highlight fundamental avenues for future research that are sorely in need of study. Finally, we introduce the seven papers in this special issue on the Heart of Entrepreneurship and how they move the conversation on entrepreneurial emotion forward.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explor... more Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explored firm exit, little research has explored entrepreneurial exit-the decision by the majority-owner founders of privately-held firms to harvest their profits and remove themselves from the primary ownership and decision-making structure of the firm. Yet, all entrepreneurs in one way or another will leave the firm they created. Using theories of goal-setting and human capital we explore two specific questions: (1) why do some entrepreneurs consider an exit strategy while others do not, and under what conditions are entrepreneurs most likely to utilize a specific strategy.
Journal of Business Venturing, 2010
We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and... more We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and firm sale for both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. This represents four distinct exit routes. In developing the model, we complement the prevailing theoretical framework of exit as a utility-maximizing problem among entrepreneurs with prospect theory and its recent applications in liquidation of investment decisions. We empirically test the model using two Swedish databases which follow 1,735 new ventures and their founders over eight years. We find that entrepreneurs exit from both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. In addition, commonly examined human capital factors (entrepreneurial experience, age, education) and failure-avoidance strategies (outside job, reinvestment) differ substantially across the four exit routes, explaining some of the discrepancies in earlier studies.
Journal of Business Venturing, 2005
While most organizational theories avoid emotion, many entrepreneurs act with emotion. Entreprene... more While most organizational theories avoid emotion, many entrepreneurs act with emotion. Entrepreneurs often describe their businesses as their ''babies,'' expressing personal connection and even identification with their businesses. We therefore suggest that through exploring associated relational metaphors, we can gain additional insight into entrepreneurship. Specifically, we propose that parenting, with its nurturance, passion, or even neglect or abuse, offers a particularly fruitful metaphor for examining entrepreneurship that may better resonate with entrepreneurs themselves than does current theory. We examine various aspects of the progression of children and ventures, including nascent forms of entrepreneurship (gestation of babies), emergence, and postemergence activities, and highlight the ideas of passion, identification, attachment, and entrepreneurial context. D
Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 2009
Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explor... more Although researchers in such diverse fields as economics and organizational sociology have explored firm exit, little research has explored entrepreneurial exit-the decision by the majority-owner founders of privately-held firms to harvest their profits and remove themselves from the primary ownership and decision-making structure of the firm. Yet, all entrepreneurs in one way or another will leave the firm they created. Using theories of goal-setting and human capital we explore two specific questions: (1) why do some entrepreneurs consider an exit strategy while others do not, and under what conditions are entrepreneurs most likely to utilize a specific strategy.
Small Business Economics, 2012
Entrepreneurial exit—the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm the... more Entrepreneurial exit—the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm they helped to create (DeTienne, J Bus Venturing, 2010)—is an important component of the entrepreneurial process, yet researchers know very little about it. We examine entrepreneurs’ intentions to exit by a range of possible exit paths [acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), family succession, employee buyout, independent sale, liquidation], building on Gimeno et al.’s (Adm Sci Q 42:750–783, 1997) notion of thresholds as they apply to a simple survival/exit dichotomy, and expanding this to include different intended paths of exit. Our results indicate that entrepreneurs intend to pursue different exit paths based on previous entrepreneurial experience, industry experience, age, and education level. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that differences between intended exit and failure are underspecified in the literature, since exit consists of many unique paths. Also, in support of threshold theory, we find that the intended exit path is driven by factors other than firm performance.
Human Resource Management Review, 2004
While much of our knowledge concerning traditional HR topics (e.g., recruiting, compensation, or ... more While much of our knowledge concerning traditional HR topics (e.g., recruiting, compensation, or performance management) in large firms may also apply in small or emerging organizations, evidence suggests that new ventures are different and that management of people within them may not clearly map to management within larger, more established organizations. This paper reviews extant research on managing people within small and emerging ventures and highlights additional questions that have not yet been addressed. Our review suggests that as scholars, our understanding of the HR issues important to small and emerging firms is limited. While we have begun to understand how these firms should hire, reward, and perhaps even motivate their employees, we lack much of the theory and data necessary to understand how small and emerging firms train their employees, manage their performance, promote or handle organizational change, or respond to potential labor relations and union organization issues. The existing literature presents an often-confounded relationship between size and age, between the issues important to small firms and the issues important to young ones. Given the potential early HR decisions have to impact the organization's downstream success, it is important that we understand how these functional areas of HR (as well as their integration and evolution) affect small and emerging firms, and how the HR decisions made during the formative stages of firm development impact the firm's long-term goals.
This study examines cultural views of venture failure through the lens of sensemaking, which incl... more This study examines cultural views of venture failure through the lens of sensemaking, which includes attributions of causality. Specifically, we explore failure accounts that are attributed to mistakes made by entrepreneurs, and those attributed to misfortunes outside the control of the entrepreneur. Reports of entrepreneurial failures from 1999 to 2001 were collected from seven major US newspapers, and 389 accounts of failure were analyzed for statements identifying the failure's cause. The data suggest that cultural sensemaking of failure varies by the geographical area where failure occurs. In addition, 331 accounts of the consequences of failure were analyzed which suggest that failure has a large impact on the stigmatization of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship within the local area, as well as on the individual entrepreneur's view of themselves following failure.
The scholarly entrepreneurship community is coming to recognize what practicing entrepreneurs hav... more The scholarly entrepreneurship community is coming to recognize what practicing entrepreneurs have known for some timethat passion is a central element of the entrepreneurial process. Recent developments have more carefully defined the construct of entrepreneurial passion and modeled its impact on entrepreneurial behaviors. This paper takes the next step by building a model of how that passion may be transferred from entrepreneur to employees. The question of interest is how entrepreneurs can facilitate the contagion of their own passion to others.