Start-up Actions and Outcomes: What Entrepreneurs Do to Reach Profitability (original) (raw)

Preparing for business start-up: “pre-start” activities in the new venture creation dynamic

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 2007

Purpose-The purpose of this research is to examine the activities and behaviours of potential entrepreneurs as they move towards engagement in business start-up. Design/methodology/approach-Based on in-depth engagement with seven founders of new businesses, and informed by a review of the relevant literature. Findings-A series of transitions towards business start-up are identified, which in turn produced a five-step framework for examining and understanding the "pre-start" phase of preparation for entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications-The case-based approach provided detailed and contextualised insight into how a small group of founders prepared for business start-up. There may be a need to test the framework with a larger group of business founders to assess its wider relevance and applicability. Practical implications-The pre-start framework identifies how individuals progress towards start-up, and so could be used as the basis for a programme to encourage individuals to move through each step towards engagement in business start-up. The movement from step to step can also be used to assess overall levels of preparation for entrepreneurship within the wider population, and so has the potential to be a useful indicator of overall levels of entrepreneurial orientation. Originality/value-The paper presents a process-focused model of the pre-start dynamic.

Survival, planning performance and growth of business start-ups: management training matters

2001

The outcome of this research gives the reader insight in the growth pattern of two groups of surviving small and medium enterprise start-tips: at the one hand 'Vlerick'-starters who have enjoyed management training at the Department of SMEs at The Vlerick School of Management, and at the other hand a group of 'Others' who have not. Secondly, some of the research findings reveal clear evidence for the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics and managerial techniques, planning skills and the business growth pattern of the enterprises of both groups. Even so, certain combinations pointing towards the likely catalyzing effect of management training on growth-related entrepreneurial and managerial attitudes and towards the influence of those attitudinal differences on planning skills and the enterprise growth pattern are identified.

The Influence of Pre-Venture Planning on New Venture Creation

Journal of Small Business Strategy, 2007

We use a sample of nascent entrepreneurs from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED) to explore whether engaging in business planning and the degree of planning formalization, combined with other activities, was more likely to result in the creation of new businesses. A review of longitudinal studies of nascent entrepreneur planning behaviors is provided and hypotheses are suggested about the relationship of pre-venture planning and planning formalization to success when starting new ventures. Findings from our study suggest that nascent entrepreneurs who completed a business plan were six times more likely to start a business than individuals who did not complete a business plan. In addition, nascent entrepreneurs who contacted and participated in government-sponsored entrepreneurship programs were five times more likely to start a business than entrepreneurs who did not seekgovernment assistance.

Pre Start-Up Problems and Abandonment of Nascent Ventures

2000

Much research in the field of small business has been directed to explanations of firm performance. However, the first success that must be attained with a firm is actually getting it started. What are the problems that people encounter when setting up a business? How do encountered problems correlate with characteristics of the people, the firms-in-gestation, the start-up environment, and

Where do they come from? Prevalence and characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship & regional …, 2000

This paper reports on a unique study of a large, random sample of business start-ups that were identi ed prior to the actual, commercial launch of the ventures. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, to present frequencies on the involvement of the Swedish population in the ...

Strategic and operational planning attitudinal changes and the survival and growth of business start-ups revisited: Management training matters

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 1998

The Centre of Small and Medium Businesses (SMEs) of De Vlerick School voor Management (University of Gent -Belgium) has an 11 years long experience in organising management training programmes for starting SME-businessmen or business-owners [1]. Celebrating this decade of educational and counselling activities the need was felt to conduct a follow-up study in order to gain specific information on the survival and growth rate of all alumni-participants, hereafter called "Vlerick"-starters. More important though, a profound comparative study needs to be done on the profile of these starters and a comparable group of "non-Vlerick"-starters (hereafter called "Others") being aware that the generally assumed impact of management programmes on entrepreneurial, managerial and self-employing attitudes of the first group would clearly disclose inter-group post-start-up profile differences.

The process and problems of business Start-Ups

Revista Cientifica Pensamiento Y Gestion No 22 Ene Jun 2007, 2013

Resumen Este artículo describe el proceso de creación de una nueva empresa así como los problemas que más a menudo se presentan al intentar lograrlo. Para hacerlo, éste ha sido dividido en tres partes. La primera es introductoria y con una mirada a través de los trabajos preliminares de investigación se presentan algunas consideraciones teóricas y ciertas palabras claves. La segunda parte está relacionada con el proceso de arranque, puntualizando las actividades involucradas en la creación de una nueva firma. Finalmente, a través de los problemas de puesta en marcha y con estudios empíricos se muestran los más significativos problemas que tiene que enfrentar las nuevas firmas, así como algunos estudios empíricos que ilustran cómo la investigación en este campo puede ser llevada a cabo.

Learning in the business start-up process

2002

The start-up process is an important source for learning opportunities. The present study investigates different types of entrepreneurial learning in the start-up process. Combining contributions from psychology, sociology, organization and entrepreneurship literature, an appropriate conceptual framework emerges in which different types of entrepreneurial learning are distinguished. Based on this framework, and using panel data on start-up entrepreneurs, we rediscover this typology of entrepreneurial learning empirically for the Netherlands. In addition, the identified types are further analyzed to explore additional characteristics.

Role of Start-up Activities during Firm Formation and Development: Review Paper.pdf

Entrepreneurship research has flourished the venture formation studies from many theoretical perspectives, but very little is known about the activities which were executed by the entrepreneurs to start a venture. In this paper, review of previous studies has been done to explore the start-up activities performed by the entrepreneurs during formation of new venture. It recognizes the importance of activities and how these activities are executed by the entrepreneurs during the venture formation which is an important research agenda for future new venture studies. Furthermore, a conceptual model is presented with proposed flow of activities during venture formation and its development followed with the conclusion and future scope.

Entrepreneurship & New Venture Management 5e

This paper focuses on the phase before a firm is founded. Based upon cross-sectional data from the German section of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the specific aim of this paper is to shed some light on the selection that takes place during the entrepreneurial process and to explain empirically demographic and cognitive characteristics of (potential) entrepreneurs. The results reveal significant differences between and common determinants of the different phases of the entrepreneurial process.