The Rising New Generation of High-tech Entrepreneurs: an Exploratory Study

Who are the high-technology entrepreneurs: superheroes or jack-of-all-trades? Is there a new generation of young entrepreneurs who “think different” and use new and unexpected perspectives to imagine their business, products and mission? This paper presents some empirical evidences emerging from a multiple case study composed by 20 Italian technology intensive firms. After a review of the high-technology entrepreneur topic, some typologies of the Italian high-tech entrepreneurs are analyzed and finally an elementary classification is proposed in order to clarify the difference between “old” and “new way” entrepreneurship. New trends, behaviours, strategies and business models are explored in order to contribute to the academic debate and the practical knowledge about high-technology entrepreneurship. The last section of the paper suggests a future research agenda. keywords: high-tech entrepreneur, technology intensive entrepreneurship, case study, jack-of-alltrades, classification