During the latter part of the 1990s the introduction of the euro, the dramatic increase in the supply of venture capital in most EU countries, and the creation of several ‘new’ equity markets targeted at innovative firms have dramatically transformed the financing prospects of European entrepreneurial firms. In this study we contribute to a deeper understanding of their actual relevance by (i) ...

To fulfill their growth aspirations, entrepreneurial ventures depend on shortterm, liquid sources of debt financing such as bank loans. However, because of the twin problems of information asymmetry and moral hazard, banks make their lending decisions by considering the venture’s creditworthiness score provided by private information exchanges. Using theoretical arguments grounded in venture fi...

Entrepreneurs in high technology industries often have prior experience at incumbent firms, but we know little about how knowledge obtained at the prior employer impacts entrepreneurial performance. Drawing on previous work from management, economics, and organizational sociology, I assess the impact of prior industry experience on entrepreneurial performance and innovation in medical device st...

To market new products and services successfully, innovative ventures not only require good ideas but also organizational legitimacy. Legitimacy or ‘social acceptance’ from stakeholders allows entrepreneurs in the mobilizing of resources and necessary supportive contacts to grow their venture. Developing legitimacy is a particularly complex process for private ventures operating in markets of s...

This article shows that investors financing a portfolio of projects may use the depth of their financial pockets to overcome entrepreneurial incentive problems. Competition for scarce informed capital at the refinancing stage strengthens investors’ bargaining positions. And yet, entrepreneurs’ incentives may be improved, because projects funded by investors with ‘‘shallow pockets’’ must have no...

decision-making by entrepreneurs is a process that cannot be explained by existing models. literature analysis reveals a gap due to the teleological approach of existing models. this research aims to conceptualize central elements of new venture creation decision-making process in a selected sample of nascent entrepreneurs in iranian high-tech industries based on a non-teleological approach and...

This study examined the dispositional optimism and entrepreneurial intent of undergraduate American and Canadian entrepreneurship students. It was found that American entrepreneurship students had lower levels of dispositional optimism (one’s positive expectation for the future), a defining characteristic of successful entrepreneurs, when compared to Canadian entrepreneurship students. Moreover...

While both business press and scholarly research largely portray entrepreneurship within well-established companies as inherently good, empirical evidence for positive performance implications based on rigorous research is scarce. This paper empirically assesses whether and for whom entrepreneurial activity creates value in a large traditional firm. In contrast to previous research I adopt a le...