Bounded rationality prevents humans from tracing all action plans that could, in principle, be imagined. In the present paper, individuals' partly socially-shaped cognitive frames explain which action plans do gain attention. This provides the basis for a new entrepreneurial theory of the firm where `business conceptions,' which underlie any entrepreneurial venture, play a key role. Coordinatio...

This paper studies the returns to venture capital and private equity investment based on a sample of 221 private equity funds that are managed by 72 private equity management firms, in 5040 entrepreneurial investee firms, and spanning 33 years (1971 – 2003) and 39 countries from North and South America to Europe and Asia. We make use of four main categories of proxy variables for value-added ac...

We argue that creating novel ventures consists of inductive analogical or metaphorical reasoning, which generates a platform for the creation and commercialization of novel ventures and facilitates the comprehension and justification of a venture. We argue that such inductive reasoning is shaped by two determinants (the applicability of prior entrepreneurial experience and the motivation to res...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Why are intentions interesting to those who care about new venture formation? Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, a way of thinking that emphasizes opportunities over threats. The opportunity identification process is clearly an intentional process, and, therefore, entrepreneurial intentions clearly merit our attention. Equally important, they offer a means to better explai...

Purpose – Entrepreneurial learning is an important area of enquiry which is not well understood in either the academic study of entrepreneurship or the practical development of new entrepreneurs. The article aims to explore two questions: first, how do people learn to work in entrepreneurial ways – are there significant processes and experiences in their learning, which can be related to existi...

Objectives and Prior Work The relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions, opportunity recognition and career persistence is well established in the entrepreneurship literature. In addition to being a predictor of entrepreneurial behaviour, an individual's level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) has repeatedly been shown to have a lasting legacy on venture growth and ...

We address the question: do technology investors differ from traditional investors? Employing a conjoint methodology, we identified 28 technology investors from a sample of 68 European early stage investors. Comparing the two groups of investors we found that: (1) technology investors were not more likely to receive public funding than traditional investors; (2) technology investors had more in...

The selection of the entry mode in an international market is of key importance for the venture. A process-based perspective on entry mode selection can add to the International Business and International Entrepreneurship literature. Framing the international market entry as an entrepreneurial process, this paper analyzes the antecedents and consequences of causation and effectuation in the ent...

This study examines employee stock options in private entrepreneurial companies. I focus on private U.S. venture-backed firms because they are renowned for the intensity and organizational depth of their stock option grants. Contrary to simple stereotype, however, I show that 27% of U.S. venture-backed firms do not grant stock options to all employees. I seek to explain this by theorizing that ...

A pressing question in entrepreneurial research is where opportunities come from. Prior research indicates that some opportunities stem from known parameters and outcomes; some are discovered through engagement with unknown but knowable factors; and others are unknowable until brought into being through a creative process. This paper explores the second and more prevailing view in entrepreneuri...