Purpose: This research aims to study the roles played by entrepreneurial human, social, cognitive capital and related process dynamics in venture emergence, exploring their main and combined effects on the model of the determinants of success in Nascent Entrepreneurship. This provides strong evidence for the connection from resources to process dynamics and ultimately to venture outcomes. Methodology Approach: An empirical model is developed to test a research's framework that focuses on formulating and testing coherent conceptual propositions utilising a longitudinal sample of secondary data from a mix gender sample of 816 nascent entrepreneurs in the United States who were tracked over four consecutive years. Findings: The empirical analysis showed significant support for the proposed conceptual model. The findings support the partial influence of the main attributes of nascent entrepreneurial capital (social, human and cognitive capitals) on the outcomes of new venture creation process, where the drivers of positive outcomes appear to coincide with variables that relate to cognitive capital. More importantly, the empirical analysis finds significant interaction effects between elements of nascent entrepreneurial capital and their interplay with the process dynamics confirming the conceptual proposition of an integrative framework encompassing significant associations that constitute the phenomenon of new venture creation. The integrative perspective has implications for Nascent Entrepreneurship theory and practice. First, the main effects of resource endowments should not be taken into account in isolation as predictors of new venture creation outcomes. Second, the role of process dynamics and cognitive capital is best theorised as a moderating variable between the startup capital's attributes and the venture creation outcomes. Therefore, the findings demonstrate a dominant role of the integrative modelling in driving the transition to the start-up phase. Limitations: There is no consensus on the measures of success for entrepreneurship research at the nascent phase of business venturing. There is substantial variation in the literature in terms of outcomes, definitions, conceptual works and design issues, and therefore further consideration to control for variations is deemed necessary to ensure valid, cumulative and definitive answers that must be built upon a solid and unified basis. ` Originality: Thesis is original in integrating cognitive abilities and process dynamics with social and human capital in a model of the determinants of success in Nascent Entrepreneurship. While we may consider alternative ways to look at interaction/moderation effects across the three different types of " start-up capital", integrating the three elements in a structured and dynamic model of Nascent Entrepreneurship is an original contribution.

<p>Previous entrepreneurship research has shown that networks are of great importance when discovering and exploiting business opportunities, i.e. in the start up process of new venture (e.g. Davidsson and Honig 2003; Evald, Klyver, and Svendsen 2006; Klyver, Hindle, and Meyer forthcoming). The value of a network is referred to as social capital, which refers to the amount of resources, both tangible and intangible, that an entrepreneur or entrepreneuse might have access to through the members of their network (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). Social capital is the product of social interactions (Anderson et al. 2007), implying that a person’s social abilities, i.e. social competence, can influence the creation of social capital (Baron and Markman 2000, 2003). Social capital the factor that helps the entrepreneur “get through the door”, while the entrepreneur’s social abilities determine the outcome of that interaction (Baron and Markman 2000:107). The focus of this study is, thus, to explore whether entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses utilize different types of the social capital in the process of starting a new venture and whether they perceive social competence to have an influential role in this process.</p><p>The theoretical framework consist of three main theoretical areas; social capital, social competence, and psychological gender. The first part is based on Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) model of social capital and describes theories explaining factors influence social capital embedded within a person’s network relationships. The second part covers social competence and the abilities that constitute this concept. Further, five dimensions are identified as comprising social competence, i.e. social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, apparent sincerity, and social manipulation (Baron and Markman 2000, 2003; Hoehn-Weiss et al. 2004; Ferris et al. 2005, 2007; Riggio 1986). The last part discusses whether there might exist differences between entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses regarding their behaviours and their psychological gender (Bem 1974, 1975, 1977; Spence et al. 1975).</p><p>The research design show similarities with both an inductive and a deductive approach, with a focus on the induction since little research within the entrepreneurship field has combined the different topics comprising the scope of this study. Further, this implies qualitative research methods and the empirical data was collect through conducting 14 semi structured interviews with entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses as well as through a questionnaire aiming at determine the respondents’ psychological gender.</p><p>The results of the present study indicate that entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses utilize different the types of social capital in the stages of the start up phase. Further, the study show that social competence plays and important role in the start up process and that there is a circular relation between social capital and social competence. Moreover, the results of the study indicate that male and female entrepreneurs behave differently in the start up phase and that their perceptions about and usage of their social competence might differ.</p>

Entrepreneurship is the foundation of the economic for each country. It has an inevitable impact onmicro- and macro-economic factors such as GDP, economic growth, employment/unemploymentrate, regional development, etc. Thus, entrepreneurial practices are crucial for each country in orderto have better economic conditions.Growth is the dominant part of entrepreneurial practices from which the success of small firms canbe assessed and evaluated. Firm’s growth involves different aspects such as motives, finance andownership strategies, indicators, and growth stimulus. These factors together provide a pattern ofgrowth that is different from one company to another.Since the advent of the Internet there has been changes in the business world and the terms such asdotcom, digital entrepreneurship, e-services, e-banking, etc. made a dramatic change in the way ofdoing business. Some companies were established based on the Internet and their income andexistence relied on the Internet. Some others on the other hand, use traditional method of businessbesides using the Internet as an extra tool.This study examines the small business growth pattern in order to find out how small firms grow.Furthermore, the difference between the growth pattern of digital firms and traditional companies isexamined to find out how the pattern of growth differs from dotcoms to the brick-and-mortars.This study is based on a qualitative research method with the approach of a case study research. Thecase study is designed on one major case to go deep while having four other supporting companiesin order to get the best results with the least subjectivity. The questionnaire was designed on a semistructureand the results were coded for the pattern. The questions were designed based on theconceptual framework which was changes based on the results and optimized.The results from this study provide a framework that gives a pattern of growth for small firms. Thesuggested framework of growth pattern has some major components: growth motive, growthstrategy, growth indicator, and growth stimulus. Furthermore, the research findings define the majordifferences between the growth pattern of dotcoms and brick-and-mortars.

New Ventures projects emerge in response to the growing need of countries to develop and grow economically in an environment characterized by rapid changes. The importance of these projects is such that during the last decades they have played a role not only as drivers of the economy but also as sources of new jobs and innovation (Chen, 2009). Due to this importance, there have been multiple studies related to the efficient management of such projects. However, it is not sufficient for these projects to be managed properly, but the presence of limited resources makes necessary to select, prioritize and control these projects strategically within a portfolio.   This strategic management can be carried out by using the theory developed in Project Portfolio Management (PPM). The importance of PPM is the ability to integrate the world of projects with the operation of organizations, helping to minimize failures such as making unnecessary effort to undertake these projects in an appropriate manner when in fact these are not the right projects.  However, there is a lack of knowledge in the application of PPM theory for New Ventures projects, because their characteristics differ from those of any other type of projects in terms of high level of risk and, in many cases, high technical uncertainty (Mac Millan &amp; Gunther, 2000).  This knowledge gap can be minimized using two different approaches. The first one consists in employing the theory developed by PPM in R&amp;D projects, applying it for New Venture projects, as suggested by Mac Millan &amp; Gunther (2000). The second approach corresponds to using the theory developed around the management of projects within Business Incubators (BIs) and Venture Capital firms (VC) in every stage of the PPM process.   This study describes how BIs and VCs in Sweden manage their New Venture projects portfolios in issues such as selection, prioritization and monitoring and control. To achieve an adequate depiction of this process, the study seeks primarily to identify the role of BIs and VCs in the PPM and the proper relationship that should exist between both organizations to ensure an ideal flow of projects at each stage of their development. In addition, it also seeks to find whether tools outlined in the literature are often used in practice.   Among the main findings of the study, the major contribution of the BIs is mainly in the feasibility analysis of projects and the support they give in their development, while VC firms are usually more focused on the selection, prioritization and monitoring and control of their portfolios. In practice there have been shortcomings in the transition of New Venture projects between BIs and VCs. These can be solved by creating a single organization that integrates the entire process of PPM between BIs and VCs, or other alternative is for VCs to start investing mainly in early stage projects.  Another important finding corresponds to the use of the expertise of BIs and VCs members as the most important tool when making strategic decisions. And although there is general satisfaction with the success of these projects in Sweden, some authors have argued that this industry is not totally mature. Therefore, this study suggests using some tools, proposed in a conceptual model, developed to achieve the maturity that New Venture projects industry requires.

Previous entrepreneurship research has shown that networks are of great importance when discovering and exploiting business opportunities, i.e. in the start up process of new venture (e.g. Davidsson and Honig 2003; Evald, Klyver, and Svendsen 2006; Klyver, Hindle, and Meyer forthcoming). The value of a network is referred to as social capital, which refers to the amount of resources, both tangible and intangible, that an entrepreneur or entrepreneuse might have access to through the members of their network (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). Social capital is the product of social interactions (Anderson et al. 2007), implying that a person’s social abilities, i.e. social competence, can influence the creation of social capital (Baron and Markman 2000, 2003). Social capital the factor that helps the entrepreneur “get through the door”, while the entrepreneur’s social abilities determine the outcome of that interaction (Baron and Markman 2000:107). The focus of this study is, thus, to explore whether entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses utilize different types of the social capital in the process of starting a new venture and whether they perceive social competence to have an influential role in this process. The theoretical framework consist of three main theoretical areas; social capital, social competence, and psychological gender. The first part is based on Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) model of social capital and describes theories explaining factors influence social capital embedded within a person’s network relationships. The second part covers social competence and the abilities that constitute this concept. Further, five dimensions are identified as comprising social competence, i.e. social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, apparent sincerity, and social manipulation (Baron and Markman 2000, 2003; Hoehn-Weiss et al. 2004; Ferris et al. 2005, 2007; Riggio 1986). The last part discusses whether there might exist differences between entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses regarding their behaviours and their psychological gender (Bem 1974, 1975, 1977; Spence et al. 1975). The research design show similarities with both an inductive and a deductive approach, with a focus on the induction since little research within the entrepreneurship field has combined the different topics comprising the scope of this study. Further, this implies qualitative research methods and the empirical data was collect through conducting 14 semi structured interviews with entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses as well as through a questionnaire aiming at determine the respondents’ psychological gender. The results of the present study indicate that entrepreneurs and entrepreneuses utilize different the types of social capital in the stages of the start up phase. Further, the study show that social competence plays and important role in the start up process and that there is a circular relation between social capital and social competence. Moreover, the results of the study indicate that male and female entrepreneurs behave differently in the start up phase and that their perceptions about and usage of their social competence might differ.

Industry-University Cooperation Systems are used by government, private enterprises and universities to adapt to a changing world environment spurred on by technological development. These systems can promote a nation¡¦s human resources as a result of research and development or the establishment of new ventures. They also complement knowledge and technology and promote the connection of academia and its application in order to push the nation¡¦s competitive power forward. Taiwan¡¦s Industry-University Cooperation system is similar, but younger than Japan¡¦s. Based on the Flying-Geese Model, a development of countries in Asia, Japan has always held the top ranking of technology management and innovation. Therefore it would be worthwhile for Taiwan to imitate Japan¡¦s Industry-University Cooperation system. The range of the Industry-University Cooperation system is fairly wide, therefore this research paper will study the effects of Japan¡¦s system and the development of the Electric Vehicle industry. The Electric Vehicle (EV) industry offers effective solutions to the problems of global warming and rapid energy depletion. Among advanced countries, Japan has been the most serious in developing an EV industry and has developed advanced technology. Japan¡¦s government has started to combine research and industry in recent years. It has also tried to make policy that is based on technological development and popularizes the EV and eco-friendly car. This research attempts to explain the main links between the Industry-University Cooperation system and the EV industry, including the extent of effectiveness and superiority. This thesis is an analysis of a case study of the cooperation between SIM-Drive Corporation and Keio University. By understanding Japan¡¦s Industry-University cooperation system, Taiwan¡¦s EV industry circles will be more able to connect with academic circles and gain EV development experience by learning from Japan.

This dissertation introduces the model of opportunistic adaptation to explain new venture growth. In established firms processes of change and adaptation usually imply a transition from one steady-state strategy to another and a problem oriented perspective as firms change in response to potential threats to their current positions. However, in the context of new ventures, adaptation is less about moving from one existent strategy to another and more about the entrepreneur’s effort to reach a steady state for the first time by continuously experimenting and combining resources in creative and innovative ways. The model of opportunistic adaptation rests on three key assumptions: 1.) new venture growth results from actions grounded in an opportunistic (proactive) logic; 2.) entrepreneurial cognition is viewed as an antecedent to all organizational actions leading to growth; 3.) the relationship between entrepreneurial cognition and action is influenced by industry and firm level attributes. The model is tested using quantitative and qualitative data on new ventures founded between 1996 and 2006 in technology intensive industries. The results provide partial support for the notion of opportunistic adaptation as a process in which entrepreneurial cognition, firm and industry related factors are closely intertwined. The results of the dissertation suggest that some aspects of entrepreneurial cognition, such as entrepreneurial schema focus have a more direct effect on actions related to new venture growth than others whose effect is strongly moderated by contextual influences such as industry growth and social network heterogeneity. This dissertation also finds that not all types of organizational actions associated with an opportunity logic lead to new venture growth. Of the three action types included in the model (fast, diverse and frequent) only action diversity was found to have a positive impact on new venture growth. Theoretical implications of the study results for both the literature on new venture growth and the literature on organizational adaptation, as well as practical implications are discussed.

Many start-ups fail or never achieve their full potential due to founder’s resistance to delegate. Yet our understanding of delegation in entrepreneurship is limited to research on later events in the organizational life cycle with a key focus on succession and exit. Moreover, the existing research focuses on single entrepreneurs; however, many new ventures are created by teams and decisions around delegation of authority are critical, even amongst the founding entrepreneurs within the venture team. Accordingly, the purpose of this dissertation research was to understand when and how delegation occurs in modern new ventures, and how it enhances or undermines new venture survival and growth, with a particular interest in exploring the role of psychological ownership in delegation practice. To understand the phenomenon of interest, I conducted a qualitative study, involving in-depth interviews and non-participative observation, in five growing technology start-ups. In doing so, I utilized the existing literatures on new venture growth, founder delegation, psychological ownership/territoriality and management control systems that more or less address delegation in entrepreneurship. As well, I incorporated other literatures based upon the emerging findings, namely entrepreneurial leadership and agency/stewardship theory. To my knowledge, this work is one of the first of its kind to examine early delegation activities in new ventures. It has the potential to make a number of significant and multi-disciplinary contributions. First, it fills in the gap of knowledge in new venture growth literature, the school of dynamic growth models in particular, where empirical evidence that addresses people management challenges at critical transition points is rare and needed (Phelps et al., 2007), by elucidating the occurrence of new venture delegation. Second, it contributes to psychological ownership and territoriality research being among the first to empirically explore psychological ownership over dynamic objects like business ideas and new ventures, as well as the impact of psychological ownership and the territorial behavior associated with it on delegation in entrepreneurship. This study extends our understanding of psychological ownership and territoriality and facilitates future research on many important organizational phenomena related to psychological issues in entrepreneurial contexts. Third, it enriches founder delegation research by expanding its focus onto the critical delegation events before entrepreneurial succession/exit, since the experience that founders gain through early delegation activities significantly influences their departure decisions, which is recognized as the most critical event in most firms (Hofer & Charan, 1984; Carroll, 1984). In addition, I identify the application of the theories regarding management control systems and agency/stewardship theory in early delegation in the context of entrepreneurship. / Graduate / 2019-07-31

Background: New ventures face manifold challenges. Literature has already examined many of the challenges that founders of new firms might encounter during the start-up phase. Studies have been investigating traits of the founders as well as traits of the organizations, and linked them to success or failure of the firm. The areas of founder’s human capital and vision and the firm’s employee selection criteria and leadership style have often been taken into consideration. Nevertheless, there is no framework connecting all these areas with a focus on how they influence each other, leaving criteria as success or failure beside.Purpose: This study aims for creating a framework connecting the areas of start-up-founder’s human capital and vision and the venture’s employee selection criteria and leadership style. It seeks to provide answers to the following research questions: (1) “How does start-up founder’s human capital influence the creation of a vision, the choice of leadership style and the selection of employees?” and (2) “How does start-up founder’s vision influence the choice of leadership style and the selection of employees?”Method: To answer the research questions, a multiple-case study was conducted. We created a topic guide and gathered qualitative data through conducting in-depth interviews. The respondents were mainly operating their new venture in the area of Jönköping. After coding and contextualizing our data, we analyzed it.Conclusion: Human capital was influencing all other areas through either active avoidance or repetition of behaviors already employed in the past. We found major differences of the visions of new ventures. Therefore, we started differentiating between a “business-vision” and a “mission-vision”. “Mission-vision” start-ups choose their employees according to personality and give them a voice in the firm, therefore fostering a transformational leadership style. “Business-vision” start-ups on the other side hire applicants based on skills, to fulfil very defined tasks based on deadlines and therefore performing a transactional approach.

Abstract Entrepreneurship research is a dynamic field in development. It has long ago moved past analyzing the differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs to trying to understand the activity that an entrepreneur does. Current entrepreneurship research has identified business opportunities and their development as the main focus of entrepreneurship research field. However the creation of new business opportunities is largely not understood and theory which builds on entrepreneurship is still in its initial phases. This study aims to understand the creation of new ventures through a holistic approach, not focusing only on the entrepreneur but also on the industry and society where the venture creation happens. Therefore this study focuses on new venture creation in a software business context. This context was chosen because the economy is moving from a production based economy to a knowledge based economy and software plays a vital role in this change. The research question set forth in this study is: How are new ventures created in the software industry? This study identifies culture, society and entrepreneur as components and actualisation, socialisation and emergence as the processes that affect new venture creation. These components and processes are derived from existing literature of entrepreneurship. Based on these components and processes a research framework is created which is used as the study approaches venture creation through process and case study logics. As a result of this study a model of venture creation in software business was created. The model shows how the dynamic formation of new ventures happens. The model of venture creation identifies components, processes and generative mechanisms of which the latter create the real dynamism in the model. The study showed how entrepreneurs and the creation of new business were tightly integrated into the environment in which the entrepreneurs resided and the people with whom they interacted. The study also showed that venture creation and the development of an entrepreneurial identity do not happen overnight. Rather, they take time to develop, and happen in an evolutionary way. / Tiivistelmä Yrittäjyystutkimus on muuttuva ja kehittyvä tutkimusala. Siinä kiinnostuksen kohde on ajan saatossa muuttunut kohti yrittäjän toiminnan ja muutoksen ymmärtämistä sen sijaan, että analysoitaisiin yrittäjien ja ei-yrittäjien eroja. Yrittäjyystutkimus on tunnistanut tämän hetken tutkimuskohteeksi liiketoimintamahdollisuudet ja niiden kehittymisen. Näiden liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien luomista ei vielä täysin ymmärretä ja yrittäjyyden teorian rakentaminen on alkuvaiheissa. Tässä tutkimuksessa uusien liiketoimintojen luomista pyritään ymmärtämään kokonaisvaltaisen näkemyksen kautta, huomioiden yrittäjän lisäksi teollisuudenalan ja yhteiskunnan jossa liiketoiminnan luominen tapahtuu. Sen vuoksi tutkimuksessa keskitytään uuden liiketoiminnan luomiseen ohjelmistoteollisuudessa. Tämä konteksti valittiin, koska talous on muuttumassa tuotantoperustaisesta taloudesta kohti tietotaloutta ja ohjelmistoilla on merkittävä rooli tässä muutoksessa. Tutkimuskysymyksenä tutkimuksessa on: Miten uusia liiketoimintoja luodaan ohjelmistoteollisuudessa? Tutkimuksessa kulttuuri, yhteiskunta ja yrittäjä tunnistetaan liiketoiminnan luomiseen vaikuttaviksi komponenteiksi ja toteutuminen, sosialisaatio ja syntyminen liiketoiminnan luomiseen vaikuttaviksi prosesseiksi. Nämä komponentit ja prosessit johdettiin aikaisemmasta tutkimuksesta. Näiden komponenttien ja prosessien pohjalta luotiin tutkimuskehikko, jonka avulla tutkimusaineistoa lähestytään prosessi- ja tapaustutkimuksen keinoin. Tutkimuksen tuloksena luodaan ohjelmistoteollisuuteen uuden liiketoiminnan luomisen malli. Malli näyttää miten dynaaminen uuden liiketoiminnan luominen tapahtuu. Mallissa tunnistetaan komponentit, prosessit ja generoivat mekanismit joista viimeksimainitut luovat malliin todellisen dynamiikan. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin miten yrittäjät ja uuden liiketoiminnan luominen ovat tiukasti sidoksissa yrittäjän asuinympäristöön sekä sosiaalisiin suhteisiin. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin että uuden liiketoiminnan luominen ja yrittäjämäisen identiteetin kehittyminen vaativat aikaa kehittyäkseen.