Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal最新文献

{"title":"Founder's entry strategy and funding performance in the crowdfunding industry: The mediating role of founder's attention","authors":"Dalee Yoon, Joon Mahn Lee, Luke Rhee","doi":"10.1002/sej.1540","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1540","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryBuilding on recent studies on founders' entry strategy and the attention‐based view, our study examines the underexplored relationship between entrepreneurial entry mode and funding performance. We offer a novel perspective on how different entry strategies—such as hybrid, portfolio, and full‐time entrepreneurship—impact start‐up performance. Additionally, we develop a theoretical framework highlighting founder attention as a mediator in this relationship. Our research was conducted in the crowdfunding context, with findings remaining consistent across multiple measures of founder attention and funding performance. To address potential endogeneity concerns, we employ two‐stage instrumental variable analyses and a propensity score matching method, ensuring the robustness of our results.Managerial SummaryEntrepreneurs' choice of entry strategy plays a critical role in shaping their ability to secure funding and drive their start‐up success. Our study highlights how different entry strategies—hybrid, portfolio, and full‐time entrepreneurship—affect funding performance, particularly in the crowdfunding context. A key insight is the role of founder attention in mediating the relationship between entry strategy and funding success. The way founders allocate their focus across different pursuits influences investor perceptions and financial outcomes. Therefore, aligning entry strategies with the ability to effectively manage and signal commitment to ventures is essential from a practical standpoint. Moreover, entrepreneurs and investors should consider how strategic entry choices impact not only operational execution but also the likelihood of securing financial support.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"107 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144269395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Local labor market frictions and platform‐based entrepreneurship","authors":"Ruiqing Cao, Yifan Lyu","doi":"10.1002/sej.1550","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1550","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryBuilding on prior research about the heterogeneous impact of labor shocks on individuals' propensity to start businesses, we explore how local labor market frictions affect individuals' selection into platform‐based entrepreneurship. Combining detailed data from a large online retail platform with sectoral employment statistics across labor market areas in the United States, we show that entrepreneurs entering the platform during larger local employment declines in related sectors developed more effective customer strategies and maintained stronger sales performance. These entrepreneurs focused more on customer appeal, matched social media channels with the platform's predominant user base, and lowered prices over time.Managerial SummaryThis article examines how local labor market frictions in sectors relevant to a digital platform shape the heterogeneous entry of individuals into platform‐based entrepreneurship—a class of entrepreneurship that became popular with “creator economy” business models where individuals rely on digital infrastructures to access potential customers and monetize their creative labor. We find that entrepreneurs who started platform‐based businesses in deteriorating local employment conditions generated significantly higher sales by being more attuned to customers' needs and wants. We show that these entrepreneurs emphasized customer‐related activities, chose more effective social media channels, and set lower prices after operating for a few periods. Our findings highlight the importance of customer‐related competitive advantages in platform‐based entrepreneurship.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144252052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The cousin marriage tradition, colonial shocks, and the performance of informal firms in sub‐Saharan Africa","authors":"Saul Estrin, Tomasz Mickiewicz, Peng Zhang","doi":"10.1002/sej.1549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1549","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryThe paper explores how the deep historical roots of informal institutions influence current informal businesses. It proposes that both pre‐colonial institutions—the tradition of cousin marriage—and the subsequent shocks of colonization still impact the performance of informal firms. We theorize on how the effects of historical family systems are moderated by the traumatic and spatially heterogeneous shocks of colonialism, in particular the cultural values of the colonizers (individualism) and their religious (missionary) activities. Our hypotheses are tested by regression analysis based on surveys of informal businesses in multiple regions of eight African countries. We find that the cousin marriage tradition is negatively associated with the performance of current informal businesses though this relationship is attenuated in places where colonizers were more individualistic.Managerial SummaryThis paper explores how the pre‐colonial family institutions—the tradition of cousin marriage—and the subsequent shocks of colonization jointly impact the performance of contemporary informal firms in sub‐Saharan Africa. We propose that the historical tradition of cousin marriage has persistent and negative effects on the revenue and labor productivity of contemporary informal businesses. This is because informal entrepreneurs in ethnic areas with the cousin marriage tradition may prioritize social obligations over economic incentives. However, these relationships are attenuated in ethnic areas colonized by European countries with more individualistic cultural values. Our findings highlight the importance for business owners and managers to understand the deep historical roots of the social norms of the communities and groups with which they interact.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cost‐effectively leveraging digital capital to develop means for effectual decision‐making","authors":"Hyunkyu Park, Yining Luo, Yi Yang","doi":"10.1002/sej.1547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1547","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryExtant studies suggest that a particular set of means, once in place, prompt entrepreneurs to enact effectual decision‐making. However, little is known about how such effectual means are developed, particularly when entrepreneurs' primary means are digital capital rather than pre‐existing effectual means. To address this gap, our qualitative research examines an emerging phenomenon in which young people engage in side‐hustling through social media. Our findings reveal that entrepreneurs develop effectual means by leveraging digital capital through browsing, consulting, and imitating. This developmental process is significantly streamlined by digital capital's generativity, recommendability, and multimodality, with its cost‐effectiveness dynamically assessed to determine the continuity of development. Drawing on these findings, we discuss implications for effectuation theory and entrepreneurship studies.Managerial SummaryEntrepreneurs are known to rely on their established means for effectual decision‐making. However, little is known about how entrepreneurs make effectual decisions when they possess digital capital but have underdeveloped means for effectuation. This study explores how young side‐hustlers on social media build means for effectuation through browsing, consulting, and imitating. The generativity, recommendability, and multimodality of digital capital significantly enhance this developmental process, while cost‐effectiveness is continuously assessed to determine whether to proceed. We develop a process model that illustrates how entrepreneurs leverage and optimize digital capital to drive effectuation in the digital age.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating multimodal data and machine learning for entrepreneurship research","authors":"Yash Raj Shrestha, Vivianna Fang He","doi":"10.1002/sej.1546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1546","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryExtant research in neuroscience suggests that human perception is multimodal in nature—we model the world integrating diverse data sources such as sound, images, taste, and smell. Working in a dynamic environment, entrepreneurs are expected to draw on multimodal inputs in their decision making. However, extant research in entrepreneurship has largely focused on how entrepreneurs or investors develop insights from data in a single mode. A few studies that have used a multimodal approach either simplify the multimodal data (MMD) into a few constructs or manually analyze the data without fully utilizing their potential. Such oversimplification limits the insights that can be gained from MMD. In this paper, we offer a framework to guide researchers to analyze and integrate MMD, capturing various cues embedded in the entrepreneurial process. We illustrate how applying machine learning algorithms to MMD can engender a robust, reliable, and scalable approach for researchers to effectively capture the elusive yet critical aspects of entrepreneurial phenomena. We also curate a set of data and algorithm resources for researchers interested in leveraging MMD in their studies.Managerial SummaryEntrepreneurs operate in fast‐paced and complex environments where success often relies on the ability to make sense of diverse and rich information, which ranges from explicit observations (e.g., what they see and hear) to more subtle contextual cues. Yet, most entrepreneurship research focuses on analyzing data in a single mode, such as only texts or numbers. Our research highlights the importance of embracing multimodal data (<jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">MMD</jats:styled-content>) that combines various formats like audio, image, video, and text, to better understand and explain entrepreneurial decision‐making. We introduce a practical framework and a set of machine learning techniques that help managers and researchers alike harness the richness of multimodal data. Rather than simplifying or manually analyzing multimodal data, our approach allows for scalable, systematic, and reliable insights into the entrepreneurial process. For practitioners, this means better tools for evaluating pitches, tracking team dynamics, or sensing market trends in real time. To support adoption, we also provide a curated set of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">MMD</jats:styled-content> sources and algorithms that organizations can leverage to make more informed strategic decisions.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Micro‐transitions and work identity: The case of academic entrepreneurs","authors":"Marouane Bousfiha, Henrik Berglund","doi":"10.1002/sej.1541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1541","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryThis paper examines how academic entrepreneurs—scientists who found research‐based startups while remaining in academia—construct and sustain their professional identities amid frequent transitions between academic and entrepreneurial roles. Drawing on 27 interviews with Swedish academic entrepreneurs, we show that hybrid identities are not simply the result of reconciling abstract role categories but are shaped through the material and practical organization of everyday work. We introduce the concept of professional micro‐transitions as a key site of identity formation and argue that material artifacts and routines play a central role in this process. This study contributes to the literatures on identity work, role transitions, and academic entrepreneurship by offering a granular, materially grounded account of how hybrid identities are enacted and sustained in practice.Managerial SummaryThis article investigates how academic entrepreneurs—university scientists who create startups to commercialize research results while remaining in academia—manage to build a hybrid professional identity when frequently switching back and forth between their jobs as academics and for‐profit entrepreneurs. The findings reveal how they creatively find cross‐fertilizing effects between their academic and entrepreneurial work tasks. This in turn allows them to reevaluate and extend their professional identity. For universities, incubators, and policymakers, this study suggests that supporting academic entrepreneurship is not just about funding or IP policies. It also requires recognizing the practical identity work involved and creating flexible environments that allow scientists to integrate both roles in meaningful ways.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144133718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What entrepreneurial decisions enable the breeding of digital platform unicorns?","authors":"Sea Matilda Bez, Isabel Narbon, Asta Pundziene, Rima Sermontyte‐baniule","doi":"10.1002/sej.1543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1543","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryDigital platforms have revolutionized business sectors; however, despite their significant success, platform unicorns remain rare. While extensive research exists on digital platform growth, it is uncertain what entrepreneurial decisions achieve unicorn status. We address the research question of what combination of complementary entrepreneurial decisions increases and decreases the likelihood of becoming a platform unicorn. The study examines 125 digital mental health platform ventures, including 12 unicorns, using the Dealroom database and decision tree methodology. We provide combinations of complementary decisions concerning fundraising timing, funding sources, digital technologies, and business model choices that affect a platform venture's probability of becoming a unicorn. The study offers decision profiles for navigating the uncertainties of the digital age. We discuss implications for strategic entrepreneurship and a judgment‐based approach.Managerial SummaryIn the digital age, achieving unicorn status depends on the right combination of complementary decisions about fundraising timing, funding sources, digital technology, and business model choices. Entrepreneurs dealing with uncertainty frequently rely on their intuition to make such decisions. Our research complements intuition with evidence that can now be obtained by deploying artificial intelligence tools like decision trees and highlights complementary decision profiles that have a higher likelihood of becoming unicorns, such as profiles with early‐stage funding, no government funding, and deep tech serving the B2B market. Conversely, we identify combinations with less than 1% success rates, indicating failed judgments. Research insights can help entrepreneurs and investors make better‐informed decisions to enhance mental health platform venture success and be aware of possible failure.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How high‐performance outliers affect relative entrepreneurial entry on competing crowdfunding platforms","authors":"Anil R. Doshi","doi":"10.1002/sej.1545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1545","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryEntrepreneurs have increasingly entered digital crowdfunding platforms as a viable option for acquiring capital. This paper examines how high‐performance outliers—projects that raised substantial amounts of capital—affect other entrepreneurs' decisions to enter crowdfunding. The present study focuses on the two largest rewards‐based crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Results indicate that, following outliers, entry was relatively higher on the platform with less restrictive, entrant‐friendly governance (i.e., Indiegogo). This effect was more pronounced among low‐quality entrants and moderated by projects in categories that have higher capital requirements. The findings suggest that differences in platform governance influence how subsequent entrepreneurial entrants behave.Managerial SummaryEntrepreneurs use crowdfunding as a viable source of capital. This paper looks at how outliers—projects that raise substantial capital—affected subsequent entry decisions by other entrepreneurs onto the two largest platforms, Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Outliers led to relatively more projects joining Indiegogo, but those projects were disproportionately of low quality. Projects in categories that typically seek more money disproportionately joined Kickstarter. When considered in the context of platform competition, not only does platform governance affect levels of entry on a platform, it also alters the relative mix of entrants that join each platform.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"1 4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the impact of the pandemic on digital spin‐offs at universities: Theory and evidence from the United Kingdom","authors":"David Audretsch, Maksim Belitski, Maribel Guerrero, Donald S. Siegel","doi":"10.1002/sej.1544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1544","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryThere is limited evidence on how university spin‐offs (USOs) respond to external crises. We fill this gap by assessing how UK digital USOs responded to the recent COVID‐19 pandemic. Specifically, we examine how USOs' capabilities (scaling‐up, fundraising, and intellectual property) and access to their parent university's financial resources/infrastructures interact intertemporally to address demand and supply challenges associated with the pandemic. Our analysis revealed that the interplay of (a) USOs' scaling‐up and fundraising capabilities and (b) USOs' fundraising capabilities and university parent's support infrastructure constituted the best strategy for developing intertemporal resilience during the crisis.Managerial SummaryWe investigate the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on digital USOs. Assuming support from parent universities, we explored how their scaling‐up efforts, fundraising efforts, and intellectual property addressed demand and supply challenges during these unprecedented times. First, USOs that could scale up while fundraising were more likely to sustain operations and satisfy demand through various stages of the pandemic. Second, USOs with fundraising capabilities and parent university support demonstrated greater resilience. These findings suggest valuable insights for CEOs of USOs and their parent universities in handling external crises.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143930582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do digital platforms create entrepreneurial opportunities? Evidence from marginal areas","authors":"Francesco Luigi Milone, Emilio Paolucci, Elisabetta Raguseo","doi":"10.1002/sej.1542","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1542","url":null,"abstract":"Research SummaryThis article enters the debate on the effects of digital platforms on entrepreneurial opportunities by estimating whether the entry of a home‐sharing platform shapes entrepreneurial decisions in marginal areas. We add a novel perspective to the literature, as we contend that when economic conditions are unfavorable, digital platforms, acting as External Enablers, stimulate entrepreneurship. We test these arguments on the unique setting of 270 Italian Borghi and the entry of Airbnb, employing a staggered difference‐in‐difference design. We show that, following the entry of Airbnb, the entrepreneurial activity of the surrounding area increases, with effects that are heterogeneous across sectors and stronger in more depressed areas. We also show qualitative–quantitative evidence of the mechanisms explaining these effects. Finally, we discuss theoretical contributions to digital‐entrepreneurship literature and implications.Managerial SummaryThis study provides implications for both prospective entrepreneurs and policymakers willing to incentivize the creation of new businesses in marginal and remote areas. First, we show that, in marginal locations, digital platforms act as facilitators for entrepreneurs facing a complex and risky decision to embark on new business activities, particularly, if these are along the scope of the platform. This happens because platforms create demand—if not existing—and reduce entry and operating costs by internalizing specific business processes. Second, we offer a clear recommendation to policymakers. We show that digital platforms represent an indirect and effective way of pursuing the development of entrepreneurship in marginal areas. This aspect is relevant as scholars have demonstrated that direct approaches are not always effective.","PeriodicalId":51417,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143930874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}