Findings from 20 years of business plan competitions in North-Bavaria

This study investigates the role of successful participation in a business plan competition in determining the future success of start-ups. Among 61 organisations that participated in the Business Plan Competition North-Bavaria from 1999 to 2018, 11 firms were among the top three winners and met the criteria of this research. A questionnaire was developed and pilot-tested for data collection and analysis. The inferential part of the study results indicates that there is no statistically significant association between success in the competition and future success of the start-up. Contrary to this result, the demographics support the positive contribution of the competition in terms of networking and feedback as perceived by the participants. Future research may consider similar competitions worldwide and examine various competition approaches, investigate demographic influences like team diversity, and include underperforming companies in business plan competitions that could potentially turn out to be successful.