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Research Papers
Khanin, D., Baum, J.R., Mahto, R.V., 2008. The process of VC investment, and
VCs’ decision-making criteria: literature review and assessment. The
Silicon Valley Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research.
We review and summarize the evolution of the literature on VCs’ investment criteria.
Our objective is to articulate the principal questions it posed; to identify the
most common and dominant sets of investment criteria VCs utilize; to assess the
methods scholars employ to examine VCs’ investment criteria and their rationale;
and to pinpoint the principal accomplishments and shortcomings of the extant studies.
Overall, we seek to bring more clarity as to what has been achieved, what remains
problematic, and what vistas could be pursued in the future to strengthen this important
area of entrepreneurship research.
Khanin, D., Baum, J.R., Mahto, R.V., 2008. Venture Capitalists’ Investment
Criteria: 40 Years of Research. Small Business Institute Research Review, 35:
187 – 192.
In this paper, we review the literature on venture capitalists’ (VCs’) investment
criteria from its early beginnings (Wells, 1972; Poindexter, 1975) to current studies
(Silva, 2004; Khanin, 2006). We identify the most important decision criteria of
investment in new ventures discussed in the literature, such as top management team,
market, product, risk, deal and competition. In addition, we focus on the ongoing
debate that can be traced in the literature as to whether management characteristics
or product/market attributes play the most prominent role in impacting VCs’ decision
to invest. We show that while VCs themselves typically believe that management capabilities
matter more than any other factor, in-depth studies of VC decision making show that
other characteristics, such as market growth rate and entrenched competition, may
play a more important role. Furthermore, VCs often couple the criterion of management
capabilities with that of the level of protection from competition.
Khanin, D., Baum, J.R., Turel, (forthcoming) Are some VCs more likely than
others to replace the founder-CEO? (The Journal of Private Equity, forthcoming).
Studies of VCs’ investment criteria describe the quality of the management team
as a key determinant of venture financing. We contend, however, that some VCs are
willing to fund ventures headed by ineffective entrepreneurs with the expectation
that they will replace the CEO-founders in the future. We conjecture that VCs with
higher risk tolerance, greater involvement in venture governance, and a proclivity
for trust-based collaboration with co investors will be prone to take on financing
of robust ventures headed by weak leaders. A survey and interviews with 50 US VC
supported the hypotheses.
Baum, J.R. (In Press). Gain entrepreneurship success through swiftness and
experimentation. In E.A. Locke (Ed.) Handbook of Principles of Organizational
Behavior. UK: Blackwell.
THE PRINCIPLES
Entrepreneurs face higher uncertainty, risk, and barriers to market entry than
established businesses. Risk is high because entrepreneurs typically introduce new
products, new processes, and / or new business models. Little market information
is available, and products or processes may be untested. However, the reward for
being first to serve a market niche or for establishing a learning site in new market
territory can be astounding. Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Steven Jobs, Oprah Winfrey,
Bill Gates, and Michael Dell survived resource shortages, failed products, skeptics,
and production challenges to make a positive difference for all of us – and for
themselves. They did it, in part, through rapid introduction and continuous improvement
of new products, services, and business types. Thus, I explain and promote two key
entrepreneurship principles: Gain entrepreneurship success through swiftness
and experimentation.
Baum, J.R., & Bird, B.J. (Forthcoming). The successful intelligence of high
growth entrepreneurs: Links to new venture growth. Organization Science.
We develop a model of successful intelligence in entrepreneurship. The model
was tested through interviews with 22 printing industry CEOs and responses from
143 founders of early stage high growth printing and graphics businesses. Successful
intelligence combined with entrepreneurial self-efficacy to predict swift action
and multiple improvement actions (repeated goal-driven changes). Swift action and
multiple improvement actions predicted higher subsequent venture growth across four
years. This field study confirmed that successful intelligence consists of practical,
analytical, and creative intelligence and that, together with entrepreneurial self-efficacy,
it enables and motivates successful entrepreneurial behavior. Intelligence has received
little entrepreneurship research attention; however, this empirical study suggests
that specific intelligences ought to be included as predictors in studies of venture
outcomes. The two entrepreneurial behaviors developed here are useful concepts beyond
the entrepreneurship domain.
Baum, J.R., Bird, B.J., & Singh, S. The practical intelligence of growth oriented
entrepreneurs: antecedents and a link with new venture growth. First round review
at Journal of Applied Psychology.
We draw upon cognitive psychology and social cognition theories to develop a
model of practical intelligence, its antecedents, and its role in the early growth
phase of entrepreneurship. The model was tested through interviews with 22 printing
industry CEOs and responses from 143 growth oriented founders of early stage printing
and graphics businesses. This is one of the first empirical studies of entrepreneurs'
intelligence and one of the first field studies of practical intelligence. Related
venture and industry experience and two learning orientations interacted to predict
practical intelligence. Practical intelligence predicted higher venture growth across
four years. Understanding the antecedents of practical intelligence and its links
with venture success may help entrepreneurs identify personal competencies that
should be developed and help venture financiers make more informed investment choices.
Baum, J.R. Cognitions and behaviors of successful nascent entrepreneurs.
First round review at Academy of Management Journal.
Yun Tao Dong, Bob Baum, & Henry Sims The VC as a Leader: Effects of VC Empowering
Leadership on Entrepreneur Stress and Performance
Taking a leadership perspective, we examine the effects of venture capitalist's
empowering behavior on the entrepreneur's work stress and venture performance. Drawing
upon the demands-control-efficacy model (Schaubroeck & Merritt, 1997), we propose
that venture capitalist empowering leadership reduces entrepreneur's work stress
when entrepreneurs have high self-efficacy, but it has a stress-enhancing effect
among entrepreneurs who have low self-efficacy. We further argue that entrepreneur's
work stress will be negatively related to venture performance. We attempt to contribute
to both entrepreneurship and leadership literature by investigating the nature of
venture capitalist's empowering leadership and its interacting effect with entrepreneurial
self-efficacy. Submitted to AOM Annual Meeting.
Yun Tao Dong, Bob Baum, & Henry Sims Coaching to Win: The Venture Capitalist
as a Coach
In this paper, we take an executive coaching perspective to examine the non-financial
relationship between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. Specifically, we propose
that venture capitalist's coaching behavior is translated into entrepreneurial effectiveness
through the enhancement of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and adaptability. In addition,
when the entrepreneur trusts his/her venture capitalist, the coaching will be more
likely to increase the entrepreneurial self-efficacy and adaptability, therefore
leading to favorable venture outcomes. The theoretical contributions to the entrepreneurship
literature and the executive coaching literature, as well as the practical implications
of the model are also discussed. Submitted to AOM Annual Meeting.
Boss, A. & Baum, J.R. Entrepreneurs’ Change Behaviors and Subsequent Venture
Performance: Experimentation, Bricolage, Adaptation, and Trial and Error We
are looking at the impact that different entrepreneurial change behaviors (experimentation,
bricolage, adaptation and trial and error) have on venture success. We conducted
semi-structured interviews with 20 entrepreneurs and are currently analyzing the
data and interpreting the findings.
Submitted to AOM Annual Meeting.
Angermeier, I., Dunford, B. D., Boss, A. D., Boss, R. W. (forthcoming). Improving
healthcare effectiveness: The impact of participative management perceptions on
customer service, medical errors, burnout, and turnover intentions. Journal
of Healthcare Management.
Boss, A. D. & Sims, H. P., Jr. (2008). Everyone fails! Using emotion regulation
and self-leadership for recovery. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23: 135-150.
Koberg, C. S., Boss, R. W., Goodman, E. A., Boss, A. D. & Monsen, E. (2005).
Empirical evidence of organizational citizenship behavior from the health care industry.
International Journal of Public Administration, 28: 417-436.
Shapiro, D. L., Boss, A. D., Salas, S., & Von Glinow, M. A. When are transgressing
leaders punitively judged ?: An empirical test. Revise and resubmit at Journal
of Applied Psychology.
Boss, R. W., Dunford, B. D., Boss, A. D. & McConkie, M. L. Longitudinal benefits
of organization development. Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Applied Behavioral
Science.
Dunford, B. D., Hansen, S. S., Boss, A. D., Boss, R. W., & Angermeier, I.
Do employees care about corporate social responsibility? A trust perspective.
Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Business Ethics.
Sanders, M. L., Boss, A. D., Boss, R. W., & Boss, D. S. Increasing student
engagement and learning with big hairy audacious goals. Under first review at
Journal of Management Education.
Boss, A. D. & Baum, J. R. Adjusting toward success: Entrepreneurs' change
behaviors and subsequent venture performance. Working Paper targeted for submission
at Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
Dunford, B. D., Boss, A. D., Boss, R. W., & Angermeier, I. It pays to treat
customers fairly: A field test of third-party organizational justice effects.
Working Paper targeted for submission at Academy of Management Journal.
Boss, A. D. & Baum, J. R. (2008, October). Adjusting Toward Success: Entrepreneurs'
Change Behaviors and Subsequent Venture Performance. Paper presented at the
28th Annual International Conference of the Strategic Management Society,
Cologne, Germany.
Boss, A. D. & Baum, J. R. (2008, August). Entrepreneurs' Change Behaviors
and Subsequent Venture Performance. Paper presented at the 68th Annual Meeting
of the Academy of Management,
Anaheim, California.
Boss, A. D., Dunford, B. D., Boss, R. W., & Angermeier, I. (2008, August).
Reaping the Benefits of Employee Trust: Social Responsibility Outcomes in the Health
Care Industry. Paper presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Academy of
Management, Anaheim, California.
Sanders, M. L., Boss, R. W., Boss, A. D., Boss, D. S. (2008, June). Dramatically
Increasing Student Empowerment and Learning with Big Hairy Audacious Goals: Applications
for Organizational Change, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship Courses. Paper presented
at the 35th OBTS: Teaching Conference for Management Educators,
Boston, Massachusetts.
Boss, A. D. (2007, August). Everyone fails! Using emotion regulation and self-leadership
for recovery. Paper presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Academy of
Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Boss, A. D. (2007, August). When is enough, enough? Cognitive and personality
dimensions of entrepreneurial failure. Paper presented at the 67th Annual Meeting
of the Academy of Management,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dunford, B. D., Boss, A. D., & Boss, R. W. (2007, August). Doing well by doing
good : A trust perspective on corporate social responsibility. Paper presented
at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Boss, R. W., McConkie, M. L. & Boss, A. D. (2006, August). Longitudinal benefits
of organization development. Paper presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the
Academy of Management,
Atlanta, Georgia.
Boss, R. W., McConkie, M. L. & Boss, A. D. (2004, August). Sustainable change
in the public sector: Three decades of success in a law enforcement agency.
Paper presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Academy of
Management, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Azi Gera, Dissertation Paper 2: Competition for VC Attention: When, How and
Why Do Social Referrals Matter?, with Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch
This paper studies influence of intrafirm attention resource variance on the
interpretation of interfirm signals by using startups solicitation of VC funding.
We find that startups that facilitate the transfer of additional alternative information
to the VC will fare better then other startups. When the VC attempts to limit the
attention resources spent on solicitations it will not fund.
This project serves as one of the first empirical section in my dissertation
and was accepted for presentation at SMS and ISC.
Brent Goldfarb, Gerard Hoberg, David Kirsch and Alex Triantis, "Does Angel
Participation Matter? An Analysis of Early Venture Financing" (May 2008).
We analyze 182 Series A Financings. We find that when angels invest on their
own, they do so in smaller firms, and the cashflow and control rights tend to be
weaker than in other deals. These firms are as likely as the VC-backed firms to
have successful liquidity events and more likely to survive, though often in an
inactive state. For larger deals, VC participation is generally a necessary. Outcomes
are inferior when angels and VCs coinvest relative to when VCs invest alone. Our
findings are broadly consistent with a matching explanation in which heterogeneous
entrepreneurs and investors choose one another. Submitted.
Myeong-Gu Seo, Brent Goldfarb and Lisa Feldman, "Affect and the Framing Effect:
Risk Taking in a Dynamic Investment Game", under second review, Academy Management
Journal (September 2008).
Does investor's emotions influence risk-taking? Investors frame decisions based
on gain and loss. However, this affect is attenuated or disappears in when investors
simultaneously are performing well and experience positive and / or negative effect
or when performing poorly and experience negative affects. Submitted Article.
Dave Major, Scott Livengood, David Waguespack, and Anil Gupta
VICARIOUS LEARNING IN THE GLOBALIZATION OF VENTURE CAPITAL.
In this paper we examine the differential impact of vicarious learning on imitating
organizations. Vicarious learning is divided into two types: acquisition of declarative knowledge and acquisition of procedural knowledge. We argue that observation of salient others results in the acquisition of declarative knowledge; that learning from ties to network partners results in the acquisition of declarative and procedural knowledge; and that acquisition of procedural knowledge fosters deeper commitment and higher quality decisions.
Focusing on the globalization pattern of US venture capital firms, we examine the likelihood of an initial foreign investment, the extent of the investment commitment, and the perceived decision quality. We find strong evidence of differences in learning based on acquisition type. The results suggest that vicarious learning acquired through network ties ultimately leads to superior imitation.
Submitted paper.
Lei Zhang and Rhonda Reger
The Reputation Trap: The effect of reputation on ambidexterity
Past literature primarily focuses on the positive aspects of reputation. This
paper emphasizes the dark side of reputation. We argue that reputation influences
firms’ innovation strategies. Reputation may create a reputation trap in which high
reputation firms are motivated to over-exploit and low reputation firms are motivated
to over-explore. Firms that fall into these traps will have lower ambidexterity
and thus their performance will suffer. However, top managers may mitigate the dark
side effect of reputation on exploration and exploitation using their sensemaking
ability to provide a more appropriate frame to guide decision making. Keywords:
Reputation, exploration, exploitation
Was presented at the SMS annual meeting. We are still chugging along on the
empirical side of this research, so it remains a current research interest.
Yogesh V. Joshi, Published Work: New Product Diffusion with Influentials
and Imitators (Marketing Science, 2007)
We model the diffusion of innovations in markets with two segments: influentials
who are more in touch with new developments and who affect another segment of imitators
whose own adoptions do not affect the influentials. This two-segment structure with
asymmetric influence is consistent with several theories in sociology and diffusion
research as well as many “viral” or “network” marketing strategies. We have four
main results. (1) Diffusion in a mixture of influentials and imitators can exhibit
a dip or “chasm” between the early and later parts of the diffusion curve. (2) The
proportion of adoptions stemming from influentials need not decrease monotonically
but may first decrease and then increase. (3) Erroneously specifying a mixed-influence
model to a mixture process where influentials act independently from each other
can generate systematic changes in the parameter values reported in earlier research.
(4) Empirical analysis of 33 different data series indicates that the two-segment
model fits better than the standard mixed-influence, the Gamma/Shifted Gompertz,
and the Weibull-Gamma models, especially in cases where a two-segment structure
is likely to exist. Also, the two-segment model fits about as well as the Karmeshu-Goswami
mixed-influence model in which the coefficients of innovation and imitation vary
across potential adopters in a continuous fashion.
Status: Published in Marketing Science
Susan White, Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow, Accepted paper: "Aquarius
Ales: How Much Should the Brew Cost?" with Pascal Villiger, forthcoming in the
Case Research Journal.
This is a case study concerning the valuation of a small business, a privately-owned
pub in Austin, Texas, using discounted cash flow and comparable multiples valuation
techniques.
Rafael A. Corredoira, Assistant Professor
Note: The below research was founded by other centers and will be acknowledged
as such upon publication - many of those projects have been funded by more
than one source. My only obligation is to thank their funding in the acknowledgement
section and provide them with a working paper that my upload to their website or
not. They do not have exclusivity nor any copywrite on the work.
Capability Upgrading in Developing Economies (in collaboration with G.
A. McDermott). A research project that studies the role of the forms of government
participation in institutional and social networks in promoting and facilitating
knowledge flows and innovation adoption and the upgrading of capabilities at firm
level. The project has run since 2003 and developed innovative measurement instruments.
Data collection has been performed in the Argentinean wine and autopart industries,
and new rounds are aimed to include industries Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Papers under review and forthcoming:
- Network Composition, Collaborative Ties, and Upgrading in Emerging Market
Firms: Lessons from the Argentine Autoparts Sector (G.A. McDermott, R.A. Corredoira;
Journal of International Business, forthcoming, 2009)
- Public-Private Institutions as Instigators of Upgrading and Improved Access
to a Variety of Knowledge Resources in Emerging Market Societies (G.A. McDermott,
R.A. Corredoira, G. Kruse).
Efficiency and Learning in Management of Addiction Treatment (in collaboration
with J. R. Kimberly). A research project that is aimed to understand and promote
innovation, efficiency, and learning across state addiction treatment industry.
With the collaboration of ADAA – Maryland and the Substance Abuse Services at Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, the project has developed a novel approach to compare treatment
center overall clinical efficiency. It aims identifying best practices and study
the different mechanisms promoting their transfer and adoption across the treatment
industry with the goal of obtaining increased overall system efficiency.
Papers under review:
- Efficiency in Addiction Treatment: A DEA of Clinic Efficiency in Maryland
(R.A. Corredoira, J.K. Kimberly, J. Chilingerian)
The Automotive Aftermarket Industry
Chetan Singh -- University of Maryland
May 2008
On May 20th and 21st I attended the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium
in Chicago. Every layer of the industry from the technician to the manufacturer
was represented at the symposium in panel discussions and debates.
The Aftermarket on the retail/wholesale side of the business is a very
fragmented business. Most of the players in the industry are small family owned
businesses which have had it tough with the growth of the big players like NAPA,
Car Quest, Advance Auto Parts, and Autozone among others. To compete with these
large nationwide chains these was the formation of buying groups which allow
independent Warehouse Distributors to get volume discounts similar to their
competitors. However today, with the gas prices going up and people demanding
cars with better gas mileage and low maintenance, both big and small players in
the aftermarket in the United States are going through a rough phase. The
manufacturers have to compete with the prices offered by the emerging economies
of China and India. The economy moving into recession where people are watching
every dollar they spend and the sales of the big three of Detroit plummeting
down is impacting the aftermarket more than ever.
Read the remainder of the research proposal
The Practical Intelligence of High Potential Entrepreneurs:
Antecedents and Links to New Venture Growth
J. Robert Baum,
Barbara J. Bird and Sheetal Singh -- University of Maryland
February 2008
While the importance of Practical intelligence (PI) has been
established in the literature on theoretical grounds, researchers have called
for greater empirical evidence. In response, we provide evidence of the
importance of PI for success (new venture growth) in the high potential
entrepreneurship setting. We draw upon cognitive psychology, social
cognition, and social cognitive theories to develop a model of practical
intelligence, its antecedents, and its role in the exploitation phase of
entrepreneurship. The model was tested through interviews with 22 printing
industry CEOs and responses from 143 founders of early stage high potential
printing and graphics businesses. This is one of the first empirical
studies of entrepreneurs' intelligence.
All our hypotheses are supported, thus supporting our theory
that situationally specific venture as well as industry experience contributes
to development of entrepreneur’s PI. Related venture and industry experience and
two learning orientations interacted to predict practical intelligence.
While several learning orientations have been identified in the literature,
existing theory on entrepreneurial behavior leads us to believe in the value of
concrete experience and active experimentation for developing PI. We present
evidence in support of this argument. This finding extends our knowledge about
the development of PI beyond the role of experience and extends the literature
on how experience gets translated into PI. Additionally, PI
predicted higher venture growth across four years.
Read the remainder of the research proposal
Are Angels Preferred Venture Investors?
Brent Goldfarb, Gerard Hoberg, David Kirsch, Alexander Triantis
-- University of Maryland
October 2007
We examine the impact of business angels on 182 Series A
financings and subsequent company outcomes. Our studied rounds have a varied mix
of business angel and formal venture capital investors (VCs). We find that when
only angels participate in a financing round and VCs are absent, control rights
are more entrepreneur-friendly, legal expenses are lower and investors are more
geographically proximate to the company. Such angel-backed companies are less
likely to fail and are more likely to have a successful liquidity event. We find
that companies are financed exclusively by VC investors also perform well,
particularly when deals are large. Companies financed by both angels and VCs
experience inferior outcomes.
Our results suggest that entrepreneurs consider business angels
to be preferred investors and VCs investing in small deals face adverse
selection. For larger deals, where deeper-pocket VC participation is required,
these roles reverse and angels face adverse selection when investing alongside
powerful VC syndicates.
Read the
remainder of the research proposal
Do Business Ethics Matter?
Why a Code of Conduct Is Important for the Entrepreneur
Michael D. Pfarrer -- University of Maryland
August 15, 2005
Ethics can be a messy business. Scholars and practitioners alike
have often argued over a definition of ethical behavior, as well as the
necessity for a code of ethics in organizations. Indeed, there appears to be no
clear moral compass to guide organizations (McNamara, 2005). But, if one
operates under the assumption that business has a moral responsibility to act
ethically (to which some would disagree [cf. Locke & Noel, 2004]), then a code
of ethics is a logical next step to help codify proper behavior in
organizations.
As an early stage entrepreneurial company it is never too early
to start thinking about and implementing a code of conduct to ensure ethical
standards are ingrained into the corporate DNA. This ensures that all the
process and procedures for a well-managed, investor-owned company are robust and
developed. Implementing a code of conduct is an important first step.
An effective code of ethics...
Read the remainder of the research proposal
Was There a Dot Com Bubble? Distinguishing Between
Technological and Market Phenomena
David Kirsch, Brent Goldfarb -- University of Maryland
December 17, 2004
The late 1990s saw a 10-fold increase and subsequent decline in
U.S. venture capital funding peaking at $30 billion per quarter in early 2000, a
boom and bust by any measure (Venture Economics, 2003). This project
examines the nature and character of entrepreneurial action during this period.
First, our preliminary findings suggest a significant under-counting of
investment in new venture creation during the so-called Dot Com era as data
sources under-report the amount of private, informal capital secured by nascent
internet technology startups by up to 50%. This finding tempts one to
conclude that the internet bust was more severe and pronounced than publicly
reported. Yet, framed within the theoretical setting of Schumpeterian
business cycles in which entrepreneurial opportunities are driven by secular
technological change, we develop and test two competing explanations of the
“boom” and “bust”. To test these theories we introduce a novel dataset
dataset consisting of more than 1,000 internet era business plans that were
submitted to a leading venture capitalist during the years of the internet
bubble.
Read the remainder of the research proposal
How Entrepreneurial Firms Overcome their Resource Deficit:
Network Status,
Knowledge Transfer, and Isolating Mechanisms
By Deepak Somaya
While entrepreneurial firms may possess unique advantages in
their agility and ability to address hitherto unmet needs, they also lack the
considerable internal capabilities that large firms have easy access to. In
fact, they are extremely constrained in firm-specific resources, and typically
do not have either the time or financing to build them up quickly. We argue that
entrepreneurial firms compensate for this "resource deficit" through a number of
different mechanisms. First, they build networks to gain access to critical
resources, and consciously seek alliances with high-status players in order to
enhance their own attractiveness as network partners. Second, they source
knowledge from their environment in ways that are consistent with their own weak
knowledge base or limited "absorptive capacity"; favoring knowledge transfer
through incentivized contracts over internal firm learning. Third,
entrepreneurial firms are especially dependent on isolating mechanisms barriers
to imitation that will enable them to appropriate returns and build a unique
market position. Lacking the complementary assets to compete head-to-head with
larger firms, entrepreneurial firms will seek opportunities and relationships
where the protection provided by strategic barriers like patents is high. We
test our hypotheses in a unique empirical setting university technology
licensing in which we can compare the behavior of start-ups and large firms
without the biases introduced when licensing partners (universities in this
case) can commercialize the technology on their own.
Evolution of Software Ecosystem Alliances Between Entrepreneurial ISVs and
Large Middleware Platform Companies
By Anil K. Gupta
This project is aimed at understanding the formation and evolution of
“ecosystem alliances” between independent software companies (also called
“independent software vendors” or ISVs) and large middleware platform companies
such as IBM.
The key research questions driving this study are: (a) Which young companies
are likely to join the ecosystem of a particular established company? In other
words, how do young companies choose whose ecosystem to join? (b) What factors
determine the effectiveness of the dyadic relationships in the ecosystem? (c)
What factors determine the evolutionary path of the alliance in the ecosystem
over time? And (d) What are the consequences of such alliances for each of the
parties (direct/indirect, short-term/long-term, positive/negative)?
I have already obtained sponsorship from IBM to get access to relevant people
for the collection of primary data. The overall data collection plan is as
follows: Phase 1 - Interview one person from each side (IBM and ISV) for about
20-24 alliances. Phase 2 - Conduct questionnaire survey of one key person from
each side in 150-200 alliances.
Entrepreneurs' Start-up Cognitions and Behaviors:
Dreams, Surprises, Shortages, and Fast Zigzags
J. Robert
Baum, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of
Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business won the distinguished Babson
Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BKERC) Best Paper Award for a research
paper that identifies the key ingredients for achieving success as an
entrepreneur.
In the winning paper, "Entrepreneurs' Start-up Cognitions and Behaviors:
Dreams, Surprises, Shortages, and Fast Zigzags," Baum tested theories he had
formed as an entrepreneur himself. He studied the psychological profile,
knowledge and actions that an individual needs to convert a promising concept
into a successful new venture. The three-year research study involved repeated
interviews of more than 100 would-be entrepreneurs as they progressed (or
failed) along their path to business formation.
Baum's research revealed that those who are successful rarely have the luxury
of following a straight line to their goal. Rather, they must have the ability
to "zigzag around the obstacles that confront new enterprises."
Read the paper
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