The "When, Where, and How" of Entrant Survival: The Effects of Knowledge Regime, Technological Intensity and Start-Up Size on New Venture Survival
MB
Sarkar
Dept. of Marketing
University of Central Florida
Orlando, Fl.
Raj
Echambadi
Dept. of Marketing
University of Central Florida
Orlando, Fl.
Rajshree
Agarwal
Dept. of Business Administration
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, IL.
Bisakha
Sen
Dept. of Economics
University of Central Florida
Orlando, Fl.
Please
address correspondence to
MB Sarkar
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Marketing
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL - 32816
Email: msarkar@bus.ucf.edu
Tel: (407) 823 5699
All authors have contributed equally. The sequence of
authorship was decided by a draw of straws
All authors contributed equally. The names are arranged
in alphabetical order
Abstract
In this research, we seek to advance the understanding of heterogeneity in entrant survival rates. We suggest that the innovative environment at the time of entry can explain the variation in likelihood of survival for entrants. We conceptualize innovative environment in terms of two dimensions: the technological regime operating in a specific industry at the time of entry, and the technology intensity in the specific industry, and argue that the coexistence of certain states of these two dimensions of the innovative environment is important in explaining differences in entrant survival rates. Further, we propose that start-up size differentially impacts the relationship between the innovative environment at the time of entry and entrant survival. Empirical tests done on a unique longitudinal dataset of 3431 firms in 33 product innovations spanning over 80 years reveal support for the contingency hypothesis. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.