Organizational design choices of high‐tech startups: How middle management drives innovation performance

Grimpe, Christoph; Murmann, Martin; Sofka, Wolfgang (2019). Organizational design choices of high‐tech startups: How middle management drives innovation performance Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 13(3), pp. 359-378. John Wiley & Sons 10.1002/sej.1330

Text Grimpe_et_al-2019-Strategic_Entrepreneurship_Journal.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (2MB) | Request a copy

Managerial Summary Most high-tech entrepreneurs acknowledge that an overload of managerial tasks keeps them from advancing innovation in their startups. However, they are often times reluctant to introduce middle management because of a fear that the resulting bureaucratization will stifle innovation. Our study shows that these fears are not justified. Instead, we find for 2,431 high-tech startups in Germany that startups with middle managers are significantly more innovative than those without. While middle managers might be a roadblock for innovation in large firms, startups benefit from having them. Founders are the central decision makers in startups and can easily be overburdened with management tasks. Middle managers can alleviate parts of this workload and allow founders to focus on creating innovative products and services.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for Innovation and Strategic Entrepreneurship Business School
Name:	Grimpe, Christoph; Murmann, Martin0000-0002-0430-949X and Sofka, Wolfgang
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
ISSN:	1932-4391
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons
Language:	English
Submitter:	Martin Murmann
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2022 12:54
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2022 12:54
Publisher DOI:	10.1002/sej.1330
Additional Information:	Online ISSN:1932-443X
Uncontrolled Keywords:	entrepreneurial attention, innovation performance, middle management, organizational design, startups
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.17766
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/17766