Entrepreneurs’ Actions and Venture Success: A Structured Literature Review and Suggestions for Future Research

Müller, Susan; Kirst, Alyssa Lara; Bergmann, Heiko; Bird, Barbara (2022). Entrepreneurs’ Actions and Venture Success: A Structured Literature Review and Suggestions for Future Research Small Business Economics, 60(1), pp. 199-226. Springer New York 10.1007/s11187-022-00644-3

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It is the actions of entrepreneurs that give rise to new organizations. However, a comprehensive understanding of what entrepreneurs do and what actually leads to venture success is currently lacking. To summarize existing research, we conduct a structured literature review including 59 empirical articles linking entrepreneurs’ behavior to venture success. We define "actions" as discrete units of "doing" that can—potentially be observed by others and "success" as firm-level success measured by firm status (e.g., firm survival) or performance (e.g., sales). More than half of the included articles are based on data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED), but there are also important "stand-alone" studies. We analyze the "what," the "how," the "how much," and the "when" of entrepreneurs' actions that lead to venture success. In addition, we integrate the view of entrepreneurship as an evolutionary process. The analysis reveals that studies typically analyze "what" entrepreneurs but less often "when" and "how much" and rarely "why," "how," and "what else" they do. Based on our findings, we develop a six-point research agenda. Specifically, we argue that future research should strive to understand the motives behind entrepreneurs’ actions, consider how entrepreneurs conduct activities, and what kind of business ideas they are working on. Also, applying alternative measurements and capturing a more complete picture of what entrepreneurs do when starting a business but also aside from their venturing efforts might contribute to a better understanding of the relationship to venture success.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for Innovation and Strategic Entrepreneurship Business School > Institute for Innovation and Strategic Entrepreneurship > Strategic Entrepreneurship Business School
Name:	Müller, Susan; Kirst, Alyssa Lara; Bergmann, Heiko and Bird, Barbara
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
ISSN:	1573-0913
Publisher:	Springer New York
Language:	English
Submitter:	Susan Müller
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2022 11:54
Last Modified:	15 Jan 2023 01:37
Publisher DOI:	10.1007/s11187-022-00644-3
Uncontrolled Keywords:	entrepreneurship, actions, behavior, behaviour, success, systematic literature review
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.17799
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/17799