Studies on the determinants of the entrepreneurial activities

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is one of the key engines of economic growth and a big contributor to the creation of new jobs and inventions. Hence, strategy and organizational scholars have explored various elements of entrepreneurial activity. The researchers, in particular, attempt to comprehend entrepreneurial activities by categorizing them into two major topics. First, scholars in the entrepreneurship field have long been interested in studying the entrepreneurial process, which involves individuals discovering and exploiting business possibilities. In this research theme, scholars tried to answer the question about who and when do individuals transition into entrepreneurs. Second, observed heterogeneity in start-up performance is a central topic in strategy and entrepreneurship study. Thus, the fundamental question in this area has been: why do certain start-ups outperform others? Who will be the successful business owners? This dissertation supplements these two research streams by focusing on two intriguing factors. The first essay study the relationship between entrepreneurial failure experience and the performance heterogeneity of startups. A previous study highlighted entrepreneurial failure as a potential factor explaining observed variations in startup performance. However, the extant literature rarely examines the specific mechanism for how entrepreneurial failure has associated with startup performance. Thus, the first essay focus on failed entrepreneurs' behavioral changes to explain the association between previous company failure experiences and start-up performance. The second essay investigated how the economic and social crisis caused by COVID-19 is related to the individual’s entrepreneurship decision. The unique characteristics of COVID-19, such as social distancing, Work-From-Home syndrome, and rapid adoption of automation technology, present novel theoretical points to examine how environmental changes influence entrepreneurial activity.