IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v40y2013i2p417-434.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Failing firms and successful entrepreneurs: serial entrepreneurship as a temporal portfolio

Author

Listed:
  • Saras Sarasvathy
  • Anil Menon
  • Graciela Kuechle

Abstract

Entrepreneurial performance is almost always confounded with firm performance. In this paper we argue for an instrumental view of the firm by formally showing that entrepreneurs can amplify their expected success rates by designing their careers as temporal portfolios that exploit contagion processes embedded in serial entrepreneurship. The advantages to holding concurrent portfolios that exploit heterogeneity are well known. The same advantages may be achieved in the serial context through contagion. Our model exploits an observation due to William Feller on the near equivalence of the two, statistically speaking. It also leads to empirically plausible implications about the size distribution of firms in the economy and illustrates the relevance of considering firms and entrepreneurs as distinct loci of analysis. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Saras Sarasvathy & Anil Menon & Graciela Kuechle, 2013. "Failing firms and successful entrepreneurs: serial entrepreneurship as a temporal portfolio," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 417-434, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:40:y:2013:i:2:p:417-434
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-011-9412-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11187-011-9412-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-011-9412-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Petrunia, 2008. "Does Gibrat’s Law Hold? Evidence from Canadian Retail and Manufacturing Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 201-214, February.
    2. John Sutton, 1997. "Gibrat's Legacy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 40-59, March.
    3. Francesca Lotti & Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2009. "Defending Gibrat’s Law as a long-run regularity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 31-44, January.
    4. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1998. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 26-60, January.
    5. Rerup, Claus, 2005. "Learning from past experience: Footnotes on mindfulness and habitual entrepreneurship," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 451-472, December.
    6. Ronstadt, Robert, 1986. "Exit, stage left why entrepreneurs end their entrepreneurial careers before retirement," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 323-338.
    7. Holmes, Thomas J & Schmitz, James A, Jr, 1995. "On the Turnover of Business Firms and Business Managers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(5), pages 1005-1038, October.
    8. Palich, Leslie E. & Ray Bagby, D., 1995. "Using cognitive theory to explain entrepreneurial risk-taking: Challenging conventional wisdom," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 425-438, November.
    9. Panaretos, John & Xekalaki, Evdokia, 1986. "The stuttering generalized waring distribution," Statistics & Probability Letters, Elsevier, vol. 4(6), pages 313-318, October.
    10. Blandina Oliveira & Adelino Fortunato, 2006. "Firm Growth and Liquidity Constraints: A Dynamic Analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 139-156, October.
    11. Griffin, Dale W. & Varey, Carol A., 1996. "Towards a Consensus on Overconfidence," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 227-231, March.
    12. Bates, Timothy, 1990. "Entrepreneur Human Capital Inputs and Small Business Longevity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(4), pages 551-559, November.
    13. Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 1998. "Novice, portfolio, and serial founders: are they different?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 173-204, May.
    14. Levinthal, D.A. & Fichman, M., 1991. "Honeymoons and the Liability of Adolescence : A New Perspective on Duration Dependence in Social Organizational Relationships," GSIA Working Papers 1991-34, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.
    15. Chen, Chao C. & Greene, Patricia Gene & Crick, Ann, 1998. "Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 295-316, July.
    16. Samuelson, Paul A., 1967. "General Proof that Diversification Pays*," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-13, March.
    17. Almus, Matthias & Nerlinger, Eric A, 2000. "Testing "Gibrat's Law" for Young Firms--Empirical Results for West Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, August.
    18. Paul Westhead & Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright & Martin Binks, 2005. "Novice, Serial and Portfolio Entrepreneur Behaviour and Contributions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 109-132, September.
    19. Barton H. Hamilton, 2000. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self-Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 604-631, June.
    20. Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright & Paul Westhead, 2003. "A longitudinal study of habitual entrepreneurs: starters and acquirers," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 207-228, July.
    21. Marco Gelderen & Lidewey Sluis & Paul Jansen, 2005. "Learning Opportunities and Learning Behaviours of Small Business Starters: Relations with Goal Achievement, Skill Development and Satisfaction," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 97-108, August.
    22. Sarasvathy, D. K. & Simon, Herbert A. & Lave, Lester, 1998. "Perceiving and managing business risks: differences between entrepreneurs and bankers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 207-225, January.
    23. Niels Bosma & Mirjam van Praag & Roy Thurik & Gerrit de Wit, 2004. "The Value of Human and Social Capital Investments for the Business Performance of Startups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 227-236, October.
    24. José Calvo, 2006. "Testing Gibrat’s Law for Small, Young and Innovating Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 117-123, March.
    25. Deniz Ucbasaran & Paul Westhead & Mike Wright, 2008. "Opportunity Identification and Pursuit: Does an Entrepreneur’s Human Capital Matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 153-173, February.
    26. Acs,Zoltan J. & Armington,Catherine, 2011. "Entrepreneurship, Geography, and American Economic Growth," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107402539, January.
    27. Chih-Hai Yang & Chia-Hui Huang, 2005. "R&D, Size and Firm Growth in Taiwan‘s Electronics Industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 477-487, December.
    28. Nancy G. Boyd & George S. Vozikis, 1994. "The Influence of Self-Efficacy on the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(4), pages 63-77, July.
    29. Richard E. Caves, 1998. "Industrial Organization and New Findings on the Turnover and Mobility of Firms," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 1947-1982, December.
    30. Erik Stam & David Audretsch & Joris Meijaard, 2009. "Renascent entrepreneurship," Springer Books, in: Uwe Cantner & Jean-Luc Gaffard & Lionel Nesta (ed.), Schumpeterian Perspectives on Innovation, Competition and Growth, pages 223-237, Springer.
      • Stam, F.C. & Audretsch, D.B. & Meijaard, J., 2006. "Renascent Entrepreneurship," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2006-017-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    31. Andrew Burke & Felix FitzRoy & Michael Nolan, 2008. "What makes a die-hard entrepreneur? Beyond the ‘employee or entrepreneur’ dichotomy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 93-115, August.
    32. Evans, David S & Leighton, Linda S, 1989. "Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(3), pages 519-535, June.
    33. Christensen, Laurits R, 1971. "Entrepreneurial Income: How Does It Measure Up?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(4), pages 575-585, September.
    34. Mark Casson (ed.), 1990. "Entrepreneurship," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 537.
    35. Tobias J. Moskowitz & Annette Vissing-Jørgensen, 2002. "The Returns to Entrepreneurial Investment: A Private Equity Premium Puzzle?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 745-778, September.
    36. Carter, Sara & Ram, Monder, 2003. "Reassessing Portfolio Entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 371-380, December.
    37. Wright, Mike & Robbie, Ken & Ennew, Christine, 1997. "Venture capitalists and serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 227-249, May.
    38. Geroski, P. A., 1995. "What do we know about entry?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 421-440, December.
    39. Howard E. Aldrich & Martha Argelia Martinez, 2001. "Many are Called, but Few are Chosen: An Evolutionary Perspective for the Study of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 41-56, July.
    40. Busenitz, Lowell W. & Barney, Jay B., 1997. "Differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations: Biases and heuristics in strategic decision-making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 9-30, January.
    41. A. Amaral & Rui Baptista & Francisco Lima, 2011. "Serial entrepreneurship: impact of human capital on time to re-entry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 1-21, July.
    42. Baron, Robert A., 1998. "Cognitive mechanisms in entrepreneurship: why and when enterpreneurs think differently than other people," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 275-294, July.
    43. Luisito Bertinelli & Olivier Cardi & Teoman Pamukçu & Eric Strobl, 2006. "The Evolution of the Distribution of Plant Size: Evidence from Luxemburg," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 301-311, December.
    44. Birley, Sue & Westhead, Paul, 1994. "A taxonomy of business start-up reasons and their impact on firm growth and size," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 7-31, January.
    45. G. Bottazzi & E. Cefis & G. Dosi & A. Secchi, 2007. "Invariances and Diversities in the Patterns of Industrial Evolution: Some Evidence from Italian Manufacturing Industries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 137-159, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marco Vivarelli, 2013. "Is entrepreneurship necessarily good? Microeconomic evidence from developed and developing countries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 22(6), pages 1453-1495, December.
    2. A. Amaral & Rui Baptista & Francisco Lima, 2011. "Serial entrepreneurship: impact of human capital on time to re-entry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 1-21, July.
    3. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    4. Emanuela Carbonara & Hien Thu Tran & Enrico Santarelli, 2020. "Determinants of novice, portfolio, and serial entrepreneurship: an occupational choice approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 123-151, June.
    5. Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2007. "Entrepreneurship and the process of firms’ entry, survival and growth," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 16(3), pages 455-488, June.
    6. Rui Baptista & Murat Karaöz & Joana Mendonça, 2014. "The impact of human capital on the early success of necessity versus opportunity-based entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 831-847, April.
    7. Marco Vivarelli, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and Post-Entry Performance: the Microeconomic Evidence," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1286, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    8. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    9. Rocha, Vera & Carneiro, Anabela & Amorim Varum, Celeste, 2015. "Serial entrepreneurship, learning by doing and self-selection," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 91-106.
    10. Johan Wiklund & Dean A. Shepherd, 2008. "Portfolio Entrepreneurship: Habitual and Novice Founders, New Entry, and Mode of Organizing," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(4), pages 701-725, July.
    11. Nahata, Rajarishi, 2019. "Success is good but failure is not so bad either: Serial entrepreneurs and venture capital contracting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 624-649.
    12. Massimo Baù & Philipp Sieger & Kimberly A. Eddleston & Francesco Chirico, 2017. "Fail but Try Again? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Multiple–Owner Experience on Failed Entrepreneurs’ Reentry," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 909-941, November.
    13. Vivarelli, Marco, 2012. "Drivers of entrepreneurship and post-entry performance : microeconomic evidence from advanced and developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6245, The World Bank.
    14. Vivarelli, Marco, 2012. "Entrepreneurship in Advanced and Developing Countries: A Microeconomic Perspective," IZA Discussion Papers 6513, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2013. "Establishment exits in Germany: the role of size and age," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 683-700, October.
    16. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Elert, Niklas & Lang, Ã…sa, 2012. "Does Gibrat's law hold for retailing? Evidence from Sweden," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 464-469.
    17. Francesco Quatraro & Marco Vivarelli, 2015. "Drivers of Entrepreneurship and Post-entry Performance of Newborn Firms in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 277-305.
    18. Coad, Alex & Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2013. "Like milk or wine: Does firm performance improve with age?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 173-189.
    19. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    20. Francine Lafontaine & Kathryn Shaw, 2016. "Serial Entrepreneurship: Learning by Doing?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S2), pages 217-254.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Serial entrepreneurship; Firm performance; Industrial organization; Population ecology; Labor economics; Financial economics; G11; G24; J24; L25; L26;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:40:y:2013:i:2:p:417-434. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.