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Competence and commitment: employer size and entrepreneurial endurance

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  • Jesper B. Sørensen
  • Damon J. Phillips

Abstract

Most entrepreneurs emanate from established firms, but the impact of these employment histories on entrepreneurial outcomes is poorly understood. We argue that work experiences in the prior firm shape both the entrepreneur's competence in and commitment to the entrepreneurial role. We focus on the effects of employer size on the prospective entrepreneur, and argue that employer size has a negative effect on both entrepreneurial competence and commitment. This implies that entrepreneurs from small firms should have superior economic performance and, for a given level of performance, be less likely to exit entrepreneurship. We find support for these predictions in analyses of entrepreneurs in a unique data set characterizing the Danish labor market. Copyright 2011 The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesper B. Sørensen & Damon J. Phillips, 2011. "Competence and commitment: employer size and entrepreneurial endurance," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 20(5), pages 1277-1304, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:20:y:2011:i:5:p:1277-1304
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    Cited by:

    1. Sierdjan Koster & Martin Andersson, 2018. "When is your experience valuable? Occupation-industry transitions and self-employment success," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 265-286, April.
    2. 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.
    3. Xi, Guoqian & Block, Jörn & Lasch, Frank & Robert, Frank & Thurik, Roy, 2017. "How Does Firm Survival Differ between Business Takeovers and New Venture Start-ups?," IZA Discussion Papers 11155, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Alexandra Schmucker, 2016. "Spinoffs in Germany: characteristics, survival, and the role of their parents," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 93-114, January.
    5. Mark J. O. Bagley, 2019. "Networks, geography and the survival of the firm," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 1173-1209, September.
    6. Vera Rocha & Anabela Carneiro & Celeste Varum, 2015. "Entry and exit dynamics of nascent business owners," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 63-84, June.
    7. Lars Frederiksen & Karl Wennberg & Chanchal Balachandran, 2016. "Mobility and Entrepreneurship: Evaluating the Scope of Knowledge–Based Theories of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(2), pages 359-380, March.
    8. Fredriksen, Lars & Wennberg, Karl & Balachandran, Chanchal, 2015. "Mobility and Entrepreneurship: Evaluating the scope of knowledge-based theories of entrepreneurship," Ratio Working Papers 266, The Ratio Institute.
    9. Argote, Linda & Fahrenkopf, Erin, 2016. "Knowledge transfer in organizations: The roles of members, tasks, tools, and networks," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 146-159.
    10. Gjerløv-Juel, Pernille & Guenther, Christina, 2019. "Early employment expansion and long-run survival," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 80-102.
    11. Johanna Gast & Arndt Werner & Sascha Kraus, 2017. "Antecedents of the small firm effect: the role of knowledge spillover and blocked mobility for employee entrepreneurial intentions," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 277-297, March.
    12. Kathryn L. Shaw & Anders Sørensen, 2017. "The Productivity Advantage of Serial Entrepreneurs," NBER Working Papers 23320, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Broström, Anders & Lööf, Hans & Nabavi, Pardis, 2016. "Inherited Advantage and Spinoff Success," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 437, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    14. Jesper B. Sørensen & Magali A. Fassiotto, 2011. "Organizations as Fonts of Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1322-1331, October.
    15. Olav Sorenson & Michael S. Dahl & Rodrigo Canales & M. Diane Burton, 2021. "Do Startup Employees Earn More in the Long Run?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 587-604, May.
    16. Sohail, Faisal, 2021. "From employee to entrepreneur: Learning, employer size, and spinout dynamics," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    17. Alfonso Gambardella & Martin Ganco & Florence Honoré, 2015. "Using What You Know: Patented Knowledge in Incumbent Firms and Employee Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 456-474, April.
    18. 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.
    19. Erin Fahrenkopf & Jerry Guo & Linda Argote, 2020. "Personnel Mobility and Organizational Performance: The Effects of Specialist vs. Generalist Experience and Organizational Work Structure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 1601-1620, November.
    20. Christian Cordes & Peter Richerson & Georg Schwesinger, 2014. "A corporation’s culture as an impetus for spinoffs and a driving force of industry evolution," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 689-712, July.
    21. Chao Wang & Xiu-e Zhang, 2022. "Binary effects of exploratory and exploitative learning on opportunity identification: The different moderations of environmental munificence and entrepreneurial commitment," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(4), pages 497-524, September.
    22. Maryann P. Feldman & Serden Ozcan & Toke Reichstein, 2019. "Falling Not Far from the Tree: Entrepreneurs and Organizational Heritage," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 337-360, March.
    23. Yeganegi, Sepideh & Laplume, André O. & Dass, Parshotam & Huynh, Cam-Loi, 2016. "Where do spinouts come from? The role of technology relatedness and institutional context," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1103-1112.

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