Most theories of the firm ignore the entrepreneurial process of how the various resources of the firm are combined in the first place. This paper examines the process of how an entrepreneur obtains commitments from multiple resource providers to create a new venture. Resource providers may be reluctant to commit to an unproven concept, and the commitment of one gives external validation for the others. The entrepreneur has to decide in what order to approach potential providers, and what to bargain for. The optimal sequence of commitments depends on the entrepreneur's own credibility. Additional problems arise when no resource provider wants to be the first to commit. In this case the entrepreneur may shuttle between resource providers for a long time and the venture may never get started. The paper also shows how, as a result of the entrepreneurial process, the resources in a firm may differ from their first-best combination.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Sergiu Hart & Andreu Mas-Colell, 1994.
"Bargaining and Value,"
Economics Working Papers
114, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Feb 1995.
[Downloadable!]
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
Biais, Bruno & Perotti, Enrico, 2008.
"Entrepreneurs and New Ideas,"
IDEI Working Papers
347, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse, revised 0000.
[Downloadable!]
Other versions: