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Back to the future: Entrepreneurial leadership and levelling up in the mobile-gaming sector

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  • Donaldson, Colin
  • Villagrasa, Jorge
  • Alegre, Joaquin
  • Liguori, Eric W.

Abstract

Start-ups in dynamic industries frequently pivot their focus, which can help them develop a clear strategic position and subsequently generate a competitive advantage. Whether to pivot or persevere becomes a real-time, critical, and multifaceted decision involving the founder, firm, and environment, but little is known about this complex interplay. Through an explorative case study, we tracked the founding, survival, and growth of Codigames, a high-performing Valencia-based mobile gaming start-up. We combine entrepreneurial leadership, decision-making, and perspective-taking theories to generate insight into critical moments in the start-up's lifepath, contributing to research on the contextualisation of entrepreneurship decision-making under uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Donaldson, Colin & Villagrasa, Jorge & Alegre, Joaquin & Liguori, Eric W., 2024. "Back to the future: Entrepreneurial leadership and levelling up in the mobile-gaming sector," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:79:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24002963
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102748
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