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The relationship between origin and performance of innovative start-ups: the role of technological knowledge at founding

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  • Tommaso Minola

    (University of Bergamo)

  • Davide Hahn

    (University of Bergamo)

  • Lucio Cassia

    (University of Bergamo)

Abstract

According to the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship (KSTE), the majority of innovative start-ups take advantage of the knowledge originated in incumbent firms or universities. However, little is known on how innovative start-ups’ heterogeneous originating contexts affect their performance differences at founding. To address this gap, we complement the KSTE with the resource-based view of the firm to hypothesize how the origin of innovative start-ups affects their initial technological knowledge and, in turn, performance at founding. We test the model using a sample of 338 innovative start-ups. Our results show that innovative start-ups that originated from university report a performance advantage since, right from their origin, their technological knowledge displays a broad scope and higher levels of newness.

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  • Tommaso Minola & Davide Hahn & Lucio Cassia, 2021. "The relationship between origin and performance of innovative start-ups: the role of technological knowledge at founding," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 553-569, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:56:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-019-00189-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-019-00189-y
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    Cited by:

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    2. Santiago Carbó-Valverde & Pedro J. Cuadros-Solas & Francisco Rodríguez-Fernández, 2022. "Entrepreneurial, institutional and financial strategies for FinTech profitability," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-36, December.
    3. HONJO, Yuji & IWAKI, Yunosuke & KATO, Masatoshi, 2024. "Outside or inside the firm? The impact of debt financing on the exit routes of start-up firms," TDB-CAREE Discussion Paper Series E-2023-02, Teikoku Databank Center for Advanced Empirical Research on Enterprise and Economy, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovative start-ups; Technological knowledge; Performance; Knowledge spillover; Resource-based view;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

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