IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v31y2007i6p807-828.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Technology Entrepreneurs’ Human Capital and Its Effects on Innovation Radicalness

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew R. Marvel
  • G.T. Lumpkin

Abstract

Radical innovations transform existing markets, create new markets, and stimulate economic growth. This study investigates how the experience, education, and prior knowledge of technology entrepreneurs relate to innovation radicalness. Findings from a sample of 145 technology entrepreneurs operating within university–affiliated incubators suggest that general and specific human capital are both vital to innovation outcomes. Innovation radicalness was positively associated with formal education and prior knowledge of technology, but negatively associated with prior knowledge of ways to serve markets. This suggests a counterintuitive conclusion—the less technology entrepreneurs know about ways to serve a market, the greater their chances of using technology knowledge to create breakthrough innovations within it. Finally, we discuss configurations of human capital that are likely to bestow unique advantages in the construction of radical innovations.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew R. Marvel & G.T. Lumpkin, 2007. "Technology Entrepreneurs’ Human Capital and Its Effects on Innovation Radicalness," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(6), pages 807-828, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:31:y:2007:i:6:p:807-828
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00209.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00209.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00209.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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ronstadt, Robert, 1988. "The Corridor Principle," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 31-40.
    2. 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.
    3. James O. Fiet, 1995. "Risk Avoidance Strategies In Venture Capital Markets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 551-574, July.
    4. Singer, Barry, 1995. "Contours of development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 303-329, July.
    5. Eric von Hippel, 1986. "Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(7), pages 791-805, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Dolton, Peter J & Makepeace, G H, 1990. "Self Employment among Graduates," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 35-53, January.
    8. Gautam Ahuja & Curba Morris Lampert, 2001. "Entrepreneurship in the large corporation: a longitudinal study of how established firms create breakthrough inventions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 521-543, June.
    9. Ardichvili, Alexander & Cardozo, Richard & Ray, Sourav, 2003. "A theory of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 105-123, January.
    10. George P. Huber & Danial J. Power, 1985. "Retrospective reports of strategic‐level managers: Guidelines for increasing their accuracy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 171-180, April.
    11. 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.
    12. Robert E. Quinn & Kim Cameron, 1983. "Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness: Some Preliminary Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(1), pages 33-51, January.
    13. Gregory G. Dess & Richard B. Robinson, 1984. "Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately‐held firm and conglomerate business unit," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 265-273, July.
    14. Daniel F. Jennings & Dean M. Young, 1990. "An Empirical Comparison between Objective and Subjective Measures of the Product Innovation Domain of Corporate Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 15(1), pages 53-66, October.
    15. Scott Shane, 2000. "Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 448-469, August.
    16. Chris Freeman & Luc Soete, 1997. "The Economics of Industrial Innovation, 3rd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 3, volume 1, number 0262061953, December.
    17. Davidsson, Per & Honig, Benson, 2003. "The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 301-331, May.
    18. Robinson, Peter B. & Sexton, Edwin A., 1994. "The effect of education and experience on self-employment success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 141-156, March.
    19. Frederic Delmar & Per Davidsson, 2000. "Where do they come from? Prevalence and characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, January.
    20. Jeffrey G. Covin & Morgan P. Miles, 1999. "Corporate Entrepreneurship and the Pursuit of Competitive Advantage," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(3), pages 47-63, April.
    21. Corbett, Andrew C., 2007. "Learning asymmetries and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 97-118, January.
    22. Dimov, Dimo P. & Shepherd, Dean A., 2005. "Human capital theory and venture capital firms: exploring "home runs" and "strike outs"," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-21, January.
    23. Cooper, Arnold C. & Gimeno-Gascon, F. Javier & Woo, Carolyn Y., 1994. "Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 371-395, September.
    24. 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.
    25. Dean A. Shepherd & Dawn R. DeTienne, 2005. "Prior Knowledge, Potential Financial Reward, and Opportunity Identification," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 91-112, January.
    26. Elaine Mosakowski, 1998. "Entrepreneurial Resources, Organizational Choices, and Competitive Outcomes," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(6), pages 625-643, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bunduchi, Raluca & Crișan-Mitra, Cătălina & Salanță, Irina-Iulia & Crișan, Emil Lucian, 2022. "Digital product innovation approaches in entrepreneurial firms – the role of entrepreneurs’ cognitive frames," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Xie, Yu & Wu, Desheng & Li, Xiaoyan & Tian, Suhua, 2023. "How does environmental regulation affect productivity? The role of corporate compliance strategies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Bogatyreva, Karina & Laskovaia, Anastasiia & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy, 2022. "Entrepreneurial activity, intrapreneurship, and conducive institutions: Is there a connection?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 45-56.
    4. Sansone, Giuliano & Andreotti, Pietro & Colombelli, Alessandra & Landoni, Paolo, 2020. "Are social incubators different from other incubators? Evidence from Italy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    5. Wioletta Czemiel-Grzybowska, 2022. "Conceptualization and Mapping of Predictors of Technological Entrepreneurship Growth in a Changing Economic Environment (COVID-19) from the Polish Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Russ McBride & Mark D. Packard & Brent B. Clark, 2024. "Rogue Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(1), pages 392-417, January.
    7. Petrit Ademi & Monika C. Schuhmacher & Andrew L. Zacharakis, 2023. "Evaluating Affordance-Based Opportunities: A Conjoint Experiment of Corporate Venture Capital Managers’ Decision-Making," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2293-2322, November.
    8. Hoang, Ngoc & Nahm, Daehoon & Dobbie, Michael, 2021. "Innovation, gender, and labour productivity: Small and medium enterprises in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Miguel Ángel Montañés-Del-Río & José Aurelio Medina-Garrido, 2020. "Determinants of the Propensity for Innovation among Entrepreneurs in the Tourism Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Alfredo Molinas, 2024. "From degrees to dollars: Exploring the link between elite education and startup funding," Journal of Economic Analysis, Anser Press, vol. 3(1), pages 145-159, March.
    11. Yan, Weichen & Cai, Zhipeng & Yang, Aishu, 2023. "Leading the charge: The impact of executives with R&D backgrounds on corporate digital transformation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    12. Bauer, Ulrich & Soos, Julia, 2017. "Unternehmerische Kompetenzen von GründerInnen technologieorientierter Unternehmen: Eine Erhebung im österreichischen AplusB-Programm," BWL Publication Series, Graz University of Technology, Institute of Business Economics and Industrial Sociology (BWL), volume 21, number 21.
    13. Tang, Jintong & Yang, Jun & Ye, Wenping & Khan, Shaji A., 2021. "Now is the time: The effects of linguistic time reference and national time orientation on innovative new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    14. Li, Xin & Nosheen, Safia & Haq, Naveed Ul & Gao, Xue, 2021. "Value creation during fourth industrial revolution: Use of intellectual capital by most innovative companies of the world," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    15. Jung, Jin Hwa & Lim, Dong-Geon, 2020. "Industrial robots, employment growth, and labor cost: A simultaneous equation analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    16. Kuratko, Donald F. & Neubert, Emily & Marvel, Matthew R., 2021. "Insights on the mentorship and coachability of entrepreneurs," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 199-209.
    17. Nguyen, Lily & Vu, Le & Yin, Xiangkang, 2020. "The undesirable effect of audit quality: Evidence from firm innovation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    18. Helian Xu & Shiqi Deng, 2024. "Digital Mergers and Acquisitions and Enterprise Innovation Quality: Analysis Based on Research and Development Investment and Overseas Subsidiaries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, January.
    19. Julia K. de Groote & Werner Conrad & Andreas Hack, 2021. "How can family businesses survive disruptive industry changes? Insights from the traditional mail order industry," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(8), pages 2239-2273, November.
    20. Pindado, Emilio & Sánchez, Mercedes & García Martínez, Marian, 2023. "Entrepreneurial innovativeness: When too little or too much agglomeration hurts," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    21. Wang, Zhaoxing & He, Qile & Xia, Senmao & Sarpong, David & Xiong, Ailun & Maas, Gideon, 2020. "Capacities of business incubator and regional innovation performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    22. Xuequn Wang & Leonard M. Jessup, 2014. "A Review and Synthesis of Entrepreneurship Research: Towards an Integrative Model of Dependent Variables," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 23(2), pages 163-199, September.
    23. Marvel, Matthew R. & Wolfe, Marcus T. & Kuratko, Donald F., 2020. "Escaping the knowledge corridor: How founder human capital and founder coachability impacts product innovation in new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    24. Usai, A. & Fiano, F. & Messeni Petruzzelli, A. & Paoloni, P. & Farina Briamonte, M. & Orlando, B., 2021. "Unveiling the impact of the adoption of digital technologies on firms’ innovation performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 327-336.
    25. Devarakonda, Ramakrishna & Reuer, Jeffrey J. & Tadikonda, Harsha, 2022. "Founder social capital and value appropriation in R&D alliance agreements," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(4).

    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. Matthew R. Marvel, 2013. "Human Capital and Search–Based Discovery: A Study of High–Tech Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 403-419, March.
    2. Marvel, Matthew R. & Wolfe, Marcus T. & Kuratko, Donald F., 2020. "Escaping the knowledge corridor: How founder human capital and founder coachability impacts product innovation in new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    3. Matthew R. Marvel & G. T. Lumpkin, 2017. "Domain Learning and Opportunity Development in a High-Tech Context," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 25(01), pages 67-96, March.
    4. Isabel Grilo & Roy Thurik, 2008. "Determinants of entrepreneurial engagement levels in Europe and the US," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 17(6), pages 1113-1145, December.
    5. Ferrante, Francesco & Federici, Daniela & Parisi, Valentino, 2017. "University Students and Entrepreneurship. Some insights from a population-based survey," MPRA Paper 76980, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Dimo Dimov, 2010. "Nascent Entrepreneurs and Venture Emergence: Opportunity Confidence, Human Capital, and Early Planning," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1123-1153, September.
    7. 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.
    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. Jintong Tang, 2010. "How entrepreneurs discover opportunities in China: An institutional view," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 461-479, September.
    10. Vandor, Peter & Franke, Nikolaus, 2016. "See Paris and… found a business? The impact of cross-cultural experience on opportunity recognition capabilities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 388-407.
    11. Roy Thurik & Isabel Grilo, 2005. "Latent and actual entrepreneurship in Europe and the US: some recent developments," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-24, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    12. Sascha G. Walter & Achim Walter, 2009. "Personenbezogene Determinanten von Unternehmensgründungen: Stand der Forschung und Perspektiven des Fortschritts," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 57-89, February.
    13. Peter van der Zwan & Ingrid Verheul & Roy Thurik & Isabel Grilo, 2009. "Entrepreneurial Progress: Climbing the Entrepreneurial Ladder in Europe and the US," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 09-070/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 17 Mar 2010.
    14. Pindado, Emilio & Sánchez, Mercedes & Verstegen, Jos A.A.M. & Lans, Thomas, 2018. "Searching for the entrepreneurs among new entrants in European Agriculture: the role of human and social capital," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 19-30.
    15. Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright & Paul Westhead, 2006. "Entrepreneurial Entry, Exit and Re-Entry: The Extent and Nature of Opportunity Identification," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2006-09, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    16. Dirk Dohse & Sascha Walter, 2012. "Knowledge context and entrepreneurial intentions among students," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 877-895, November.
    17. Matthew R. Marvel & Justin L. Davis & Curtis R. Sproul, 2016. "Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Research: A Critical Review and Future Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 599-626, May.
    18. McCann, Brian T. & Folta, Timothy B., 2012. "Entrepreneurial entry thresholds," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 782-800.
    19. Thomas Ã…stebro & Kevyn Yong, 2016. "Invention Quality and Entrepreneurial Earnings: The Role of Prior Employment Variety," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(2), pages 381-400, March.
    20. Unger, Jens M. & Rauch, Andreas & Frese, Michael & Rosenbusch, Nina, 2011. "Human capital and entrepreneurial success: A meta-analytical review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 341-358, May.

    More about this item

    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:sae:entthe:v:31:y:2007:i:6:p:807-828. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.