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The Productivity Advantage of Serial Entrepreneurs

Author

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  • Kathryn Shaw
  • Anders Sørensen

Abstract

Using panel data from Denmark from 2001 to 2013, the authors find that serial entrepreneurs—those who open more than one business—have higher sales and greater productivity than do novice entrepreneurs—those who open only one business. Specifically, serial entrepreneurs’ firms have 98% higher sales than the novices’ firms, and serial entrepreneurs utilize more initial capital and labor, and thus are 49% more productive. Further, certain subsets of serial entrepreneurs perform especially well; those who hold a portfolio of overlapping firms or who open as limited liability corporations (LLCs) are top performers. The authors’ findings suggest that 41% of LLC entrepreneurs are serial entrepreneurs, thus deepening the need to understand these types of entrepreneurs. Finally, female entrepreneurs are shown to realize sizable gains from serial entrepreneurship: The firms of both female and male serial entrepreneurs are twice as large as the firms of novice entrepreneurs of their respective gender.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Shaw & Anders Sørensen, 2019. "The Productivity Advantage of Serial Entrepreneurs," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(5), pages 1225-1261, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:72:y:2019:i:5:p:1225-1261
    DOI: 10.1177/0019793919865501
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rocha, Vera & Pozzoli, Dario, 2021. "Give it Another Shot: Startup Experience and the Mobilization of Human Resources in New Ventures," Working Papers 11-2021, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    2. Simmons, Sharon A. & Carr, Jon C. & Hsu, Dan & Craig, S. Bartholomew, 2023. "Intention to reengage in entrepreneurship: Performance feedback, sensation seeking and workaholism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    3. Patel, Pankaj C. & Tsionas, Mike & Oghazi, Pejvak & Izquierdo, Vanessa, 2022. "No entrepreneur steps in the same river twice: Limited learning advantage for serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1038-1052.
    4. Shaw, Kathryn & Sørensen, Anders, 2022. "Coming of age: Watching young entrepreneurs become successful," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Cahn, Christophe & Girotti, Mattia & Landier, Augustin, 2021. "Entrepreneurship and information on past failures: A natural experiment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 102-121.
    6. Hsuan-Hua Huang & Hsing-Wen Han & Kuang-Ta Lo & Tzu-Ting Yang, 2023. "Liquidity Constraints, Cash Windfalls, and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Administrative Data on Lottery Winners," Papers 2303.17029, arXiv.org.
    7. Lynda Sanderson, 2024. "Born in bad times: Economic conditions, selection and employment," Working Papers 2024/01, New Zealand Productivity Commission.

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