Browsing by Author "Thurik, Roy"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Encountered Problems and Outcome Status in Nascent Entrepreneurship
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) Van Gelderen, Marco; Thurik, Roy; Patel, Pankaj
    The relationship between outcome status and encountered problems in the business start-up process is investigated. Contrary to expectations, we find that starters do not substantially differ from quitters in number and type of problems encountered, and that problems encountered generally do not affect outcome status. This research is based on a sample of 414 Dutch nascent entrepreneurs followed over a three year period. Its design is comparable to the U.S. PSED (Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics).
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    Strategies, uncertainty and performance of small business startups
    (Kluwer, 2000) Van Gelderen, Marco; Frese, Michael; Thurik, Roy
    Personal strategies of owners/founders of small business startups are related to performance and to environmental uncertainty. This is done using a longitudinal data set. Personal strategies are operationalized by a behavioral measure of the manners in which small business founders deal with situations. The results suggest a dynamic process between strategy and performance. Business owners that perform poorly employ a Reactive Strategy, with poor performance leading to increased use of reactive behavior. High performing business owners start out focussing on the most crucial issues (Critical Point Strategy), with high performance leading to a more top-down (Complete Planning) approach. These relations are controlled for characteristics of the environment of the firm. Strategy use is dependent upon the type and level of environmental uncertainty. Complete Planning strategy is used less frequently in a fast changing environment and more often in a complex environment. Use of Opportunistic Strategy is negatively related to the complexity of the environment, while the Reactive Strategy is used more frequently in a non-munificent environment.
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    Success and risk factors in the pre-startup phase
    (Springer, 2006) Van Gelderen, Marco; Thurik, Roy; Bosma, Niels
    Why does one person actually succeed in starting a business, while a second person gives up? In order to answer this question, a sample of 517 nascent entrepreneurs (people in the process of setting up a business) was followed over a three-year period. After this period, it was established that 195 efforts were successful and that 115 startup efforts were abandoned. Our research focuses on estimating the relative importance of a variety of approaches and variables in explaining pre-startup success. These influences are organized in terms of Gartner's (1985) framework of new venture creation. This framework suggests that start-up efforts differ in terms of the characteristics of the individual(s) who start the venture, the organization that they create, the environment surrounding the new venture, and the process by which the new venture is started. Logistic regression analyses are run for the sample as a whole as well as for subgroups within the sample, namely for those with high ambition vs. low ambition and for those with substantial vs. limited experience. The results point to the importance of perceived risk of the market as a predictor of getting started vs. abandoning the startup effort.