Advancing Entrepreneurship Theory Through Replication: A Case Study on Contemporary Methodological Challenges,Future Best Practices,and an Entreaty for Communality

Abstract

Given that replication studies are important for theory building, theory testing, knowledge accumulation, and domain legitimacy, we attempted to replicate 19 seminal studies of new venture emergence that used PSED-type data; only six attempts were successful. Our humbling experience highlights how changes at the author, journal, and institutional levels—indeed, a communal effort—can encourage, facilitate, and expedite replication studies. We provide entrepreneurship scholars with ten best practices for conducting replication studies, as well as recommendations to other stakeholders to steer away from the replication “crisis” plaguing other research domains. As they say, it takes a village.

Keywords

methodological challenges replication nascent entrepreneurs outliers Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics new venture creation

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