This research presents a parsimonious model of venture performance that incorporates individual founder, firm, and environmental characteristics. Specifically, It examines the moderating effect of founder competencies on venture performance in a sample of 155 manufacturing firms in northwestern Pennsylvania. In support of our hypotheses, the results indicate that individual level competencies moderate the relationships between the quality of the opportunity and firm performance and access to resource-based capabilities and firm performance.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BegleyT. M., & BoydD. P. (1987). Psychological characteristics associated with performance in entrepreneurial firms and smaller businesses.Journal of Business Venturing, 2, 79–93.
2.
BiggadikeE. R. (1979). Corporate diversification: Entry, strategy, and performance.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
3.
BlumbergM., & PringleC. D. (1982). The missing opportunity in organizational research: Some implications for a theory of work performance.Academy of Management Review, 7(4), 560–569.
4.
BrockhausR. H. (1982). The psychology of the entrepreneur. In KentC., SextonD., & VesperK. (Eds.), The encyclopedia of entrepreneurship, pp. 39–55. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5.
BrockhausR. H., & HorwitzP. S. (1986). The psychology of the entrepreneur. In SextonD., & SmilorR. (Eds.), The art and science of entrepreneurship, pp. 25–48. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
6.
BrushC., & VanderwerfP. (1992). A comparison of methods and sources for obtaining estimates of new venture performance.Journal of Business Venturing, 7, 157–170.
7.
BuzzellR. D., & GaleB. T. (1987). The PIMS principles: Linking strategy to performance.New York: Free Press.
8.
CastrogiovanniG. J. (1991). Environmental munificence: A theoretical assessment.Academy of Management Review, 16(3), 542–565.
9.
ChandlerG. N., & HanksS. H. (1993). Measuring the performance of emerging businesses: A validation study.Journal of Business Venturing, forthcoming.
10.
ChandlerG. N., & JansenE. J. (1992). Founders’ self assessed competence and venture performance.Journal of Business Venturing, 7(3), 223–236.
11.
CovinJ. G., & SlevinD. P. (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments.Strategic Management Journal, 10(1), 75–87.
12.
CronbachL. (1987). Statistical tests for moderator variables: Flaws in analysis recently proposed.Psychological Bulletin, 102, 414–417.
13.
DessG. G., & BeardD. W. (1984). Dimensions of organizational task environments.Administrative Science Quarterly, 2, 409–443.
14.
DessG. G., & KeatsB. W. (1987). Environment assessment and organizational performance: An exploratory field study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, New Orleans.
15.
DillmanD. A. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
16.
DykeL. S., FischerE. M., & ReuberA. R. (1992). An inter-industry examination of the impact of owner experience on firm performance.Journal of Small Business Management, 30(4), 72–87.
17.
GartnerW. B. (1988). “Who is the entrepreneur?” is the wrong question.American Journal of Small Business, 2, 11–29.
18.
GistM. E. (1987). Self-efficacy: Implications for organizational behavior and human resource management.Academy of Management Review, 12(2), 472–485.
19.
GoslinL., & BargeB. (1986). Entrepreneurial qualities considered in venture capital support. In RonstadtR., HornadayJ. A., PetersenR., & VesperK. H. (Eds.), Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
20.
GrantR. M. (1991). A resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation.California Management Review, Spring, 114–135.
21.
HambrickD. C., & LeiD. (1985). Toward an empirical prioritization of contingency variables for business strategy.Academy of Management Journal, 28, 763–788.
22.
HanksS. H., WatsonC. J., JansenE., & ChandlerG. N. (1994). Tightening the life cycle construct: A taxonomic study of growth stage configurations.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(2), 5–29.
23.
HendersonR. I. (1984). Performance appraisal.Reston, VA: Reston Publishing.
24.
HenemanH. G. (1974). Comparisons of self and superior ratings of managerial performance.Journal of Applied Psychology, 59, 346–357.
25.
HoferC. W. (1975). Toward a contingency theory of business strategy.Academy of Management Journal, 18, 784–810.
26.
HoferC. W., & SandbergW. R. (1987). Improving new venture performance: Some guidelines for success.American Journal of Small Business, 3, 11–21.
IbrahimA. B., & GoodwinJ. R. (1986). Perceived causes of success in small business.American Journal of Small Business, 10(2), 41–49.
29.
JaccardJ., TurrisiR., & WanC. K. (1990). Interaction effects in multiple regression.Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
30.
LathamG. P., & WexleyK. N. (1981). Increasing productivity through performance appraisal.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
31.
LowM. B., & MacMillanI. C. (1988). Entrepreneurship: Past research and future challenges.Journal of Management, 14(2), 139–151.
32.
MacMillanI. C., SiegelR., & SubbaNarisimhaP. N. (1985). Criteria used by venture capitalists to evaluate new venture proposals.Journal of Business Venturing, 1(1), 119–128.
33.
MintzbergH. (1988). The simple structure. In QuinnJ. B., MintzbergH., & JamesR. M. (Eds.), The strategy process: Concepts, contexts and cases, pp. 532–539. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
34.
MintzbergH., & WatersJ. A. (1982). Tracking strategy in an entrepreneurial firm.Academy of Management Journal, 25(3), 465–499.
35.
NunnallyJ. C. (1978). Psychometric theory.New York: McGraw-Hill.
36.
OsbornR. N., HuntJ. G., & JauchL. R. (1980). Organization theory: An integrated approach.New York: Wiley.
37.
PavettC. M., & LauA. W. (1983). Managerial work: The influence of hierarchical level and functional specialty.Academy of Management Journal, 26(1), 170–177.
38.
PetersL. H., O'ConnorE. J., & RudolfC. J. (1980). The behavioral and affective consequences of performance-relevant situational variables.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, February, 79–96.
39.
PfefferJ., & SalancikG. R. (1978). The external control of organizations.New York: Harper & Row.
40.
RandolphW. A., & DessG. G. (1984). The congruence perspective of organization design: A conceptual model and multivariate research approach.Academy of Management Review, 9, 114–127.
41.
RousseauD. M. (1985). Issues of level in organizational research: Multi-level and cross level perspectives.Research in Organizational Behavior, 7, 1–37.
42.
SandbergW. R. (1986). New venture performance: The role of strategy and industry structure.Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
43.
ScheinE. H. (1987). Individuals and careers. In LorschJ. (Ed.), Handbook of organization behavior, pp. 155–171. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
44.
SextonD. L., & BowmanN. B. (1984). Comparative entrepreneurships: Characteristics of students. In HornadayJ., TimmonsJ., & VesperK. (Eds.), Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, pp. 513–529. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
45.
SinghJ. V., HouseR. J., & TuckerD. J. (1986). Organizational change and organizational mortality.Administrative Science Quarterly, 31, 587–611.
46.
StawB. M., & SzwajkowskiE. (1975). The scarcity-munificence component of organizational environments and the commission of illegal acts.Administrative Science Quarterly, 20, 345–354.
47.
StuartR. W., & AbettiP. A. (1990). Impact of entrepreneurial and management experience on early performance.Journal of Business Venturing, 5, 151–162.
48.
TimmonsJ. A., MuzykaD. F., StevensonH. H., & BygraveW. D. (1987). Opportunity recognition: The core of entrepreneurship. In ChurchillN. C., HornadayJ. A., KirchhoffB. A., KrasnerO. J., & VesperK. H. (Eds.), Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, pp. 109–123. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
TsaiW. M., MacMillanI. C., & LowM. B. (1991). Effects of strategy and environment on corporate venture success in industrial markets.Journal of Business Venturing, 6, 9–28.
51.
TsuiA. S., & OhlottP. (1988). Multiple assessment of managerial effectiveness: Interrater agreement and consensus in effectiveness models.Personnel Psychology, 41, 779–790.
52.
VenkatramanN. (1989). The concept of fit in strategy research: Toward verbal and statistical correspondence.Academy of Management Review, 14(3), 423–444.
53.
WaldmanD. A., & SpanglerW. D. (1989). Putting together the pieces: A closer look at the determinants of job performance.Human Performance, 2, 29–59.
54.
WalshJ. A., & WhiteJ. F. (1981). Small business ratio analysis: A cautionary note to consultants.Journal of Small Business Management, 3, 20–23.
55.
WeickK. E. (1969). Social psychology of organizing.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
56.
WheelenT. L., & HungerJ. D. (1989). Strategic management and business policy.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
57.
YipG. S. (1982). Barriers to entry: A corporate strategy perspective.Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
