Balancing the skill sets of founders: Implications for the quality of organizational outputs

Abstract

The jack-of-all-trades theory of entrepreneurship suggests that technically adept employees require additional skills in order to effectively transition to the more generalist role of founder. However, it is silent about the effect of broader skill acquisition on the quality of the outputs that new ventures produce. This silence is problematic given ecological research that indicates how working across categories can hinder one’s performance in a focal role. This article examines the relationship between the pattern of prior career experiences of founders in the restaurant industry and consumer evaluations of the food that their restaurants produce. According to this analysis of 404 Toronto restaurants, founders with more prior kitchen experience receive superior food quality evaluations. However, their prior ownership experience – that which broadens their skill sets – has more tenuous implications. At the extreme, food quality ratings associated with restaurant founders who also claim to be head chefs at founding are harmed by their accumulated ownership experience.