Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Impact of start‐up support through guided preparation

Impact of start‐up support through guided preparation Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine if and how entrepreneurial assistance programs, through guided preparation, affect start‐up success. Design/methodology/approach –This study uses Heckman's two‐stage sample selection model to predict the effect of contact and interactions with entrepreneurial support programs on start‐up outcomes while taking into account the entrepreneur's self‐selection into obtaining support from these programs. Findings – The results indicate that, after controlling for individual characteristics, activities undertaken during the start‐up process, organizational characteristics and external factors, guided preparation contributes to a greater likelihood of achieving positive start‐up outcome. This finding holds even after controlling for the entrepreneur's self‐selection into contacting and using outside assistance. Research limitations/implications – Results suggest that self‐selection bias remains a concern when studying the impact of assistance programs on start‐up outcomes. Future research should make sure to address self‐selection in their analysis. Practical implications – The study's results have implications for the design of start‐up programs. It highlights the importance of delivery structures that are fluid, flexible, interactive, experiential, and tailored to the individual entrepreneur's needs. Originality/value – This study focusses on assistance programs broadly defined (includes many different types of programs) and provides an empirical analysis that addresses self‐selection. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Enterpreneurship and Public Policy Emerald Publishing

Impact of start‐up support through guided preparation

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/impact-of-start-up-support-through-guided-preparation-Ho0qgR5owB

References (45)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
2045-2101
DOI
10.1108/JEPP-01-2012-0004
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine if and how entrepreneurial assistance programs, through guided preparation, affect start‐up success. Design/methodology/approach –This study uses Heckman's two‐stage sample selection model to predict the effect of contact and interactions with entrepreneurial support programs on start‐up outcomes while taking into account the entrepreneur's self‐selection into obtaining support from these programs. Findings – The results indicate that, after controlling for individual characteristics, activities undertaken during the start‐up process, organizational characteristics and external factors, guided preparation contributes to a greater likelihood of achieving positive start‐up outcome. This finding holds even after controlling for the entrepreneur's self‐selection into contacting and using outside assistance. Research limitations/implications – Results suggest that self‐selection bias remains a concern when studying the impact of assistance programs on start‐up outcomes. Future research should make sure to address self‐selection in their analysis. Practical implications – The study's results have implications for the design of start‐up programs. It highlights the importance of delivery structures that are fluid, flexible, interactive, experiential, and tailored to the individual entrepreneur's needs. Originality/value – This study focusses on assistance programs broadly defined (includes many different types of programs) and provides an empirical analysis that addresses self‐selection.

Journal

Journal of Enterpreneurship and Public PolicyEmerald Publishing

Published: Apr 14, 2014

Keywords: Resources; Business development; Learning; Planning; Start‐ups; New ventures

There are no references for this article.