Title: Entry strategies, founder's human capital and start-up size

Authors: Sandra Gottschalk, Kathrin Muller, Michaela Niefert

Addresses: Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), L7, 1 D-68161 Mannheim, Germany. ' Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), L7, 1 D-68161 Mannheim, Germany. ' Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), L7, 1 D-68161 Mannheim, Germany

Abstract: This paper analyses empirically the determinants of new-born firms| initial size. As survival prospects of young firms tend to be linked to start-up size, a better understanding of the factors influencing start-up size is crucial. We find that in addition to industry effects start-up size is considerably influenced by firms| entry strategies. Firms with entry strategies based on the exploitation of new market opportunities exhibit a higher initial size while start-ups established for reasons of necessity appear to start at a smaller scale. Furthermore, founders| human capital is confirmed to be an important predictor of start-up size also in Germany.

Keywords: start-ups; firm size; entry strategies; new firms; Germany; company founders; survival prospects; new business ventures; new markets; opportunities; exploitation; necessity; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; human capital.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2010.036294

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2010 Vol.11 No.4, pp.403 - 423

Published online: 01 Nov 2010 *

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