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Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice Vol. 44 No. 5 2020

Many Roads Lead to Rome: How Human, Social, and Financial Capital Are Related to New Venture Survival

Christian Linder1; Christian Lechner2; Frank Pelzel3

1 Department of Management, ESCP Europe Business School, London, UK · 2 Faculty of Economics and Management, Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy · 3 Institute for Employment Research, German Federal Employment Agency, Nuremberg, Germany

open access

Abstract

Given variance in entrepreneurs’ capital endowments, the question of sufficient (or insufficient) starting conditions enabling a pathway to survival is critical in entrepreneurship. Drawing on the subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship (STE), we adopt a configurational approach. Our results show how combinations of human and social capital are related to survival while overreliance on financial capital is not. From a subjectivist perspective, we reveal a potential gap between identifying and exploiting an opportunity. The findings provide some novel insights that help reframe conflicting results as to whether capital endowments are substitutes or complements.

DOI
10.1177/1042258719867558
Volume
44
Issue
5
Pages
909-932
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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