Imprinting by Design: The Microfoundations of Entrepreneurial Adaptation

Abstract

Entrepreneurial ventures need frequently to adapt. Yet their adaptive capacity is often limited by the legacies of imprinted founding characteristics. The question then arises whether it is possible to explain and manage the imprinting process so that the capacity to adapt is enhanced, rather than diminished. I address this question by developing a model of the microfoundations of imprinting based in collective memory. I argue that entrepreneurial founding teams naturally develop transactive autobiographical memory systems. By partially managing the design and imprinting of these memory systems, I argue that founders may improve their venture's long–term capacity to adapt.

Entrepreneurial Team Cognition: A Review

“…Additionally, while the review finds general support for the notion that entrepreneurial team members can retain information through knowledge sharing in a way that transcends the cognitive facilities of individuals (e.g. Blatt ; Bryant ; Ensley and Pearce ; Knockaert et al . ; Vanaelst et al .…”

“…Team mental models (Knockaert et al . ), collective cognition (West ), transactive memory systems (Zheng ; Zheng and Mai ), team creative cognition (Shalley and Perry‐Smith ), collective memory (Bryant ), strategic consensus (Vissa and Chacar ), and shared strategic cognition (Ensley and Hmieleski ; Ensley and Pearce ) are all concepts hinting at collective or shared elements inherent to the team cognition concept. However, it is ambiguous whether these terms refer to overlapping, similar or common entities.…”

“…Instead, a plethora of cognitive team concepts exist, all describing some degree of shared or collective knowledge that enables the team to take coordinated action. For instance, shared strategic cognition (Ensley and Pearce 2001), collective memory (Bryant 2012), strategic consensus (Vissa and Chacar 2009), collective cognition (West 2007), creative cognition (Shalley and Perry-Smith 2008) and transactive memory systems (Zheng 2012;Zheng and Mai 2013) all take into account the cognitive exchanges and processes that occur between team members while residing in the team. However, the diversity of existing concepts and the ambiguity in the way in which the concepts are operationalized constrain the comparability of findings across studies.…”

How do Scientists Contribute to the Performance of Innovative Start‐ups? An Imprinting Perspective on Open Innovation

“…Drawing from research on scientist founders, we hypothesized that the scientist career imprint translates to an appreciation for open innovation in innovative start‐ups. This has important implications for research that calls attention to the important ways in which entrepreneurs’ previous career experiences affect their business decisions (Bryant, ; Mathias et al, ). We further illustrate that, to understand the consequences of imprints internalized by entrepreneurs prior to founding their ventures, it is important for researchers to consider the number of founders who possess a specific career imprint and the characteristics of the imprinted organization.…”

Knowledge-intensive innovative entrepreneurship integrating Schumpeter, evolutionary economics, and innovation systems

“…One area where the KIE 2 Our purpose with the model is to provide only a first initial representation and illustration of the interactions: it is unfortunately beyond the scope here to discuss each dimension and the dynamic links in depth. Excellent discussions on specific topics can be found: in Aldrich and Yang (2014) on the role of habits heuristics and routines and of learning by nascent entrepreneurs; Bryant (2014) on the role of legacy of imprinted characteristics of the founding team; Klepper (2009) on the role of industry experience held by the entrepreneur; Winter (2013) on the dynamics of routines; Nelson (2016) on the role of human behavior and cognition in innovation and industrial dynamics; and Winter (2016) and Salter and McKelvey (2016) on cumulative causation underlying entrepreneurial action. Moreover, we acknowledge previous work on KIE entrepreneurs (McKelvey and Lassen 2013a; McKelvey and Lassen 2013b) and on academic entrepreneurship (Delmar and Wennberg 2010) and on low tech (Hirsch-Kreinsen and Schwinge 2014).…”