Which Tangible and Intangible Assets Matter for Innovation Speed in Start‐Ups?^*

Abstract

The launch of the first product is an important event for start-ups, because it takes the new venture closer to growth, profitability, and financial independence. The new product development (NPD) literature mainly focuses its attention on NPD processes in large firms. In this article insights on the antecedents on innovation speed in large firms are combined with resource-based theory and insights from the entrepreneurship literature to develop hypotheses concerning the antecedents of innovation speed in start-ups. In particular, tangible assets such as starting capital and the stage of product development at founding and intangible assets such as team tenure, experience of founders, and collaborations with third parties are considered as important antecedents for innovation speed in start-ups. A unique data set on research-based start-ups (RBSUs) was collected, and event-history analyses were used to test the hypotheses. The rich qualitative data on the individual companies are used to explain the statistical findings. This article shows that RBSUs differ significantly in their starting conditions. The impact of starting conditions on innovation speed differs between software and other companies. Although intuition suggests that start-ups that are further in the product development cycle at founding launch their first product faster, our data indicate that software firms starting with a beta version experience slower product launch. The amount of initial financing has no significant effect on innovation speed. Next, it is shown that team tenure and experience of founders leads to faster product launch. Contrary to expectations, alliances with other firms do not significantly affect innovation speed, and collaborations with universities are associated with longer development times.

An integrated model of innovation drivers for smaller software firms

“…Cooper, 2000; R. G. Cooper, 2011;Gassmann et al, 2006;Hanninen, 2007;Heirman & Clarysse, 2007;Hung & Whittington, 2011;Lee & Cole, 2003;Morrison, Roberts, & von Hippel, 2000;van den Ende & Wijnberg, 2003;Weterings & Boschma, 2009;Weterings & Koster, 2007;Yang & Hsiao, 2009) …”

“…Exploiting external connections, collaborations and partnerships to promote (Boland Jr. et al, 2007;Heirman & Clarysse, 2007;Henkel, 2006;Hung & Whittington, 2011;Lee & Cole, 2003;Leimeister et al, 2009;Morrison et al, innovation 2000;Pisano & Verganti, 2008;Romijn & Albaladejo, 2002;Sosa, 2011;van den Ende & Wijnberg, 2003;West & Gallagher, 2006) …”

“…However research and development (R+D) in small high technology small firms remains risky -success in the development of leading edge technology is never guaranteed, and may be both expensive and time-consuming. Small and medium sized software enterprises (SMSEs) operate in difficult competitive conditions as a result of their size in relation to their competitors (Heirman & Clarysse, 2007). They often operate with constrained resources (especially for investment in new projects), specialist skill shortages, and a small customer base over which they have little control.…”

Entrepreneurial Judgment and Value Capture, the Case of the Nascent Offshore Renewable Industry

“…Are the technologies just sketches of a model, a prototype, or a fully developed production unit? For instance, in the computer software industry, a fully developed pilot may hamper the acquisition of the pilot customer since it has not been developed according to customer demands [26]. That is, too much technology development, or too little technology development, may actually hamper the market development of the firm.…”

Informação E Conhecimento, Ambiente Interno E Interação Externa – Qual a Relação Desses Fatores Com Os Resultados Da Inovação?

“…Os objetivos principais na condução de tais pesquisas normalmente são relativos à necessidade de se estabelecer políticas governamentais de incentivo, entender como as empresas operam e como funciona seu processo de inovação. Basicamente as pesquisas são instrumentos de identificação de informações variadas das empresas, colhendo desde dados sobre as atividades de planejamento estratégico, tático ou operacional até aquelas que envolvem o perfil do ambiente organizacional (MARINS;ZAWISLAK, 2010;OECD, 2005 (ii) Ambiente interno: práticas internas de estímulo à inovação como aplicação de conhecimentos, compartilhamento de informações, influência de líderes, confiança, incentivo à formação de equipes dinâmicas (DOBNI, 2008;ILSEV, 2009;HANER, 2005;HEIRMAN;CLARYSSE, 2007;LEWIS;MOULTRIE, 2005;MOULTRIE et al, 2007;ASSINK, 2006)…”