Browsing by Author "Davidsson, P."

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Attractiveness of venture ideas: a conjoint study
(Swinburne University of Technology, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 2010) Semasinghe, D.M.; Davidsson, P.; Steffens, P.R.
Every venture starts with a venture idea; product/service, method of production, customer, market, or method of promotion etc. This study focused its attention on what factors drive entrepreneurs’ perceptions of the relative attractiveness of specific venture ideas, and how important different venture idea characteristics are for making such assessments. Based on several idea characteristics – four dimensions of newness, two dimensions of relatedness and potential financial gains – the study investigated how 32 expert entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka trade off among different levels and attributes associated with different idea characteristics. The study utilized a Conjoint Analysis to understand how entrepreneurs make preferences for different profiles of venture idea characteristics. Results suggest that entrepreneurs are highly attractive of introducing substantial improved products. They prefer to use a higher knowledge in implementing venture idea. Further, results show that entrepreneurs give higher importance for process newness in perceiving venture idea.
Nascent venture performance : linking novelty of venture ideas and commitment of firm founders as predictors
(Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, 2011) Semasinghe, D.M.; Davidsson, P.; Steffens, P.R.
The individual-opportunity nexus emphasizes that both the characteristics of individuals and venture ideas have roles in the entrepreneurial process (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Following upon this assertion the present study examined whether the venture idea novelty and investment of resources can make an important part in the venture creation process. Data analysed for a sample of nascent entrepreneurs in Australia suggests that the novelty of venture ideas restricts the performance of nascent ventures. However, the more investment of time and money do not show a significant impact to the venture performance.
Understanding venture idea newness, relatedness and change among nascent and young entrepreneurs
(Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, 2008) Semasinghe, D.M.; Davidsson, P.
The entrepreneurial process involves all the functions, activities, and actions associated with the perception of opportunities and the creation of the organizations to pursue these opportunities (cf. Key, Foo and Lim, 2002). Shane and Venkataraman (2000) introduced entrepreneurship as a nexus between the opportunity and entrepreneurial individuals. Thus, opportunities are an important part and central to the entrepreneurial process. Following Davidsson (2003) we here use the concept ”venture idea” rather than ”opportunities”. Venture ideas are ideas for new products or services or bundles; introducing new price/value relations; imitative entry and entering new markets (Davidsson, 2003). This implies that venture ideas are the core ideas of an entrepreneur about what to sell, how to sell, whom to sell and how an entrepreneur acquire or produce the product or service which he/she sells. Timmons (1994) states that the finding a good idea is the first step in the task of converting an entrepreneur’s creativity in to an opportunity. Explaining the development of venture ideas or - as they are often called - ’opportunities’ is regarded as a key research goal in entrepreneurship (Davidsson, Hunter and Klofsten, 2006). For example, since the ideas have differentiating effects on the discovery and exploitation processes as well as on profitability and potential market impact the identifying and selecting the right venture ideas for new businesses are among the most important abilities of a successful entrepreneur (Ardichvili, Cardozo and Ray, 2003) Even though the opportunity, its recognition and exploitation have been extensively discussed and researched among researchers around the world (Bhave, 1994; Casson, 1982; Davidsson, 2003; Kirzner, 1973; Sarsvathy, Dew, Ramakrishna & Venkataraman, 2003; Shane, 2000; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000; Venkataraman,1997) there is a scarcity of research carried out on the characteristics of those opportunities and how such charac- teristics affect, e.g., firm performance , growth or survival. The importance of investigating such questions is exemplified by Samuelsson (2004), who found that the gestation process and its determinants were vastly different for innovative vs. imitative ventures. In this research we investigate how three aspects of venture ideas affect the pace at which progress is made in the venture creation process. Bhave (1994) argues that the venture creation process is more complex or difficult for novel business ideas. For this reason we assess and estimate the effects of four aspects of newness: the procuct/service itself; the method for promotion and selling; the methods for producing or sourcing, and newness in terms what markets or customers are served or targeted. Shane (2000) demonstrated that prior knowledge of the founders is an important factor in venture development. Similarly, Sarasvathy’s (2001) Effectuation Theory proposes a high degree of relatedness with founders’ knowledge and means. Hence, we assess and estimate the effects of the degree of alignment of the venture ideas with the prior knowledge and skills of the founders as well as with the financial, physical and other resources they had access to. Further, since entrepreneurs operate in an environment of heterogeneous and uncertain, they have to change their original business ideas time to time (Davidsson, Hunter, Klofsten, 2006). Presumably, changes of the venture idea could either facilitate or complicate the gestation process. In order to explore this we also assess and estimate the effect of the extent of change of the business idea that have been made. We investigate this for the same four aspects as for which we assess newness.
Venture idea newness, relatedness and performance in nascent ventures
(Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, 2009) Semasinghe, D.M.; Davidsson, P.
The study of venture idea characteristics and their contextual fit are key research goals in entrepreneurship (Davidsson, 2004). In line with this, the present study investigated the importance of newness and relatedness in the venture idea on the venture creation process among nascent entrepreneurs. Progress in the venturing process is examined in terms of the pace of progress measured by the completion of gestation activities. Study hypothesized that venture idea newness slows down the venturing process and relatedness facilitates the venturing process. Results of 727 nascent entrepreneurs in Australia indicated that there is no support for the hypothesis that relatedness assists the gestation progress. Newness in terms of product/service is significant but, on the contrary to the expectation, has a positive impact on the venture creation progress.