Entrepreneurship is a booming topic. More and more entrepreneurs set out to launch their own startups to eventually turn them into unicorns one day. But what makes people choose a risky, unsafe alternative over a safe, waged employment? I digged into personal motives, social and cultural aspects to fully understand the drivers of entrepreneurship. To get empirical evidence, a study among startup founders from TU Munich was conducted.
Chapter 1 will therefore describe the nature of HTSOs, differentiate their nature from non-technology start-ups and further highlight their importance in securing economic progress. After getting an understanding of the topic’s importance to the business community and why exactly such specific foundations are subject of this thesis, the focus in Chapter 2 shifts from an institutional to a personal level.
Chapter 2 will investigate different theories which explain how an individual’s characteristics and personality are shaped throughout the course of life. This is important to get an understanding of the core subject of this thesis, the individuals who have come-up with promising innovations and founded their own spin-off. Research on start-ups and their founders is relatively new compared to traditional fields of studies, but has already contributed remarkable insights into founder characteristics, personality traits of founders and success factors of start-ups in general.
Chapter 3 is dedicated to the empirical section of this thesis, describing the methodology of the survey and conducting a descriptive analysis of the survey findings. In a second step, the results are discussed and elaborated on in more detail.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
2 HIGH-TECH SPIN-OFFS
2.1 Classification of High-Tech Spin-Offs
2.1.1 Definition of High-Tech
2.1.2 Definition of High-Tech Spin-Offs
2.2 Parent Organization’s Relevance
2.2.1 Setting an Impetus for Entrepreneurship
2.2.2 Power of Reputation
2.3 From Storehouse to Factory of Knowledge
3 FOUNDER CHARACTERISTICS
3.1 Trait Theory
3.1.1 Need for Achievement
3.1.2 Locus-of-Control
3.1.3 Effectuation
3.1.4 Tolerance of Ambiguity
3.2 Socio Cultural Theory
3.2.1 Social Capital
3.2.2 Cultural Capital
3.3 Human Capital
3.4 Entrepreneurial Human Capital
4 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
4.1 Methodology
4.2 Descriptive Analysis
4.2.1 Demographic Characteristics
4.2.2 Venture Characteristics
4.2.3 Entrepreneurial Characteristics
4.2.4 The average High-Tech Spin-Off Founder
4.3 Discussion
4.3.1 Impact of Self-Efficacy on Perceived Success
4.3.2 Impact of Previous Founding Experience on Perceived Success
4.3.3 Impact of Human Capital on Perceived Success
5 CONCLUSION
Objectives & Topics
This thesis investigates the specific founder characteristics and socio-economic drivers behind the formation and success of high-tech spin-offs, specifically examining the influence of personality traits, social capital, and human capital on entrepreneurial outcomes.
- Definition and classification of high-tech spin-offs and their economic significance.
- Theoretical foundations of founder personality traits (Trait Theory and Socio-Cultural Theory).
- The influence of human capital and entrepreneurial experience on venture success.
- Empirical evaluation of founders from the Munich Institute of Technology.
- Discussion on how university environments and individual traits impact spin-off performance.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.3 Effectuation
BOWMAN/SEXTON (1985) found the risk-taking propensity of entrepreneurs as a distinguishing characteristic from the general population. Since entrepreneurial activities are primarily associated with risk, the general public is tempted to believe that entrepreneurs are high risk takers. In fact, entrepreneurs are rather moderate risk takers, weighing pros and cons before settling for a decision. SARASVATHY/READ/DEW/MILTBANK (2011) take on the moderate risk-taking trait and argue that entrepreneurs overcome situations of Knightian Uncertainty through effectuation. Effectuation is defined as a set of techniques to effectively manage an unpredictable future. This is in stark contrast to another form of reasoning, causality, which assumes a predictable future based on prior events. Sarasvathy et al. argue that entrepreneurs try to avoid an emphasis-on-prediction behavior since prediction is an extrapolative mechanism which solely takes into account past and imperfect information to forecast future events. Such historical information is often not available since the early stages of founding a business and becoming an entrepreneur are characterized by exercise of judgement in an environment, in which opinions (and not scientific knowledge) guide most of the decision-making.
Summary of Chapters
1 INTRODUCTION: Outlines the economic importance of high-tech spin-offs and explains the motivation for researching founder characteristics within a university context.
2 HIGH-TECH SPIN-OFFS: Defines high-tech spin-offs and evaluates the role of parent organizations, such as universities, in providing resources, reputation, and an impetus for entrepreneurship.
3 FOUNDER CHARACTERISTICS: Reviews theoretical frameworks, including Trait Theory, Socio-Cultural Theory, and Human Capital theories, to explain what drives individuals to become entrepreneurs.
4 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH: Details the methodology used for the survey and provides a descriptive analysis of the data collected from high-tech spin-off founders regarding their demographics, venture characteristics, and success factors.
5 CONCLUSION: Summarizes the findings, highlighting that hands-on experience is more valuable than theoretical knowledge, and suggests directions for future research.
Keywords
High-Tech Spin-Offs, Entrepreneurship, Founder Characteristics, Trait Theory, Human Capital, Socio-Cultural Theory, Effectuation, Locus-of-Control, Social Capital, Self-Efficacy, Venture Success, Academic Entrepreneurship, Empirical Research, Munich Institute of Technology, Innovation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The work investigates the unique characteristics of individuals who establish high-tech spin-offs, aiming to understand the personality traits and capital forms that differentiate these entrepreneurs.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The core themes include institutional support from universities, the application of personality theories (Trait and Socio-Cultural), and the role of human and social capital in venture success.
What is the central research objective?
The primary objective is to identify whether there is a common set of characteristics among founders of high-tech spin-offs and how these impact the success of their ventures.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The research employs a survey-based empirical approach, utilizing data from chief executive entrepreneurs at the Munich Institute of Technology to conduct a descriptive and correlational analysis.
What is covered in the main section of the work?
The main section encompasses a thorough literature review of psychological and sociological theories, followed by an empirical analysis comparing demographics, venture characteristics, and the impact of human capital.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key concepts include high-tech spin-offs, entrepreneurial human capital, effectuation, locus-of-control, and the role of the parent organization in fostering entrepreneurial emergence.
What is the significance of the "Free Choice Period" in this study?
It supports the finding that the majority of founders start their ventures between the ages of 25 and 40, after having gained sufficient professional education and industry experience.
How do the findings relate to university education?
The study concludes that universities should focus more on offering undergraduate programs that mandate hands-on entrepreneurial projects, as previous founding experience is a stronger predictor of success than theoretical knowledge.
- Quote paper
- Michael Strommer (Author), 2016, Differences of Founder Characteristics in High-Tech Spin-Offs. Which factors influence the decision to become a startup-founder?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/335596
