Siepel, Josh, Cowling, Marc and Coad, Alex (2017) Non-founder human capital and the long-run growth and survival of high-tech ventures. Technovation, 59. pp. 34-43. ISSN 0166-4972

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Abstract

This paper considers the impact of non-founder human capital on high-tech firms' long-run growth and survival. Drawing upon threshold theory, we explore how lack of access to complementary skills at different points in the life course impacts founders' thresholds for exit. We examine these factors using a unique longitudinal dataset tracking the performance and survival of a sample of UK high-tech firms over thirteen years as the firms move from youth into maturity. We find that firms that survive but do not grow are characterized by difficulty in accessing complementary managerial skills in youth, while firms that grow but subsequently exit are characterized by shortfalls of specialized complementary skills during adolescence. Firms that grow and survive do not report skills shortfalls. We discuss the implications of these resource constraints for entrepreneurs’ decisions to persist or exit through the life course.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	University of Sussex Business School > SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic theory. Demography > HB0522 Income. Factor shares > HB0615 Entrepreneurship. Risk and uncertainty. Property H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labour > HD0072 Economic development. Development economics. Economic growth
Depositing User:	Josh Siepel
Date Deposited:	17 Nov 2016 11:49
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2019 16:01
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/65521

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