PREDICTING FOUNDING SUCCESS AND NEW VENTURE SURVIVAL: A LONGITUDINAL NASCENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP APPROACH

Based on a model consisting of (1) indicators related to the entrepreneurial person, (2) resource/environment indicators, and (3) founding process indicators, this paper examines founding success (who ultimately started up a business?) and new venture success/failure (which businesses survived?) in nascent businesses. The study analyzes a sample of 227 nascent entrepreneurs in Austria observed over a period of seven years. We find that characteristics of the person (i.e., risk-taking) affect founding success, but not survival. At the same time, resource and environment aspects did not show an effect on founding success or survival. Finally, we find that aspects of the founding process serve to explain both founding success and survival.