Sequence Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research: Business Founders’ Life Courses and Early-Stage Firm Survival

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

This paper introduces the method of sequence analysis in entrepreneurship research. Informed by life course theory, we argue that depending on duration and timing, human capital can depreciate during work interruptions (such as unemployment or parental leave) but also be restored by re-entering and staying in the job market. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyse the educational and occupational life courses of individuals who have started a business. We investigate whether there are patterns in the biographies of these individuals. Exploratory analysis reveals that seven types of founders can be differentiated. In this sample, cluster 1 appeared to be most successful in terms of early-stage firm survival. Sequence analysis has proved to be a valuable method to improve the efficiency of research on the life courses of business founders. This study invites future research to take a deeper look at life-course-based factors of business activity and success.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing
Volume10
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)333-361
Number of pages29
ISSN1742-5360
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

    Research areas

  • Management studies
  • Biographies, Career paths, Cluster analysis, Early-stage firm survival, Entrepreneurship, Entry, GSOEP, Human capital, Life course theory, OMT, Optimal matching technique, Patterns, Self-employment, Sequence analysis, Start-ups

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Gesundheitskompetenz und Gesundheit von Studierenden unter besonderer Betrachtung der Lehramtsstudierenden
  2. Species diversity of forest floor biota in non-native Douglas-fir stands is similar to that of native stands
  3. ‘The human shield effect’: Human-wildlife co-occurrence patterns in the coffee forests of southwestern Ethiopia
  4. An extended kalman filter for temperature monitoring of a metal-polymer hybrid fibre based heater structure
  5. Einstellungen und Selbstwirksamkeitsüberzeugungen von Lehramtsstudierenden bezüglich inklusiven Unterrichts
  6. A cascade regulator using Lyapunov's PID-PID controllers for an aggregate actuator in automotive applications
  7. An Extended Kalman Filter as an Observer in a Sliding Mode Controller for a Metal-Polymer Composite Actuator
  8. Comparison of three methods of length compensation in a parallel kinematic and their equivalence conditions
  9. Numerical Investigation of Influence of Spot Geometry in Laser Peen Forming of Thin-Walled Ti-6Al-4V Specimens
  10. Gaseous nitrogen losses from urea applied to maize on a calcareous fluvo-aquic soil in the North China Plain
  11. Do overlapping audit and compensation committee memberships contribute to better financial reporting quality?
  12. High temperature deformation mechanisms and processing map for hot working of cast-homogenized Mg-3Sn-2Ca alloy
  13. Impact of an Acceptance Facilitating Intervention on Patients’ Acceptance of Internet-based Pain Interventions
  14. On the Problems of Honorary Work in German Sports Clubs – A Qualitative-Dominated Crossover Mixed Methods Study