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Making sense of entrepreneurial exit strategies: A typology and test

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  • DeTienne, Dawn R.
  • McKelvie, Alexander
  • Chandler, Gaylen N.

Abstract

Entrepreneurial exit is a major event in the development of a venture. However, we have little understanding of the factors that drive the development of an important pre-cursor to exit: the exit strategy of the founder. Based on the existing literature, we develop a typology of entrepreneurial exit strategies consisting of three higher-level exit categories (i.e., financial harvest, stewardship, and voluntary cessation) and develop an initial test of our typology. Specifically, we examine entrepreneurs' perceived innovativeness of their opportunity, motivational considerations, decision-making approach, founding team, and firm size. Our results show different predictors for each of the three exit strategy types and represent a significant contribution to the understanding of exit strategies in new ventures.

Suggested Citation

  • DeTienne, Dawn R. & McKelvie, Alexander & Chandler, Gaylen N., 2015. "Making sense of entrepreneurial exit strategies: A typology and test," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 255-272.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:30:y:2015:i:2:p:255-272
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.07.007
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