IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbvent/v32y2017i2p145-161.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Attributes of legitimate venture failure impressions

Author

Listed:
  • Kibler, Ewald
  • Mandl, Christoph
  • Kautonen, Teemu
  • Berger, Elisabeth S.C.

Abstract

The current research investigates the effectiveness of impression management strategies available to entrepreneurs to foster social legitimacy with stakeholders following venture failure. We use a conjoint experiment to examine how different attributions of causes of failure influence the general public's legitimacy judgments. The most effective strategy proves to be the entrepreneurs distancing themselves from the failure, in that they attribute the failure to external factors that are not under the entrepreneurs' volitional control, and brought about by circumstances that are unlikely to reoccur. Our analysis also considers how the audience members' dispositional agreeableness and general self-efficacy influence judgment formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kibler, Ewald & Mandl, Christoph & Kautonen, Teemu & Berger, Elisabeth S.C., 2017. "Attributes of legitimate venture failure impressions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 145-161.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:32:y:2017:i:2:p:145-161
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.01.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902617300095
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.01.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cacciotti, Gabriella & Hayton, James C. & Mitchell, J. Robert & Giazitzoglu, Andres, 2016. "A reconceptualization of fear of failure in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 302-325.
    2. Mantere, Saku & Aula, Pekka & Schildt, Henri & Vaara, Eero, 2013. "Narrative attributions of entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 459-473.
    3. Brian G. Nagy & Jeffrey M. Pollack & Matthew W. Rutherford & Franz T. Lohrke, 2012. "The Influence of Entrepreneurs’ Credentials and Impression Management Behaviors on Perceptions of New Venture Legitimacy," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(5), pages 941-965, September.
    4. Cardon, Melissa S. & Stevens, Christopher E. & Potter, D. Ryland, 2011. "Misfortunes or mistakes?: Cultural sensemaking of entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 79-92, January.
    5. Orla Byrne & Dean A. Shepherd, 2015. "Different Strokes for Different Folks: Entrepreneurial Narratives of Emotion, Cognition, and Making Sense of Business Failure," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(2), pages 375-405, March.
    6. Suzanne M. Carter, 2006. "The Interaction of Top Management Group, Stakeholder, and Situational Factors on Certain Corporate Reputation Management Activities," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 1145-1176, July.
    7. Cope, Jason, 2011. "Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 604-623.
    8. Parhankangas, Annaleena & Ehrlich, Michael, 2014. "How entrepreneurs seduce business angels: An impression management approach," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 543-564.
    9. Holger Patzelt & Dean A. Shepherd, 2008. "The Decision to Persist with Underperforming Alliances: The Role of Trust and Control," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(7), pages 1217-1243, November.
    10. Paul E. Green & Abba M. Krieger & Yoram Wind, 2001. "Thirty Years of Conjoint Analysis: Reflections and Prospects," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 31(3_supplem), pages 56-73, June.
    11. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    12. Jeffrey M. Pollack & Matthew W. Rutherford & Brian G. Nagy, 2012. "Preparedness and Cognitive Legitimacy as Antecedents of New Venture Funding in Televised Business Pitches," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(5), pages 915-939, September.
    13. Pekka Stenholm & Zoltán J. Ács & Robert Wuebker, 2015. "Exploring country-level institutional arrangements on the rate and type of entrepreneurial activity," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 20, pages 387-404, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Raghu Garud & Henri A. Schildt & Theresa K. Lant, 2014. "Entrepreneurial Storytelling, Future Expectations, and the Paradox of Legitimacy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1479-1492, October.
    15. Dean A. Shepherd & Holger Patzelt, 2015. "Harsh Evaluations of Entrepreneurs Who Fail: The Role of Sexual Orientation, Use of Environmentally Friendly Technologies, and Observers' Perspective Taking," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 253-284, March.
    16. Sharon Simmons & Johan Wiklund & Jonathan Levie, 2014. "Stigma and business failure: implications for entrepreneurs’ career choices," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 485-505, March.
    17. Per Davidsson, 2016. "The Entrepreneurship Nexus," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Researching Entrepreneurship, edition 2, chapter 8, pages 217-245, Springer.
    18. Erik Monsen & Diemo Urbig, 2009. "Perceptions of Efficacy, Control, and Risk: A Theory of Mixed Control," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Alan L. Carsrud & Malin Brännback (ed.), Understanding the Entrepreneurial Mind, chapter 0, pages 259-281, Springer.
    19. Singh, Smita & Corner, Patricia Doyle & Pavlovich, Kathryn, 2015. "Failed, not finished: A narrative approach to understanding venture failure stigmatization," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 150-166.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Philippe Mouillot & Rémy Park, 2019. "Rivalry and its mysteries: When Physics leverages Strategy," Post-Print hal-02148900, HAL.
    2. Costa, Paula L. & Ferreira, João J. & Torres de Oliveira, Rui, 2023. "From entrepreneurial failure to re-entry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Song Lin & Yasuhiro Yamakawa & Jing Li, 2019. "Emergent learning and change in strategy: empirical study of Chinese serial entrepreneurs with failure experience," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 773-792, September.
    4. Fisch, Christian & Block, Jörn H., 2021. "How does entrepreneurial failure change an entrepreneur's digital identity? Evidence from Twitter data," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    5. Tatiana Bouzdine-Chameeva & Julien Cusin & Olivier Herrbach & Vincent Maymo, 2023. "Entrepreneurs are from Mars, bankers from Venus: Representational gaps between struggling entrepreneurs and loan officers," Post-Print hal-04412624, HAL.
    6. Sonia S. Siraz & Björn Claes & Julio O. De Castro & Eero Vaara, 2023. "Theorizing the Grey Area between Legitimacy and Illegitimacy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 924-962, June.
    7. Jose L. Salmeron & Taha Mansouri & Mohammad Reza Sadeghi Moghaddam & Narjes Yousefi & Alireza Tayebi, 2023. "Startup’s critical failure factors dynamic modeling using FCM," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Santos, Susana C. & Caetano, António & Brochado, Ana, 2023. "Why am I so successful? Self-presentation and deliberative attributions of success in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    9. Pankaj C. Patel & Mike G. Tsionas & Maria João Guedes, 2022. "Benford's law, small business financial reporting, and survival," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3301-3315, December.
    10. Kibler, Ewald & Salmivaara, Virva & Stenholm, Pekka & Terjesen, Siri, 2018. "The evaluative legitimacy of social entrepreneurship in capitalist welfare systems," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 944-957.
    11. Taiyuan Wang & Yingzhu Fu & Oliver Rui & Julio De Castro, 2024. "Catch Up with the Good and Stay Away from the Bad: CEO Decisions on the Appointment of Chief Sustainability Officers," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 1295-1326, June.
    12. Yves Sourisseau & Julien Cusin & Olivier Herrbach, 2023. "Analyse des facteurs sous-jacents dans l’évolution des attributions causales de l’échec entrepreneurial : une étude longitudinale dans un contexte de réintégration," Post-Print hal-04412627, HAL.
    13. Castelló, Itziar & Barberá-Tomás, David & Vaara, Eero, 2023. "Moving on: Narrative identity reconstruction after entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    14. Küsshauer, Alexander & Baum, Matthias, 2023. "The good, the bad and the uncertain: Employers' perceptions of former entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    15. Liu, Jingting & Zhu, Ying & Serapio, Manuel & Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 2019. "The new generation of millennial entrepreneurs: A review and call for research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 1-1.
    16. Uparna, Jayaram & Bingham, Chris, 2022. "Breaking “Bad”: Negativity’s benefit for entrepreneurial funding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1353-1365.
    17. Rachid Achbah & Marc Fréchet, 2024. "Fostering SME survival through insolvency proceedings: a legitimacy perspective on retrenchment, age, and firm-specific distress," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1585-1614, December.
    18. Martin P. Allmendinger & Elisabeth S. C. Berger, 2019. "Selecting Corporate Firms For Collaborative Innovation: Entrepreneurial Decision Making In Asymmetric Partnerships," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(01), pages 1-34, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Costa, Paula L. & Ferreira, João J. & Torres de Oliveira, Rui, 2023. "From entrepreneurial failure to re-entry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Roccapriore, Ashley Y. & Imhof, Zoë & Cardon, Melissa S., 2021. "Badge of honor or tolerable reality? How previous firm failure and experience influences investor perceptions," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    3. Kumju Hwang & Jinsook Choi, 2021. "How Do Failed Entrepreneurs Cope with Their Prior Failure When They Seek Subsequent Re-Entry into Serial Entrepreneurship? Failed Entrepreneurs’ Optimism and Defensive Pessimism and Coping Humor as a ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Fisch, Christian & Block, Jörn H., 2021. "How does entrepreneurial failure change an entrepreneur's digital identity? Evidence from Twitter data," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    5. Luca Pistilli & Alessia Paccagnini & Stefano Breschi & Franco Malerba, 2023. "Gender Bias in Entrepreneurship: What is the Role of the Founders’ Entrepreneurial Background?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 325-346, October.
    6. Adesuwa Omorede, 2021. "Managing crisis: a qualitative lens on the aftermath of entrepreneurial failure," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1441-1468, September.
    7. Castelló, Itziar & Barberá-Tomás, David & Vaara, Eero, 2023. "Moving on: Narrative identity reconstruction after entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    8. Rohny Saylors & Amrita Lahiri & Benjamin Warnick & Chandresh Baid, 2023. "Looking Back To Venture Forward: Exploring Idea and Identity Work in Public Failure Narratives," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 398-429, March.
    9. Chong Kyoon Lee & Johan Wiklund & Alejandro Amezcua & Tae Jun Bae & Almantas Palubinskas, 2022. "Business failure and institutions in entrepreneurship: a systematic review and research agenda," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1997-2023, April.
    10. Adesuwa Omorede, 0. "Managing crisis: a qualitative lens on the aftermath of entrepreneurial failure," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-28.
    11. Khelil, Nabil, 2016. "The many faces of entrepreneurial failure: Insights from an empirical taxonomy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 72-94.
    12. Vasilis Theoharakis & Seraphim Voliotis & Jeffrey M. Pollack, 2021. "Going Down the Slippery Slope of Legitimacy Lies in Early-Stage Ventures: The Role of Moral Disengagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(4), pages 673-690, September.
    13. Song Lin & Yasuhiro Yamakawa & Jing Li, 2019. "Emergent learning and change in strategy: empirical study of Chinese serial entrepreneurs with failure experience," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 773-792, September.
    14. Fisher, Greg & Kuratko, Donald F. & Bloodgood, James M. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S., 2017. "Legitimate to whom? The challenge of audience diversity and new venture legitimacy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 52-71.
    15. Maribel Guerrero & Jorge Espinoza-Benavides, 2021. "Do emerging ecosystems and individual capitals matter in entrepreneurial re-entry’ quality and speed?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1131-1158, September.
    16. Tatiana Bouzdine-Chameeva & Julien Cusin & Olivier Herrbach & Vincent Maymo, 2023. "Entrepreneurs are from Mars, bankers from Venus: Representational gaps between struggling entrepreneurs and loan officers," Post-Print hal-04412624, HAL.
    17. Erk P. Piening & Ferdinand Thies & Michael Wessel & Alexander Benlian, 2021. "Searching for Success—Entrepreneurs’ Responses to Crowdfunding Failure," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(3), pages 626-657, May.
    18. Sharon A. Simmons & Johan Wiklund & Jonathan Levie & Steve W. Bradley & Sanwar A. Sunny, 2019. "Gender gaps and reentry into entrepreneurial ecosystems after business failure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 517-531, August.
    19. Jenni Dinger & Michael Conger & David Hekman & Carla Bustamante, 2020. "Somebody That I Used to Know: The Immediate and Long-Term Effects of Social Identity in Post-disaster Business Communities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 115-141, September.
    20. Dean A. Shepherd & Holger Patzelt, 2015. "Harsh Evaluations of Entrepreneurs Who Fail: The Role of Sexual Orientation, Use of Environmentally Friendly Technologies, and Observers' Perspective Taking," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 253-284, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:32:y:2017:i:2:p:145-161. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusvent .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.