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How the founders’ general and specific human capital drives export activities of start-ups

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  • Stucki, Tobias

Abstract

At first glance, a typical start-up does not seem to have the required capabilities to enter foreign markets. Nevertheless, 26% of the firms of a representative sample of Swiss start-ups already perform export activities three years after their foundation, and the firms with export activities generate 39% of their sales abroad on average. Previous studies identified the founders’ human capital as an important driver of early internationalization. In this paper, however, we find that differences exist in the effect of the founders’ general and specific human capital. While the founders’ general human capital affects both export propensity and intensity, their export-specific experience only affects export propensity but not intensity. Furthermore, we find evidence that the effect of general human capital is more persistent than the effect of specific human capital.

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  • Stucki, Tobias, 2016. "How the founders’ general and specific human capital drives export activities of start-ups," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1014-1030.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:45:y:2016:i:5:p:1014-1030
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2016.02.010
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    8. Honjo, Yuji & Kwak, Charee & Uchida, Hirofumi, 2022. "Initial funding and founders’ human capital: An empirical analysis using multiple surveys for start-up firms," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Shahid, Pirzada Syed Rizwan, 2023. "Founder's Human Capital and the Entrepreneurial Process Duration," OSF Preprints yf6mg, Center for Open Science.
    10. Yongeun Choi & Wonsub Eum & Taewon Kang & Jeong‐Dong Lee, 2022. "Impacts of entrepreneurial experience on firm performance in IPO firms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 4064-4076, December.
    11. Laura von Arnim & Matthias Mrozewski, 2020. "Entrepreneurship in an Increasingly Digital and Global World. Evaluating the Role of Digital Capabilities on International Entrepreneurial Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Zhou, Kuo & Wang, Qiaochu & Tao, Yunqing & Li, Xiaofan, 2024. "Information infrastructure construction and firm export performance in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    13. Masatoshi Kato, 2017. "Founders’ human capital and external knowledge sourcing: An absorptive capacity perspective for innovative start-ups," Discussion Paper Series 162, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Jun 2017.
    14. Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Louis Brennan, 2019. "The impact of Founder’s human capital on firms’ extent of early internationalisation: Evidence from a least-developed country," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 615-659, September.
    15. Anisur R. Faroque & Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Mahabubur Rahman & Mohammad Osman Gani & Sina Mortazavi, 2023. "Exploring the individual and joint effects of founders' and managers' experiential knowledge on international opportunity identification," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(4), pages 1274-1300, September.
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    17. Ganotakis, Panagiotis & D'Angelo, Alfredo & Konara, Palitha, 2021. "From latent to emergent entrepreneurship: The role of human capital in entrepreneurial founding teams and the effect of external knowledge spillovers for technology adoption," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    18. Wu, Lichao & Wei, Yingqi & Wang, Chengang & McDonald, Frank & Han, Xia, 2022. "The importance of institutional and financial resources for export performance associated with technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    19. David R. Williams & Betty S. Coffey & Carlton C. Young, 2018. "Human capital and agency effects on CEO compensation of IPO biopharmaceutical firms and the market’s response," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(2), pages 315-337, June.
    20. Hottenrott, Hanna & Richstein, Robert, 2020. "Start-up subsidies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    21. Catão, Luis A. V. & de Faria, Pedro & Martins, António & Portela, Miguel, 2023. "Globalization and Firm Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 15903, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Haddoud, Mohamed Yacine & Onjewu, Adah-Kole Emmanuel & Nowiński, Witold & Jones, Paul, 2021. "The determinants of SMEs’ export entry: A systematic review of the literature," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 262-278.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Export; Start-up; Founder characteristics; Human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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