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Situating the construct of lean start-up: adjacent conversations and possible future directions

Author

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  • Andrea Contigiani
  • Daniel A Levinthal

Abstract

The lean start-up approach has garnered tremendous amount of interest in recent years and has become mainstream among entrepreneurs. However, this practitioners’ conversation has been largely decoupled from the broader academic literature in management and technology strategy. This article attempts to fill this gap. We situate the construct of lean start-up within its underlying roots in the research traditions of organizational learning, real options, new product development, and technology evolution. We then comment on the economic and technological forces that have caused this organizational form to become prevalent. By juxtaposing these related, but distinct, lines of research we are able to identify a number of novel and interesting avenues for researchers in both entrepreneurship and the broader management literature that lie at the intersection of these domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Contigiani & Daniel A Levinthal, 2019. "Situating the construct of lean start-up: adjacent conversations and possible future directions," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(3), pages 551-564.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:28:y:2019:i:3:p:551-564.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/icc/dtz013
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ben Spigel, 2022. "Examining the cohesiveness and nestedness entrepreneurial ecosystems: evidence from British FinTechs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1381-1399, December.
    2. Timothy E. Ott & Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 2020. "Decision weaving: Forming novel, complex strategy in entrepreneurial settings," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 2275-2314, December.
    3. Fini, Riccardo & Perkmann, Markus & Kenney, Martin & Maki, Kanetaka M., 2023. "Are public subsidies effective for university spinoffs? Evidence from SBIR awards in the University of California system," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    4. Andries, Petra & Clarysse, Bart & Costa, Sergio, 2021. "Technology ventures' engagement of external actors in the search for viable market applications: On the relevance of Technology Broadcasting and Systematic Validation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    5. Mota, Renata de Oliveira & Godinho Filho, Moacir & Osiro, Lauro & Ganga, Gilberto Miller Devós & Mendes, Glauco Henrique de Sousa, 2021. "Unveiling the relationship between drivers and capabilities for reduced time-to-market in start-ups: A multi-method approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    6. Daniela Dobreva Pastarmadzhieva & Mina Nikolaeva Angelova & Stefan Atanasov Raychev & Blaga Petrova Madzhurova & Kiril Valkov Desev, 2022. "Ensuring Sustainability during a Crisis Using an Innovative Flexible Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    7. Ghezzi, Antonio, 2020. "How Entrepreneurs make sense of Lean Startup Approaches: Business Models as cognitive lenses to generate fast and frugal Heuristics," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. Dean A. Shepherd & Marc Gruber, 2021. "The Lean Startup Framework: Closing the Academic–Practitioner Divide," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 967-998, September.
    9. Daniel A. Levinthal & Claus Rerup, 2021. "The Plural of Goal: Learning in a World of Ambiguity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 527-543, May.
    10. Sanasi, Silvia & Ghezzi, Antonio & Cavallo, Angelo, 2023. "What happens after market validation? Experimentation for scaling in technology-based startups," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    11. Gamón-Sanz, Alejandro & Alegre, Joaquín & Chiva, Ricardo, 2024. "Industries, frameworks, and key drivers of lean startup: a systematic literature review," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 18(2), pages 51-80.
    12. Coali, Andrea & Gambardella, Alfonso & Novelli, Elena, 2024. "Scientific decision-making, project selection and longer-term outcomes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    13. Silvia Sanasi, 2023. "Entrepreneurial experimentation in business model dynamics: Current understanding and future opportunities," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 805-836, June.
    14. Daniel E. Ufua & Olusola J. Olujobi & Hammad Tahir & Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan & Oluwatoyin A. Matthew & Evans Osabuohien, 2022. "Lean Entrepreneurship and SME Practice in a Post COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Conceptual Discourse from Nigeria," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 23(3), pages 331-344, September.
    15. Chengbin, Wang & Hongbin, Wang & Min, Dai & Yongyan, Fang, 2022. "Lean Startup Approaches(LSAs): Convergence, Integration and Improvement," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    16. Crawford, G. Christopher & Linder, Christian & Lechner, Christian & Villani, Elisa, 2024. "Outlier entrepreneurs: Nonlinear paths and novel ventures," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    17. Mike G. Tsionas & Pankaj C. Patel, 2022. "An entrepreneur's dilemma: An optimal stopping rule in pivoting," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3498-3515, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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