Determinanten der Unternehmenswechselbereitschaft in der Internetökonomie — eine empirische Analyse zum Fluktuationsphänomen bei Internet Start-up Unternehmen

Summary Between 1997 and 2000 enormous economic opportunities were associated with the so-called Internet Economy, i.e. firms, in whose business models the Internet plays a prominent role. A multiplicity of new companies were founded in this economic sector. Numerous employees expected that they could accelerate their professional career by working for an Internet start-up. The employees as well as the international capital markets tolerated that the Internet start-ups were not in the black and had to disclose losses. The expected high growth potentials of the Internet companies took center stage in the valuations of both sides. After a number of insolvencies of Internet start-ups around midyear 2000 there was a fundamental revaluation of firms in the Internet Economy. The stock prices of the Internet companies drastically declined. Many employees of Internet start-ups had the feeling that their expectations were not met and considered to leave their companies. In some cases the result was a massive movement of labor. The affected companies not only had to bear the fluctuation costs. They also suffered from the loss of qualified employees and implicit knowledge. The implications of the results of a detailed analysis of the underlying determinants of the willingness to change a job can be used to develop strategies to achieve employee retention in start-up companies that will face a similar situation in the future. Starting with a detailed analysis of the determinants of fluctuation observed in the traditional literature and a description of the business environment in the Internet Economy this article discusses the effectiveness of the determinants of the willingness to change a job in the Internet Economy and their empirical validation.