Managing uncertainty in the start-up environment. Is a business plan an incentive or a limitation?

Giovanna Mariani, Davide Morelli and Leonardo Bartoloni

MANAGEMENT CONTROL, 2019, vol. 2019/1, issue 1, 73-96

Abstract: The purpose of this paper, which participates in the lively debate between the Learning School and the Planning School, is to investigate whether a business plan can still support planning a start-up in uncertainty conditions. By analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the business plan process, we propose an evolution of such a process, through the use of simulation models, to manage uncertainty. Using simulation models, especially what-if simulations, the start-up founder is able to improve the cognitive process in order to assess the pro-ject?s feasibility. Furthermore, with simulation, business plan overcomes some of its traditional weaknesses and improves its strengths and opportunities. It can also become a training tool in the entrepreneurship programs promoted by public insti-tutions. By integrating forecasting, planning and simulation models, the business plan can be more comprehensive and provides more information about the envi-ronment in which the start-up has to play the game. Thus, the business plan be-comes "not just an evaluation of a project?s profitability, but also the future story of an idea, in which people are the central point of the success".

Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista. ... 526&Tipo=ArticoloPDF (text/html)
Single articles can be downloaded buying download credits, for info: https://www.francoangeli.it/DownloadCredit

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fan:macoma:v:html10.3280/maco2019-001004

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.francoang ... o.aspx?IDRivista=166

Access Statistics for this article

MANAGEMENT CONTROL is currently edited by FrancoAngeli

More articles in MANAGEMENT CONTROL from FrancoAngeli Editore
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Stefania Rosato ().