Blowing Smoke? How Early-Stage Investors Interpret Hopeful Discourse within Entrepreneurially Oriented Business Plans

Wales William, Cox Kevin C. (), Lortie Jason () and Sproul Curtis R.
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Wales William: Management, University at Albany, State University New York, Albany, NY, USA
Cox Kevin C.: Management, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA
Lortie Jason: Florida Gulf Coast University, Institute for Entrepreneurship, Fort Myers, FL, USA
Sproul Curtis R.: Georgia Southern University College of Business Administration, Statesboro, GA, USA

Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 2019, vol. 9, issue 3, 16

Abstract: This study examines how written expressions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and hope may affect investor evaluations of funding potential in business plan competitions. To understand why some firms are evaluated more favorably, we combine screening and signaling theory when analyzing early-stage venture-investor communication. Findings support that expressions of EO while business planning contribute to greater expressions of hope to cope with the Knightian uncertainty when developing new business models. Results suggest that the impact of hopeful dialogue on investor impressions of fundability critically depends upon the presence or absence of past founder financial investment. Implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords: new venture funding; entrepreneurial orientation; hope; founder financial investment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1515/erj-2018-0114

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