Knowledge Acquisition Activities, Prior Knowledge and Experience and the Survival of New Firms

John C. Dencker, Marc Gruber and Sonali Shah
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John C. Dencker: U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sonali Shah: U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Working Papers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business

Abstract: Knowledge acquisition activities occurring after entry may be just as critical to firm survival as pre-existing knowledge and experience, because knowledge acquisition activities enable the augmentation of existing knowledge and the exploration and pursuit of new strategic directions. Drawing from organization theory and entrepreneurship theory, we examine two important sets of knowledge acquisition activities: knowledge acquired through planning and knowledge acquired through learning by doing. We examine the direct impact of these activities on the survival of new firms and examine the extent to which planning and learning by doing can compensate for low prior knowledge and/or management experience. We find that while learning by doing promotes firm survival and can compensate, planning deters firm survival and can not compensate.

Date: 2006-09
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecl:illbus:06-0116

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