This publication-based dissertation covers four independent empirical essays using different methodological approaches that examine the role of social capital, especially networks of supporters in the venture crea-tion process from two perspectives, the financial and the knowledge development perspective. In particular, two of the essays focus on the financing process in crowdiesting and its stakeholders from the ankles of the entrepreneurs and the iestors. The second one also explores the iestors’ characteristics, motivations and reactions to signals. Two further essays focus on supporting activities provided by third parties. One analyses the structure of supporters during the founding process and their relationship to the founder by using a novel approach for social capital research. The other essay highlights the special role of founder coaches during the first stages of the venture, including modelling five functional roles. It also analyses the quality of the relationship between founder and coach as well as its challenges. The data highlight that high quality networks and thus its social capital can be strategically created for the benefit of the founder during the venture development process. New insights coming from this thesis advance the current discussion on social capital by expanding it to recent phenomena in entrepreneurship of highly practical nature.
Research findings reveal that business founders have an essential impact on the implementation of routines and processes, at least in the early stages of their venture, which foster competitiveness and the ability to survive. It appears that there is a direct positive correlation between the abilities, the knowledge, and the experience of founders, defined as ‘entrepreneurial competencies’, and the survival of the firm (Kollmann 2008). Hence the more developed the competencies of founders are, ceteris paribus, the higher is the possibility of their firm’s survival. Because of this, the acquisition of individual entrepreneurial competencies is a key success factor for young entrepreneurs in setting up and maintaining a start-up. At the same time research by, for instance, Gries et al. (1997) suggests that founders have a high need of external support due to their activities, tasks as managers and founders, particularly in view of the responsibilities they assume for management and for the development of the founded enterprise. Moreover, nascent entrepreneurs know about and use various forms of external expertise, such as consultants, tax advisors, venture capitalists or business angels (Gries et al. 1997; Müller and Diensberg 2011; Tegtmeier et al. 2010; Stubner et al. 2007; Schefczyk and Gerpott 2001). For instance, a recent study shows that founders see the supporting and coaching activities of business angels as the most important benefits of using external agents, after financial support (Holi et al. 2013).
Equity-based crowdfunding is a relatively new method to obtain capital for start-ups. Hereby ventures use special Internet platforms to issue shares of different sorts to the public. However, a great variety of platforms exist, which leads us to the question of whether there is a general crowdfunding process enabling founders to finance their business or not. If we knew of a general model, we could give recommendations to founders, service providers and iestors. Therefore, in this article, we analyse the process of equity-based crowdfunding from the perspective of a capital seeker and ask how the process of equity-based crowdfunding is structured in practice. We answer this question by conducting an explorative analysis consisting of an iterative examination of the 16 different platforms existing in Germany. By doing so, we aim to identify commonalities and differences and derive a general model. The findings will be used for further discussion and provide information for stakeholders in order to optimize the process.
Die Erarbeitung und erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Clusterstrategien stellt einen wichtigen Faktor für die Entwicklung des Clusters und der betreffenden Region dar. Deshalb wurde die Ausgestaltung von Clusterstrategien und -prozessen anhand ausgewählter Beispielcluster der Bioökonomie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Bereiche Logistik- und Supply Chain Management, Innovations-, Marketing- sowie Clustermanagement untersucht. Im Rahmen einer explorativen Analyse wurde das strategische und operative Vorgehen und soweit möglich deren Erfolg in diesen vier Bereichen systematisch untersucht sowie allgemeine Implikationen abgeleitet.
In the working paper we examine crowdiesting as a new way to fi nance new ventures, which helps to close the early stage equity gap. This way of financing start-ups leaves us some questions: Is crowdiesting able to fi nance new ventures in a sustainable way? Which risks and chances come along with it? Is the method able to establish itself as a basic instrument among others in the financing canon? We answer these questions by analyzing the different forms existing in Germany. To define crowdiesting we first explain the antecedents of it - crowdsourcing and crowdfunding. Then, we present the central crowdiesting platforms in Germany. Afterwards we discuss the use of crowdiestment in the venture financing process and compare crowdiesting with related financing methods. The paper closes with two discussions important for future research: first, the role of motivation and herding behavior and second, the role of trust with regard to the principal-agent problem.