FACTORS INFLUENCING START-UP PROCESS RESULTS: LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF CZECH ENTREPRENEURS

Longitudinal studies of early-stage entrepreneurial activity help us understand the causal effects of a variety of factors influencing the future outcomes of this activity. The theory of new business foundation is, however, far from developed. The aim of the paper is to analyse various factors influencing birth and discontinuance of nascent and early-stage entrepreneurial activity. Compared to previous Czech studies, this paper is based on the most complete sample and serves as well as a robustness check of previous findings. We use data on 371 early-stage entrepreneurs that come from two longitudinal studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 in the frame of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project. Entrepreneurs were interviewed in three to four subsequent waves and asked questions regarding their entrepreneurial activity and its outcomes. We employ logistic regression to analyse the effects of various factors influencing outcomes of early-stage entrepreneurial activity. We confirmed that fear of failure, start-up duration and previous start-up experience influence outcomes of nascent entrepreneurship. Previous start-up experience increased the likelihood of both entrepreneurial discontinuation and actual launch. There was also a significant influence of a year in which data were gathered. We argue that better economic conditions (lower unemployment, higher GDP growth) increase the likelihood of discontinuation in nascent entrepreneurs, but decrease the likelihood of exit for operational business. The former group in those conditions find a job more easily, whereas the latter group persists as it operates in more favourable market situation. We also analysed various factors potentially influencing satisfaction with entrepreneurship, but found no significant results besides the role of a year of data gathering. Overall, the paper provides added value for our understanding of early-stage entrepreneurial dynamics.