Early-stage start-up hiring: the interplay between start-ups’ initial resources and innovation orientation

Start-up firms often operate under high levels of uncertainty and resource constraints, which makes hiring a particularly challenging process. Integrating perspectives from the resource- and competence-based views of the firm and signaling theory, we posit that founders’ start-up experience and the initial presence of corporate or university shareholders can mitigate challenges associated with hiring and facilitate the recruitment of employees in the nascent stages of a firm. Moreover, we propose that early-stage hiring will be more likely in start-ups that combine such a strong set of initial competences and resources with a strategic orientation towards innovation. We find support for our hypotheses with a rich dataset of Italian innovative start-ups.