Does a Theory-of-Value Add Value? Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial with Tanzanian Entrepreneurs

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Agarwal, Rajshree; Bacco, Francesca; Camuffo, Arnaldo; Coali, Andrea; Gambardella, Alfonso; Msangi, Haji; Sonka, Steven; Temu, Anna; Waized, Betty; Wormald, Audra
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Bocconi University; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Sokoine University of Agriculture; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina School of Medicine
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2023.17590
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Entrepreneurship; experimentation; scientific approach; STRATEGY FORMATION; theory-based view; developing contexts

摘要

Entrepreneurs making decisions under uncertainty are encouraged to evaluate their initial ideas through hypothesis testing, but entrepreneurial approaches vary in their emphasis on ex-ante theory development prior to collecting evidence. In this paper, we examine whether and how entrepreneurs benefit from adopting an evidence-based approach or a theory-and-evidence-based approach to decision making. We conducted a field experiment with Tanzanian agribusiness entrepreneurs by randomly assigning entrepreneurs to two different training conditions. We find that entrepreneurs in the theory-and-evidence-based condition have higher economic performance during the observation period following the intervention. We conjecture this result stems from differences in the types of changes enacted: entrepreneurs in the theory-and-evidence-based training make more coordinated changes that encompass both core and operational elements of their business models.