When Does the Pre-entry Experience of New Entrants Improve Their Performance? A Meta-Analytical Investigation of Critical Moderators

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cao, Zhi; Posen, Hart E.
• 署名单位: Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE); University of Nevada Las Vegas; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2022.1589
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 613-636
• 关键词: pre-entry experience; new entrant performance; industry environment; INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT; environmental context; Meta-analysis

摘要

Although pre-entry experience is widely regarded as a critical asset that positively influences new entrant performance, empirical support is mixed. To address this inconsistency, we conduct a meta-analysis of the empirical findings in 272 papers. We draw theoretically on the organizational learning literature to argue that the pre-entry experience-new entrant performance relationship is contingent on the characteristics of pre-entry experience, the environmental context of the new entrant, and the interaction between the two. In particular, we examine the effects of two levels of pre-entry experience (firmand founder), four types of founder-level pre-entry experience (entrepreneurial, managerial, industry, and functional experience), and two types of environments (industry and institutional). The meta-analysis results show a significant and positive correlation between founder-level pre-entry experience and economic performance of 0.07. Likewise, the failure rates of spinouts and diversifying entrants are 11% lower than that of start-ups. Themoderating analysis results show that the correlation of founder-level pre-entry experience and economic performance is lower in knowledge- or technology-intensive (KTI) industries and higher in low-KTI manufacturing and service industries. The correlation is also higher in institutional environments with high power distance and individualism. These findings provide compelling new evidence for the importance of pre-entry experience and advance our understanding of the boundary conditions on the pre-entry experience-new entrant performance relationship.