EFFECTS OF
TRANSFERABILITY OF LEARNING
FROM PRE-START-UP EXPERIENCES
Arif Butt, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
Wasif Khan, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
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Introduction
Literature
on Learning Experiences
Research
Methodology
Results
Discussion
References
Entrepreneurs in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing sectors were interviewed to assess the impact of their pre-start-up learning experiences on the initial firm performance. Personal interviews were conducted with about one hundred entrepreneurs. Seventy three interviews were completed and analysed on the basis of industry structure and environment, entry strategy and experiences of the entrepreneurs. This paper focused on the types of experiences which included management, technical, and new firm start up experiences, exposure to family businesses, family advice, experiences of partners and education. Their correlation with the initial growth of the firm was studied.
The retail sector data showed that the number of previous start-up experiences, entrepreneurial experiences in dissimilar industry and advice were positively related to the initial firm performance. In the wholesale sector, entrepreneurial experiences in similar industry, management experiences in dissimilar industry, previous start-up experiences and exposure to family business played a significant and positive role in early firm growth. In the manufacturing sector, management experiences of the entrepreneurs and partners, and education were significantly related to the initial performance of the firm.
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Last Updated 1/15/97 by Geoff Goldman & Dennis Valencia
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