Cutting your teeth: The beginning of the learning curve
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Roberts_Cutting your.pdf
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300.2 KB
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Adobe PDF
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Author(s)
Eesley, Charles E.
Roberts, Edward B.
Date Issued
August 2009
Journal
PICMET '09 - 2009 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Citation
Eesley, Charles E., and Edward B. Roberts. “Cutting Your Teeth: The Beginning of the Learning Curve.” PICMET ’09 - 2009 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology, 2-6 Aug. 2009, Portland OR.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We explore learning-by-doing in an important setting not previously explored - the context of one or more complex experiences encountered in novel circumstances. We explore characteristics that lead to learning at the beginning of the learning curve. We use data from survey responses of 2,111 entrepreneurs to examine performance of startup firms as a measure of outcomes produced by learning-by-doing from prior founding experience. Results indicate substantial productivity benefits accruing from prior entrepreneurial experience. We are the first to exploit panel data on the entire individual history of firm founding to control for individual fixed effects. Areas where entrepreneurs show possible learning effects include the inclination and/or ability to more quickly go through the process of recognizing an opportunity, developing it, and executing the exit strategy.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1109/PICMET.2009.5261956
