ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the process of how entrepreneurs learn. The study uses longitudinal data on about 5,000 startups and presents evidence that entrepreneurial learning happens rapidly in the initial years of setting up a business, before settling down to a steady-state phase. The data show that entrepreneurs assign a higher weight, around 30%, to market signals in early years and with time this weight declines to about 16% in the sixth year, when prior information gains more bearing in decision-making. Specifically, the study substantiates the claim of existing theories and argues that over time, entrepreneurs learn to maintain the delicate balance between prior learning and new information from the market. Furthermore, results also indicate the presence of learning heterogeneity across entrepreneurs, possibly explaining the need for diversity in assistance programmes to meet the requirements of startups.

摘要

本文研究了企业家如何学习的过程。该研究使用了大约 5,000 家初创公司的纵向数据，并提供了证据表明创业学习在创业的最初几年发生得很快，然后才进入稳定阶段。数据显示，创业者在早些年为市场信号分配了更高的权重，大约 30%，随着时间的推移，这个权重在第六年下降到 16% 左右，当时先验信息对决策的影响更大。具体而言，该研究证实了现有理论的主张，并认为随着时间的推移，企业家学会在先前的学习和来自市场的新信息之间保持微妙的平衡。此外，结果还表明企业家之间存在学习异质性，