Purpose

Entrepreneurs can easily slide into severe economic crises (Fichman and Levinthal, 1991), in particular, in the first years after their founding. Additionally, research shows that entrepreneurs often lack a realistic evaluation of the entrepreneurial risks and barriers. Referring to research on cognitive and networked expertise (Ericsson et al., 2006; Hakkarainen et al., 2004), recognising and reflecting on potential failure may help to prevent or manage upcoming crises (Mitchell et al., 2008). Thus, this study aims to test whether assessing upcoming crises in a new venture varies along with the level of entrepreneurial expertise.

Design/methodology/approach

In a cross-sectional design with three subgroups (start-up consultants, entrepreneurs and students), this study evaluated critical incidents that have already been validated as likely to emerge in the post-formation phase (Heinrichs and Jäcklin, 2017). Entrepreneurial expertise was measured by seven indicators, chosen based on the approaches of cognitive and networked expertise.

Findings

By applying latent profile analyses, the participants were grouped along with these indicators of expertise in three levels. Analysis of variance showed significant differences amongst the profiles in perceiving critical incidents. Experts rated the incidents significantly higher than semi-experts and novices towards indicating financial risks (medium effect) and the probability that the entrepreneur could manage the upcoming crises (large effect).

Originality/value

The results call for developing and evaluating interventions, e.g. case-oriented entrepreneurship education courses (Heinrichs, 2016), that foster future entrepreneurs’ expertise in perceiving and managing entrepreneurial risks to prevent entrepreneurial failure.

中文翻译：

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在组建后阶段评估关键事件：创业专业知识的问题？

目的

企业家很容易陷入严重的经济危机（Fichman 和 Levinthal，1991），特别是在他们成立后的头几年。此外，研究表明，企业家往往缺乏对创业风险和障碍的现实评估。参考对认知和网络专业知识的研究（Ericsson等人，2006 年；Hakkarainen等人，2004 年），认识到并反思潜在的失败可能有助于预防或管理即将到来的危机（Mitchell等人，2008 年）。因此，本研究旨在测试评估新企业即将发生的危机是否随创业专业知识水平而变化。

设计/方法/方法

在包含三个子组（初创顾问、企业家和学生）的横断面设计中，本研究评估了已被证实可能在形成后阶段出现的关键事件（Heinrichs 和 Jäcklin，2017 年）。创业专业知识由七个指标衡量，这些指标是根据认知和网络专业知识的方法选择的。

发现

通过应用潜在轮廓分析，参与者按照三个级别的专业知识指标进行分组。方差分析显示，在感知关键事件方面，配置文件之间存在显着差异。在表明财务风险（中等效应）和企业家应对即将到来的危机的可能性（大效应）方面，专家对这些事件的评级明显高于半专家和新手。

原创性/价值

结果要求开发和评估干预措施，例如以案例为导向的创业教育课程（Heinrichs，2016），以培养未来企业家在感知和管理创业风险方面的专业知识，以防止创业失败。