Are You Experienced or Are You Talented?: When Does Innate Talent vs. Experience Explain Entrepreneurial Performance?

Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Forthcoming

32 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2006 Last revised: 15 Aug 2014

See all articles by Charles E. Eesley

Charles E. Eesley

Stanford University - Management Science & Engineering

Edward B. Roberts

Founder/Chair, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

Date Written: Dec. 20, 2011

Abstract

We explore whether entrepreneurial performance is due to innate talent or the accumulation of entrepreneurial experience. Using a novel dataset with multiple observations of founding attempts per individual, we generate a unique measure of entrepreneurial talent. In contrast to prior findings, the relative importance of experience vs. talent changes with the context. When the current market or technology is familiar, then experience dominates. However, when the venture context is unfamiliar, talent is more important. Individuals with experience and talent handle both familiar and unfamiliar aspects and may extract more from a given level of experience. The findings advance our understanding of how the drivers of venture performance shift with the broader technological and industry environment and places limits on when experience aids performance.

Keywords: organizational learning, top management teams, entrepreneurship, exploration, strategy

Suggested Citation

Eesley, Charles E. and Roberts, Edward B., Are You Experienced or Are You Talented?: When Does Innate Talent vs. Experience Explain Entrepreneurial Performance? (Dec. 20, 2011). Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=909615 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.909615

Charles E. Eesley (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Management Science & Engineering ( email )

473 Via Ortega
Stanford, CA 94305-9025
United States

HOME PAGE: http://chuckeesley.com

Edward B. Roberts

Founder/Chair, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship ( email )

100 Main Street, E62-440
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
617-253-4934 (Phone)
617-253-2660 (Fax)

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