Foundations of Entrepreneurial Strategy

26 Pages Posted: 29 Sep 2016 Last revised: 30 Jan 2019

See all articles by Joshua S. Gans

Joshua S. Gans

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management; NBER

Scott Stern

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Jane Wu

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Anderson School of Management, Students

Date Written: January 28, 2019

Abstract

This paper develops an integrated framework linking the nature of the entrepreneurial choice process to the foundations of entrepreneurial strategy. Because entrepreneurs face many alternatives that cannot be pursued at once, entrepreneurs must adopt (implicitly or explicitly) a process for choosing among entrepreneurial strategies. The interplay between uncertainty and learning has the consequence that commitment-free analysis yields multiple, equally viable alternatives from which one must be chosen. This endogenous gap between optimization and choice is a central paradox confronting entrepreneurs. Resolving this allows for a reformulation of the foundations of entrepreneurial strategy, emphasizing the role of choice rather than the centrality of the strategic environment.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, commercialization, intellectual property, uncertainty, strategy

JEL Classification: L26

Suggested Citation

Gans, Joshua S. and Stern, Scott and Wu, Jane, Foundations of Entrepreneurial Strategy (January 28, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2844843 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2844843

Joshua S. Gans (Contact Author)

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management ( email )

Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.joshuagans.com

NBER ( email )

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Scott Stern

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management ( email )

Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
617-253-3053 (Phone)
617-253-2660 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Jane Wu

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Anderson School of Management, Students ( email )

Los Angeles, CA
United States

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