Does Shark Tank Enhance Entrepreneurial Activities?

39 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2020 Last revised: 14 Apr 2021

See all articles by Caspar David Peter

Caspar David Peter

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)

Jochen Pierk

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Economics (ESE)

Date Written: January 9, 2021

Abstract

This paper examines if and how mass media enhances entrepreneurial activities. Specifically, we use the staggered introduction of the television show Dragons’ Den, also known as Shark Tank, across countries to analyze the impact of mass media on entrepreneurial activity. The show consists of entrepreneurial contestants that present their business idea to investors. We hypothesize that viewers get motivated by the show to start their own business and can learn how to develop and present business ideas to investors by observing successful and unsuccessful pitches on the show. Our results show a significant short-term increase of around 14.6% (~ 18 per 100.000 capita) in the number of new firms in the first year after the show starts to air.

Keywords: Entrepreneurs, Start-Ups, Media, Shark Tank, Dragons’ Den

JEL Classification: L26, L82

Suggested Citation

Peter, Caspar David and Pierk, Jochen, Does Shark Tank Enhance Entrepreneurial Activities? (January 9, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3657391 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3657391

Caspar David Peter (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
Room T10-49
3062 PA Rotterdam, 3062 PA
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.rsm.nl/people/caspar-david-peter/

Jochen Pierk

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam, NL 3062 PA
Netherlands

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