Essays on Entrepreneurial Spawning

This dissertation is composed of three essays on entrepreneurial spawning. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches, each essay addresses a specific aspect related to the (i) formation, (ii) development, and (iii) performance outcomes of spinoffs or entrepreneurial ventures founded by former employees of incumbent firms. In particular, the first essay aims at providing a fine-grained understanding of the mechanisms that underlie parental imprinting, the contingencies, and its consequences within spinoff ventures. The organizational antecedent of different patterns of spinoff formation, when unexploited knowledge created by the industry incumbents spurs entrepreneurial spawning is subject of the second essay. Finally, the third essay explores the impact of knowledge relatedness with the incumbent parents on the performance of spinoff ventures. The results of these studies contribute to the literatures on genealogical perspective on firm formation, organizational imprinting, knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship, and entry by spinoff ventures.