- Empirical Industrial Organization, Small Business, Firm Survival, Firm Growth, Entrepreneurship, Applied Microeconometrics, Economics of Education, and 17 moreResearch with LEED (Linked Employer-Employee Data), Higher Education Policy, Labour Economics, International Business, Foreign Direct Investment, Multinational Enterprises, Applied Microeconomics, Entrepreneurial Economics, Applied Econometrics, Higher Education, Employment, International Business, Multinational Enterprises, Firm Growth, Diversity in Higher Education, Higher Education Institutions, Firm Survival, Competition in Higher Education, and Higher Education Privatizationedit
- Assistant Professor in Economics and Management of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Copenhagen Business Schooledit
This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ different quantities and qualities of human capital at the moment of entry? How persistent are initial human capital choices over time? And how... more
This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ different quantities and qualities of human capital at the moment of entry? How persistent are initial human capital choices over time? And how does deviating from human capital benchmarks influence firm survival? The analysis is based on a matched employer-employee dataset and covers about 17,500 startups in manufacturing and services. We adopt a new procedure to estimate individual benchmarks for the quantity and quality of initial human resources, acknowledging correlations between hiring decisions, founders' human capital, and the ownership structure of startups (solo entrepreneurs versus entrepreneurial teams). We then study the survival implications of exogenous deviations from these benchmarks, based on spline models for survival data. Our results indicate that (especially negative) deviations from the benchmark can be substantial, are persistent over time, and hinder the survival...
Research Interests:
While recent work has documented a nexus between international trade and firm innovation, the underlying mechanisms explaining _rms' innovation in response to import competition are thus far poorly understood. To identify such... more
While recent work has documented a nexus between international trade and firm innovation, the underlying mechanisms explaining _rms' innovation in response to import competition are thus far poorly understood. To identify such mechanisms and their economic relevance, we use longitudinal linked employer-employee data from Denmark (1995-2012) and conduct analyses at both the firm and worker levels. We first show that import competition triggers a significant increase in innovation. Approximately 40 percent of the innovation effect is attributable to the increase in the share of RD 14 percent of this increase in the share of R&D workers is due to within-firm worker switching to R&D jobs, while 80 percent is explained by between-firm worker reallocation. Furthermore, we show that having a larger degree of between-firm worker reallocation to R&D jobs relative to within-firm switching is associated with more innovation. The salience of between-firm reallocation is further confirmed by...
Research Interests:
This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in... more
This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in the respective businesses using discrete time competing risks models. Different profiles of new business-owners are identified, taking into account their entry routes and how such entry choices impact on their persistence in the firm. Exits by dissolution are distinguished from exits by ownership transfer. We also analyze how previous labor market experiences and macroeconomic environment shape the individuals' decision to become and persist as business-owners. Controlling for a set of individual and previous job characteristics, we found that those experiencing a recent displacement are more likely to become entrepreneurs and to persist longer in the business. Concerning macroeconomic conditions, nascent entrepreneurs entering via start-up ente...
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and... more
ABSTRACT Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and survival, documenting significant heterogeneity in firm vulnerability and adjustment behaviour. Based on our previous research using longitudinal firm-level data for the period 1988-2007, it explores how and if, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in particular may play a role as stabilizing agents during downturns. Additionally, it discusses the differentiated effects of two distinct crises. Lessons may be relevant for understanding the impact of the current global crisis.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The availability of employment is a central determinant for addressing the refugee crisis in many host countries. Extant management research largely assumes that hiring refugees is part of firms’ s...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
We posit that the decisions to enter and persist into self-employed, are shaped by and intertwined with the decision to become parent. By considering how motherhood and fatherhood influence the par...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countries. This has been associated with the waves of significant expansion of the higher education system and with changes in regulation patterns,... more
In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countries. This has been associated with the waves of significant expansion of the higher education system and with changes in regulation patterns, which have promoted a growing private-like behavior of public higher education institutions and the development of private provision in several European countries. The aim of this text is to discuss the relevance of the various dimensions of privatization in European higher education and to explore the relationship between public and private sectors in several European countries. This analysis points out some major patterns of the private higher education sector in Europe and reflects about the major issues faced by those systems regarding the potential contribution of private higher education.
Research Interests:
Although the term “human capital” has remote historical roots, being already widespread in the writings of the founding fathers of economic analysis, it was during the second half of the twentieth century that an increasing debate around... more
Although the term “human capital” has remote historical roots, being already widespread in the writings of the founding fathers of economic analysis, it was during the second half of the twentieth century that an increasing debate around human capital emerged among scholars. The increasing relevance of human capital for economic growth was also associated with the role of technology and its impact in enhancing the demand for more and better qualified workers. However, the capacity of societies to take advantage of those investments has been found to be more complex and uncertain than it was initially portrayed. A more recent line of research started recognizing the potential role of human capital also at the regional level. In this chapter we aim at understanding the role of human capital on regional convergence for Southern Europe countries, with particular emphasis in recent empirical studies. We discuss the role of human capital in the framework of growth convergence theories and the issue of human capital migration as a potential factor influencing regional disparities in Europe. Then we focus on an important component of human capital formation—the role of higher education institutions at the regional level and we review the empirical findings on these issues in the context of Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). Finally we provide a brief exploratory analysis of the potential association between the education of the population and the GDP per capita at the regional-level for those four countries.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Female founders are scarce, certainly those employing personnel. Do (female) founders affect the likelihood of (female) joiners to become founders too? Recent research demonstrates that joiners are more sensitive to contextual influences... more
Female founders are scarce, certainly those employing personnel. Do (female) founders affect the likelihood of (female) joiners to become founders too? Recent research demonstrates that joiners are more sensitive to contextual influences than founders. Joining a startup could provide a context to experiment provisional founder identities, especially if the founder is perceived as a role model. Role models are more likely to be influential, the more similar they are to the focal person, especially if both are minorities, as is the case for women in entrepreneurial environments. We study how joiner-founder (gender) homophily affects the likelihood of female and male joiners to become founders themselves. We find a relatively large and robust positive effect among female joiners that can be attributed to the role modeling function of female founders. Female entrepreneurs hiring personnel may thus have a multiplier effect in reducing gender gaps in entrepreneurship rates.
Research Interests:
This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ different quantities and qualities of human capital at the moment of entry? How persistent are initial human capital choices over time? And how... more
This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ different quantities and qualities of human capital at the moment of entry? How persistent are initial human capital choices over time? And how does deviating from human capital benchmarks influence firm survival? The analysis is based on a matched employer-employee dataset and covers about 17,500 startups in manufacturing and services. We adopt a new procedure to estimate individual benchmarks for the quantity and quality of initial human resources, acknowledging correlations between hiring decisions, founders? human capital, and the ownership structure of startups (solo entrepreneurs versus entrepreneurial teams). We then study the survival implications of exogenous deviations from these benchmarks, based on spline models for survival data. Our results indicate that (especially negative) deviations from the benchmark can be substantial, are persistent over time, and hinder the survival of ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
It remains a question whether serial entrepreneurs typically perform better than their novice counterparts owing to learning by doing effects or mostly because they are a selected sample of higher-than-average ability entrepreneurs. This... more
It remains a question whether serial entrepreneurs typically perform better than their novice counterparts owing to learning by doing effects or mostly because they are a selected sample of higher-than-average ability entrepreneurs. This paper tries to unravel these two effects by exploring a novel empirical strategy based on continuous time duration models with selection. We use a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset that allows us to identify about 220,000 individuals who have left their first entrepreneurial experience, out of which over 35,000 became serial entrepreneurs. We evaluate whether entrepreneurial experience acquired in the previous business improves serial entrepreneurs’ survival, after taking into account self-selection issues. Our results show that serial entrepreneurs are not a random sample of ex-business owners. Robustness tests based on the estimation of the person-specific effect, using information on individuals’ past histories in paid employment, confirm that serial entrepreneurs exhibit, on average, a larger person-specific effect than non-serial business owners. Moreover, ignoring serial entrepreneurs’ self-selection overestimates learning by doing effects.
Research Interests:
This paper reports a comprehensive study on the dynamics of nascent business owners using a unique longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We follow over 157,000 individuals who leave paid employment and become business owners... more
This paper reports a comprehensive study on the dynamics of nascent business owners using a unique longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We follow over 157,000 individuals who leave paid employment and become business owners during the period 1992-2007. The contributions of this paper are two-fold. First, we analyze both entry and exit, identifying and characterizing different profiles of individuals leaving paid employment to become business owners, and distinguishing exits by dissolution from exits by ownership transfer. Second, we provide new evidence on how particular experiences in the labor market and entry modes shape the post-entry dynamics of nascent business owners. By differentiating between different entry and exit routes, this paper provides new evidence on different human capital patterns among nascent business owners and on key determinants of entrepreneurial survival. Our results suggest that different exit modes can be predicted by business owners’ entry route. Furthermore, different exit modes exhibit different duration dependence patterns according to the entry mode. Additionally, the paper shows that businesses started after displacement episodes are not necessarily less successful. Those individuals entering entrepreneurship after being displaced due to previous employer closure are found to persist longer.
Research Interests:
Unconditionally, pushed spin-offs are found to survive longer than their pulled counterparts. Using matched employer-employee data and novel multivariate decomposition techniques, we show that pushed spin-offs’ relative survival advantage... more
Unconditionally, pushed spin-offs are found to survive longer than their pulled counterparts. Using matched employer-employee data and novel multivariate decomposition techniques, we show that pushed spin-offs’ relative survival advantage is mostly explained by their larger human capital endowments at entry.
Research Interests:
This paper evaluates the link between foreign ownership and firm exit during crises, using a longitudinal micro dataset over an 18-year period. We address two main questions: first, if foreign affiliates have different failure rates than... more
This paper evaluates the link between foreign ownership and firm exit during crises, using a longitudinal micro dataset over an 18-year period. We address two main questions: first, if foreign affiliates have different failure rates than domestic firms during economic downturns, and second if the foreignness effect differs between two different economic downturns. The results partially confirm the liability of foreignness argument, suggesting that when the crisis was more pronounced at home than abroad, the differences in hazard rates between foreign and domestic firms reduce. The footloose argument is also only partially confirmed. For policy makers, our results on survival dynamics during crises are not against policies stimulating inward investment. There is no need to fear that foreign firms destabilize more than usual the host economy during economic slowdowns by immediately closing down operations.
Research Interests:
Financial stringency has been an increasing concern in the higher education sector, especially in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. Public higher education institutions have therefore been under increasing pressure to... more
Financial stringency has been an increasing concern in the higher education sector, especially in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. Public higher education institutions have therefore been under increasing pressure to diversify their funding sources through tuition fees and other non-public revenues. This study reflects on the institutional impact of those changes by analyzing a panel of higher education institutions from the Portuguese public university and polytechnic sectors for the period 2003-2009. We explore the relevance of specific institutional characteristics such as the composition of enrolments in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, the qualifications of the academic staff and the regional environment where institutions are located. The results suggest that certain institutional characteristics related to mission differentiation and the path of development of binary systems are important determinants of higher education institutions’ ability to earn income from tuition fees and other non-public sources.
Research Interests:
Decades of expansion in European higher education have led to the need to cater to an increasingly diverse student population in a more economical and efficient way. The realities of mass higher education have resulted in major... more
Decades of expansion in European higher education have led to the need to cater to an increasingly diverse student population in a more economical and efficient way. The realities of mass higher education have resulted in major transformations, with visible changes in the modes and instruments of regulation and a greater emphasis on market forces and institutional competition. In this article we reflect about the relevance of those changes from a regional point of view, especially by looking at the public–private mix of higher education and the way those regulatory changes may have influenced patterns of spatial and programmatic diversification across a sample of European countries.
Research Interests:
It remains a question whether serial entrepreneurs typically perform better than their novice counterparts owing to learning by doing effects or mostly because they are a selected sample of higher-than-average ability entrepreneurs. This... more
It remains a question whether serial entrepreneurs typically perform better than their novice counterparts owing to learning by doing effects or mostly because they are a selected sample of higher-than-average ability entrepreneurs. This paper tries to unravel these two effects by exploring a novel empirical strategy based on continuous time duration models with selection. We use a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset that allows us to track almost 220,000 individuals who have left their first entrepreneurial experience. Over 35,000 serial entrepreneurs are identified and followed in their second business, in order to evaluate how entrepreneurial experience acquired in the previous business improves persistence by reducing their exit rates. Our results show that serial entrepreneurs are not a random selection of ex-business-owners. The positive association found between prior experience and serial entrepreneurs' survival is mainly due to selection on ability, rather than the result of learning by doing.
Research Interests:
The development of mass higher education and growing competition between higher education institutions has given increasing visibility to the issue of diversification. This article analyses the issue of programme diversification, using a... more
The development of mass higher education and growing competition between higher education institutions has given increasing visibility to the issue of diversification. This article analyses the issue of programme diversification, using a panel of 181 Portuguese higher education institutions over the period 1995 to 2007, by comparing the behaviour of public and private institutions. The results show that the legal status of institutions is the major determinant of programme diversification, as private institutions are far more specialized than their public counterparts. The study also evaluates the role of other institutional variables,
such as the institution’s size, age, location, institutional mission and research intensity, to explain differences in the diversification behaviour of higher education institutions. The results provide important insights, as competition has been thought to improve the performance of higher education institutions.
such as the institution’s size, age, location, institutional mission and research intensity, to explain differences in the diversification behaviour of higher education institutions. The results provide important insights, as competition has been thought to improve the performance of higher education institutions.
Research Interests:
The liability of smallness assumption suggests that smaller firms face higher exit risks. However, does it apply during crises? We show that during downturns size reduces firms’ exit risk by less. The hazard rate increases more rapidly in... more
The liability of smallness assumption suggests that smaller firms face higher exit risks. However, does it apply during crises? We show that during downturns size reduces firms’ exit risk by less. The hazard rate increases more rapidly in size.
Research Interests:
In this paper we investigate whether education-job mismatches and growing occupational diversity are important explanatory factors of gender pay gaps among university graduates in Southern Europe (namely in Portugal, Spain, and Italy). In... more
In this paper we investigate whether education-job mismatches and growing occupational diversity are important explanatory factors of gender pay gaps among university graduates in Southern Europe (namely in Portugal, Spain, and Italy). In our analysis we use standard decomposition techniques and test the implications of controlling for selection bias. Our results indicate that overeducation and greater occupational segregation associated with the emergence of new graduate job profiles, are important determinants of earnings inequality. While our focus is on graduates’ early careers, demonstrating that occupational assignment and selection into employment shape gender pay gaps among the highly skilled provides a more pessimistic view on the ability of educational expansion or equal pay legislation to significantly reduce gender pay inequality. Southern European economies are also particularly interesting to look at since there may be a greater degree of mismatch between the pace of higher education expansion and the changes in the job structure, making women particularly vulnerable to overeducation.
Research Interests:
This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in... more
This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in the respective businesses using discrete time competing risks models. Different profiles of new business-owners are identified, taking into account their entry routes and how such entry choices impact on their persistence in the firm. Exits by dissolution are distinguished from exits by ownership transfer. We also analyze how previous labor market experiences and macroeconomic environment shape the individuals’ decision to become and persist as business-owners. Controlling for a set of individual and previous job characteristics, we found that those experiencing a recent displacement are more likely to become entrepreneurs and to persist longer in the business. Concerning macroeconomic conditions, nascent entrepreneurs entering via start-up enter counter-cyclically, while all other nascent business-owners behave in line with the “prosperity-pull” hypothesis. Business-owners’ entry choices significantly affect their post-entry persistence and exit modes. Particular experiences in the labor market while paid employees are also found to significantly influence the way individuals enter into and exit from entrepreneurship.
Research Interests:
Mainstream economics had great difficulty in fitting entrepreneurship into its theory and for long time the theoretical firm remained “entrepreneurless”. However, from the early 20th century onwards, we identify strong attempts of key... more
Mainstream economics had great difficulty in fitting entrepreneurship into its theory and for long time the theoretical firm remained “entrepreneurless”. However, from the early 20th century onwards, we identify strong attempts of key economists to recognize the role of the entrepreneur as an explanatory force of several economic phenomena. This paper analyzes the evolution of economic thought on entrepreneurship, and in particular the path through which the entrepreneur (re)entered into economic theory over the 20th century, leading to the new and increasingly independent research field Economics of Entrepreneurship. The analysis goes through the main Economics fields where the (re)discover of the entrepreneur figure was most remarkable - namely Labor Economics, Microeconomics and Industrial Organization, and Economic Growth and Development - searching for the rationality to include the entrepreneur figure into the analyses of particular economic phenomena. The study is enriched by a brief bibliometric analysis, which helps to set forth a chronological trace of the entrepreneurship research within Economics literature.
Research Interests:
DSpace. ...
Research Interests:
In recent years we have observed a significant growth of the private sector in many higher education systems around the globe. This growth of private higher education was associated with high political expectations, notably concerning... more
In recent years we have observed a significant growth of the private sector in many higher education systems around the globe. This growth of private higher education was associated with high political expectations, notably concerning greater choice of programs and greater responsiveness of institutions to students’ and labor market’s demands. Looking at the experience of several European and Latin American countries, this study analyses the patterns of program diversification of public and private higher education and discusses the impact of private sector for the diversification of higher education’s supply. The results show a contrasting picture between political beliefs about privatization in higher education and its actual results, suggesting that private institutions tend to be far more specialized that their public counterparts.
Research Interests:
Despite foreign and domestic firms have been found to differ on survival and exit risks during crises, we believe that other factors may moderate this foreignness effect, as the technological intensity of the industry. The results show... more
Despite foreign and domestic firms have been found to differ on survival and exit risks during crises, we believe that other factors may moderate this foreignness effect, as the technological intensity of the industry. The results show that foreign firms operating in more technology-intensive industries face lower hazards during crises, so the resulting competitive advantage may offset the uncertainty inherent in innovative activities. The conclusions are important for policymakers and managers.
Research Interests:
The persistent increasing duration of unemployment has become an issue during economic crises. Although lay-offs at large firms normally make headlines during crises, we still know little about the potential impact of firm size on... more
The persistent increasing duration of unemployment has become an issue during economic crises. Although lay-offs at large firms normally make headlines during crises, we still know little about the potential impact of firm size on adjustment behavior in a crisis. We studied effects of firm size on employment growth during economic slowdowns using a rich microeconomic database for the 1988–2007 period in Portuguese manufacturing industry. The results show that economic downturns affect firm growth negatively. This negative effect is found to be higher for larger firms, both during and immediately following crisis periods. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
emerge as potential stabilizers in downturn periods. However, larger firms seemto be able to quickly recover from downturn periods. Our results contribute to the scarce literature and to the understanding of the Portuguese case, where many SMEs secure most jobs. These first results may be useful, because SMEs play a determinant role in other European Union economies.
emerge as potential stabilizers in downturn periods. However, larger firms seemto be able to quickly recover from downturn periods. Our results contribute to the scarce literature and to the understanding of the Portuguese case, where many SMEs secure most jobs. These first results may be useful, because SMEs play a determinant role in other European Union economies.
Research Interests:
The expansion of higher education systems has often been associated with the need for increasing diversification, namely at the program level, based on the pressures to adapt more general programmes to a more diverse student population and... more
The expansion of higher education systems has often been associated with the need for increasing diversification, namely at the program level, based on the pressures to
adapt more general programmes to a more diverse student population and multiple regional, social, and economic needs. This paper explores empirically the question of
programme diversity by drawing on the Portuguese higher education’ experience, which presented massive expansion during the last decades and significant institutional competition in recent years. The study provides a longitudinal approach and analyzes in detail the evolution of diversification and specialization of the public and private sectors, as well as the university and polytechnic subsectors. The analysis aims at helping to illustrate the relevance of analysing diversity from an empirical point of view and its contribution to our understanding of the complex relationships between competition and diversity in contemporary higher education.
adapt more general programmes to a more diverse student population and multiple regional, social, and economic needs. This paper explores empirically the question of
programme diversity by drawing on the Portuguese higher education’ experience, which presented massive expansion during the last decades and significant institutional competition in recent years. The study provides a longitudinal approach and analyzes in detail the evolution of diversification and specialization of the public and private sectors, as well as the university and polytechnic subsectors. The analysis aims at helping to illustrate the relevance of analysing diversity from an empirical point of view and its contribution to our understanding of the complex relationships between competition and diversity in contemporary higher education.
Research Interests:
Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and survival,... more
Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and survival, documenting significant heterogeneity in firm vulnerability and adjustment behaviour. Based on our previous research using longitudinal firm-level data for the period 1988-2007, it explores how and if, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in particular may play a role as stabilizing agents during downturns. Additionally, it discusses the differentiated effects of two distinct crises. Lessons may be relevant for understanding the impact of the current global crisis.
Research Interests:
By combining insights from the widespread research on entrepreneurial spin-offs and from the emerging literature on hiring choices in startups, we investigate the role of coworker mobility in pushed and pulled spin-off survival. Using... more
By combining insights from the widespread research on entrepreneurial spin-offs and from the emerging literature on hiring choices in startups, we investigate the role of coworker mobility in pushed and pulled spin-off survival. Using rich matched employer-employee data and a multi-stage model addressing the issues of self-selection in entrepreneurship and endogeneity in recruitment choices, we cover about 28,300 spin-offs launched between 1992 and 2007. Our results show that spin-offs hiring coworkers from the parent firm survive longer. This survival bonus is higher in pushed-driven startups. We investigate two different mechanisms through which coworker mobility may improve spin-off survival – knowledge transfer and reduced searching costs – and find that both mechanisms play a role in explaining the survival bonus in pulled spin-offs. In pushed spin-offs, coworker mobility seems to largely help them surviving by reducing initial recruitment costs. This work provides novel insights on the role of context surrounding new venture creation and inter-firm labor mobility. Theoretical and practical implications of the major findings are discussed.
Research Interests:
The founder (team)’s human capital is a vital determinant of future firm performance. This is a stylized fact. Less is known about the effect of the human capital of the initial workforce hired by the founder(s). We study the performance... more
The founder (team)’s human capital is a vital determinant of future firm performance. This is a stylized fact. Less is known about the effect of the human capital of the initial workforce hired by the founder(s). We study the performance consequences of a founder’s choice of the initial workforce’s human capital (quantity and quality), besides the human capital of the founder(s). The analysis is based on matched employer-employee data and covers about 5,300 startups in manufacturing industries founded by individuals coming from employment between 1992 and 2007. We acknowledge that initial hiring decisions are endogenous and correlated with the human capital of the founders and the ownership structure of startups (single founder versus team of founders). Given the stickiness of initial choices, human capital decisions at entry turn out to be a close to irreversible matter with significant implications for post-entry survival and growth of the firm.