New working paper is now available. It is a paper co-authored with Toke Reichstein (from Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London) called “Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Organizations“. An early draft was presented at the 10th International Schumpeter Society Conference at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy in June 2004.
This paper investigates the relationship between the level of experience of managers and founders, and the likelihood of survival of their new firms. We take advantage of a comprehensive dataset covering the entire Danish labor market from 1980-2000. This is used to trace the activities of top ranked members of start-ups prior to their founding, and follow the fate of these firms. More specifically, we compare the survival of spin-offs from surviving parents, spin-offs from exiting parents, and other start-ups.
Michael S. Dahl and Toke Reichstein (2007), "Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Organizations", Industry and Innovation. Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 497-511. ISSN: 1366-2716.