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Novice, Serial and Portfolio Entrepreneur Behaviour and Contributions

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Abstract

Policy-makers and practitioners are considering whether to allocate resources towards portfolio and serial entrepreneurs, as well as the provision of additional initiatives to increase the pool of novice entrepreneurs. To inform this policy debate, univariate statistical tests were used to test for differences between 354 firms owned by novice, serial and portfolio entrepreneurs in Scotland. Also, univariate tests were conducted to compare responses made by pairwise groups of entrepreneurs. No significant differences were detected between the three types of entrepreneurs with regard to several entrepreneur and firm demographic characteristics. Additional analysis revealed that portfolio entrepreneurs have more diverse experiences, and more resources than serial or novice entrepreneurs. On average, portfolio entrepreneurs appear to offer more attractive growth prospects than other entrepreneurs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Enterprise and Innovation and Centre for Management Buy-out Research, Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham, NG8 1BB, UK

    Paul Westhead, Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright

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  1. Paul Westhead
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  2. Deniz Ucbasaran
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  3. Mike Wright
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  4. Martin Binks
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Correspondence to Paul Westhead.

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Westhead, P., Ucbasaran, D., Wright, M. et al. Novice, Serial and Portfolio Entrepreneur Behaviour and Contributions. Small Bus Econ 25, 109–132 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-003-6461-9

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