The creation of new firms is recognized as a major source of new jobs, productivity gains, product innovations, integration of immigrants into the economy, and a major career option for many people. The Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,214 nascent entrepreneurs and provides a unique empirical record of their actions, from the initial stages of the process to the establishment of an ongoing business.
A total of three annual interviews have been already completed. The interviews provide information on the nature of the business, start-up activities implemented, the characteristics of the founding team and helping networks, sources and amounts of financial support, evaluations of the economic context, competitive strategy and growth expectations, along with details of the motivations, perspectives, and personal background of the nascent entrepreneur. NSF funding of the fourth interview will enable a more comprehensive assessment of which of these factors have a critical impact on the outcome of the process, ranging from the abandonment of efforts to the establishment of an ongoing business.
The NSF funding will enhance the existing data set that is now widely used for theory development about the entrepreneurial process, it will contribute to more accurate conceptualizations of entrepreneurship in the U.S. economy, improve estimates of the social costs and benefits associated with the entrepreneurial process, and further contribute to understanding the contributions of new firms to U.S. global competiveness.
