ABSTRACT
Considerable progress has been made by academic researchers in management over the last 15 years in determining the causes of new venture performance. In fact, some of this research purports to statistically explain such a high level of variance in new venture performance (NVP) that the question arises as to whether the entrepreneur him/herself has any appreciable effect on NVP apart from the initial determination of strategy and industry structure. In an attempt to determine the causes of new venture performance, Sandberg developed a new model of new venture performance and tested it empirically. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book establishes the theoretical underpinnings of the study. It operationalizes the research model and discusses the research and sample design and then presents the results of empirically examining the research model.
