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Int Entrep Manag J (2017) 13:169189 DOI 10.1007/s11365-016-0411-x
Published online: 3 October 2016# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract The means with which entrepreneurs create and capture value can be difficult to get a comprehensive picture of. Looking at the tools they use can offer insights, and in this context, the book The Lean Startup by Eric Ries has received a tremendous amount of attention. Supposedly, many entrepreneurs have read the book and may have followed his advice. Hence, we investigate the merits and characteristics of the methods detailed by Ries through a comparison with leading theories and empirical evidence found in the scientific literature. The results indicate that overall the methods find considerable backing and can in parts be recognized under already established constructs. Heavy use of effectuation-logic is evidentthroughoutthebook,withaclearandexplicitemphasisonexperimentationoverlong-term planning. The paper closes with a discussion of the possible broader implications of the methods and effectuation, including the potential impact on corporate strategy.
Keywords Entrepreneurial thinking . Lean startup . Causation . Effectuation
Introduction
How do entrepreneurs create value? The answer to that question will in no doubt be long, complicated and require enormous amounts of research. Now, how do entrepreneurs think they create value? That may just be a slightly more straightforward question to answer. One approach may simply be to ask successful entrepreneurs. Or you could look at the popular literature that many of them supposedly read, and study the methods they practice.
* Alexander Brem [email protected]
Dennis Lyth Frederiksen [email protected]
1 Faculty of Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
2 Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Sonderborg, Denmark
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s11365-016-0411-x&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s11365-016-0411-x&domain=pdf
Web End = How do entrepreneurs think they create value? A scientific reflection of Eric Ries Lean Startup approach
Dennis Lyth Frederiksen1 & Alexander Brem2
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6901-7498
Web End = 170 Int Entrep Manag J (2017) 13:169189
Some entrepreneurs are evidently betterat creating valuethan others. If what they docould be better understood, communicated, taught and learned, then perhaps the at times questionable output of entrepreneurship (Nightingale and Coad 2013) could be improved. Even if it just meant improving survival rates of new ventures or entrepreneurial projects in established companies by a few percentage points, the impact could be significant on society as a whole.
Frameworks, methods...