Modeling Levels and Time in Entrepreneurship Research: An Illustration with Growth Strategies and Post-IPO Performance

Organizational Research Methods, Forthcoming

Mays Business School Research Paper No. 2011-7

64 Pages Posted: 12 May 2009 Last revised: 16 Nov 2011

See all articles by Tim R. Holcomb

Tim R. Holcomb

Miami University

James G. Combs

University of Alabama - Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business Administration

David G. Sirmon

Texas A&M University

Jennifer Sexton

West Virginia University

Date Written: April 29, 2009

Abstract

New ventures lack resources, are buffeted by environmental factors, and often experience rapid growth and organizational transformations that can have profound effects on performance and survival. Methodologically, however, efforts to explain variation in entrepreneurial outcomes among and between levels over time often address levels or time, but rarely both. Because scholars potentially can make rich theoretical contributions by simultaneously investigating temporal relationships that cross levels, we illustrate multi-year, multilevel model building with random coefficient modeling (RCM) using language that is accessible to entrepreneurship scholars. Specifically, we model the effects of strategic growth actions on new venture performance using a longitudinal dataset of young, IPO-stage firms. Our illustration demonstrates the statistical advantages of modeling levels and time simultaneously, and offers a roadmap for entrepreneurship scholars interested in examining these effects. We also describe some specific research questions to help advance theory development using RCM.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, multilevel methods, longitudinal data, random coefficient modeling, new venture performance

Suggested Citation

Holcomb, Tim R. and Combs, James G. and Sirmon, David G. and Sexton, Jennifer, Modeling Levels and Time in Entrepreneurship Research: An Illustration with Growth Strategies and Post-IPO Performance (April 29, 2009). Organizational Research Methods, Forthcoming, Mays Business School Research Paper No. 2011-7, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1402628

Tim R. Holcomb (Contact Author)

Miami University ( email )

Farmer School of Business
800 E. High Street, 2075 FSB / MSC1148
Oxford, OH Ohio 45056
United States
5135293665 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://fsb.miamioh.edu/

James G. Combs

University of Alabama - Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business Administration ( email )

Culverhouse College of Business
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0223
United States

David G. Sirmon

Texas A&M University ( email )

430 Wehner
College Station, TX 77843-4218
United States

Jennifer Sexton

West Virginia University ( email )

PO Box 6025
Morgantown, WV 26506
United States

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