RESEARCH AREAS

ENTREPRENEURIAL/INNOVATION STRATEGY:

SELECTED WORKS IN PROGRESS:

The middle-market trap in entrepreneurial scaling (with Nataliya Wright)

Startups based in mid-sized markets see less right-tail growth outcomes than those in small and large markets. Could this be partly because their market is big enough to gain early traction, incentivizing them to delay targeting new markets necessary for growth until the adaptation costs become too high? We test this question in the international context using BuiltWith data of language tool adoption of nearly 50,000 firms, representing the universe of software companies founded 2000-2015 in PitchBook data and in interviews with 253 software startups from over 30 countries. As the first study to systematically track the internationalization of digital startups from around the world, we find that startups from mid-sized markets are more likely to target new markets in their scaling phase rather than near birth relative to those from smaller markets. They are also more likely to later adopt language tools to adapt to new markets, and these investments can be costly. Those that do orient toward new markets initially attract higher valuations and funding. These results suggest a “satisficing” dilemma facing startups in mid-sized markets, where the lack of early expansion needs can result in subsequent adaptation costs that constrain growth.

Innovation Configurations and Performance (Title withheld; Under review at AMJ; with Vikash Sinha and Simon Okwir

Presented at: Strategy Science 2023; AOM Annual Meeting 2022 & prior version in 2021 (Online), SMS Annual Meeting 2021 (Online); SMS 2021 PDW; DRUID Conference 2021 (CBS)

FINANCING & STRATEGY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION:

SELECTED WORKS IN PROGRESS:

Digital Entrepreneurial Strategy on Crowdfunding Platforms (with Johannes Loh)


PUBLICATIONS:

von Nitzsch Bird Saiedi SEJ 2024 - The strategic role of owners in firm growth Contextualizing ownership competence in Private Firms.pdf

The Strategic Role of Owners in Firm Growth: Contextualizing Ownership Competence in Private Firms (Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal) with Jannis Nitzsch (TUM) and Miriam Bird (TUM)

Abstract: We integrate the emerging literature on the strategic role of firm owners in firms’ value creation with Penrosean growth theory to investigate how and under what conditions two experience-based competences among owners—matching competence and governance competence—influence firm growth. Employing a longitudinal sample of 2,509 owner-managed German firms, we find a positive relationship between owners’ experience-based competences and firm growth. Further, we find that in family firms, the positive relationship between owners’ experience-based governance competence and firm growth is weaker and that both experience-based competences matter more in younger firms compared to older firms. Our findings make important contributions to research on strategic ownership and Penrosean growth theory.

FINANCING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION:

SELECTED WORK IN PROGRESS

Constraints and innovation (Title withheld; Under peer review at OrgSci; solo-authored)


Presented at: AOM 2023; Harvard 2022; SMS 2022 (London); Druid 2022 (CBS); SSE 2021; AOM Annual Meeting 2020 (Online); KTH

PUBLICATIONS:

Saiedi et al. - 2020 Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.pdf

with Ali Mohammadi (CBS), Anders Broström (KTH) and Kourosh Shafi (CalState)

Abstract: What has boosted crowdfunding’s growth? In the case of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, we highlight the role of consumers’ distrust in banks. We offer evidence that distrust in banks likely triggers individuals to supply funding toward crowdfunding and away from bank deposits. We highlight that a distrust mindset promotes questioning default choices and considering alternatives, and fosters comparisons focusing on dissimilarities. Our findings suggest US states whose residents express greater distrust in banks are more likely to fund P2P loans and, conditional on funding, lend higher amounts. This relationship is more pronounced when funding small loans or borrowers with less banking access.

Saiedi et al. (2020) - Forthcoming at Small Business Economics.pdf
with Anders Broström (KTH) and Felipe Ruiz Lopez (MIT Sloan/UPM)
Abstract: A vast digital ecosystem of entrepreneurship and exchange has sprung up with Bitcoin’s digital infrastructure at its core. We explore the worldwide spread of infrastructure necessary to maintain and grow Bitcoin as a system (Bitcoin nodes) and infrastructure enabling the use of bitcoins for everyday economic transactions (Bitcoin merchants). Specifically, we investigate the role of legal, criminal, financial, and social determinants of the adoption of Bitcoin infrastructure. We offer some support for the view that the adoption of cryptocurrency infrastructure is driven by perceived failings of traditional financial systems, in that the spread of Bitcoin infrastructure is associated with low trust in banks and the financial system among inhabitants of a region, and with the occurrence of country-level inflation crises. On the other hand, our findings also suggest that active support for Bitcoin is higher in locations with well-developed banking services. Finally, we find support for the view that bitcoin adoption is also partly driven by cryptocurrencies’ usefulness in engaging in illicit trade.