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Research Projects
Summaries of Recent Research
Sales Learning Curve
Mark Leslie and James Lattin are conducting an Empirical Study of the Sales Learning Curve. Their goal is to collect data from early stage companies and use the data to document the shape of the Sales Learning Curve. More information will be available in the near future..
SEMAS
The Stanford Entrepreneurial Management Systems Project (SEMAS) aims to understand how management systems emerge and how the strategic process evolves as companies grow beyond the start-up phase.
TriNet
The TriNet Project analyzes employee demographic and compensation data with private and venture capital funding information to understand the relationship between venture funding and firm-level outcomes such as turnover, promotion patterns, and performance. The database, obtained from TriNet, a professional employer organization, includes payroll information of 606 business entities over 1994-2000.
Professors Antonio Davila and George Foster, together with their collaborator Professor Mahendra Gupta at Washington University Business School, have found that while the lack of financial resources constrain the growth of start-up firms in their early stages, this constraint becomes less pressing as firms mature.
Their analysis suggests that early rounds of venture capital funding do not necessarily imply faster subsequent growth in firms. In contrast, the amount of venture capital funding in the later rounds is often associated with faster growth.
SPEC
The Stanford Project on Emerging Companies (SPEC) focuses on the links between an organization's employment practices and other aspects of the business. SPEC researchers conducted a longitudinal study of nearly 200 young Silicon Valley companies and their founders. Data was gathered between 1994 and 1997.
Alumni Survey
The Stanford Business School Alumni Survey studies the career trajectories of MBA alumni and analyzes which alumni were especially likely to embark on entrepreneurial endeavors.
Analytical research, led by Professor William Barnett, has been conducted in four substantive areas examining factors contributing to:
- Entry of Stanford MBA alumni into entrepreneurial careers;
- Expansion of careers that may support entrepreneurial activities (e.g., venture capital);
- Pursuit of "social entrepreneurship" in the not-for-profit or public sectors;
- Promotion of women and under-represented groups within organizations and in the engagement of entrepreneurship.
The data were generated from the almost 12,000 questionnaires sent out to Stanford GSB alumni in 1996 and 1998, of which more than 43 percent were completed and returned.
Lazear Study
A 2002 study conducted by Professor Edward Lazear suggests that the X-factor that divides entrepreneurs from the rest of the pack is their well-rounded experience.
Using the survey data, Lazear demonstrates that the more roles individuals have previously performed, the more likely they are to successfully establish a new company.
For questions or more information, contact the CES at ces@gsb.stanford.edu.
