The selection of the entry mode in an international market is of key importance for the venture. A process-based perspective on entry mode selection can add to the International Business and International Entrepreneurship literature. Framing the international market entry as an entrepreneurial process, this paper analyzes the antecedents and consequences of causation and effectuation in the entry mode selection. For the analysis, regression-based techniques were used on a sample of 65 gazelles. The results indicate that experienced entrepreneurs tend to apply effectuation rather than causation, while uncertainty does not have a systematic influence. Entrepreneurs using causation-based international new venture creation processes tend to engage in export-type entry modes, while effectuation-based international new venture creation processes do not predetermine the entry mode.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the configuration approach as applied in the context of new ventures. A key topic in entrepreneurship research is the analysis of new venture performance (NVP) and change. Taking into account variations in the population of new ventures and considering the complex nature of NVP and development, the configuration approach may be helpful for these analyses. The configuration approach seeks to identify firm types and explicitly considers interrelations between personal, structural, strategic, and environmental factors pertaining to new ventures. In doing this, refined modelling of NVP and an integration of theoretical approaches in entrepreneurship research may be achieved. However, the configuration approach may not be applied without a prior discussion of its suitability to the research context of new ventures. Any time a research approach is applied in a (new) research context, key aspects of this approach may be violated, which could lead to questionable results. We discuss key assumptions of the configuration approach, the concepts of fit, of equifinality, of reductive mechanisms, and of configuration changes, and find that these building blocks also apply in the context of new ventures. Then, we argue that a specific emphasis on the founder and on the environment and the consideration of unique variable patterns are elements of a configuration approach for new ventures.

The gastronomy sector is among those that are hit particularly hard by a loss of customers and regulatory uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis. When established ways of doing business become almost impossible, business model innovation (BMI) is a possible reaction to this high uncertainty level. Effectuation and causation are decision-making logics that may lead to BMI and help a firm navigate uncertainty. We investigate configurations of causation and effectuation components associated with a high BMI level during the first wave of COVID-19. We perform fuzzy-set-qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 143 gastronomy entrepreneurs in Münster county, Germany. We identify two paths that lead to a high BMI level: “the planning soloist” and “the hedging networker.” We conclude that innovators among the gastronomy entrepreneurs use effectuation and causation components in complex configurations.

Many startups use Lean Startup (LS). But is it effective? While there are emerging qualitative findings, quantitative evidence does not yet exist. To address this gap, we developed an operationalization of the degree to which startups use LS (Lean Startup Capability, LSC). We then analyzed the LSC-performance relationship. We found a strong and robust relationship. A discussion contextualizes our findings. The LSC operationalization is relevant for research as future efforts can build on and extend it. The contribution to entrepreneurial practice is that we carved out the element of LSC, and showed that LS is indeed linked to performance.