Title: The role of pre-start-up planning in new small business

Authors: Sascha Kraus, Erich Schwarz

Addresses: University of Oldenburg, Department of Entrepreneurship, Ammerlander Heerstr. 114-118, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany. ' University of Klagenfurt, Department of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, Universitatsstrasse 65-67, A-9020 Klagenfurt, Austria

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between |pre-start-up planning| – i.e. written business plans prior to enterprise foundation – and success of small businesses. Our own empirical results, based upon a longitudinal survey of 468 small businesses from Austria, support the claim that the existence of written business plans is beneficial for company success. A positive relationship could be identified by the use of a logistic regression model. Furthermore, a significant difference between pre-start-up planners and their non-planning counterparts could be identified and thus confirm our second hypothesis that pre-start-up planning leads to ongoing planning.

Keywords: Austria; business plans; new ventures; planning; success; small business; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; management; enterprise development; pre-startups.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2007.011452

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2007 Vol.4 No.1, pp.1 - 17

Published online: 30 Nov 2006 *

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