Entrepreneurs´ communication strategies in the start-up process

The problem addressed is how entrepreneurs' act strategically in order to convince board members to take active part in the new business and further how entrepreneurs' act strategically to obtain other resources, human as well as financial. Many businesses are liquidated during the first years of operation and there are problems for a new entrepreneur lacking a track record and legitimacy in the start-up of a business which make this especially important.

In the project we use a 'strategy as practice' approach. Strategy is observed as something else than an organizational property. It is instead observed as something that people do a practice. This is shown in the daily activities between the entrepreneur and board members. We know less about emerging phases than businesses that are ongoing and this project will fill a gap in previous research.

To be able to reach entrepreneur's in the start-up phase we will collaborate with business incubator companies. This will make it possible to identify entrepreneurs early in the start-up of a business. The project involves two sub-projects. The first sub-project involves to qualitatively capture the strategic communication and social practice taking place between the entrepreneur and board members in the start up of the business. This is done by interviews and observation studies. The sub-project is concentrated on what kind of strategy practice entrepreneurs use in their interaction with potential board members. It also includes how board of directors and potential board members think when it comes to what kind of information and communicative behaviour that actually produces legitimacy and convince them to engage in the new business. The aim of the second subproject is to test the generalization of the knowledge developed in the first qualitative subproject. A survey to new businesses will be undertaken in order to test the generalization of subproject one.

The results of this project will provide benefits for new business founders, organizations working with new business start-ups as well as benefits for scientific participants. New business founders will receive important knowledge when it comes to how they should handle communication strategically in order to convince different stakeholders in general and board members in particular. On the basis of the knowledge developed in the project organizations working with start-up and development of new businesses (for example incubators and science parks at universities) can further develop the consulting and mentoring on strategic communication that already exists. The project will also contribute to the emerging research field Strategic Entrepreneurship.

Ett forskarteam vid Högskolan i Halmstad beviljades nyligen 1 675 000 kronor av KK-stiftelsen för att studera kommunikationsstrategier hos nyblivna entreprenörer. — Vi var det enda projekt inom företagsekonomi som beviljades pengar, så det känns fantastiskt roligt, säger Pia Ulvenblad, projektledare och forskare på Högskolan.