Abstract

Following on the resource-advantage theory, this study advances existing research by examining what configuration of a new venture’s boundary-spanning search can obtain successful venture performance and how a founding team’s external relationship and the internal firm competences shapes the relationship between the distant search and new venture performance. The paper is based on a questionnaire survey/analysis of a sample of 178 new ventures from China. This paper offers insight to entrepreneurs with regard to the importance of building external managerial ties and developing idiosyncratic internal competences on boundary-spanning search. In addition, our study also reveals that the effectiveness of supply-, demand- and spatial-side boundary-spanning search on venture performance depends upon investing resource at a rational level.

Key words: Boundary-spanning search strategy, new venture, managerial tie, firm competence.