Does entrepreneurial logic impact funding evaluation of startups?

Abstract

From a neoclassical economics perspective, entrepreneurship involves rational decision-making and entrepreneurs engage in rational, goal-driven behavior. However, such a view is put to test in current, dynamic business environments characterized by high level of uncertainty. Expert entrepreneurs adopt a nimble, iterative and effectual approach to be able to navigate such dynamic environments. While there is growing confidence about the desirable outcomes of an effectual logic, there is limited evidence based understanding of how such a logic is perceived by stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. For instance, how do investors assess causal vs. effectual logics of entrepreneurs? This study attempts to pursue this question. We use data from a national level entrepreneurship competition held in India in 2015 to understand the influence of entrepreneurs' logics on their funding outcomes. We find that the logics of the selected and not selected entries are significantly distinct. Furthermore, results from a binary logistic regression reveal an inclination of investors towards causal logic. Adoption of causal logic increases a startup’s chances of funding by about 50%. Findings are discussed in reference to implications for the current entrepreneurship ecosystem.