A judgment-analysis perspective on entrepreneurs' resource evaluations

Our study extends resource-based theory (RBT) by developing an understanding of how entrepreneurs judge the importance of the resource attributes of value, rareness, inimitability, and nonsubstitutability for the success of their ventures, and whether they make trade-offs between these attributes or follow RBT, which maintains that all attributes must be attained simultaneously. Resource judgments made by a sample of 181 entrepreneurs reveal that, while value and inimitability have a positive impact on resource importance, nonsubstitutability is only marginally positive, and rareness has a negative impact. Moreover, and contrary to RBT, entrepreneurs make trade-offs between resource attributes. Given prior empirical support for the critical influence of all four attributes on venture success, our findings uncover a systematic influence of judgment heuristics, cognitive biases, and institutional constraints in entrepreneurial resource judgments, and thereby provide a starting point for researchers and entrepreneurs alike to improve both theoretical models and outcomes of resource judgments.

► Empirical comparison of entrepreneurial resource judgments and resource-based theory.
► Value, inimitability as key criteria in entrepreneurs’ resource-importance judgments.
► Nonsubstitutability marginal, rareness negatively related to resource importance.
► Contrary to RBT, entrepreneurs accept trade-offs between resource attributes.
► Resource judgments influenced by heuristics, biases, and institutional constraints.