Paper to be presented at the DRUID Society Conference 2014, CBS, Copenhagen, June 16-18 Between inertia and change: The entrepreneurial process in the rise of electronic music Martina Montauti University of Lugano Institute of Management
[email protected] Filippo Carlo Wezel University of Lugano Institute of Management
[email protected] Abstract This paper explores the structural conditions under which a reduced number of entrepreneurial events is observed. Hypotheses are tested in the context of the music industry, and in particular during the rise and establishment of electronic music. Empirical evidence provides support to the arguments advanced in the paper and implications for the relevant literatures are sketched. Jelcodes:M13,- BETWEEN INERTIA AND CHANGE: THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS IN THE RISE OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC **Draft paper: please do not quote or cite** INTRODUCTION Sure enough, entrepreneurial events keep occurring despite the high failure rates of new ventures (Aldrich and Ruef, 2006; Caves, 1998; Klepper and Graddy, 1990). This well-documented empirical regularity suggests that a prime exception in the entrepreneurial process pertains to inaction, rather than to actions that prove unsuccessful (Carroll and Khessina, 2005). As long as the understanding of exceptions helps a more comprehensive grasp of regularities, a set of notable works has focused on the cases in which entrepreneurial action has not always been promptly realized (Carroll and Hannan, 2000; Lomi, Larsen and Wezel, 2010; Sørensen and Sorenson, 2003). The antecedents of entrepreneurial inertia (Ruef, 2006), namely of the inaction resulting from the procrastination of market entry, have been located in the environment and in specific characteristics of the entrepreneurial organizations (Kuilman and Li, 2006; Kuilman, Vermeulen and Li, 2009; Schoonhoven, Eisenhardt and Lyman, 1990).