Institutional forces and the written business plan
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2004
In this study, we examined factors that led nascent organizations to write business plans, following
396 nascent entrepreneurs during a two-year period.We examined both the production
and the outcomes of written business plans produced in nascent organizations. Our findings
show that institutional variables, such as coercion and mimetic forces, are important predictors
influencing the propensity of new organizations to write business plans. Our results
are contrary to rationalist predictions of planning-performance, and are more in line with
institutional predictions. Interestingly there was no evidence to support positive outcomes,
in terms of profitability, for those nascent organizations that produced business plans during
a two-year initial period. We discuss the implications for institutional theory and studies of
nascent businesses, as well as for the literature on business planning.
Business plans
Nascent organizations
Institutional theory