Much Ado about Nothing? The Surprising Persistence of Nascent Entrepreneurs through Macroeconomic Crisis

We hypothesize that a major macroeconomic crisis triggers four alternative responses among nascent entrepreneurs: disengagement, delay, compensation, and adaptation. We also suggest that commitment and ambition (or “high potential”) moderate these responses. Our most important finding is the relative absence of behavioral crisis responses. However, crises may make high–tech founders become more likely to disengage, whereas the opposite holds for...