Startup governance: a roadmap for growth
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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Perustieteiden korkeakoulu |
Master's thesis
Authors
Date
2021-12-15
Department
Major/Subject
Strategy and Venturing
Mcode
SCI3050
Degree programme
Master’s Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management
Language
en
Pages
61/11
Series
Abstract
A critical period of a startup lifecycle is the transition between a small organization facing high growth and risk until they become an established organization. Previous studies have addressed the importance of governance and its relation to company growth but were primarily focused on well-established organizations and did not focus on the different stages a Startup faces when growing. I addressed these two gaps with an action research to identify the progressive development stages and the corresponding governance practices ideal for enhancing growth at each stage. There is an imminent relationship between the startup stage, startup environment, talent, decision-making practices, and Management Control Systems. Therefore, they need to be coherent and aligned to enable adequate governance and accountability; thus a startup governance roadmap is suggested and presented in this research. There are 3 main managerial implications of this study. First, startups' transition and change nature need to be considered when planning the implementation and development of governance practices. Second, there is an influence of employee talent in governance practices. The organization needs to be prepared to support the new hires; new employees will bring different levels of experience and contribution to the organization. Third, startups need to take the time and resources to develop startup governance. This research provides a detailed descriptive governance roadmap for early-stage startups and provides evidence on the relation between the evolution of a startup environment, the organization, decision-making style, and Management Control Systems. It is aimed to help the startups navigate the transition phase until a big organization. Indeed, one of the major challenges is anticipating the company's problems and the governance necessary to deal with them as the company grows. Thus, this roadmap can help new entrepreneurs determine the factors that must be dealt with as the company development stages evolve and make informed decisions to prepare for the later challenges.Description
Supervisor
Gustafsson, RobinThesis advisor
Friedman, AndresKeywords
startup, governance, roadmap, control