Built to Sustain: The Effect of Entrepreneurial Decision-Making Logic on New Venture Sustainability
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear Authors,
The paper contains original research and very interesting ideas. Entrepreneurship and its influencing factors are a hot topic. The structure of the article is clear and the abstract and highlights appropriate. I have only a few small remarks.
The research objective should be clearly stated in the abstract.
The gaps in the existing literature are presented in the introduction, but it should be more clearly explained to the reader which gap your study attempts to fill and the study should be more clearly placed within the current literature.
As for the methodology, I would recommend adding a specific paragraph on the methods of analysis.
In Table 1 (Line 440) presenting characteristics of sampling distribution, I noticed a possible value entered incorrectly at index Previous entrepreneurial experience, the attribute "No" (value in the table is 25.9 instead of 192).
I also noticed an error in the pagination of the paper, it resumes after the first 13 pages.
This work has the potential of contributing to enriching the content of entrepreneurship education. I hope you will find my comments useful in further improvement of your manuscript.
Author Response
Point 1: The research objective should be clearly stated in the abstract.
Response: According to your suggestion, we stated the research objective in the abstract. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of entrepreneurial decision-making logic on new venture sustainability, added in line 14-15.
Point 2: The gaps in the existing literature are presented in the introduction, but it should be more clearly explained to the reader which gap your study attempts to fill and the study should be more clearly placed within the current literature.
Response: We made a further explanation of the research gap in the revision and hope that it is clearer. The revised text is as follows.
However, few studies examined the effects of entrepreneurial decision-making logic on new venture sustainability. Most of the existing research focused on the survival and growth of new ventures from the perspective of financial performance [15,16]. A high level of new venture sustainability not only means that new ventures can make long-term profits in a fierce market environment; it also helps to alleviate employment problems, accelerate social progress, and promote the steady development of the national economy. This paper aims to explore the effects of entrepreneurial decision-making logic on new venture sustainability, which can enrich the research on entrepreneurial outcomes related to entrepreneurial decision-making logic and cover the shortage of new venture sustainability studies in terms of entrepreneurial decision-making logic.
In addition, in previous research on the outcomes of entrepreneurial decision-making logic, few scholars comparatively analysed the influence of causation and effectuation in the same context. This study comparatively analyses the effects of causation and effectuation on new venture sustainability, enriching differentiated research on the outcomes of entrepreneurial decision-making logic.
It is worth noting that existing studies, due to data restrictions, often adopt retrospective data to examine entrepreneurial decision-making logic from a static perspective. Such studies ignore the dynamic evolution of entrepreneurial decision-making logic and the time lag that affects entrepreneurial results, restricting the accuracy of research conclusions [17]. This paper uses Chinese Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics data to deal with it. (line 63-81)
Point 3: As for the methodology, I would recommend adding a specific paragraph on the methods of analysis.
Response: We added a specific paragraph on the methods of analysis. It is as follows.
4.3. Statistical Methods
Since the dependent variable “new venture sustainability” is dichotomous, we adopted a binominal logistic regression analysis to examine the effects on new venture sustainability in terms of the four dimensions of causation and effectuation respectively. This paper utilized a hierarchical logistic regression analysis. (line 554-558).
Point 4: In Table 1 (Line 440) presenting characteristics of sampling distribution, I noticed a possible value entered incorrectly at index Previous entrepreneurial experience, the attribute "No" (value in the table is 25.9 instead of 192).
Response: We are very sorry for our incorrect writing, and we corrected “25.9” to “192” in the Table 1.
Point 5: I also noticed an error in the pagination of the paper, it resumes after the first 13 pages.
Response: Thank you for the reminder. I corrected the pagination of this paper, especially pages 14 to 22.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper is interesting and well structured. The hypothesis is relevant and is well described with the theoretical background.
Authors can consider adding:
-Information about the research gap in the introduction.
-Aim in the abstract.
-Some definitions and literature about entrepreunership.
Author Response
Point 1: Authors can consider adding: information about the research gap in the introduction.
Response: We made a further explanation of the research gap in the revision and hope that it is clearer. The revised text is as follows.
However, few studies examined the effects of entrepreneurial decision-making logic on new venture sustainability. Most of the existing research focused on the survival and growth of new ventures from the perspective of financial performance [15,16]. A high level of new venture sustainability not only means that new ventures can make long-term profits in a fierce market environment; it also helps to alleviate employment problems, accelerate social progress, and promote the steady development of the national economy. This paper aims to explore the effects of entrepreneurial decision-making logic on new venture sustainability, which can enrich the research on entrepreneurial outcomes related to entrepreneurial decision-making logic and cover the shortage of new venture sustainability studies in terms of entrepreneurial decision-making logic.
In addition, in previous research on the outcomes of entrepreneurial decision-making logic, few scholars comparatively analysed the influence of causation and effectuation in the same context. This study comparatively analyses the effects of causation and effectuation on new venture sustainability, enriching differentiated research on the outcomes of entrepreneurial decision-making logic.
It is worth noting that existing studies, due to data restrictions, often adopt retrospective data to examine entrepreneurial decision-making logic from a static perspective. Such studies ignore the dynamic evolution of entrepreneurial decision-making logic and the time lag that affects entrepreneurial results, restricting the accuracy of research conclusions [17]. This paper uses Chinese Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics data to deal with it. (line 63-81)
Point 2: Authors can consider adding: aim in the abstract.
Response: According to your suggestion, we stated the research objective in the abstract. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of entrepreneurial decision-making logic on new venture sustainability, added in line 14-15.
Point 3: Authors can consider adding: some definitions and literature about entrepreneurship.
Response: We added the definition and some literature about entrepreneurship at the beginning of the introduction. Entrepreneurship is a dynamic, complex process that involves taking a series of entrepreneurial actions to obtain external resources, exploit identified opportunities, and then ultimately create a new venture [1,2]. (line 27-29).
- Shane, S.; Venkataraman, S. The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research. Acad. Manag. Rev. 2000, 25, 217-226.
- Busenitz, L.W.; Plummer, L.A.; Klotz, A.C.; Shahzad, A.; Rhoads, K. Entrepreneurship Research (1985-2009) and the Emergence of Opportunities. Entrep. Theory Pract. 2014, 38, (5), 981-1000.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Thank you very much for the invitation to review the paper on the entrepreneurial decisions to improve entrepreneurial performance. There are many things that I like about this paper. I have some observations to develop this paper-
Can you please rewrite these two sentences- These new means and new goals generate two cycles. The first is an expanding cycle of resources; new means expand available resources, and then entrepreneurs can update their effectual decision-making process in terms of the expanded resources. The second cycle is a converging cycle of constraints. (136-139).
You have started a sentence with the other which should be rewritten- The other view suggests that both effectuation and causation can promote new venture 209 performance (208-209)
You have discussed about ecological balance but I can not see any reference related to entrepreneurial ecosystem. It will be better to touch this issue with a reference, such as, Igwe, P. A., Odunukan, K., Rahman, M., Rugara, D. G., & Ochinanwata, C. (2020). How entrepreneurship ecosystem influences the development of frugal innovation and informal entrepreneurship. Thunderbird International Business Review, 62(5), 475-488.
Similarly, you should also use a reference related to resilience or people resilience, such as, Rahman, M., & Mendy, J. (2019). Evaluating people-related resilience and non-resilience barriers of SMEs’ internationalisation: A developing country perspective. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 27(2), 225-240.
Author Response
Point 1: Can you please rewrite these two sentences- These new means and new goals generate two cycles. The first is an expanding cycle of resources; new means expand available resources, and then entrepreneurs can update their effectual decision-making process in terms of the expanded resources. The second cycle is a converging cycle of constraints. (136-139).
Response: The rewritten sentences are as follows. These new means and goals generate two cycles, namely expanding cycle of resources and converging cycle of constraints. Expanding cycle of resources means that entrepreneurs can repeat the above process through new means and new resources. Then they establish strategic alliance with more stakeholders to obtain more means and resources. Converging cycle of constraints is the one in which goals of new ventures become clearer as constraints increase. Then new products, new firms, and new markets are finally formed. (line 146-151).
Point 2: You have started a sentence with the other which should be rewritten- The other view suggests that both effectuation and causation can promote new venture performance (208-209)
Response: We replaced “The other view suggests” with “Some other scholars suggest”. (line 211).
Point 3: You have discussed about ecological balance but I cannot see any reference related to entrepreneurial ecosystem. It will be better to touch this issue with a reference, such as, Igwe, P. A., Odunukan, K., Rahman, M., Rugara, D. G., & Ochinanwata, C. (2020). How entrepreneurship ecosystem influences the development of frugal innovation and informal entrepreneurship. Thunderbird International Business Review, 62(5), 475-488.
Response: It is really a great suggestion as you pointed out. We have added this reference to the literature review on new venture sustainability. The revised content is as follows. Igwe et al. [43] note that entrepreneurial ecosystem and institutional environment influence frugal innovation and informal entrepreneurship. In a healthy functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem, various forms of economic and social environment contribute to new venture sustainability. (line 266-269).
Point 4: Similarly, you should also use a reference related to resilience or people resilience, such as, Rahman, M., & Mendy, J. (2019). Evaluating people-related resilience and non-resilience barriers of SMEs’ internationalisation: A developing country perspective. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 27(2), 225-240.
Response: Considering your suggestion, we added this reference to the literature review on new venture sustainability. The revised content is as follows: Rahman et al. [39] suggest that new ventures should identify initial resilience-type barriers to deal with some of the identified adversities in international entrepreneurship. It can develop their knowledge generation potential and enhance their resilience-generation properties, which is conducive to new venture sustainability. (line 255-258).
