Are ‘sea turtles’ slower? Returnee entrepreneurs, venture resources and speed of entrepreneurial entry

Abstract

We add to neglected research on how venture resources and founder experience outside the home country interplay in facilitating venture creation speed. In particular, we explore how returnee entrepreneurs influence the role of venture resources in the speed of entrepreneurial entry. Using a novel representative sample of 388 new ventures covering a range of technologies in China, we find that returnees from abroad are slower in new venture entry in the home country, compared with homegrown entrepreneurs. At the same time, ventures with innovative technology and backed by foreign capital are slower to set up due to higher levels of liability of newness and liability of foreignness. However, when these firms have a returnee founder who can leverage their experience with foreign resources and technological knowhow, such negative effects on entry speed are significantly mitigated. We discuss implications for further research and practice.