Demand as a source of entry and the survival of new semiconductor firms

The performance of new companies coming from the demand side of the semiconductor industry is examined and it is compared with the performance of entrants coming from the semiconductor industry itself and with other types of entrants. By using a dataset of more than one thousand start-ups founded between 1997 and 2007 around the world, the paper shows that start-ups with a background in application sectors perform survive longer than spin-offs from the semiconductor industry itself or than inexperienced firms founded by people previously active in university or services. These results point strongly to the major role of demand not just as a source of innovations, but also as a major driver of entry into an industry and of successful performance of new firms.