Kiss and Good-Bye? On the Survivability of Knowledge Intensive Service Start-Ups

This paper deals with the still under-researched peculiarities of knowledge-intensive service start-ups (KISS) and their impact on the firms' competitiveness. It is argued that the value-added structure of KISS firms is different from other companies and involves particular uncertainties that challenge the venture in the phases of the establishment process. Thus, KISS firms face a high threat of survival. The paper employs the competence-based theory of the firm to explain the situation theoretically and to develop research propositions. Afterwards, case study research is conducted to explore the start-up process in more detail and to compare the findings with the propositions