Typology and performance of new ventures in Taiwan

Purpose – Opportunity identification is a driving force in the entrepreneurial process, which is particularly dependent on entrepreneurs' creativity to recognize potential or hidden entrepreneurial opportunities. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to use opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial creativity to cluster typologies of new ventures and to explore their differences on the performance of new ventures. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 300 new ventures are studied from government‐funded incubators in Taiwan including 54 university incubators, six government incubators, and five non‐profit incubators with a 46 percent response rate. The studied new ventures have been established less than ten years and are not yet IPO. One entrepreneurial member from each new venture is selected to represent his or her company to respond to the questionnaire. Findings – Results of cluster analysis, using the dimensions of opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial creativity, reveal four types of new ventures: “passive”, “creativity‐driven”, “opportunity‐driven”, and “proactive”. Results also indicate that the “proactive” new ventures show better performance in entrepreneurial satisfaction and innovative capability. Practical implications – The new venture typologies have the potential to serve as a benchmark for practitioners as well as a guide for policy‐makers with regard to the varying nature of opportunities and creativity needs by different types of firms. Moreover, the performance of different types of new ventures contributes to the theoretical development regarding entrepreneurial processes of opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial creativity, especially as relevant for new ventures and entrepreneurs with varying characteristics. Originality/value – The typologies of new ventures have received much less attention in the entrepreneurship literature than in other management fields.