Table 3. Summary of the main development... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3.

Summary of the main development phases and key events of the action research, including the integration of the interpretive approach

Phases	Years	Key events	Interpretative approach
Phase 1	2016	Jafood originated as a university project, reflecting informal entrepreneurial initiatives developed without formal structures	Informal entrepreneurship theory (Williams and Nadin, 2010; Williams and Kosta, 2019)
Phase 2	2017	Jafood underwent an informal exit, acquired by the first local food delivery startup, gaining initial exposure to startup dynamics	Startup ecosystems and open innovation (Motoyama and Knowlton, 2017; Greco, 2023; Chesbrough, 2003)
Phase 3	2018	Jafood a new rebranded witch became independent from its initial acquirer, initiating structured growth via incubators and support programmes	Startup life cycle model (Passaro et al., 2016); Human capital and incubation (Zaikis et al., 2022; Greco and Tregua, 2021; Park and Kim, 2023)
Phase 4	2019	The startup company gained structure and recognition from multinational competitors, adopting best practices to prepare for scaling	Entrepreneurial mimicking for legitimacy (Yuana et al., 2021; Filatov, 2019; Tsolakidis et al., 2020)
Phase 5	2020	The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a pivot towards resource-based and adaptive entrepreneurial strategies	Effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001, 2008); Strategic flexibility (Henninger et al., 2020)
Phase 6	2021	A crowdfunding round was launched, leveraging herd behaviour and collective trust to secure financial resources	Behavioural finance and crowdfunding psychology (Thaler, 1985; Noch and Rumasukun, 2024; Suresh, 2024)
Phase 7	2022	The official spin-off was established, fostering university-industry-government collaboration for innovation and technology transfer	Triple Helix Model and Academic Entrepreneurship (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff, 1997; Sciarelli et al., 2021)
Phase 8	2023	Jafood Premium was launched, emphasising sustainable practices and strategic market differentiation	Opportunity recognition linked to the differentiation strategy (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1991; Bansal et al., 2019)
Phase 9	2024	Exit planning was initiated based on the projected business life cycle and in view of the time frame set for the remuneration of the efforts invested	Entrepreneurial exit and acquisition strategy (DeTienne et al., 2015; Drover et al., 2017)

Phases	Years	Key events	Interpretative approach
Phase 1	2016	Jafood originated as a university project, reflecting informal entrepreneurial initiatives developed without formal structures	Informal entrepreneurship theory (Williams and Nadin, 2010; Williams and Kosta, 2019)
Phase 2	2017	Jafood underwent an informal exit, acquired by the first local food delivery startup, gaining initial exposure to startup dynamics	Startup ecosystems and open innovation (Motoyama and Knowlton, 2017; Greco, 2023; Chesbrough, 2003)
Phase 3	2018	Jafood a new rebranded witch became independent from its initial acquirer, initiating structured growth via incubators and support programmes	Startup life cycle model (Passaro et al., 2016); Human capital and incubation (Zaikis et al., 2022; Greco and Tregua, 2021; Park and Kim, 2023)
Phase 4	2019	The startup company gained structure and recognition from multinational competitors, adopting best practices to prepare for scaling	Entrepreneurial mimicking for legitimacy (Yuana et al., 2021; Filatov, 2019; Tsolakidis et al., 2020)
Phase 5	2020	The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a pivot towards resource-based and adaptive entrepreneurial strategies	Effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001, 2008); Strategic flexibility (Henninger et al., 2020)
Phase 6	2021	A crowdfunding round was launched, leveraging herd behaviour and collective trust to secure financial resources	Behavioural finance and crowdfunding psychology (Thaler, 1985; Noch and Rumasukun, 2024; Suresh, 2024)
Phase 7	2022	The official spin-off was established, fostering university-industry-government collaboration for innovation and technology transfer	Triple Helix Model and Academic Entrepreneurship (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff, 1997; Sciarelli et al., 2021)
Phase 8	2023	Jafood Premium was launched, emphasising sustainable practices and strategic market differentiation	Opportunity recognition linked to the differentiation strategy (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1991; Bansal et al., 2019)
Phase 9	2024	Exit planning was initiated based on the projected business life cycle and in view of the time frame set for the remuneration of the efforts invested	Entrepreneurial exit and acquisition strategy (DeTienne et al., 2015; Drover et al., 2017)

Source(s): Author’s own work