Table 4 Coding strategies Decisional... | Emerald Publishing

Table 4

Coding strategies

Decisional heuristic	Distinguishing elements	Examples
Effectuation	Based on a set of given means; the decision is driven by considerations about the affordable loss, driven by experimentation and pre-commitments/partnerships. Flexibility, means-oriented and leveraging are the driving elements. (Chandler et al., 2011; Reymen et al., 2015)	Academic entrepreneur of ASO10, when asked about the process of team formation, referred to a general vision based on leveraging opportunities emerging from the environment and the possibilities/means at disposal: “every moment you look at the best possibility around, then you tried to put together a team, that has the best skills set combined. At the same time, we were not really looking for external people who we do not know to bring on board. So, we look within people we already know; the obvious advantage is that you approximately know what to expect from the people” [ASO10_1] Academic entrepreneur of ASO11 described how FT was initially composed on the basis of the research group that gave life to the technology incorporated into the new venture, and how - subsequently - the operational and strategic-decision roles were divided among the founders themselves, without the integration of non-academic individuals: “we have eight founders, coming from different technical disciplines, related to the development of the technology. The basic idea in the beginning was to show commitment: we are the scientists who invented it and we believe in our technology, and we put our private money into the company, proving that we believe in what we do. But now we have a core team, doing the operational work, these are four people, among the eight founders, doing the operating daily work, while the other four are in the background” [ASO11_1]
Causation	Based on well-structured and specific goal to be achieved and on expectations; the decision is driven by expected returns and trying to avoid unforeseen events. Competitive analysis and careful planning are the driving elements. (Chandler et al., 2011; Reymen et al., 2015)	Academic entrepreneur of ASO14 reported the detailed planning on the basis of which the integration of early employees was set, with reference to specific goals to be reached and to competence needs to be fulfilled: “Based on our next milestones, we broke down what we need to in order to reach them into work packages. We can identify what we can do on our own, and what we cannot do on our own; it becomes relatively clear who we need to hire. I think this is the process: where do you want to go, what do you need for it, how can you cover it, find the person for it” [ASO14_1] Academic entrepreneur of ASO13 described the selection of co-founder, based on an active search for individuals who could compensate for skills and competencies necessary for the inception and the development of the ASO – previously carefully screened: “I met my co-founder at a startup event, we did not know each other before, neither worked together. I think that the most important thing was to get the feeling: I trust this person and I get along with this person. He also has skills that I really respect, and he can cover a relevant part of the skills that I cannot cover. This was the kind of profile and skills I was looking for” [ASO13_2]

Decisional heuristic	Distinguishing elements	Examples
Effectuation	Based on a set of given means; the decision is driven by considerations about the affordable loss, driven by experimentation and pre-commitments/partnerships. Flexibility, means-oriented and leveraging are the driving elements. (Chandler et al., 2011; Reymen et al., 2015)	Academic entrepreneur of ASO10, when asked about the process of team formation, referred to a general vision based on leveraging opportunities emerging from the environment and the possibilities/means at disposal: “every moment you look at the best possibility around, then you tried to put together a team, that has the best skills set combined. At the same time, we were not really looking for external people who we do not know to bring on board. So, we look within people we already know; the obvious advantage is that you approximately know what to expect from the people” [ASO10_1]Academic entrepreneur of ASO11 described how FT was initially composed on the basis of the research group that gave life to the technology incorporated into the new venture, and how - subsequently - the operational and strategic-decision roles were divided among the founders themselves, without the integration of non-academic individuals: “we have eight founders, coming from different technical disciplines, related to the development of the technology. The basic idea in the beginning was to show commitment: we are the scientists who invented it and we believe in our technology, and we put our private money into the company, proving that we believe in what we do. But now we have a core team, doing the operational work, these are four people, among the eight founders, doing the operating daily work, while the other four are in the background” [ASO11_1]
Causation	Based on well-structured and specific goal to be achieved and on expectations; the decision is driven by expected returns and trying to avoid unforeseen events. Competitive analysis and careful planning are the driving elements. (Chandler et al., 2011; Reymen et al., 2015)	Academic entrepreneur of ASO14 reported the detailed planning on the basis of which the integration of early employees was set, with reference to specific goals to be reached and to competence needs to be fulfilled: “Based on our next milestones, we broke down what we need to in order to reach them into work packages. We can identify what we can do on our own, and what we cannot do on our own; it becomes relatively clear who we need to hire. I think this is the process: where do you want to go, what do you need for it, how can you cover it, find the person for it” [ASO14_1]Academic entrepreneur of ASO13 described the selection of co-founder, based on an active search for individuals who could compensate for skills and competencies necessary for the inception and the development of the ASO – previously carefully screened: “I met my co-founder at a startup event, we did not know each other before, neither worked together. I think that the most important thing was to get the feeling: I trust this person and I get along with this person. He also has skills that I really respect, and he can cover a relevant part of the skills that I cannot cover. This was the kind of profile and skills I was looking for” [ASO13_2]

Source(s): Authors’ elaboration