Time Allocation Patterns of Craftsmen and Administrative Entrepreneurs: Implications for Financial Performance

This paper considers how one of the major resources of a new venture, the time of the entrepreneur, is allocated. Building upon conceptual frameworks from the occupational choice and entrepreneurial typology literatures, it develops four hypotheses. These relate to entrepreneurial time allocation, the antecedents of that behavior, and venture performance. A longitudinal sample of 391 firms is analyzed, using path analysis and OLS regression. Entrepreneurial time allocation was found to be related to primary goals at time of founding, which, in turn, were related to level of prior management experience. There was also support for relationships between time allocation and venture performance.