The organizational design of entrepreneurial ventures

Research Summary Studying the organizational design of entrepreneurial ventures involves investigating how entrepreneurs design the (formal) structure of their ventures as well as the roles, rules, and procedures that those who are active within these ventures must obey. The topic lies at the intersection of entrepreneurship with multiple fields, including organization science, organizational economics, and strategic management. However, to date, it has attracted limited attention. This special issue includes six articles that develop novel theory and provide new empirical evidence on the antecedents and consequences of the organizational design of entrepreneurial ventures. Collectively they offer fresh perspectives on this neglected topic and open avenues for future work. In this article, we briefly describe the state of the field, introduce the articles, and suggest opportunities for further research. Managerial Summary There are countless how-to guides for entrepreneurs describing start-up legal structures, incubation and acceleration opportunities, and financing options. Conversely, there is relatively little guidance for how entrepreneurs should design their organizational structure, decision systems, and managerial practices. This special issue contains six articles addressing the organizational design of entrepreneurial ventures from multiple perspectives and with diverse methods. This introduction describes the state of the field prior to the special issue, introduces the special issue articles and identifies topics that still need further investigation. We distill the current state of knowledge and offer a roadmap for future scholarship.