Stairway to impact or highway to failure? (Esau et al., 2024)

Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where we dive deep into groundbreaking research published in the world’s most prestigious academic journals. This is the show for curious minds eager to explore ideas that shape the way we think, work, and innovate. In today’s episode, we delve into a fascinating study published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, a proud member of the FT50—the elite list of the world’s top 50 business journals maintained by the Financial Times. The title alone intrigues: Stairway to Impact or Highway to Failure? A Cognitive Perspective on Business Model Design Processes in Nascent Sustainable Ventures. Crafted by a brilliant team of authors—Eduard Esau, Christina Lara Kannegießer, Manuel Reppmann, Erk P. Piening, and Laura Marie Edinger-Schons—this research takes us on a journey through the challenges faced by sustainable startups as they balance ecological, social, and economic goals. Drawing on rich longitudinal data from six ventures, the study reveals how the cognitive mindset of founding teams can spell the difference between thriving and failing in the nascent stages of venture development. How do entrepreneurial teams reconcile the seemingly irreconcilable? Can an idealistic mindset coexist with pragmatic decision-making? And what does it take to transform grand visions into viable, impactful business models? A huge thank-you to the authors of this incredible paper and to John Wiley & Sons Ltd, on behalf of the Strategic Management Society, for bringing this work to life. Don’t forget to subscribe to Revise and Resubmit on Spotify, Amazon Prime, and Apple Podcast. And for more deep dives into academic research, head over to our YouTube channel, Weekend Researcher. Now, here’s the big question to ponder: Is your mindset helping you build a stairway to impact—or is it sending you down a highway to failure? Let’s find out. Reference Esau, E., Kannegießer, C. L., Reppmann, M., Piening, E. P., & Edinger-Schons, L. M. (2024). Stairway to impact or highway to failure? A cognitive perspective on business model design processes in nascent sustainable ventures. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1531 Youtube Channel ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@weekendresearcher⁠ Support us on Patreon https://patreon.com/weekendresearcher