A scientific approach to pivoting in startups; An exploratory study
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2025-07-02
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en
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Purpose – While the concept of pivoting has gained traction among startup practitioners, still little is known about how startups approach a pivot and why they implement their approach. This study aims to address that gap by exploring the implementation of the scientific approach to pivoting in practice and identifying the factors that influence its intensity.
Design/methodology/approach – A team of seven researchers conducted a qualitative, exploratory study using retrospective semi-structured interviews with founders of Dutch startups that recently executed a pivot. The data was individually analyzed through thematic analysis to identify patterns in the implementation of the scientific approach and its antecedents.
Findings – The findings suggest that even though startups rarely fully implement the scientific approach, many do incorporate the core activities theorizing, testing, and evaluating into their operations in slightly more informal manners. Antecedents for the use of the scientific approach that were discovered were aggregated into four constructs: founder experience, resource availability, external support, and industry complexity.
Value/originality – By embedding the scientific approach in real pivot practices, this study contributes to the understanding of scientific decision-making in startups. It offers practical insights for academics and practitioners in dealing with entrepreneurial uncertainty by introducing new antecedents that refine the notion of scientific intensity.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen