Pitch perfect: Exploring how perceived threat of feedback on a pitched business idea affects the relation between commitment and pivoting.

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2024-07-08

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en

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This study seeks to explore the effect between commitment to an idea on speed of pivoting moderated by the perceived threat of feedback in creative revision. The data was collected by conducting a survey at a consultancy company called Bluehub, where a pitching program called Open Brains is brought to live for innovators to pitch their business idea and gather feedback. Feedback may challenge the business idea in a way that suggests to change certain elements of the business model. However, innovators are often committed to their business idea and are not willing to pivot in a different direction. Therefore, a negative relation is present between commitment and the speed of pivoting. Entrepreneurs can interpret feedback that challenges their idea as a threat. It was hypothesized that when perceived as a threat, the innovator would see the urgency and need for change and thus pivot faster; a negative moderation. The results indicate that committed innovators are in fact less willing to pivot fast. However, the moderation effect of perceived threat of feedback was non-significant for the sample. By administrating additional tests with particular sub samples, the interaction effect became positively significant for innovators who are young, perceived the quality of the feedback as good and had a relatively innovative idea. The findings contribute to literature and practice by indicating that commitment plays a crucial role for making decisions about the speed of the pivot and shows that perception of feedback can influence this relation in particular circumstances.

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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen

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