The role of entrepreneurial skills as a vehicle for business growth: a study in Spanish start-ups

Abstract

Purpose

Business growth is one of the most studied areas over the years. However, with the current uncertainty and entrepreneurial dynamism it becomes relevant to consider new variables such as entrepreneurial skills and competencies that influence its development. Accordingly, this research refers to the impact that the individual's skills have on the entrepreneurial environment. For this purpose, a survey has been developed of employees of different organizations considering the variables of high degree of proactivity in the employees' attitude, entrepreneurial training, innovation, previous experience or risk aversion.

Design/methodology/approach

The research has been conducted through fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and the result shows the differences between the combination of variables for business growth through the consideration of sales growth and profit.

Findings

The results of this research provide new insights that allow the development and boosting of business growth.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this work is to pay attention to the human team of startups and show the role that this has in their growth.

Citation

Botella-Carrubi, D., Ribeiro-Navarrete, S., Ulrich, K. and Blanco González-Tejero, C. (2024), "The role of entrepreneurial skills as a vehicle for business growth: a study in Spanish start-ups", Management Decision, Vol. 62 No. 8, pp. 2364-2387. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-02-2022-0161