Abstract
Entrepreneurs translate past experiences and knowledge – what we call individual domains – into “theories of value” that shape strategic search, i.e., the problems they choose to address, as well as the development and selection of strategic alternatives (Camuffo, Gambardella and Pignataro, 2024; Felin and Zenger, 2017; Wuebker et al., 2023). Past research shows that decision makers overweight information that happens to be contextually prominent, or salient, while overlooking equally relevant but latent cues (Bordalo et al., 2012, 2022; Chetty et al., 2009; Kahneman, 2003; Tiefenbeck et al., 2018; Tversky and Kahneman, 1974). Yet, despite theoretical claims that salience shapes strategic reasoning (Felin et al., 2023; Gavetti, 2012), there is no experimental evidence on whether deliberately making a domain salient alters strategy formulation or firm performance. Moreover, we do not know (i) whether latent domains can be activated through a short training intervention; (ii) how such activation changes the mix of domains and attributes strategists incorporate in their theories; or (iii) the downstream consequences for firm performance.
Our theoretical framework treats domain salience as a general cognitive mechanism. To obtain a clean test we concentrate on one domain – environmental sustainability – because its attributes are recognisable, have wide applicability to different sectors or business models, and are economically consequential. We design an intervention embedded within a standard university startup training program, where an instructor will present examples of start-ups whose theory of value hinges on sustainability attributes, i.e. the “sustainability exposure treatment”. Slides and speaking notes will illustrate how environmental sustainability attributes map onto each firm’s theory of value, making the sustainability domain salient to strategists. Matched control cases will be exposed to very similar startups in terms of products, business model etc, but omit any cues related to sustainability.
We will implement a set of randomised controlled trials across different startup training programmes (e.g. in Spain, Italy and The Netherlands), targeting to enrol a total of 450 early-stage start-ups. We choose to focus on entrepreneurs because they act as the primary strategists in early-stage ventures. Their choices are central to startup development and success, making them ideal subjects for examining how domain salience affects strategic exploration. All participants will receive training on theory-based experimentation to help them describe and present their theories of value (Camuffo, Gambardella, Messinese, et al., 2024). Next, half will be randomly assigned to the sustainability exposure treatment, the rest to the placebo.
By tracking textual changes in venture theories, pivoting behaviour and economic performance over twelve months, we will answer three primary research questions: (RQ1) Can a relatively simple intervention render a domain salient? (RQ2) Does induced salience shift entrepreneurs’ strategic framing and theories of value? (RQ3) Does that shift translate into short- and long-run performance effects?
This multi-country design delivers the first causal test of domain-salience theory in strategic management and entrepreneurship and clarifies how domains become encoded in entrepreneurs’ theories of value.