Interplay of entrepreneur, government, and industry in the development of ventures: the case of emerging IT industry in Korea

This article examines how an entrepreneur’s strategic choice influences corporate development leading to the initial public offering. The data come from Korean startups in information technology industry. We consider the dynamic interplay between an entrepreneur’s attributes and government’s institutional support as key factors. An empirical analysis of 615 listed companies shows that an entrepreneur’s attributes play a significant role in market entry especially in information technology industry which tends to have shorter lead time to the initial public offering. Government certification and venture capital investment also facilitated corporate growth toward the public company status.