Could Apple have been created without Steve Jobs, or Microsoft without Bill Gates? What is the contribution of the entrepreneur to the performance and value of firms? A study by Sascha O Becker and Hans K Hvide explores the role of an entrepreneur in holding a firm together, by studying companies for up to four years after the death of the founder-entrepreneur. Their finding: sales were down 60% on average after four years and survival rates were 20% lower; employment at the companies was down 17%. And the effect was felt across the age profiles of companies, albeit a little more in companies less than five years old.
Title: Do entrepreneurs matter?
Source: Social Science Research Network
1 June 2026
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