Entrepreneurial copycats: A resource orchestration perspective on the link between extra-industry business model imitation and new venture growth

This study draws on resource orchestration theory to develop and test a framework that explains when the imitation of business models from other industries increases new venture growth. We propose that extra-industry business model imitation enhances growth when extra-industry business models are bundled together with novel technologies, and when founders possess the necessary industry experience to orchestrate these resource combinations effectively. Using a unique multi-source, time-lagged dataset of 122 Swiss technology ventures from four industries, we find support for our theoretical model and discuss its implications for research at the intersection of business models, competitive imitation, and resource orchestration.