How novice and experienced entrepreneurs name new ventures

Abstract

We examine the role of entrepreneurial experience in shaping a key decision that every entrepreneur has to make: naming their new venture. Using a qualitative approach, we compare and contrast serial and novice entrepreneurs as they name the same company. We find several naming practices and show that novice and serial entrepreneurs use distinct naming strategies reflecting appeals to cognitive and emotional resonance. Our findings contribute to theory on firm names with a much-needed account of naming practices and provide insights for research on legitimation by showing that differences in entrepreneurial experience are consequential for venture naming decisions.