| dc.description.abstract | This research study seeks to provide valuable insights on the entry and survival journey of new ventures. Furthermore, explored how such startups can establish partnerships to attain implicit and explicit resources; and use such collaborations to get recognized and validated among the industry actors in order to reduce their liability of newness.The study used a qualitative multiple case study approach to generate in-depth knowledge about the entry of new ventures within the Norwegian Maritime Industry. Semi-structured interviews with four firms operating as equipment suppliers to the industry were conducted to execute the data collection process.Moreover, it identified a number of entry barriers for new ventures attempting to enter a mature industry, the Norwegian Maritime Industry (NMI). The most potential barriers revealed include the inadequacy of resources, financial instability and anti-trust barriers. The study findings have revealed that partnership agreements with investors, suppliers, distributors, customers or other stakeholders can give a helping hand to the new ventures in overcoming such barriers, as such type of co-operations are uniquely advantageous by leveraging their own legitimacy to the nascent startup, leading towards the achievement of stability and market credibility. Moreover, new ventures can utilize the reputation and goodwill of their partners for developing their own market power and strong stature. Liability of newness is a massive hindrance that comes in the entry journey of nascent firms. In this regards, the partnerships again act as a paramount to assist new startups to stabilize themselves by minimizing this liability and achieving economic growth.The study implies that entrepreneurs trying to enter an industry like NMI must be aware of its characteristics such as its cyclical nature, highly capital and technology intensive nature, high industry standards, cooperative networks and knowledge transfer among different segments of the maritime cluster and likewise. Therefore, it is recommended for a new venture to be of flexible organizational structure, in order to be able to adjust and cope up with the industry environment during entry and survival phase. | |