Elaboration of a resource map as a support process to the development of a new business based on the internet

Abstract

The article aims to present a method to elaborate a resource map to support the planning of a new business based on the internet from the perception of its entrepreneur. The resulting resource map is a visual representation of the interrelationship between strategic resources, characterized according to the theoretical assumptions of the resource-based view (RBV), as well as the system dynamics that characterizes such representations by feedback loops, flows and accumulations, which are responsible for behaviors of systemic aspects, such as organizational performance. In relation to the methodology, the research is characterized as exploratory descriptive, a case study subtype. For data collection, questionnaires and interviews with the entrepreneur responsible for the business were used. The preparation method of the map was formed by the following steps: collection and selection of strategic resources of the company, definition of the flow of accumulation of resources and the relationships between them, identification of policies for resource development, incorporating financial variables and identification of the capabilities responsible for business development. The research fruited the identification and classification of startup's strategic resources and verified how these resources are interrelated and how they impact the performance of the organization. The originality of this work comes from the construction of the resource map in a startup, assisting the entrepreneur to identify and exploit the initial strategic resources. In addition, it was analyzed how the entrepreneur's decision-making impacts the company performance. The main contribution of this paper, the process of preparing the map, through a visual representation of nonlinear strategic resources, from the entrepreneur's mental model, was depicted as a process of both learning and reflection about non experienced aspects of the business; although exposed to a logic of examining the consistency of the balance of the resource system, designed to generate sustainable competitive advantage.