A successful failure: Case studies of business discontinuity among young businesses in the software and IT services industry

Abstract

Research studies on entrepreneurship have made significant efforts to determine the causes of business success, while stigmatizing the discontinuity of new and young businesses by linking this phenomenon with the idea of “failure”. Based on literature about “business failure”, which identifies its decisive factors, symptoms and effects, this study aims at understanding how entrepreneurs experience and perceive the discontinuity of their ventures in early stages, and how this impacts their business track record. A multiple case study is reported based on the narratives of entrepreneurs in the software industry in Argentina. Results show that individuals tend to transform their entrepreneurial loss into experience, gaining meaningful lessons for their personal and professional development, whether they continue venturing or not. This study seeks to contribute to destigmatize failure, by considering the discontinuity of a business as part of the business process itself.