Abstract
In this study, we examine the importance of guided preparation to organizational emergence. The Theory of Guided Preparation (TGP) assumes that while knowledge is the most important advantage an entrepreneur can have, an entrepreneur rarely has perfect knowledge (Chrisman, 1999). Therefore, guided preparation, which occurs when an outside expert assists an entrepreneur’s efforts, is often critical to the success of a new/small organization as it facilitates the development of specialized and complementary knowledge. In support of TGP, recent empirical evidence suggests that guided preparation is important to the growth and survival of new organizations; however, no research to date has explored TGP in the context of emerging organizations. We therefore frame our study by posing the following research question: To what extent does guided preparation contribute to organizational emergence?