SOCIAL NETWORKS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL STARTUPS DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL NETWORKS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL STARTUPS DEVELOPMENT

Summary/Abstract: The paper focuses on researching the role of social networking in the development of startup companies in the Czech Republic. The goal is to identify key groups that help startups to set up and develop, identify areas where startups get help through the social networks of their founders and/or key members, and analyze the relationship between the types of the contacts and help provided. The paper presents the results of a deep questionnaire survey of startup founders from 51 out of approximately 1450 startups in the Czech Republic. IBM SPSS Statistics 21 software and Fisher's exact test were used in two-dimensional data analysis at the significance level of 0.05 and 0.01. The results demonstrate the use of strong and weak ties in the establishment and development of a startup business. Key groups include business partners and friends, both in terms of their utilization rates, their key role and the amount of assistance provided, and business angels in terms of fundraising, and technology and marketing advice. The importance of some weak ties does not correspond to their use (both positively and negatively). The results of the survey showed the contradictory role of incubators and accelerators. While 63% of startups used the help of business incubators, the support for building networks and links with the external environment in the incubators seems to be underestimated. Our results imply that the support programs for the startups should include the networking programs with the external parties.

• Details
• Contents