Start-up firms. Strategic or suck-it-and-see? A qualitative study of how fledgling firms in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom use strategic entrepreneurship to gain competitive advantage.

This document’s aim is to contribute to the existing research on strategic entrepreneurship by investigating whether start-up firms in the East Midlands consider strategy and planning or whether they simply launch following recognition of an opportunity. To accomplish this aim, existing research in the area of entrepreneurship and in particular, strategic entrepreneurship, was drawn upon for analysis and to ask two specific research questions. The first question relates to whether new businesses use strategic entrepreneurship when first striking out and how this strategy affects the planning and preparation that inevitably happens when a new business is created. The second question relates to current gaps in aid for start-up firms in the East Midlands and identifies areas for improvement and development. The research is then used to analyse, firstly, the published literature regarding strategic entrepreneurship and, secondly, the data collected from a series of interviews with local entrepreneurs and business owners. From the research findings and from the extensive literature review, practical recommendations were presented to aid young businesses setting up in the East Midlands. The implementation of these recommendations might reduce the barriers to setting up a new venture by reducing uncertainty in the process and linking up new business owners to experienced mentors. Future research might investigate the impact on family businesses that use strategic entrepreneurship. Further research could also consider the development of incubation units for fledgling firms