The value of supply chain orientation in entrepreneurship: Implications for opportunity evaluation and Lean Startup

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) research and entrepreneurship research rarely overlap, which is unfortunate because incorporating SCM thinking may be a key element enabling an entrepreneurial firm to succeed at becoming a long‐term, profitable entity. The entrepreneurial process occurs in three distinct, overlapping, and iterative phases: identification, evaluation, and exploitation. Often, SCM is an afterthought for entrepreneurs, occurring only in the final phase of the entrepreneurial process. This article makes the case for an earlier focus on SCM within the entrepreneurship process. Specifically, we outline how an entrepreneur's supply chain orientation (SCO) may be especially important in the opportunity evaluation phase where Lean Startup processes take place. SCO may enable entrepreneurs to make more accurate assessments and more efficient allocation of limited capital. SCO may lead an entrepreneur to be more aware of how planning, sourcing and production, and logistics may impact the attractiveness of a given opportunity and may facilitate a more accurate evaluation of opportunities, as well as value co‐creation with potential supply chain partners. The result would be a more efficient entrepreneurial process with less waste in terms of time and resources and more value from incorporating supply chain partners in evaluation decisions.