Factors critical in overcoming the liability of newness: Highlighting the role of family

With a focus on the role of family, we explore factors critical in enabling start-up ventures to attain legitimacy and overcome the liability of newness. Drawing from multiple interviews with leaders of seven start-up ventures, we investigate the function of a variety of factors [e.g., family, distributors, financial supporters, etc.] deemed critical in attaining venture legitimacy. To validate our findings, we conducted additional interviews with three established family ventures. Our discussion highlights the role of family as a legitimizing strategy and provides an increased awareness of how internal and external resources are leveraged by the start-up to gain legitimacy.