Success Factors of Internet-based Business in the Start-up Phase

창업단계의 인터넷 비즈니스 성공요인에 관한 탐색적 연구

The Purpose of this study is to Identify and analyze the factors that determine the survival or success of internet-based companies in the start-up phase. The reason why we focus on companies which are in the early stage of development is because internet business is still at its early stage, and statistics indicate that many internet businesses have failed during the start-up phase. Using the model of new product outcomes proposed by Cooper(1979), we have formulated a conceptual model for more successful internet business ventures. On the basis of this model, the relationship between the financial and non-financial performance and various variables in the model is analyzed. For collecting empirical data, a web-based survey questionnaire was designed. A total of 97 usable questionnaires were gathered from internet companies nationwide. The results showed that controllable variables such as the commercial entity and information acquired during the new business process are related to the non-financial performance, while environment variables such as the compatibility of the resource base of the firm with the business, including a few controllable variables, are related to the financial performance. Future research needs to explore more precisely how the success factors are different according to the types of internet businesses and/or the stages of growth of the business.