Happy Birthday,New Space !

Abstract

Dear New Space Readers,

This issue of New Space marks the end of the publications in first decade of existence. Happy birthday! New Space is 10 years old! This milestone made me think about exactly what type of “new start” was New Space?

Obviously, a lot has happened in the “nongovernmental” segment of space activities and categorizing these “new starts” is something I looked into some time ago. Many analysts categorize companies not in a 2-part categorization scheme with labels such as “start-up” or “spin-off.” Management scholars also have a 2-part typology. New firms are referred to (in latin) as de novo. The second part includes new firms that spin off from parent companies, called (by their latin name) de alio. Those 2 major categories in the 2-part typology are further subdivided and described by different authors, creating more typologies including up to 7 parts. Here I include a table I compiled in 2017 to enable “translation” between the different typologies.

Dichotomy	Three-Part Typology	Four-Part Typology	Five-Part Typology	Six-Part Typology	Seven-Part Typology
de novo	New entrants	Start-up	Experienced entrepreneurs	De novo—Nonspin-out	De novo—Start-up
de novo	New entrants	Start-up	spin-offs	De novo—Spin-out	De novo—Entrepreneurial spin-off
de alio	Spin-offs	Spin-off	Inexperienced firms	De alio—incumbent-backed spin-off	Parent company spin-off
				De alio—incumbent-backed JV	Parent company joint venture
				De olio—incumbent-backed franchisee	Parent company franchisee
	Pre-existing	Corporate venturing	Experienced firms	De alio—diversifying entrant	De alio—Internal growth
	Pre-existing	acquisition	Experienced firms	De alio—diversifying entrant	De alio—acquisition
Note: Used by multiple authors.	Note: Used by Klepper and Sleeper¹ differentiating de alio firms	Note: Used by Eckhardt and Shane² differentiating incumbents	Note: Used by Klepper^3,4 differentiating new entrants	Note: Used by Agarwal et al.⁵ partially differentiating incumbents	Note: Used by Helfat and Liebman⁶ fully differentiated

An interesting aspect of these different typologies is how each begins to identify different nuances and subtelties that sometimes get lost in everyday discussions of what types of companies are created. Another interesting aspect is how “new entrants” move between the categories as time passes. I remember assessing Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic as new entrants as they grew older. I was impressed with how the categories in which they best fit changed as they aged. This metamorphosis of companies is constant, although the way the companies perceive themselves may be very different.

So in trying to answer the question of “What type of ‘new start’ is New Space?” using the 7-part typology, I think New Space started as a “de alio—internal growth” entrant and have basically stayed that way over time. A debatable assertion could be that New Space has flirted with the category of “Parent Company Joint Venture” with special issues from time to time.

In any case, this is a fairly long-winded and round-about way of saying “Happy Birthday, New Space!” and many more…

References

Klepper

, Sleeper

. Entry by spinoffs. Manage Sci. 2005; 51(8):1291–306.

Eckhardt

, Shane

An update to the individual-opportunity nexus. In Handbook of entrepreneurship research (pp. 47-76). New York, NY: Springer, 2010.

Klepper

The capabilities of new firms and the evolution of the US automobile industry. Ind Corp Chan. 2002; 11(4):645–66.

Klepper

Firm survival and the evolution of oligopoly. RAND J Econ. 2002; 33(1):37–61.

Agarwal

, Echambadi

, Franco

, et al. Knowledge transfer through inheritance: Spin-out generation, development, and survival. Acad Manage J. 2004; 47(4):501–22.

Helfat

, Lieberman

. The birth of capabilities: Market entry and the importance of pre-history. Ind Corp Chan. 2002; 11(4):725–60.