In the beginning: venture origin stories and their use as a strategic resource

A venture’s origin story is foundational to its history, identity, strategy, and culture. Yet the venture origin story remains poorly defined and understudied as a distinct construct. It is often conflated with other stories (e.g. the founding story) or bundled with broader narrative constructs (e.g. identity narrative, opportunity narrative). In this article, we define the ways in which the venture origin story is unique and clarify its distinctions from adjacent constructs using a four-dimensional framework that addresses the core question, temporality, level of analysis, and endurance. We theorize that entrepreneurs can leverage their venture origin story as an intangible strategic resource and develop theoretical propositions linking it to resource-related outcomes. Through this conceptual clarity, we advance the understanding of entrepreneurial narratives and venture strategic resources.