Does winning a venture competition encourage entrepreneurial exploration? Evidence from China
研究上海市政府举办的创业竞赛是否促使获胜者进行更多创业探索，发现获胜后一年内探索水平提高，但对女性创业者和运营时间短的企业效果较弱。
This paper examines whether winning venture competition spurs entrepreneurs to carry out entrepreneurial exploration. We use data from new venture competitions organized by Shanghai municipal government that are open to innovative small ventures. Using a regression discontinuity design , we show that winning leads to a higher level of entrepreneurial explorations in the year following the competition. However, this effect is reduced for female entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs whose affiliated ventures have a shorter time of operation. Our findings are consistent with existing theories about entrepreneurship and behavioral economics, including entrepreneurial experimentation and “house money” effect.