Lean Startup: Operationalizing Lean Startup Capability and testing its performance implications

ABSTRACT Many startups use Lean Startup (LS). But is it effective? While there are emerging qualitative findings, quantitative evidence does not yet exist. To address this gap, we developed an operationalization of the degree to which startups use LS (Lean Startup Capability, LSC). We then analyzed the LSC-performance relationship. We found a strong and robust relationship. A discussion contextualizes our findings. The LSC operationalization is relevant for research as future efforts can build on and extend it. The contribution to entrepreneurial practice is that we carved out the element of LSC, and showed that LS is indeed linked to performance.

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