신호이론을 통한 신규창업 결정요인의 실증분석

Entrepreneurship revitalizes industries and economic ecosystems by introducing innovative ideas and technologies, thereby generating new value and growth drivers. Previous studies have primarily analyzed the effects of entrepreneurs’ personality traits and capabilities, organizational resources and structures, as well as national institutions and policies on entrepreneurial activities. However, in actual entrepreneurial processes, entrepreneurs often make decisions under bounded rationality and frequently attempt new ventures even in the absence of favorable environments or sufficient resources. To address these limitations, this study applies signaling theory to examine how entrepreneurs interpret diverse signals from the external environment and incorporate them into their entrepreneurial decision-making. We focus on financial, ecological, and social signals as key variables, and conduct negative binomial regression analysis using empirical data on startups across six domestic industries from 2016 to 2024. The results show that the rise of the KOSDAQ index, as a financial signal, facilitates new venture creation by indicating favorable financing conditions for startups. Strengthening of entrepreneurial discourse, as a social signal, enhances social legitimacy and thereby promotes new startups by improving access to investment, institutional support, and human resources. In contrast, the increase in existing ventures, as an ecological signal, reflects intensified competition and is associated with a decline in new venture formation. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.