A systematic literature review of startup survival and future research agenda

This paper aims to provide a brief review of the work on startup survival and a conceptual framework of factors influencing a startup firm’s survival. In addition, it lists significant gaps and recommends avenues for future research.

This paper conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles indexed in Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO databases using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A total of 140 articles published in 72 journals between 1993 and 2021 were considered for the review.

The comprehensive review revealed that most of the studies have applied a single theoretical lens and have taken place in advanced economies, with a narrow focus on emerging economies. Empirical research has prominently applied regression-based models to analyse the relationship between the antecedents and the outcomes. Internal resources such as human capital, financial capital and physical capital and non-financial performance measures such as survival, growth and employment are the studies’ prominently used antecedents and outcome variables. However, a limited number of studies have used mechanisms of mediation and moderation.

Despite the substantial scientific and practical discussion on startup survival, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no comprehensive review has been undertaken to date, which provides a systematic and comprehensive compilation of the knowledge on the topic. This study aims to develop a unique landscape of scientific advancement by methodically reviewing, categorising and synthesising the current body of knowledge on the topic.