Shaping Strategy Formation Processes of Emerging Ventures

This qualitative study explores how industry discourse shapes the strategy formation processes of new ventures. Based on a field study about the technology ventures in the insurance industry from 2017 to 2019, I unpack the insurance technology (InsurTech) discourse as a socially constructed condition and track the strategy formation processes of four ventures that are embedded in the discourse. I identify two primary streams of discourse, relational and arm’s length, and show how these streams shape the ventures’ strategy formation processes into two patterns: derivative and puzzle-piecing. The study thus highlights the role that socially constructed enablers play in shaping venturing processes and calls for attention to understanding ventures’ strategy work as an evolving process embedded in the discursive context.