What is a pivot? Explaining when and how entrepreneurial firms decide to make strategic change and pivot
The term “pivot” is used extensively by practitioners and scholars alike, yet little is known about when and how entrepreneurial firms actually choose to change their strategies and when that change constitutes a pivot. We find that entrepreneurial firms choose to change their strategies only after receiving new information that conflicts with or expands their beliefs about their firm or uncertainties they face. However, this is more rare than the norm. Rather than make wholesale change with one decision, firms incrementally exit or add a single element to their strategies. A firm pivots and reorients their strategic direction by reallocating or restructuring the firm’s activities, resources, and attention through an accumulated series of decisions to address the on-going stream of problems and opportunities early-stage firms confront.
