How Entrepreneurs use Symbolic Management to Acquire Resources

From a two-year inductive field study, the authors find that entrepreneurs are more likely to acquire resources for new ventures if they perform symbolic actions. The authors identify four symbolic action categories that facilitate resource acquisition: conveying the entrepreneur's personal credibility, professional organizing, organizational achievement, and the quality of stakeholder relationships. Data shows that entrepreneurs who perform a variety of symbolic actions from these categories skillfully and frequently obtain more resources than those who do not. The authors theorize how the various symbolic action categories shape different forms of legitimacy, and they propose several factors that moderate the relationship between symbolic management and resource acquisition.