The Impact of Strategic Behaviors on Firm Performance : Evidences in the U.S. Startups

This paper collects 358 firms newly listed in the 2003 Fortune 500 Index compared with 1992 index. Among them, 241 firms are startups. Some 103 new startups founded after 1945 are defined as new Fortune startups. A simple ordinary least square verifies that the more likely the entry of new Fortune entrants as larger the market shocks measured by GDP share growth and deregulations. According to historic analysis, it is found that several strategic behaviors have stimulated their success : niche market creation with strong brand quality, diversification, and sales network development with foreign expansion. This paper empirically shows that strategic behaviors have greater effects on their performance than exogenous market fluctuations do. Among three strategic behaviors, the niche marketing are found th enhance the brand image of new Fortune startups significantly.