Spinoffs of Entrepreneurial Firms: An O-Ring Approach

The O-ring theory is used to analyze the emergence of firms organized as partnerships. The owner-managers of such entrepreneurial firms benefit from ability matching within their production teams. However, they must bear the project risk. Risk aversion then induces a second-best solution. Integrated firms managed on behalf of risk-neutral residual claimants face information and/or enforcement problems. Hence, they cannot organize ability-matched teams. There exists an equilibrium such that groups of individuals sharing a superior ability level will found entrepreneurial firms. Low-quality individuals will be employed by managed firms, which hire randomly.