Do Tech‐Based New Ventures Founded During Major Economic Crises Generate Different <scp>R&amp;D</scp> Outputs?

ABSTRACT Tech‐based ventures—regardless of external circumstances—must allocate resources to research and development (R&amp;D) activities to satisfy their raison d'être and establish their market positioning. When founded during economic crises, these ventures encounter distinctive opportunities but also face resource scarcity, both of which significantly affect founders' resource orchestration. Our empirical analysis compares the R&amp;D outputs of tech‐based ventures founded during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008/2009 with a closely matched control group of tech‐based ventures established during periods of economic stability a few years later. We find that, compared to those founded during stable periods, crisis ventures produce fewer but higher‐quality R&amp;D outputs, as reflected, for example, in around 47% fewer granted patents but 212% more breakthrough inventions. Additional analyses show that a crisis at foundation, on average, reduces these ventures' share of R&amp;D positions in operational roles by 17.4% and leads to 24.8% fewer issued products, consistent with our theorizing that the resource‐scarce environment at foundation makes ventures rely more on founders as the primary inventors and apply a more focused approach to R&amp;D. We also show that venture capital (VC) support prompts crisis ventures to adapt their resource orchestration during an “entrepreneurial leap,” ultimately enabling them to increase R&amp;D outputs, mostly without sacrificing quality.