Measuring entrepreneurial orientation and institutional theory for informal enterprises: scale validation

Quality & Quantity - The importance of institutional factors and entrepreneurial orientation is widely recognized in the study of entrepreneurship development, leading to the development of...     

TMT conflict,organizational structure,and entrepreneurial orientation: An attention-based view

Drawing on the attention-based view, this study investigates the linkage of top management team (TMT) conflict to entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the moderating effect of organizational structure in terms of formalization and centralization on the linkage. It finds that TMT cognitive conflict is positively related to EO, while affective conflict is negatively related to it. Furthermore, formalization positively moderates the linkage of TMT cognitive conflict to EO, while negatively moderates the negative linkage of TMT affective conflict to EO. Moreover, centralization does not significantly moderate the linkage of either TMT cognitive or affective conflict to EO. This study enriches our knowledge of the antecedents of EO, improves our understanding of the value of TMT conflict by distinguishing between TMT cognitive conflict and affective conflict, and introduces a novel insight—the attention-based view—to elaborate the TMT conflict-EO linkage.     

Gender and entrepreneurial orientation: a multi-country study

The purpose of this comparative study is to investigate the role of gender and culture in entrepreneurial orientation (EO) among students in the selected nations. EO dimensions are important variables in the study of organizational performance. We adopted Lumpkin and Dess’ EO dimensions. We statistically analyzed the collected data from 389 university students in the US (96), Korea (114), Fiji (80), and Malaysia (99). The results showed significant differences in most EO dimensions between genders and among the nations. Thus, it is important that customized approaches based on gender and unique cultural context are needed for developing EO among college students.     

Culture and entrepreneurial orientation: a multi-country study

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been proven as an essential attribute of high performing firms, and the role of culture has been highlighted for generating robust EO. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of culture by identifying differences among the selected nations in terms of EO dimensions. This is an empirical study based on the data collected from university students in the U.S., Korea, Fiji, India, and Malaysia representing nations with significantly different cultural contexts. The result showed significant differences among the nations in most EO dimensions. This implies that customized education approaches based on unique cultural context are needed for developing EO among college students.     

International entrepreneurial orientation and regional expansion

Abstract

This study examines how behavioral elements of international entrepreneurial orientation (i.e. product innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy) increase variability in scope of regional market expansion, and the international marketing channel management conditions under which this occurs. Results from an empirical study in a developing market show that not all behavioral elements of international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) increase scope of regional expansion. The study specifically finds that scope of regional expansion is fostered when high levels of product innovation intensity, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomous behaviors are aligned with a stronger channel management capability. Conversely, the regional expansion values of product innovation novelty and proactiveness are cancelled out when channel management capability levels are high.     

Drivers and implications of entrepreneurial orientation for academic spin-offs

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - This paper has been designed with a dual goal. On the one hand, the paper aims to examine the role of management teams, industry agents, and...     

External cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation in industrial clusters

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between external cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). This relationship is explored in cluster environment, wherein entrepreneurial organizations compete and cooperate simultaneously to pursue opportunities. The following hypothesis is tested: External cooperation is positively correlated with entrepreneurial orientation. The hypothesis is tested with a correlation analysis on a sample of 77 small-sized enterprises operating in the Malopolska region in Poland, wherein several clusters are active. Additionally, the regression analysis is conducted to examine the associations between inter-organizational cooperation and EO dimensions. The findings confirm that external cooperation is positively correlated with EO. This observation is confronted with a pro-competitive approach that is a constitutional element of the entrepreneurship concept. Moreover, the findings show that the correlation between external cooperation and a firm’s performance is stronger than between some other EO dimensions and performance. Additionally, the findings show the important role of relationships between organizations and their clients. In the paper, several remarks for development of the theory are discussed, including the need for incorporating inter-organizational cooperation into a set of entrepreneurial traits and reflecting it in entrepreneurial orientation scales. The findings confirm the importance of that direction of theory development that focuses on inter-organizational collaboration in the context of entrepreneurship.     

Individual entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the mediating role of international entrepreneurship

This paper analyses the role that individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) plays in the success of international entrepreneurship moves. We focus on the mediation effect of international entrepreneurship in the relationship between IEO and firm performance. We argue that entrepreneurial experience constitutes an important source of IEO and propose an objective measure of IEO. The hypotheses are empirically analysed using a 22-year panel of family SMEs. Our results confirm the hypotheses and provide a better understanding of the role of IEO in the success of corporate strategies such as internationalisation. Specifically, IEO is found to improve firm performance indirectly by increasing the speed of internationalisation, and this effect is non-linear. Our study contributes to the literature by extending international entrepreneurship literature by offering a more complete view of the causes and consequences of IEO. Finally, our results also contribute to the literature on family firm heterogeneity.

     

A hierarchical perspective of the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation

This study examines the hierarchical relationship between the three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO): proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk-taking. Information Processing Theory and Strategic Choice Theory were utilized to investigate the roles of both industrial munificence and opportunity perceptions in the formation of firm-level EO. Data collected from 227 organizations in four countries suggests that innovative and risk-taking behaviors are fundamentally driven by proactiveness and the perceived availability of opportunities in an industry. As such, proactiveness appears to be the leading and primary factor in encouraging and enabling the other dimensions of EO. The research and managerial implications of these findings are also discussed.     

Individual entrepreneurial orientation and intrapreneurship in the public sector

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - Municipalities and Cities are facing a strong pressure to digitalize and develop themselves into Smart Cities. This article investigates the...     

Intrapreneurship and firm entrepreneurial orientation: insights from the health care service industry

Intrapreneurship affects our daily lives and is a research topic of great importance. Given the current economic climate, its relevance to firm performance has increased considerably both among academics and practitioners. Specifically, our approach has focused on the identification, analysis and explanation of the determinants/variables that influence the intrapreneurship process in the health care service industry, including the private, public and social sectors. The methodology employed consisted of collecting primary data via a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was sent by e-mail to health care employees and middle managers from the northern and center regions of Portugal, and the study covered 202 professionals from 45 organizations. The results show that the participating health care team members present intrapreneurial behavior, and health care organizations create favorable internal conditions that support the theoretical concepts of intrapreneurship and firm entrepreneurial orientation (FEO).     

Individual entrepreneurial orientation role in shaping reactions to new technologies

Significant progress has been made over the last two decades in explaining and predicting user acceptance of novel technologies at work. Although knowledge voids remain, substantial theoretical and empirical support has accumulated in favor of the powerful and parsimonious explanation provided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). One factor that may be related to the adoption of new technologies, but has remained unexplored in the TAM literature, is the proclivity to behave entrepreneurially, known nominally as individual entrepreneurial orientation. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of individual entrepreneurial orientation in facilitating technology adoption under mandated conditions. Predictions are tested using survey data collected from knowledge workers required to use a new technology. Research directions and limitations are discussed.     

A cross cultural study of gender-role orientation and entrepreneurial self-efficacy

The study of gender differences in entrepreneurial self-efficacy to date has produced inconclusive results. Cross-cultural studies are virtually non-existent. The present study seeks to understand the complex interplay of biological sex, socialized gender-roles, and culture on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and motivation to become an entrepreneur. Findings indicate that among American business students the traditional view of “entrepreneur as male” is fading. For the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs, a new entrepreneur stereotype is emerging that balances stereotypical feminine and masculine characteristics. These findings were not replicated in Spain where traditional gender-role stereotypes associated with entrepreneurship persist, even among business students. Implications for entrepreneurial education are discussed as they relate to the development of skills associated with venture creation.     

Network ties and entrepreneurial orientation: Innovative performance of SMEs in a developing country

This study investigates the role of intra-cluster ties, extra-cluster ties, and entrepreneurial orientation in shaping firms’ innovative performance. We conduct our analysis on a primary data set of 120 small and medium enterprises located in the Cibaduyut footwear-manufacturing cluster, Indonesia. We explore the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition through intra-cluster ties and extra-cluster ties on innovative performance. We find that extra-cluster ties mediate the relationship between proactiveness and innovative performance. Also, a combination of high extra-cluster ties and risk taking exert a positive impact on innovative performance. Surprisingly, we find that risk taking negatively moderates the influence of intra-cluster ties on innovative performance. Over-reliance on within-cluster knowledge sharing may result in the diffusion of redundant knowledge rather than making new knowledge available to the firm. Overall, our findings point to the synergistic effects of entrepreneurial orientation and extra-cluster ties on innovative performance.     

Enhancing individual entrepreneurial orientation measurement using a metacognitive decision making-based framework

Entrepreneurship, and individuals’ predisposition toward entrepreneurial activities in particular, i.e. Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation (IEO), has been gaining increasing relevance in academia and management practice alike. Understanding IEO is a critical element not only for its promotion, but for better and more informed managerial and investor decision making as well. As such, this study proposes a new framework for understanding and measuring IEO based on the integrated use of cognitive mapping and the interactive multiple criteria decision making (TODIM) method. We present the steps for building such a framework, as well as a practical application of these steps. The results are promising: the methodology applied allowed a large number of determinants of IEO and their relationships to be mapped; and, subsequently, ranked and weighted for the creation of an IEO measurement tool. The implications of the resulting framework for theory and practice, its limitations and possibilities for further research are also discussed.     

Building entrepreneurial universities in a specific culture—barriers and opportunities

• Globally universities are facing an increasingly dynamic environment, and many have responded through becoming more entrepreneurial. European and US universities have adopted new governance structures, diversified their funding, changed their organisational structures and adopted an entrepreneurial culture to drive more innovative behaviour. Using multiple case studies, based on semi‐structured interviews, the barriers and opportunities for entrepreneurialism in five UAE universities are identified. UAE universities possess inherent qualities necessary for entrepreneurialism, including steerage, concern for economic surplus plus their performance driven environment allows quick response to the dynamic external environment; however, there are certain areas that require further development such as developing a culture of innovation, incentivising Universities to take risks as well as gaining appropriate support from the State. Based on the results of this work a change agenda has been chartered to further support and develop entrepreneurial universities in the Middle Eastern environment.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between resources,entrepreneurial orientation and performance in farm-based ventures

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how firm-specific resources and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the firm may influence performance in small farm-based ventures. It builds upon theoretical strands from the resource-based and entrepreneurship perspectives. Research within these fields indicates that these relationships might be dependent on the context within which the firm operates. Hypotheses are developed to test the possible effect of entrepreneurial efforts and resources (financial position, farm size, location, network and unique competence) on short- and long-term performance. Data gathered in 2003 and 2006 from farms engaged in innovative ventures were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that financial capacity, unique competence and entrepreneurial efforts influence performance in the investigated firms. This suggests that firms do get paid back in the long run for engaging in entrepreneurial efforts. Thus, entrepreneurial activities and attitudes represent an important factor enabling firms to create, reconsider and apply their resources in more efficient ways.     

The influence of socioemotional wealth in the entrepreneurial orientation of family businesses

This study analyses the effect of socioemotional wealth on the entrepreneurial orientation of family businesses. Entrepreneurship, measured through entrepreneurial orientation, is a key factor for the survival of family businesses. Second-generation structural equation method (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the results, specifically, the SmartPLS 3.2.7 software applied to data on106 Spanish family businesses. The main contribution of this study is to show that family businesses provide an adequate framework for analysing entrepreneurship from an entrepreneurial orientation. Second, the FIBER measurement model for socioemotional wealth allows capturing the special behaviour of family businesses. Finally, with this study we ascertain that socioemotional wealth positively influences entrepreneurial orientation, thus explaining 32.6% of its variance.

     

Sustainable development in small and medium enterprises: The role of entrepreneurial orientation in supply chain management

Organizations are under increased pressure to improve their sustainable performance through the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have lagged behind larger corporations due to a number of factors. Chief among these factors is the lack of resources and capabilities. In this study, we investigate whether entrepreneurial orientation as a distinctive firm-level resource contributes to the successful implementation of GSCM practices within SMEs. We use primary data obtained from 316 manufacturing SMEs and analyze the data by using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Our findings show four equifinal configurations of GSCM practices and the components of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) that lead to high environmental performance. Two practices, “eco-design” and “internal environmental management”, are present in all configurations, with the latter being the single core condition. The components of EO are present in all the configurations. Three distinct configurations lead to the simultaneous achievement of high environmental performance and high economic performance. Some noticeable differences appear in these configurations: “internal environmental management” is no longer a core condition, instead external practices (“green purchasing,” “cooperation with customers including environmental requirements,” and “investment recovery”) and “risk-taking” become core conditions. We exptrapolate our findings into a set of propositions that expand theory on the link between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable performance. Our study provides insights for managers who seek to infuse entrepreneurial thoughts and actions into their green supply chain initiatives.     

An empirical test of a decision theory model for entrepreneurial acts

A decision theory model is presented where the decision to start a firm is assumed to be a rational economic decision of a utility maximizer. The model is tested using data for business births in 82 Mississippi counties over the period 1979-1987. Results of the aggregated model are encouraging but suggest that the alternative to a risky venture is not riskless wage labour. Rather, wage labour also carries a risk which is important in determining whether to start a business. The results indicate that there is a strong economic motivation in entrepreneurial ventures which must be considered in addition to psychological factors. The model suggests that encouragement of entrepreneurial ventures can be based upon lowering thc costs of start-ups and policies that increase the probability of success.