Linking Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance: The Role of Organizational Learning Capability and Innovation Performance

This research contributes to the entrepreneurial orientation (EO)–performance literature by offering a wider picture that includes two intermediate steps: organizational learning capability (OLC) and innovation performance. This study also provides an explanation of intra‐industry firm performance differences by focusing on EO. We use structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses on a data set from Italian and Spanish ceramic tile producers. The results support our conceptual model and demonstrate its usefulness in explaining differences in intra‐industry firm performance. Findings suggest that OLC and innovation performance should be enhanced by managers in order to boost the positive EO–performance link.     

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance of Chinese High-Tech Firms： The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning and Moderating Role of Firm Life Cycle

The evidence about how entrepreneurial orientation （EO） affects firms＇ performance remains inconclusive. This study joins the research by incorporating organizational learning （OL） as a micro-macro link and by extending empirical work to the largely underexplored context of Chinese high-tech industries. Results from a survey of 252 Chinese high-tech firms demonstrate： （1） entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to firm performance; （2） organizational learning is also positively related to firm performance; （3） organizational learning partly mediates the positive impact of entrepreneurial orientation on firm performance; and （4） high-tech companies in the start-up and growth stage are likely to demonstrate stronger linkages in the EO-OL-performance relationship than in mature stage, which shows that the EO-OL-performance relationship is moderated by firms＇ life cycle.     

Organizational Ambidexterity and Innovation Performance: The Moderating Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation

The influence of organizational ambidexterity on innovation and the growth of enterprises has gradually become an important research topic in the field of strategic management and organization theory. This paper builds up a theoretical framework of the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance with regards to corporate entrepreneurship orientation. We select 175 companies from high and new technology industries in China’s three large cities, Beijing, Tianjin and Dalian, as samples to carry out an empirical test. We find that the balance and complement of organizational ambidexterity are positively correlated with the innovation performance of enterprises; a corporate entrepreneurial orientation has a significantly moderating effect on the relationship between the balance dimension of organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance, yet it has no significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between the combined dimension of organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance.     

创业导向与中小企业创新绩效研究:小微金融的调节作用

本文以浙江省357家中小型制造业企业为研究对象,实证探讨了创业导向、小微金融支持与企业技术创新绩效之间的关系。数据分析结果表明:创业导向及其创新性、前瞻性和风险承担性三个构成维度均正向影响企业创新;小微金融的可获性及支持力度都正向调节创业导向与企业技术创新绩效之间的关系。     

The Impact of Resources and Strategic Orientation on Small Retail Firm Performance

This study examined the relationship between firm resources, strategic orientation, and performance in small retail firms. Surveys were mailed to small retailers throughout Tasmania, Australia. Responses (n = 384) showed resources positively related to performance were informational (business information systems) and access to financial capital. Strategic orientation (prospector and defender/analyzer) were positively related to performance. Further, both a prospector and defender/analyzer orientation positively mediated the relationship between resources and performance, the former being the stronger mediator. The results of this study demonstrate which firm resources relate to small retail firm performance, and the positive effect, in particular, of a prospector strategic orientation.     

风险投资机构知识多样化与退出绩效:投资阶段的调节作用

本文利用CV Source数据库2005年1月1日至2013年12月31日的风险投资机构投资数据,运用多元回归分析模型,检验风险投资机构知识多样化对其退出绩效的影响以及投资阶段对二者之间关系的调节作用.结果表明:(1)风险投资机构知识多样化与其退出绩效之间呈U型关系;(2)投资阶段调节风险投资机构知识多样化与其退出绩效之间的U型关系,即与晚期阶段投资相比,在早期阶段投资的条件下,这种U型关系更显著.     

Bonding Ties,Bridging Ties,and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Dynamic Capabilities in Networks

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Building on the dynamic capabilities view and the configuration of network ties, this study investigates how dynamic capabilities moderate the relationships between bonding and bridging ties and firm performance, thus an area with potential to explain the divergent empirical results contained in the existing literature on the relationship between intra/extraorganizational ties and performance.

Methodology: This study employed a mail survey to senior executives. A total of 169 firms operating in an industrial district were collected. Regression analysis was employed to test the proposed model.

Findings: This study found that the combination of dynamic capabilities and bonding/bridging ties helps improve firm performance. Furthermore, this study found a positive relationship between bonding ties and firm performance, but no equivalent relationship for bridging ties.

Research Implications: Research results indicate that firm performance is significantly enhanced by bonding ties, which provide opportunities for sharing information and exchanging resources. Moreover, the empirical results reaffirm the proposition that dynamic capabilities are important transformational mechanisms for managing resources.

Practical Implications: The findings reveal that managers can improve firm performance by simultaneously building social ties and developing and implementing dynamic capabilities.

Originality/Value: This study demonstrates that the components of dynamic capabilities (i.e., sensemaking and reconfiguration) are transformational mechanisms and can moderate the positive relationship between bonding and bridging ties and firm performance, empirically supporting recent perspectives from the literature on dynamic capabilities and social networks.     

Web Adoption and Firm Performance in the Fashion Industry: The Moderating Role of Social and Economic Rational Managerial Perceptions

This article draws on an integrated perspective of institutional theory and the resource-based view of the firm by studying the causal relationships among Web technology adoption, social and economic rational managerial perceptions, and firm results. It does so in the context of the fashion industry. The article suggests that both resource-based view and institutional factors may better explain firm performance. Isomorphic rationality as institutional forces of firm homogeneity are proposed as determinants of rent potential that complement and extend resource-based explanations of firm success variation and sustainable competitive advantage in the fashion industry.     

Learning Orientation, Market Orientation, and Innovation: Integrating and Extending Models of Organizational Performance

Recent studies have demonstrated effects of learning orientation or market orientation on innovation-driven organizational performance. While these studies have enhanced our understanding of innovation processes in the firm, they have been unable to determine the relative contribution of learning orientation and market orientation to innovation. The integration of these two fundamental strategic orientations in this research enables such an assessment. The model in this research also measures the degree to which market orientation and learning orientation influence organizational performance, independent of their effect on product innovation. The most notable finding is the potential preeminence of learning orientation over market orientation. The implications are of critical importance to marketers because they provide insights into the type of organizational culture that is associated with high levels of performance.     

Corporate Ethical Identity as a Determinant of Firm Performance: A Test of the Mediating Role of Stakeholder Satisfaction

In this article, we empirically assess the impact of corporate ethical identity (CEI) on a firm’s financial performance. Drawing on formulations of normative and instrumental stakeholder theory, we argue that firms with a strong ethical identity achieve a greater degree of stakeholder satisfaction (SS), which, in turn, positively influences a firm’s financial performance. We analyze two dimensions of the CEI of firms: corporate revealed ethics and corporate applied ethics. Our results indicate that revealed ethics has informational worth and enhances shareholder value, whereas applied ethics has a positive impact through the improvement of SS. However, revealed ethics by itself (i.e. decoupled from ethical initiatives) is not sufficient to boost economic performance. Pascual Berrone is a PhD candidate of the Business Administration and Quantitative Methods Ph.D. program at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. His current research interests focus on business ethics, stakeholder theory, and various aspects of the interface between corporate governance mechanisms and corporate social responsibility. His interests also include ethical, environmental and social issues and their impact on firms' overall performance. Dr. Jordi Surroca is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Department of Business Administration at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He holds a PhD in Business Administration and a Licentiate Degree in Business and Economics from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research interests center on stakeholder management, firm strategy, innovation, and corporate governance. Dr. Josep A. Tribó is Associate Professor of Finance in the Department of Business Administration at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He has a PhD in Economic Analysis from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Licenciate Degree in Theoretical Physics by Universitat de Barcelona. His research interests are Corporate Finance and the financing of R&D. His work has been published in journals such as Applied Economics, International Journal of Production Economics.     

Employee Reactions to Internet Monitoring: The Moderating Role of Ethical Orientation

Research has demonstrated that employee reactions to monitoring systems depend on both the characteristics of the monitoring system and how it is implemented. However, little is known about the role individual differences may play in this process. This study proposes that individuals have generalized attitudes toward organizational control and monitoring activities. We examined this argument by assessing the relationship between employees’ baseline attitudes toward a set of monitoring and control techniques that span the employment relationship. We further explore the effects of employees’ generalized attitudes toward monitoring and their individual ethical orientations on their attitudinal reactions to an Internet monitoring system implemented in their workplace. Results of a longitudinal study indicate that as expected, prior beliefs and ethical orientation interact to affect employees’ reactions to monitoring systems. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Innovation and Trade Policy Coordination: The Role of Firm Heterogeneity

Recent studies have concluded that R&D grants can induce firms to export and that exporting and innovating can be complementary activities at the firm level. Yet the trade literature has paid little attention to the scope of innovation policy as a stimulus to both trade and innovation. To investigate this question, we rely on a general workhorse model of trade and firm heterogeneity with firm investments in R&D activities. The interplay of innovation and trade policies uncover novel results. In particular, we show that the effects of either policy depend on the degree of protectionism in a country. Therefore, countries can respond differently to the same policy, and similarly to different policies. In such a context, different governments may face different trade‐offs in achieving a given target.     

ICT,Innovation and Firm Performance: The Transition Economies Context

The aim of this article is to investigate the impact of information communication technologies (ICT) and innovation activities on firm performance using the Business Environment Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) firm-level data in the three rounds: 2002, 2005, and 2008. The novelty of this research is based on the idea of studying the usage of ICT and innovation activities on firm performance by using dynamic approach so that we can estimate the adjustments that arise from the impact of ICT and innovation activities. The rapid technological development and the growing use of information technology (IT) in business organizations have become the center of attention in past few years. A bulk of literature has been published on the use of IT in different industries, different types of business organizations, and in different areas of business management. On the other hand, the probability of the firm to undertake innovation activities has shown to enhance firm performance. This study implements various estimations on BEEPS observations to test whether the change in the usage of ICT and other innovation determinants have increase the probability of firms to undertake innovation activities. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Negative Affect and Counterproductive Workplace Behavior: The Moderating Role of Moral Disengagement and Gender

There has been growing scholarly interest in understanding individual-level antecedents of counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB). While researchers have found a positive relationship between individuals’ negative affect and engagement in CWB, to date, our understanding of the factors which may affect this relationship is limited. In this study, we investigate the moderating roles of moral disengagement and gender in this relationship. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that individuals with a greater tendency to experience negative emotions were more likely to engage in CWB when they had a higher propensity to morally disengage. Moreover, we found that this interacting relationship varied across men and women. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and offer avenues for future research.     

Influence of CEO Demography on Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Moderating Role of Competitive Intensity

Although entrepreneurial orientation has been identified as a key facilitator of a firm’s innovative behaviors, its antecedents, especially the determinant role of the business leader, have yet to be explored. Drawing on strategic leadership theory, which posits the role of CEO in determining a firm’s strategic direction, we examined the influence of CEO demography, specifically age, tenure, and education, on a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation. Based on a sample of 231 Chinese firms, we found firms with a CEO who was younger, higher educated, and with a shorter tenure on the job had a greater extent of entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, the firm’s competitive environment moderated these relationships.     

Market Orientation,Competitive Strategy and Firm Performance

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the mediating effects of a firm's competitive strategy in the market orientation-performance relationship. Based on a sample of 371 manufacturing firms in China, evidence was found that the three dimensions of market orientation exert different effects on competitive strategy and performance. Among them, customer orientation has the strongest association with competitive strategy and market performance. This lends credence to a componentwise approach on the study of the relationship between market orientation and performance. The results of structural equation analyses indicate that the mediating effect of competitive strategy is mainly revealed in innovation strategy, the most vital factor in creating superior value for the company in the emerging market. Limitations of this study and implications for future studies are discussed.     

Prospecting for Strategic Advantage: The Proactive Entrepreneurial Personality and Small Firm Innovation

Our study proposed and tested an entrepreneurial process model that examined the interrelationships among a small firm owner's personality, strategic orientation, and innovation. In the first part of the model, it was posited that a proactive personality would directly influence a prospector strategic orientation. This type of strategic orientation would then be a key factor in determining the type of innovations introduced and implemented within the business. Using a sample of 107 small business owners, results revealed that the prospector strategy orientation mediated the relationship between proactive personality and three types of innovations: innovative targeting processes, innovative organizational systems, and innovative boundary supports. Implications for small business managers as well as future research directions are discussed.     

Driving In-Role and Extra-Role Brand Performance among Retail Frontline Salespeople: Antecedents and the Moderating Role of Customer Orientation

The organizational frontline in retail represents the frontline for an entire supply chain. This channel structure distances the branded supplier from the end consumer and makes the supplier dependent on a retail frontline salesperson that (1) it does not control and (2) also represents competing brands. This study reveals mechanisms that the supplier may use to influence retail frontline salespeople. We demonstrate the importance of consumer marketing programs and supplier representatives in building brand identification between the manufacturer’s brand and the retail frontline employee that translates into increased brand sales, while also revealing the role of rewards programs in stimulating brand-specific extra-role behaviors. Interestingly, retail frontline customer orientation, built by the retailer, diminishes the effect of brand extra-role behaviors toward the focal brand on the focal brand’s sales, providing an informal control mechanism for retailers to protect its objectives. The results of this study have powerful ramifications for both retailers and suppliers in achieving both their mutual, and sometimes differing, objectives related to the retail frontline.     

The Effect of Entrepreneurship Orientation on Firm Performance: A Multiple Mediation Model

Scholars have recognized the important role that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) plays in driving firm performance. However, this relationship is not yet well understood and studies have sought to examine various contingencies that might mediate or moderate this relationship. This study investigates the impact of organization behavior variables on the EO – firm performance relationship. The structural model was tested using primary data from 321 South Korean industrial firms. The results show that EO is positively related to firm performance and that adaptive organizational culture and people-centered management have a multiple mediating effect on the relationship between EO and firm performance.     

Linking Innovation and Firm Performance: A New Approach

Using the second Community Innovation Survey (CIS-2) for the Netherlands, we analyse the input and output stages of the innovation process and the links between the innovation process and overall economic performance. We investigate the existence of feedback links running from past economic performance to the input and the output stage of the innovation process and compare the results of a single-equation approach with the results obtained from a simultaneous-equation model.