The role of entrepreneurial marketing in new technology ventures first product commercialisation

This paper sheds light on the importance of entrepreneurial marketing (EM) in the context of new technology ventures (NTVs) first product commercialisation. This study explores the role of EM expressed as the degree of complementarity between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) in driving firms’ innovation activities including competence exploration and exploitation in achieving first product performance (FPP). The results of a survey drawn from Indian NTVs identify a significant effect for the complementarity of EO–MO on exploratory and exploitative innovation activities. Furthermore, the findings indicate a positive effect of both exploratory and exploitative activities in enhancing FPP and the contingency role of marketing capabilities (MCs) in enhancing the impact of competence exploration and exploitation in first product commercialisation.     

The Interface between Organizational Learning Capability,Entrepreneurial Orientation,and SME Growth

This paper investigates the interface between organizational learning capability, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and small business performance. It reports on the findings from 350 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Cyprus operating in the services and retailing sectors. The findings indicate a positive relationship between EO and sales and market share growth, but not between EO and employment growth. There is also a positive relationship between organizational learning capability and EO. This paper contributes to the small business management literature by providing a holistic analysis of the interface between organizational learning capability, EO, and growth.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in non-profit service organizations: contingent effect of market orientation

Prior research indicates that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance. This study argues that the inverted U-shaped relationship may depend on the level of market orientation (MO). A moderated hierarchical regression based on a sample of 307 non-profit service organizations reveals that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between each sub-dimension of EO and performance. However, these relationships do not exist for each sub-dimension of MO. When both market intelligence generation and responsiveness are high, the relationship between innovativeness and performance will be in a linear form. Under the condition of high-market intelligence responsiveness, the higher proactiveness will lead to a higher performance level. These findings will better our understanding of the relationship between EO and firm performance.     

Market orientation in the context of SMEs: A conceptual framework

A number of studies in the marketing literature have examined the construct of market orientation (MO). These studies generally show a positive link between MO and organizational performance. This paper examines MO specifically in the context of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). An in-depth review of the extant literature is used to develop a conceptual framework by exploring the major antecedents of MO, the MO–Performance relationship, and the key mediators and environmental moderators of this relationship. This paper also examines several studies on SMEs with respect to various aspects of this framework and offers suggestions for future research in order to understand more thoroughly how MO influences SME performance.     

Entrepreneurial orientation,market orientation,network ties,and performance: Study of entrepreneurial firms in a developing economy

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO), market orientation (MO) and network ties are typically modeled as separate antecedents of performance. However, the boundary conditions for such models are under-explored, as is their applicability to developing economy settings. Accordingly, drawing on institutional and social capital theories, the current paper argues that the performance benefits of EO and MO are complementary, and vary across different levels of social and business network ties. Using primary data gathered from entrepreneurial firms operating in Ghana, the study findings indicate that aligning high levels of EO and MO improves business performance, and particularly so when social and business network ties are well developed, since under these latter conditions, the performance benefits of aligning EO and MO are greatest.     

The differential and synergistic effects of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on hotel ambidexterity

Innovation ambidexterity has surprisingly received limited attention in hospitality research. Using data from 101 Jordanian hotels analyzed with PLS structural equation modeling, this paper reports a double differential effect of two strategic orientations, market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO), on hotel ambidexterity. On the one hand, EO (MO) has a stronger impact on exploratory (exploitative) than on exploitative (exploratory) innovation. On the other hand, EO has a stronger impact than MO on both innovation forms. Furthermore, the synergy between EO and MO has a positive impact on exploitative and exploratory innovation, both of which in turn enhance hotel performance.     

Organizational social capital as a moderator for the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on competitive intelligence

Change force in entrepreneurial strategic posture navigates an organization toward market forces, especially competitive force, through which opportunities for its sustainable growth can be identified. One purpose of this study is thus to investigate the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in cultivating competitive intelligence (CI). The study also seeks to establish the moderating role of organizational social capital (OSC) for the effect of EO on CI. Cross-sectional data from respondents from chemical companies in Vietnam business context were analyzed through hierarchical multiple regression. The study provided evidence on the predictive role of EO for CI. The two components of OSC – trust and goal congruence – were also found to play a moderating role for the EO–CI relationship.     

The influence of firm age and intangible resources on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm growth among Japanese SMEs

With the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance having broad scholarly acceptance, researchers are now delving with increased focus into the contextual factors that change the nature of the relationship between EO and various manifestations of organizational performance. In this vein, this study adopts the resource based view and investigates the moderating influence of firm age and intangible resources on the EO-firm growth relationship among small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. Further, we propose a three-way interactive model between EO, firm age, and intangible resources to better identify entrepreneurial configurations that promote superior SME growth.     

As Different as Chalk and Cheese? The Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation and SMEs’ Growth: Evidence from Russia and Finland

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm growth and the moderating role of business environment for Russian and Finnish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For hypothesis testing, structural equation modeling is applied to the data set of 104 Russian and 117 Finnish privately owned SMEs. Results show that while in the Finnish market context EO dimensions are directly associated with firm growth, in the emerging Russian market the relationship is moderated by the dynamic and hostile environment. The results also provide evidence of the nature of EO for SMEs operating in Russia.     

Examining the Paths from Export Strategic Orientations to Export Performance: The Mediating Role of Export Resource Transformation Capability

Export strategic orientation research suggests that export entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) directly affect export performance. Based on the dynamic capability theory, this study hypothesizes that export resource transformation capability is an intervening factor that helps explain how EO and MO, individually and jointly, impact export performance. Using archival and survey data from small and medium‐sized exporters in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, the study finds that export resource transformation capability partially mediates the individual effects of EO and MO on export performance in both samples. Results further show that export resource transformation capability does not mediate the joint effect of EO and MO on export performance. The findings help provide a more complete understanding of how export strategic orientations might be related to export performance. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of market orientation on firm’s customer-based performance: the moderating role of employee orientation

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we examine the influence of employee orientation (EO) on converting constituent dimensions of market orientation (MO) into customer-based performance (CBP) and consider the robustness of these relationships in the context of firm age and size. Based on a sample of 410 mid-to-senior-level managers working in UK service industries, we find that all three dimensions of MO positively influence CBP. While highlighting the utility of employing a multidimensional approach to evaluate the customer-based outcome of MO implementation we highlight the nuanced role of EO in strengthening the MO–performance relationship and emphasise the crucial role employees play in implementing different strategic orientations in a perceivable way to customers.     

Size, strategic, and market orientation affects on innovation

Based on a random sample of 500 South Yorkshire non-hi-tech manufacturing small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the quantitative findings support the hypothesis that size, strategic, and market orientation associate with innovation. The results show that prospectors are medium-sized companies and small companies, defenders. Prospectors are more innovative and market-oriented than defenders. The findings reveal that to succeed in an intense competitive environment, non-hi-tech manufacturing SMEs have to be proactive toward market opportunities, receptive to innovation and take the lead in new product innovation. However, their weaknesses include a lack of flexibility, a partial open culture and an organizational structure that impedes sustained innovation. This study addresses a gap in the literature, by linking innovation to the strategic orientation of the firm instead of examining firms' specific characteristics or the effects of external environment and structural factors. The research focuses on non-hi-tech manufacturing SMEs.     

The overestimated role of strategic orientations for international performance in smaller firms

This article examines how market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) relate to international performance in small firms. Empirically, the article draws on survey data from 188 Swedish SMEs. Results show that strategic orientations have a very limited influence on international performance in these firms. Proactiveness and, to some extent, a market orientation proved positively associated with international performance, while innovativeness and risk taking show no such relationship. Our findings highlight the problems associated with using “traditional” MO and EO constructs in an SME setting and point to the need of developing more appropriate constructs tailored to this context. We also note that the MO construct was developed from a “causal view” of marketing, while successful small international firms rely more on effectuation logic. The article also contributes to the debate between the two dominant perspectives that address firms’ early internationalization processes: the process theory of internationalization and the international new venture perspective, where our results are in favor of the latter.

Examining the Link between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Learning Processes in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises

The present study unravels how small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) learn and determines the role that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) plays in how they learn. Adopting a multilevel perspective on learning and the unique role of the management team in SMEs, the study empirically examines the “feed‐forward” learning process initiated by the intuition and interpretation of individual managers, advanced by integration on the management team level, and brought to the organizational level by institutionalization. It also identifies firm‐level EO as an antecedent to this process on all three organizational levels, highlighting the relevance of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk‐taking with respect to learning in SMEs.     

Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprise's Entrepreneurial versus Market Orientation and the Creation of Tacit Knowledge

The ability to create tacit knowledge is important to the competitive advantage of firms in general but is critical to the survival and growth of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Consequently, SME strategic orientations that facilitate tacit knowledge creation, especially in hostile environments, are important factors that can enhance SME competitiveness. This paper shows that while an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and environmental hostility are positively related to an SME's cultivation of tacit knowledge, market orientation (MO) is negatively related to SME's tacit knowledge. Additionally, we find that in benign environments, the relationship between an SME's MO and tacit knowledge becomes more strongly negative than in hostile environments.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and innovation in family SMEs: Unveiling the (actual) impact of the Board of Directors

Drawing on stewardship and resource dependence theories, we examine how the board of directors (BoD) influences the link between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and ambidextrous innovation in small and medium sized family firms (family SMEs). Our analysis of 230 Spanish family SMEs shows that family involvement in the BoD has a negative effect on their ability to turn EO into innovation. Moreover, we show that the BoD's strategic involvement in service and control tasks and the provision of knowledge and skills have positive effects, whereas the intensity of BoD activity has a surprisingly negative effect. These findings underscore that the effects of the BoD on the entrepreneurship-innovation link are more complex than previously thought, pointing to the important role of both BoD composition and BoD functioning for enabling innovation in family SMEs.     

Impact of responsive and proactive market orientation on SME performance: The moderating role of economic crisis perception

This study examines the relationship between market orientation (MO) and the performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) within the context of economic crisis. It distinguishes between two levels of MO: responsive market orientation (RMO) and proactive market orientation (PMO). Data were collected on a sample of 300 SME. Findings indicate that SMEs, confronted with an economic downturn, use a MO approach that is both proactive and responsive, and reveal the moderator effect of the SME manager's perception of an economic crisis on PMO/RMO–performance. Research and practical implications are discussed. © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Complementary Effects of Market Orientation and Entrepreneurial Orientation on Profitability in Small Businesses*

Market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) are correlated, but distinct constructs. MO reflects the degree to which firms' strategic market planning is driven by customer and competitor intelligence. Entrepreneurial orientation reflects the degree to which firms' growth objectives are driven by the identification and exploitation of untapped market opportunities. When modeled separately, research has reported direct effects of both constructs on firm profitability. When modeled simultaneously, however, the direct effect of EO has disappeared. This has led some scholars to postulate that EO is an antecedent of MO. The results of this study contradict this presumption and suggest that EO and MO complement one another, at least in small businesses, to boost profitability. The major difference between this and previous studies is the inclusion of innovation success, which captures an indirect effect of EO on profitability. At least in small firms, the results suggest that EO complements MO by instilling an opportunistic culture that impacts the quality and quantity of firms' innovations.     

Competitor orientation in successful SMEs: an exploration of the impact on innovation

The impact of market orientation on organisational performance has been the subject of many studies illustrating variance with firm size. Although small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are inherently customer-oriented, research has identified that they have significantly lower levels of competitor orientation than large firms and that competitor orientation is significantly related to organisational performance. In addition, studies have illustrated that SME success is linked to innovative problem solving, new product development and resource optimisation. SMEs are inherently innovative in how they adopt creative approaches to overcome constraints associated with their size. Given that SMEs often neglect to focus on competitors, this study explores the relationship between competitor orientation and organisational performance through an innovation lens. This study uses a qualitative research approach to investigate seven successful SMEs as case studies. The findings indicate that SMEs seeking optimal organisational performance should pay close attention to direct and indirect competitors in order to identify opportunities and build sustainable competitive businesses.     

Synergies and tensions between and within domestic and international market activities of firms

The distinction between domestic and international market activities has an idiosyncratic meaning for international business research. This study examines the significant yet unclear role of domestic market activities for the internationalizing firm through the theoretical lens of exploitation and exploration. By means of five qualitative case studies, we show that both the dynamics between domestic–international market activities and the interplay between exploitation–exploration are intrinsically concerned with synergies and tensions. Our findings uncover how firms leverage these synergies and manage these tensions that manifest between and within their domestic and international markets. Synergies and tensions are found to revolve around ambidexterity, networks and organizational market information processes.