We examine COVID-19 as an external enabling mechanism and propose the interplay between entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) beliefs and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) may help explain why some ...small firms are enabled to exploit disequilibrating environmental changes. We predict that ESE's relationship with performance is mediated through its strategic posture, and the perceived impact of COVID moderates this relationship. We test our moderated-mediation model using data collected over multiple waves from a sample of 190 small business owners. While our findings suggest that an entrepreneur's self-efficacy may contribute to firm performance alone, it appears insufficient to mitigate the perceived negative consequences caused by the pandemic. However, ESE may play a pivotal role when channeled through the firm's strategic orientation. Our results suggest embracing an entrepreneurial orientation is appropriate for navigating stiff economic headwinds and unprecedented uncertainty. Still, the benefits of such a posture can be fully realized only when entrepreneurial self-efficacious managers lead the firm.
Effectuation research suggests that effectuation is most appropriate in pure uncertain conditions. However, effectuation research is unclear about how decision-makers respond to varying levels of ...perceived uncertainty. Behavioral decision-making research suggests that as uncertainty increases, decision-makers may attempt to protect the status quo rather than engage in new opportunities. The present study combines these thoughts to derive a curvilinear relationship between uncertainty and effectuation, providing a more realistic picture of decision-making logic applied by entrepreneurs of small businesses. We also argue that the curvilinear relationship is moderated by the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the firm. We find, based on data from four samples of 990 entrepreneurs in three emerging economies,support for the curvilinear relationship and the negative moderating effect of EO. Our findings contribute to effectuation theory by extending its theoretical boundaries to include a spectrum of uncertainty.
The importance of big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning has been at the forefront of research for operations and supply chain management. Literature has reported the ...influence of big data analytics for improved operational performance, but there has been a paucity of research regarding the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on the adoption of big data analytics. To address this gap, we draw on the dynamic capabilities view of firms and on contingency theory to develop and test a model that describes the role of EO on the adoption of big data analytics powered by artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and operational performance (OP). We tested our research hypotheses using a survey of 256 responses gathered using a pre-tested questionnaire from manufacturing firms in India with the help of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The results from our analysis indicate that EO enables an organisation to exploit and further explore the BDA-AI capabilities to achieve superior OP. Further, our results provide empirical evidence based on data analysis that EO is strongly associated with higher order capabilities (such as BDA-AI) and OP under differential effects of environmental dynamism (ED). These findings extend the dynamic capability view and contingency theory to create better understanding of dynamic capabilities of the organisation while also providing theoretically grounded guidance to the managers to align their EO with their technological capabilities within their firms.
Saudi Arabia’s vision for 2030 strives to increase the contribution of SMEs in the national economy from 20% to 35% and reduce the unemployment rate from 11.6% to 7%. To achieve this, the Kingdom ...relies on the vital role of banks to support entrepreneurial projects. This opportunity raised the competition among the different banks operating in Saudi Arabia to attract more customers and gain significant share market through being more pro-active and innovative and ready to risk-taking regarding e-services. This study aims to measure the impact of e-banking entrepreneurship orientation drivers on a bank’s sustainable performance. A questionnaire has been developed to test the different hypotheses, and 607 responses have been collected and analyzed. The results show high awareness regarding the drivers supporting e-banking entrepreneurial orientation, especially the human capital. On the other hand, the results show the significant positive impact of e-banking entrepreneurial orientation on the sustainable performance dimensions, namely, environmental, ethical, and social performance.
Individual entrepreneurial orientation and innovation are essentials for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to drive their performance, including surviving or even growing during economic crises. ...The entrepreneur’s gender might have an impact on those relationships. Hence, this study aims to analyze whether there were some differences in the five dimensions of individual entrepreneurial orientation and differences in the influence of individual entrepreneurial orientation and innovation on performance between male and female entrepreneurs. The study was performed through an online survey of 352 SME owners in Indonesia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. The results demonstrated that all dimensions of individual entrepreneurial orientation are valid for developing this construct, but only the risk-taking dimension distinguishes male and female entrepreneurs the most. Male entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks than female. Furthermore, individual entrepreneurial orientation affects performance mediated by innovation, and this effect is not different between male and female entrepreneurs. These findings enrich the literature on the impact of gender on entrepreneurial orientation and the influence of innovation on SME performance. In Indonesia, individual entrepreneurial orientation affects performance assisted by innovation; however, this influence is not different for SMEs managed by male and female entrepreneurs. AcknowledgmentWe acknowledge and thank all of the respondents and parties who supported this research. This study was funded by the Directorate of Research and Community Engagement, Universitas Indonesia, contract number NKB-1782/UN2.RST/HKP.05.00/2020.
•Entrepreneurial orientation is positively associated with family firm performance.•Concern for socioemotional wealth preservation is positively associated with family firm performance and enhances ...the positive effect of entrepreneurial orientation on family firm performance.
This paper explores whether concern for socioemotional wealth enhances or undermines the positive effect of entrepreneurial orientation on family firm performance. Two analysis techniques were used: second-generation structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). These techniques were applied to data on 106 Spanish family firms. Results of both analyses are similar, lending validity and robustness to the proposed research model. Specifically, the results indicate that 1) entrepreneurial orientation positively influences family firm performance, 2) concern for socioemotional wealth preservation positively influences both entrepreneurial orientation and family firm performance, and 3) concern for socioemotional wealth preservation positively moderates the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on family firm performance.
Research Summary
An original and clarifying conceptualization of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is advanced based upon three fundamental ways in which entrepreneurship can be manifest as an ...organizational attribute: as top management style, organizational configuration, and new entry initiatives. We leverage this conceptualization to examine the presumed state of irreconcilable differences between the Miller (1983)/Covin and Slevin (1989) and Lumpkin and Dess (1996) conceptualizations of EO. This research proposes that these conceptualizations are reconcilable when the problem is reframed to consider how EO is manifest as an organizational attribute at and across multiple levels of analysis. Like the blind men and the elephant, these works have drawn attention to different aspects of a broader phenomenon. How EO as a multifaceted organizational attribute shapes future scholarly dialogue is discussed.
Managerial Summary
The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been proposed as a way of envisioning what it means for organizations to “be entrepreneurial.” There is more than one answer to this question. This paper describes three principal ways entrepreneurship‐as‐an‐organizational attribute has been discussed, including illustrative examples from real‐world businesses. One perspective recognizes the entrepreneurial aspect of organizations by considering top management style; a second perspective recognizes that organizations manifest entrepreneurship through a configuration of key organizational elements; and a third perspective looks to evidence of the organization's entry into new offerings and domains of operation as indicative of entrepreneurship. All three manifestations of “being entrepreneurial” are part of the current conversation on EO. This paper recognizes the conceptual legitimacy and practical interdependence of these distinct perspectives.
Research on international entrepreneurship has studied entrepreneurial orientation's influence on the international performance of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), but scholars need to learn more ...about the mechanisms that allow a firm to translate its entrepreneurial orientation into new opportunities to enter foreign markets. In this study, we employ effectuation theory to investigate this association and to enhance the understanding of international opportunity development by resource-poor SMEs. Our analysis of 164 SMEs in New Zealand supported the mediating role of effectual and causal decision-making logics in the association between entrepreneurial orientation and international opportunity. Our study contributes to the literature on international entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation and helps SMEs to successfully translate their entrepreneurial orientation to foreign market entries.
This research examines the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial orientation (EO) affects firm performance in an emerging market context. We argue that EO drives firms to develop the dynamic ...capabilities of absorptive capacity (ACAP) and boundary-spanning (BS), and that these capabilities enhance firm performance. Moreover, the effectiveness of these knowledge- and network-based dynamic capabilities in mediating the EO-performance relationship is contingent on the institutional conditions firms are exposed to. We test our hypotheses using multi-sourced data on Chinese high-tech firms in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Our results show that ACAP and BS mediate the positive effect of EO on firm performance, and that as the development of market-supporting institutions improves, the mediating effect of ACAP becomes stronger while that of BS weakens.
•We study the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) - firm performance relation in China.•Absorptive capacity mediates EO and firm performance.•We exploit institutional voids through boundary-spanning (BS) leading to performances.•Along the improvement of market-supporting institutions, the mediating effect of ACAP becomes stronger while that of BS weakens.•Structural equation modelling tests multi-sourced data of Chinese high-tech B2B SMEs.
This study examines how university-firm (U-F) interactions affect innovation speed in science-intensive small and medium-sized firms (SISMEs). We distinguish between formal and informal U-F ...interactions and build on dynamic capability theory to argue that (1) U-F R&D alliances enhance innovation speed through firm-level entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and (2) frequent U-F informal contacts weaken the effects of U-F R&D alliances on innovation speed. Analyzing a sample of 268 SISMEs from 10 science parks in China, the results of the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) support our hypotheses. Furthermore, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies various configurations of U-F R&D alliances, U-F informal contacts and EO, along with other organizational, science park and environmental conditions, that lead to higher or lower innovation speed in SISMEs. Our findings offer valuable theoretical and practical insights, advancing our understanding of the complex relationship between U-F interactions and innovation speed in SISMEs.
•Both University-Firm (U-F) R&D alliances and informal contacts enhance innovation speed.•Entrepreneurial orientation is an effective mechanism through which U-F R&D alliances accelerate innovation.•Frequent U-F informal contacts diminish the effects of U-F R&D alliances on innovation speed.