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Due to the importance of corporate entrepreneurship and leadership innovation when nurturing and building the company, along with keeping up with competition in an ever developing world these concepts have become more of an importance over the past few years. Corporate Entrepreneurship has an important role in building innovation and is needed to avoid disruption. However, the level of conscious attention given to CE within Swedish SMEs is still to some extent unknown. This study aims to investigate the CE initiatives produced and the active awareness put towards it along with the extent entrepreneurial leadership plays a role in the organizational innovation. The two research questions are: How are corporate leaders paying attention to corporate entrepreneurship? & How is entrepreneurial leadership enhancing leadership innovation in Swedish SMEs? This study focuses on Swedish small to medium-sized companies of various sizes and within different industries but also acting within the same ownership structure. For this reason, the relationship and entrepreneurial culture within the whole organization is also of interest. Therefore, a total of four interviews with six individuals from four different companies were conducted. The data was analyzed using a thematic analysis method. The results showed that there is an unconscious use of CE approaches and initiative along with the important role of entrepreneurial leadership to maintain and develop the organization.

The study investigated cooperative entrepreneurship and the social empowerment of rural dwellers in Anambra state, Nigeria. The objectives are to determine the nature of the relationship that exists between entrepreneurial orientation and self-actualization of rural dwellers and to ascertain the nature of the relationship between risk-taking and autonomy of rural dwellers in Anambra state. A descriptive survey research design was employed and data were analyzed with frequency distribution, mean, and standard deviation. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test hypotheses at a 5 per cent level of significance. Findings revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between entrepreneurial orientation as well as risk-taking and autonomy, the results of the findings showed that exploitation of new business opportunities by cooperative entrepreneurs contributes to the realization of their abilities. It was recommended among others that Cooperative Entrepreneurship should be encouraged at all levels (local, regional and national levels) because it remains a viable strategy in achieving self-actualization and reducing unemployment. Keywords: Cooperative Entrepreneurship, Social Empowerment, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Anambra State.

Many research studies indicate differences in the activities of small enterprises run by female and male entrepreneurs. These differences also apply to shaping entrepreneurial orientation. The main aim of the paper is to identify the entrepreneurial orientation in dimensions of autonomy, innovation, risk-taking, different level of proactivity, and competitive aggressiveness in relation to the gender of the entrepreneurs. This paper presents the results of a survey conducted among 220 small enterprises in Poland. The research showed a similar level of entrepreneurial orientation in the observed dimensions and the positive correlation between entrepreneurial orientation and the economic performance of enterprises in both studied groups.

This research aims to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions on a firm’s innovation intensity along with the moderation of environmental turbulence. The dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation include autonomy, pro-activeness, risk attitude, innovation readiness and competitive aggressiveness, hence the study includes five direct hypotheses and five moderated hypotheses. The data was gathered through an online questionnaire. The sample size of the study was 386 small and medium enterprises (SME) operating in Pakistan. The questionnaire was filled out by executive managers or executive directors of organizations as company representatives. Smart PLS was used to analyze the data. The measurement model was run to ensure validity and reliability. Moreover, the outer loadings, model fit and important statistics were assured. The structural model estimated the proposed relationships of the study. The findings of the study suggested a positive impact of all the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation while the moderation effect of environmental turbulence was found to be significant for all the relationships except innovation readiness. The study finally concluded that EO had a significant impact on innovation intensity. Based on the findings, it is recommended that SMEs should enhance entrepreneurial orientation in their respective organizations in order to intensify innovation. The practical objective of this research was to gain knowledge on entrepreneurial orientation and innovation intensity that is crucial for organizations in the contemporary business world. The study has certain implications for the development of organizations’ strategic orientation. SMEs in Pakistan have great potential and in terms of intensifying innovation in enterprises, it is important to focus on entrepreneurial orientation. Thus, SMEs have to be innovative, proactive, and ready to take risks which may ultimately help them improve their performance.

Individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) has been defined as the ability to psychologically understand the reasons why individuals choose to engage in entrepreneurial activities. However, for individuals to start these much-needed business ventures, they must be oriented to do so upon completion of their studies. Entrepreneurial education (EE) might directly influence whether students decide to pursue an entrepreneurial venture based on the knowledge and skills, which they feel they have accumulated through their studies. A Delphi study was performed to determine how the EE, being received by university students, in the context of Scotland and South Africa, may influence them to choose an entrepreneurial career. The data were obtained from 16 academic experts, eight from South African universities and eight from Scottish universities. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis. IEO has been studied using the five original dimensions, namely, innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, autonomy, and competitive aggressiveness. However, the results reveal that only three of the five IEO dimensions are prevalent when aligning to a student’s entrepreneurial behaviour. The results also reveal that EE should ensure that practical teachings receive more attention than theoretical teachings. This study may assist universities to better prepare their curriculums to include teachings that will improve the IEO of students.

Firms search for new ways of improving their innovativeness and internal entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial orientation has been shown to be a powerful facilitator for these tasks. Previous research has shown that entrepreneurial orientation increases by empowerment and proper leadership, yet we know little about the spaces in which it proliferates. We argue that social interaction and autonomy, as prevalent in coworking-spaces, strengthens and complements entrepreneurial orientation. Following the literature on entrepreneurial orientation, as well as coworking-spaces, we pursue a multiple case study analysis. We find that the elements of entrepreneurial orientation as outset by previous studies does not fully describe the entrepreneurial orientation in corporate coworking-spaces. Our findings stress that corporate entrepreneurship research and practice needs to pay more attention to the spatial and interior settings for improving innovativeness and internal entrepreneurship.

Small businesses engaged in the food industry sector in the city of Kendari is a business activity that is broadly classified as small and is built by individuals or middle-to-lower groups. The purpose of business development is to earn profits with different levels of performance. One factor that can affect performance is the dimension of entrepreneurial orientation which consists of innovation, proactivity, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy. The purpose of this study is to examine and provide empirical evidence about the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of small businesses. The sampling technique in this study uses the probability sampling technique. The analysis used is quantitative analysis using multiple linear regression analysis and quantitative data processing using SPSS 24.0. The results of the analysis using multiple linear regressions found that innovation, proactivity, risk-taking, and competitive aggressiveness have a positive and significant effect on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises. While autonomy has a positive and not significant effect on the performance of small businesses.

To achieve organizational performance excellence, modern organizations have not only the option but the necessity to adapt and implement corporate sustainability (CS) practices. CS changes previous business models, taking into account environmental and social aspects, thereby determining the success of the organization. The implementation of CS is, however, reinforced or limited by a number of internal and environmental factors. The main research goal was therefore to identify and evaluate the mechanisms linking perceived organizational support (POS) and entrepreneurial orientation dimensions such as autonomy (AU), risk taking (RT), competitive aggressiveness (CA) and innovativeness (IN) with CS. In order to verify the research hypotheses, a survey was conducted on a group of 200 small and medium-sized enterprises in 2022. A managerial approach was used in the study. The respondents used a 5-point Likert scale for the assessment of their attitudes and opinions. The relationships have been examined using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that the type of enterprise moderates the relation between perceived organizational support and corporate sustainability, and innovativeness mediate this relation.

This study examines the mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and performance of women- owned enterprises and creates a model. The study is conducted in four districts of Gandaki Province, Nepal, with a sample size of 212 women-owned enterprises via stratified sampling. The study employs a quantitative research design. The data was collected via telephone interaction and e-mail. The SPSS and AMOS were applied to evaluate the data. The finding of this study shows that: there is a significant positive effect of proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness on performance. Similarly, proactiveness, innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy have a positive effect on competitive advantage. Likewise, there is a significant positive effect of competitive advantage on performance. In the same way, competitive advantage mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, autonomy) and performance. Evaluating the structural equation model shows that proactiveness, innovativeness, and competitive aggressiveness have a relationship with performance. Correspondingly, proactiveness, innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy have a relationship with a competitive advantage, and competitive advantage also has a relationship with performance. Thus, a model is created.

Purpose: Considering the importance of the internationalization of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) for the national economic growth, this study was conducted in order to determine the possible impact of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) on export intention in MSEs through the moderating effect of access to finance. Methodology: This research consists of a survey of 150 agriculture farm owners from Nepal conducted in January 2020. The researchers used SmartPLS as a research tool to analyse the data. Results: The results of this study indicate that out of five dimensions of IEO, only autonomy has a positive significant effect on export intention, whereas access to finance had no moderating role in the effect of IEO on export intention. Conclusion: Overall, this study provides profound insight about IEO in the context of a less developed country like Nepal and also sheds light on Nepalese farm owners’ IEO and their intention to export.

New venture creations are vital for the economic growth of any country because of its contribution to employment generation, employment generation, GDP, innovations and value additions. Though a large number of new venture creations occur every year in Sri Lanka, research findings highlighted that a smaller percentage was able to survive. Hence, the number of business establishments cannot be considered as a meaningful indicator of economic growth of the country and the high failure rate is a crucial issue. Past studies revealed that business startup motives effect on the business growth and Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) plays a crucial role in directing the business towards success. Studies are lacking about the impact of business startup motives on the success and survival of newly established ventures and the mediating role of the EO on the relationship between start-up motives and new venture success. Therefore, the present study focused to reveal whether significant relationship exists between business startup motives and growth expectations; growth expectations between the necessity driven (NDEs) and opportunity driven entrepreneurs (ODEs); and whether EO plays a mediating role on the relationship between business startup motives and growth expectations. Independent Sample T test and Structural Equation Modeling were applied to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed that significant difference exists between the NDEs and ODEs in terms of proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy and no significant difference exists in growth expectations between the NDEs and ODEs. Entrepreneurial Orientation partially mediates the relationship between business startup motives and growth expectations.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on firms’ performance in the telecommunication sector in Sudan. The EO is reflected in innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy which have been treated as a one-dimensional construct. Firms’ performance has been measured by financial and non-financial indicators in a subjective manner. To accomplish the research objective, data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire distributed to a sample of respondents from the four companies (Zain, Sudani, MTN and Canar) composing the sector of the telecommunication in Sudan. The findings revealed that, EO has a significant effect on firms’ performance in the telecommunication industry in Sudan. The findings of this research provide additional evidence from an under-examined context to support the link between EO and firms’ performance. Additionally, this research offers practical implications to practitioners, investors, entrepreneurs, board members, and fund providers pursuing instruments for evaluating the success of telecommunication companies. The study concluded that, in an environment characterized by uncertainty and rapid change, EO appears to be an essential way of creating and maintaining superior firms’ performance. Key words: Entrepreneurial orientation, firms’ performance, Sudan, telecommunication.

Entrepreneurship has emerged as promising new solutions to solve societal problems. This study seeks is to analyses how entrepreneurial orientation i.e. proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness autonomy, innovation, and risk-taking influence firms’ performance in Abuja. To fulfil this purpose, survey research design and a theoretical framework were developed depicting the different entrepreneurial orientations and firm performance in its context. Sampling technique of simple random was adopted in which only one hundred and ten (110) SMEs in Abuja responded to the survey questionnaire and a total of ninety-seven (97) valid responses were judged to be appropriate. The descriptive statistics and as well as inferential statistical tool was used to analyses the data. It was revealed that proactiveness, risk-taking and autonomy are positive and significantly related to business performance while, competitiveness was positive but insignificant. It is recommended that similar studies should be replicated to validate this result.Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation; Firms Performance; Technology-based SMEsJEL Classifications: L25, L26DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.9126

PurposeIn today’s technology-led volatile business environment all established businesses are trembling and retailing is no exception. Exploration of the entrepreneurial side of retailers will expose the essential attitudes to survive in the new world order. The present study is an endeavor towards this end.Design/methodology/approachIn this descriptive research, a pre-tested entrepreneurial orientation questionnaire constructed by De Nobrega (2012) was adopted, and it was fine-tuned to suit for the retail environment. Initially, an exploratory study was organized, and it was followed by confirmatory factor analysis. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS 23.0, and the conceptual model was validated in AMOS 23.0.FindingsThe study evinces that the retailer’s entrepreneurial orientation is induced by five factors, namely, autonomy, risk-taking, innovation, competitive aggressiveness and pro-activeness. The study exposes the five dimensions and their ascendancy on business performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is operationalized in a small sample, confined to two types of trade, limited to small and medium retailers in Chennai and all the constructs are measured with the help of perceptual self-reporting scales.Practical implicationsThe study highlights that the art of spearheading retail business performance lies in attitude orientation. This work will propel retailers and trade bodies to nurture the entrepreneurial orientation.Social implicationsThe study emphasizes that boosting entrepreneurial mindset of retailers will enable them to achieve business progress and protects the grass root sector of the society.Originality/valueThis work is the very first study to identify and evaluate the impact of five-dimensional entrepreneurial orientation construct on small and medium retailer’s business performance. The present study is a pioneering empirical contribution to the Indian context.

Objective: To explore the practices that characterize the International Entrepreneurial Orientation (IEO) of SMEs who endeavor to reach foreign markets from emerging economies. Research Design & Methods: The multiple case study method analysed data collected through interviews. Findings: The combination of IEO dimensions assumes a distinct synergistic effect in different companies’ internationalization moments. The study suggests that competitive aggressiveness is confused as being part of pro-activity in that country context, as the autonomy dimension was not utilized sufficiently by the companies. Implications & Recommendations: Resources such as networks, licenses, and certifications are competitive advantages that encourage forceful entry despite organisational constraints. Future research can investigate concepts of co-creation to bring new insights into the international development of companies and products. Contribution & Value Added: To distinguish how entrepreneurial organisations with autonomy constraints succeed by showing competitive aggressiveness as critical determinants to entering new foreign markets with innovative products.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand how family firms manage a crisis by applying a processual and longitudinal perspective. The objective is to find out how crisis management is approached by family firms in Sweden, Scotland and Germany, using entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as an analytical lens. Further, this paper investigates the role of the owning family in creating and solving a crisis in family firms. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a processual and longitudinal case study approach. Cases are drawn from Germany, Scotland and Sweden. Data collection is based on a combination of interviews with archival data such as annual reports and press clippings. Findings The results show that all studied firms had high levels of autonomy combined with high risk-taking. It is noteworthy, that these dimensions also help to overcome the crisis. Risk-taking and proactiveness can be useful for addressing the crisis. Under certain circumstances, even innovativeness can help to develop new offers. Autonomy is considered central in family firms and only extraordinary circumstances can be owning families make willing to compromise on it. The EO-dimensions are not all relevant at all times. Rather, family firms will emphasize the dimensions during the consecutive stages differently. Originality/value This study compares case companies from Germany, Scotland and Sweden and how EO contributes to their crisis management by taking a longitudinal and processual perspective. Its originality lies in the in-depth studies of companies from three countries.

Research background: The executives of SMEs that have higher innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy dynamize the strategic posture of SMEs, thus, those firms can reach better financial and economic conditions. However, existence of many differences among countries, such as cultural values and market conditions, can cause variations in EO of these executives. Therefore, this fact can be one of the reasons why the performance and financial power of SMEs differ in various countries. Purpose of the article: This study aspires to find out the differences in entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of younger and older, female and male, and more and less educated executives of SMEs from various countries. Methods: 1141 Czech and 479 Turkish executives were analyzed separately by the Mann-Whitney U test, to find out the differences in EO. The researcher ran the analyzes by SPSS Statistical Software. Findings & Value added: The results indicate that risk-taking and competitive aggressiveness of the executives differ regarding their gender, while innovativeness, proactiveness and autonomy do not. While there are significant differences between proactiveness, autonomy and innovativeness of older and younger executives, no differences exist in risk-taking and competitive aggressiveness. Regarding educational status, more educated executives perform better in innovativeness, proactiveness and autonomy, while less educated executives have higher propensities in risk taking and competitive aggressiveness. Masculinity, fear of failure, perception of obstacles, motivation of SMEs’ executives and location of businesses might be the reasons of these results. By including the survey respondents from different countries and all dimensions of EO into the analyses, this study finds similarities and differences in gender, age and education levels and of SMEs’ executives and their EO. This research also suggests some policies for governments and institutions to close the gap between EO of the executives. These facts not only make this research to unique, but also constitute a valuable addition to the literature.

Objective: To systematically review recent research of the entrerpreneurial orientation utilising structural equation models. In particular, to review trends in number of research papers on these subjects, assess the methods used, number and type of the entrepreneurial orientation's dimensions and measures used. Method: Web of Science database was first searched separately for the terms 'entrepreneurial orientation' and 'structural equation modelling' between 2011 and 2020 to look for trends in number of articles, countries where the research had been conducted and categores it was assigned to. In the second phase the Web of Science was serched for the combinateion of the two terms between 2019 and 2020 in title, abstract, key words, adn key words plus. Exclusion and inclusion criteria were applied and data from selected articles was extracted using an extraction form and statistically analysed. Results: The number of articles on both the entrepreneurial orientation and the structural equation modelling has been growing and the growth has accelerated in the last three years. 20 (39%) articles were selected out of 51 hits resulting from the combined search. Research had taken place in 14 countries of which 5 amounted to 55% of all studies. 89% of studies were clasified in at least one of the three Web of Science categories: business, management, economics. Average sample size was 278 companies and the most frequently used method was PLS-SEM. 85% articles propoesed recommendations for future research. The entrepreneurial orientation had mostly been measured with (Covin and Slevin, 1989) measure (46%) and 3 dimensions had been used in 90% of studies. Conclusions: the theoretical concept of Entrepreneurial Orientation has been gaining popularity and structural equation modelling has been frequently used to analyse various correlations. PLS-SEM is the most frequetnly used method as well as the selection of 3 dimensions measured by the original (Covin and Slevin, 1989) measure.

Purpose: This study seeks to model the nexus between environmental dynamism, environmental hostility, five sub-dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) (innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy) and employment growth. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a positivist research philosophy, this study adopts a quantitative methodological approach, which entails an online survey. Data is obtained through probability sampling of 1031 small, medium and micro enterprise businesses (SMMEs) and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings/results: The findings reveal only four dimensions namely proactive-innovation, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy as statistically visible, which is contrary to five as postulated in theory. In addition, it was found that the relationships between environmental hostility, environmental dynamism and the dimensions of EO were statistically significant. Conversely, the relationships between the dimensions of EO and employment growth were statistically insignificant except within the category of medium-sized businesses (MSBs) in which proactive-innovation and competitive aggressiveness indicated a statistically significant negative association with employment growth. Practical implications: A dynamic and hostile environment is essential to increased entrepreneurial intensity among SMMEs, but the size of the firm can be a determinant in their capacity for employment generation. Originality/value: The association between EO and employment growth has attracted less attention in research despite its theoretical and practical significance. Furthermore, studies on the antecedents of EO such as its relationship with environmental dynamism and hostility are limited. Following a multidimensional approach to EO, this empirical study illustrates its relationship with employment growth incorporating the component of the business environment. Regarding the plausibility of these associations, it distinguishes MSBs from the other categories of businesses within the SMME cohort.

This article examines the increasing significance of entrepreneurialism within UK cultural policy and the related implications for cultural organisations and workers. It examines how the entrepreneurial orientation set out in cultural policy and encouraged by national funding bodies depends on emotional labour. Through analysis of empirical research with UK cultural organisations, this article addresses the emotional labour in becoming entrepreneurial in relation to two themes or sets of relationships: the emotional labour of sponsor relationships and the emotional labour of audience relationships. The analysis of these themes examines the emotional labour being undertaken and related the implications and consequences of the increasing demands on what cultural organisations and workers are expected to do. The implications of these practices were addressed in two ways. Firstly, by connecting with existing analysis of artistic and economic logics and the cultural and creative industries to show how cultural organisations’ artistic autonomy is underpinned by their workers’ emotional labour. Secondly, by connecting with existing analysis on emotional labour and precarity to show that entrepreneurship as a response to the precarity an organisation faces does not equate with benefits to workers within those organisations and there are associated issues of overwork and sustainability. Whilst presented as a solution to addressing the challenges of funding and income diversification, becoming entrepreneurial rests upon the emotional labour of cultural workers.

There has been relatively little research that examines the relationship between the external environment and their consequences on the organizational performance of e-business in developing countries. This research represents an attempt to do so from the Malaysian e-business perspectives. This research examines the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance and on the role of the external environment as a moderator between the relationships. The consideration of putting moderator factors in this research allows more precise descriptions of the relationship between the two variables mentioned and the outcome of the research. This study was grounded by Resource-Based View theory as the underlying basis. This study adopted a quantitative approach where 400 questionnaires were distributed to the target population and 381 were returned. Structural Equation Modelling was performed on the quantitative data using SMART PLS 3.0. The quantitative findings indicated that entrepreneurial orientation variables of innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy have significant effects on financial and non-financial organizational performance. However, the moderating effect of the external environment on the relationship was found not significant. This study concluded that entrepreneurial orientation and the external environment are vital to promoting the organizational performance of e-business in Malaysia. These findings able to serve as a guideline for e-business owners or founders to improve their organizational performance thus compete in the digital sphere.

The main purpose of the research is to explore the career orientations - functional/technical competence, general managerial competence, security/stability, entrepreneurial creativity (Schein, 1978; 1990) and career development expectations of young people. The sample consists of 160 respondents divided in two age groups – up to 25 years old and between 26-35 years old. All of them have full-time or part-time job positions in organization where information technologies are applied. The respondents are on different stages in their career according the typologies of career development (Savickas, 1995; Schein, 1990). First age group till 25 years old represents the generation “Z” which is just starting their first job and this is the beginning of their career path. Individuals in their mid-twenties are within a stage of exploration and narrow their work preferences. Several career expectations could be unrealistic but individuals within this age seek opportunities to explore careers through work experience and try a variety of job activities in a number of organizations. The second age group (26-35 years old) represents “Y” generation. They are in their establishment career stage where their expectations and preferences are stabilized and realistic. These individuals are highly motivated to succeed and strive for challenge, creativity, achievement and development of their own personal potential. The representatives of those two generations are active workforce at the current moment and their career expectations and orientations should be considered in HRM strategies and practices.The main results of the study show that young people expect in their career to have autonomy and independence, to work with new technologies and to be involved in challenging, innovative and long-term projects. The results from descriptive statistics indicate the expectations of young people to work with new technologies, to strive to promotion and hierarchical career development and to take part in trainings and skills development programs and long-term projеcts. The T-test analysis was made to establish the differences between the age groups. There were not found any differences between the two age groups. The respondents have an orientation more to hierarchical career than to horizontal career and prefer to engage in long-term work projects as well as to develop themselves working in innovative and challenging projects and job tasks. They also tend to invest in improvement of their skills including professional competences, new and diverse soft skills.The main conclusion of the research is that young people strive to combine hierarchical promotion or vertical career with horizontal career. There are no differences between two age groups in their career expectations. Results from regression analysis indicate the existing influence of managerial competence and entrepreneurial creativity on the career expectations. Career profile of the young people combines autonomy/independence, managerial competency and entrepreneurial creativity. The autonomy is a leading career anchor and confirms the assumption that the new generations strive to be more independent and to have self-control in their jobs. This creates career expectation which gives opportunity for personal control, flexibility and aims to go beyond organizational restrictions, rules and procedures. The opportunities for hierarchical career growth are desirable but only if they allow engagement in innovative projects that satisfy the entrepreneurial orientation of the young people. They are ready to develop diverse skills, to be engaged in different challenging innovative projects and to participate in variety of career and personal development programs such as talent management and coaching.

The Entrepreneurial orientation (EO), is a company activity that are related to proactive decision-making practices that pay attention to innovative strategies, risk-taking and exploiting market opportunities. This study aims to explain the development of the EO with a qualitative approach with the literature study method. Results obtained, EO was first introduced by miller in 1983, stating the importance of innovation, risk taking, productiveness in the EO concept, later developed by Morris and Paul (1987), and Merz and Sauber (1995). In 1996 Lumpkin and Dess perfected the EO concept of Miller (1983) by adding autonomy and competitive aggressiveness in measuring EO. But in its development to date, EO measurements based on several earlier studies EO measurements combine between the studies of Miller (1983) and Lumpkin and Dess (1996).

Building on the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) literature, we investigate the relationship between family firm performance and autonomy, a key EO dimension. To enhance the understanding of the role of autonomy, we compare the joint impact of environmental dynamism and national cultural context (performance-based vs socially supportive cultures) on the autonomy–performance relationship of family firms in the United States and Taiwan. Using a configurational approach and data from 130 family firms (53 in the US and 77 in Taiwan), we found that in dynamic environments, autonomy is associated with improved performance in the United States, while in Taiwan, firms in dynamic environments fared worse with increasing autonomy. We discuss the implications of these findings and provide recommendations for future research.

Small businesses play a significant role in job creation, economic growth and development, innovation, competitiveness and poverty alleviation that eventually improve business performance. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) (innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness and autonomy) and performance of small business in Vryburg area North West Province South Africa(SA). This quantitative study utilised questionnaire for data collection in a survey. The population were small business owners/managers in North West Province South Africa. Simple random sampling method was utilised to obtain participants for the study. The study utilised descriptive and inferential statistics. The result shows that only three attributes (innovativeness, risk taking and proactiveness) influence business performance while no association was found between autonomy and business performance. Additionally, positive relationship exists between the overall EO and the performance of small business. Empirically, the study contributes to the literature on EO and advance recommendations to improve the EO of small business in South Africa. The study recommends that policy makers, owners and managers of small business strategize on enterprise development and better business performance of small business in Vryburg area North West Province South Africa.

This study was conceived as an attempt to study the relationship of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of Kurunegala District in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted on 275 SMEs in Kurunegala engaged in varied businesses including coconut products, rubber based products, garments and apparels, cement and clay pots, housing and real estate etc. The Entrepreneurial dimensions viz., Innovativeness, Risk Taking Propensity, Pro-Activeness, Competitive Aggressiveness and Autonomy were tested to assess their impact on the business performance. The entrepreneurial orientation and business performance relationship was found to be strong and significant indicating that the SMEs in Kurunegala district adopted better EO postures towards achieving promising returns in their business.

This document aims to study the role played by the five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation on corporate performance. To test our hypotheses, we used a sample of companies headquartered in Argentina. To collect the data, we used a questionnaire that was sent by e-mail to the owner and/or manager of the companies. At the end of the survey, 214 Argentine companies (21.4% of the sample) completed the questionnaire. The sampling was carried out with a stratified random approach to improve the efficiency of the estimates and ensure the representativeness of the extracted sample. To assess the reliability of the results, quantitative statistical tools were used. The analysis results show that not all variables have a significant influence on performance. In particular, three dimensions of the EO (innovation, proactivity, and risk) have a significant and positive influence on the performance of companies. Conversely, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy do not have a significant impact on performance or they are not relevant.

The main objective of the research is to examine, for the first time, the influence of dimensions of culture according to the GLOBE model on the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation. The research sample belongs to the service sector within the transitional society of Serbia, i.e. tourism and medical sector, which are linked through the ever-growing health tourism industry. Different influences of dimensions of culture (uncertainty avoidance, performance orientation, group collectivism, assertiveness and gender equality) on dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (work ethic. innovativeness, empathy, autonomy and risk readiness) are confirmed. The obtained results are important for defining the cultural framework which influences the development of entrepreneurial activities within tourism and health service sectors in Serbia.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the development of an economy. Looking at this perspective, it is imperative to develop the entrepreneurial orientation and to update the entrepreneurial competencies in order to perform in this competitive environment. This research study focusesspecifically on these aspects and attemptsto establish the need of identifying entrepreneurial orientationand entrepreneurial competenciesin entrepreneurs in order to enhance enterprise performance.Researchers have collected the data from SMEs in Pakistan using simple random sampling technique. Partial least square based structural equation modelingis used in order to analyze the data andtotest the hypotheses. Analysis revealed positive relationships between entrepreneurial orientationand entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial performance,entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial performance. Moreover, entrepreneurial competency has proved to be a mediatorbetween entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial performance. Resource based view explains the importance of entrepreneurs as competent resources in playing vital role in escalating the performance level of SMEs. Lastly, this study can be used by different stakeholders to emphasize more on developing the competency level of entrepreneurs and determining the level of orientation towards better performance of enterprises.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) dimensions on firm performance in the tourism sector. The goal is twofold: on the one hand, the paper aims to test whether EO dimensions are still significant determinants of performance after controlling for possible confounding factors; on the other hand, it aims to address the question of which EO dimension exerts the strongest effect on performance. Design/methodology/approach A survey was carried out in the Sardinian accommodation sector in 2012 and 224 questionnaires were collected. The multidimensional EO constructs were adopted. Findings The results show that innovativeness, proactiveness and autonomy were significantly associated with tourism firm performance, whereas risk-taking and competitiveness were not. Research limitations/implications The results are limited to the Sardinian accommodation context. Self-reported data were used to measure firm performance. Further research works could replicate the analyses using objective firm performance not only in similar touristic destinations but also in other countries and incorporating other industries. Practical implications The study suggests educational and managerial implications. Entrepreneurs in the tourism sector should be encouraged to adopt an innovative, autonomous and proactive approach in managing their firms. Originality/value The study advances entrepreneurial knowledge in the tourism sector and in particular in the accommodation industry. The multidimensional EO approach has never been adopted among touristic firms. Furthermore, considering that EO research has been overlooked in the country of Italy, this study’s contribution is also providing evidence from an area that has received minimal attention to date.

This article present data on the disposition of SME operators towards enhancing SMEs Performance through entrepreneurial orientations. Copies of structured questionnaire were administered to 102 SME owners/managers. Using descriptive and standard multiple regression statistical analysis, the data described how proactiveness, risk-taking and autonomy orientations significantly influenced SMEs’ profitability, sales growth, customer satisfaction and new product success. Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, SME performance, SMEs, Developing economy, Nigeria

This study talks about the inter-linkage of strategy and entrepreneurship and the emergence of strategic entrepreneurship concept. It explores the overlap between strategy, entrepreneurship and the nature of entrepreneurial strategy making construct (EO). The key purpose of this research is to study the EO construct, which takes into consideration both the strategic and entrepreneurial behavior of the firm and the key dimensions comprising this construct. Lumpkin and Dess’s conceptualized entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct as comprising of five dimensions, innovativeness, risk-taking, pro-activeness, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy, which vary independently. The study proposes a model linking cultural dimensions and strategic entrepreneurship (EO) and its influence on firm growth. The study puts forward an argument that those countries which display certain cultural aspects will have a strong EO, hence contributing to firm growth.

Purpose: This paper examines the linkage between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and talent retention amongst Malaysian engineers from the perspective of entrepreneurial orientation theory. Design/Methodology/Approach: A cross-sectional survey of 104 engineers from private organisations in Malaysia was conducted to test the hypothesised relationships between constructs. The population comprised graduate and professional engineers who were registered under the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). The purposive sampling method was employed for data analysis purposes. Data was analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling technique. Findings: The results of this study indicated a significant relationship between innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, and competitive aggressiveness and the intention to stay (ITS). Autonomy was found not significant in predicting engineers’ ITS the same jobs. Engineers require EO to support their freedom of ideas and thoughts to exploit opportunities, produce creativity, and solve engineering task-related problems and uncertainty situations. Implications/Originality/Value: EO dimensions can be used to predict engineers’ ITS current employments. This study provides crucial information for the organisations and policy makers to develop mechanisms and policies to enhance the engineers’ involvement of effective EO for increasing retention behaviours and career satisfaction. As the EO of engineers’ increase, the ITS will also increase.

This study delves in the controversy about the nature and the sign of the effect of interorganizational relationships on entrepreneurial orientation. The paper analyses the effects of networks of interorganizational relationships at firm level. Specifically, we study the influence of closure of interorganizational relationships in entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating role of dynamic capabilities. The empirical analysis was developed on a sample of 292 Spanish agri-food firms. We detect a positive mediating effect of the closure of interorganizational relationships, mainly cooperative relationships, on entrepreneurial orientation through dynamic capabilities. It highlights the emergence of a suppression effect uncovering the dark side of closed interorganizational relationships in several dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation – proactiveness, autonomy and risk-taking –. This paper contributes to link three theoretical approaches – social capital, entrepreneurship and dynamic capabilities – to probe further into the implications of interorganizational relationships.

In recent decades Brazil has witnessed radical changes in its religious composition, with rapid expansion of Evangelical communities. Within these communities there exist various religious associations in which pastors play a key role. Using the theoretical framework of Entrepreneurial Orientation, and based on interviews with 20 Neopentecostal pastors in Belo Horizonte/Minas Gerais, this article shows that, in their work developing their churches, pastors exhibit characteristically entrepreneurial behavior (innovation, proactivity, competitive aggressiveness, risk-taking, autonomy). This study further demonstrates the importance and explanatory power of the Entrepreneurial Orientation theoretical framework and may open new research perspectives for social managers, social scholars and practitioners in related fields.

Management literature is currently giving growing conceptual and empirical attention to the peculiarity and relevance of entrepreneurial attitudes in family firms, with divergent outcomes. Aiming at concretizing the effects of these attitudes, denoted by the entrepreneurial orientation construct, on family business performance and considering that family dynamics come into play in this relationship, we particularly investigate the impact of control mechanisms and family-related goals. Findings are based on a sample of 180 family firms and show that Proactiveness and Autonomy are particularly relevant to financial performance. Agency-problems avoiding control mechanisms moderate the effect of Innovativeness and Autonomy, while socioemotional wealth (SEW) goals moderate the effect of Risk-Taking, respectively. The usage of these mechanisms and managing SEW goals provide opportunities for a more efficient exploitation of entrepreneurial attitudes.

While the EO-performance nexus has received extensive attention in entrepreneurship literature, other studies suggest that the magnitude of this relationship is dependent upon the external environment and internal organizational processes. The objective of this study was to measure the effects of EO (innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness) on SME performance, as well as to examine the moderating effect of environmental hostility on the EO-performance relationship in South Africa. The study showed thatwhile innovativeness and proactiveness does not have a significant effect on SME performance; risk taking propensity, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy have a significant positive effect on SME performance. It was also seen that while the risk taking-performance relationship is negatively moderated by environmental hostility, the competitive aggressiveness-performance relationship is positively moderated by environmental hostility. This suggest the need for SMEs to always align their business strategies with appropriate EO dimensions to mitigate some of the negative consequences of operating in hostile business environments and improve the performance of their businesses. Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, SME performance, Environmental Hostility, South Africa