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Motivated by the unique opportunity that a crisis period provides for capturing and reassessing specific entrepreneurial behaviors, this paper takes on the debate about the entrepreneurial attributes of informal ventures "IVent" and their endeavor to formalize. In doing so, Cronbach's alpha rationales and contingency analysis are applied to quantitative data from street vendors of the main markets of Cameroon to investigate informal entrepreneurial behavioral dynamics and their impact on a hypothetical willingness for change during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was uncovered that IVent have activated entrepreneurial attributes of resilience, intention and orientation. Also, specific composites or variables of entrepreneurial orientation and resilience have been found more supportive of IVent's endeavor to formalize than others. The novelties in that regard are: (1) While most of the variables related to the composite of innovativeness reinforce the desire to formalize, the variable of "routine" plays a hindering role. (2) The composite of proactiveness is not significantly related to the willingness to formalize. (3) The composite of risk-taking has proven significant to IVent's transformation aims. And (4) contrary to all other variables of the attribute of resilience and self-efficacy, the variable of behavior control appears to hamper the aim to move out of the shadows. It is argued that facilitating Ivent's dynamics and aspiration to formalize necessitates policymakers to advance policies that support the development of the uncovered determining composites. Furthermore, academia should undertake an extensive investigation into the role that the captured non-significant variables, attributes, and composites may play in fostering IVent's shadowed business lifecycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of globalization, it is not just large corporates that need to update their technologies and processes to maintain competitiveness. Small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also need to innovate if they are to satisfy customer preferences in both domestic and foreign markets. Today, internationalization is considered to be an essential factor in promoting SME innovation. However, it is often difficult for SMEs to innovative with overseas customers because many lack easy access to foreign markets. Compared to other traditional entry modes, cross-border e-commerce, with its low costs and high levels of control, can help to remove some of the barriers to internationalization for SMEs. In turn, it may be that cross-border e-commerce also promotes innovation in these firms. We gathered data on 781 Chinese SMEs to test several hypotheses surrounding this notion. The results of panel regression estimates indicate that cross-border e-commerce does indeed have a direct and positive effect on market innovation. More importantly, it has an indirect and positive impact on technology and process innovation by fully mediating the effects of an entrepreneurial orientation. These results shed light on how cross-border e-commerce impacts SME innovation performance, providing valuable implications for both academics and SME managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon the theoretical foundations of the resource-based view, the current research aims to examine the mediating role of open innovation between entrepreneurial orientation, total quality management, and SMEs performance. Open innovation is not new, but SMEs operating in the developing economies are unaware of it importance and need. A structural equation model was used in the study to evaluate the relationships between the data collected from 270 SMEs with the help of adopted questionnaires. The results confirmed the impact of entrepreneurial along with total quality management on open innovation as well as the performance of SMEs. Second, the indirect impact of entrepreneurial orientation along with total quality management via open innovation has also been established which is proven as significant. Owners and managers of SMEs should consider customer-driven practices in an entrepreneurial manner to achieve elevated levels of performance based on the study's findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explaining how and why entrepreneurial orientation (EO) enhances firm outcomes is critical as it explicates specific causal mechanisms and boundary conditions. However, despite over 40 years of inquiry, a theory gap is evident in much of the research that links EO to firm performance outcomes. In this study, we inductively derive EO as a theory of new value creation based upon an increase in consumer benefits (or reduction in costs) made possible through a commitment to continuous novelty within an organization's product-market offerings. In addition to offering a theory explaining how and why EO creates new value through product-market variance as a new causal mechanism within the EO literature, our research affords practitioners greater insight into what to expect from EO and when it may be most gainfully employed in pursuing firm growth. To this end, our study considers relevant boundary conditions to applying our theory and what our theory implies for future research exploring organizational entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are an important framework for promoting economic prosperity and wealth creation. Despite their importance as instruments of economic growth and development, the performance of SMEs in Nigeria has over time continued to decline with an attendant impact on the country's development. This study was conducted to examine whether strategic orientation and its dimensions of market, learning, and entrepreneurial orientations improve the performance of SMEs. Also, the study examined whether competitive intensity moderates these relationships. The study employed a cross-sectional research design on a sample of 213 SMEs in Nigeria. PLS-SEM was used as the tool for data analysis while the validity of the measurement instruments was tested and found satisfactory. The study found that only the market orientation dimension contributes to the performance of SMEs in Nigeria while learning and entrepreneurial dimensions failed to predict performance. Competitive intensity also failed to moderate the relationship between strategic orientation and the performance of SMEs in Nigeria. The theoretical and practical implications of the study were then presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores effect of business group affiliation on entrepreneurial orientation of the affiliated firms. Building on the argument that organizational and governance structure influence entrepreneurship, we argue that despite some potential advantage that business group affiliation has on a firm through intermediate market filling roles, the entrenchment behavior of business groups discourages entrepreneurial orientation of affiliated firms. Taking a firm-specific contingent perspective we also posit that the level of internationalization of a firm and its performance helps to alleviate- even counter–the negative influence of business group affiliation on the firm's entrepreneurial orientation. We find support for our predictions in a longitudinal data set of 419 Indian firms for the period from 2006 to 2019. The implications and directions for future research are discussed in the context of business group affiliation in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of market information on entrepreneurial orientations of smallholder honey producers. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional study design with sample of 250 honey producers was used. Structural equations modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships. Findings: Results show that product quality, trader preferences and consumer preferences are the main market information needs that influence entrepreneurial orientation of honey producers. Further, the attributes of market information quality, i.e., information credibility, timeliness, accuracy and usability positively influence entrepreneurial orientation. Practical implications: Results of this study calls for prioritization of better access to regular, reliable and usable market information for honey producers in development programs and policies so as to enhance farmer entrepreneurial orientations and product development. Social implications: Smallholder honey producers are more likely to efficiently deliver innovative products if development interventions across the public and non-public sector divide become responsive to their marketing information needs as well the quality of market information provided. Originality/value: The study uses original data from honey producers to demonstrate the role that marketing information needs as well as market information quality play in catalyzing smallholder farmer entrepreneurial orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While entrepreneurial orientation's role in determining performance of businesses has been empirically established, studies from Africa or an industry-ecosystem perspective have been scarce. Furthermore, the significance of an entrepreneur's vision is often acknowledged but little studied in relation to entrepreneurial outcomes. This study explored vision for growth as an individual entrepreneurial disposition and its relationship with innovation and performance outcomes among industry actors. The study collected self-reported quantitative data from a mixed sampling of value-system actors as representatives of the Kenyan leather industry. SPSS v.21 was used for descriptive statistics and SMART-PLS3 for exploratory and inferential analysis. Vision for growth was shown to determine both innovation and performance while innovation did not mediate the vision for growth and performance link as hypothesized. This study contributes to a further understanding of psychological perspectives of entrepreneurship, especially the vision for growth construct, and its significance to firms in an industry ecosystem. Recommendations are made for further research, training, policy, and practice interventions aimed at enhancing entrepreneurial vision and innovation from an industry-ecosystem perspective for realization of economic benefits in the wake of globalized competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering intrapreneurship theory, this study aims to examine the extent to which the entrepreneurial orientation of faculty employed at Kuwaiti higher education institutions differ across their individual-level attributes. Faculty entrepreneurial orientation will be assessed at three levels, i.e., innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactivity. For this purpose, we surveyed a sample of 291 faculty from Kuwaiti colleges and universities. The core constructs were operationalized using scales validated in previous studies. The hypothesized relationships were tested using the structural equation modeling method. Our findings indicate that while female faculty are more proactive than men, males are innovative and risk-takers to some extent. Moreover, Ph.D. holders are more proactive and innovative than Master's degree holders. The relationship between specialization and both innovativeness and risk-taking is significant only for business, but not for engineering. Teaching experience is more positively correlated with faculty proactivity. The number of scientific publications is negatively associated with faculty risk-taking propensity. Additionally, faculty who cumulated significant industry experience are proactive in identifying long-term opportunities and threats for their institutions. Having earned professional certifications is positively related to some aspects of innovativeness and proactivity. Finally, faculty who received their latest degree from a non-accredited institution are more active in realizing ideas at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource acquisition is vital for new venture survival and growth. However, surprisingly little is known about how the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the new venture affects its resource acquisition. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we articulate a theory and treatment of EO that address this oversight and remedy for the routine absence of context among studies of EO. Accounting for the simultaneous effect of environmental dynamism and an opportunistic orientation (OO), a tendency among Chinese new ventures to imitate technology and profit through market information asymmetry, as important contextual variables reflecting the Chinese business context, we provide insights on the contingency effects of contextual variables. Results from a quantitative study of 361 Chinese new ventures show that EO positively influences resource acquisition. However, this relationship is context sensitive. In a low dynamic environment, OO negatively moderates this relationship. However, in a highly dynamic environment, OO exhibits no effect on the relationship between EO and new venture resource acquisition. Our results contribute to a resource-based theory of EO and reveal its context sensitivity. Our study is a step in moving the scholarship of EO forward and away from the performance debate towards greater predictive accuracy of EO and its systems of effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship orientation is a fundamental topic both in entrepreneurship and in management that has a critical role in the development of the firm. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm growth, specifically, how entrepreneurial leadership and market orientation mediate the relationship between EO and firm growth. The population of this study is agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (ASMEs) across Tehran Province. The survey instrument is questionnaires that were sent to 240 owners and/or top managers of ASMEs as a sample. Validity of the questionnaires has been verified in two ways of face and construct, and its reliability has been verified using Cronbach's alpha. The collected data has been analyzed by using the structural equation modeling. The results reveal that EO significantly influences firm growth in ASMEs. Notably, entrepreneurial leadership (EL) and market orientation (MO) perform a mediating role in the relationships between EO and firm's growth in ASMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been addressed widely in the literature. Both developed and developing countries are highly concerned about the growth and performance of SMEs. The literature exploring performance is abundant, however, has certain controversies. To identify the reasons behind those controversies, this study was conducted with the aim being to identify the mediating role of dynamic capabilities which are developed by entrepreneurial networks and entrepreneurial orientation. The study collected the data from a sample of SMEs based in Jordan which were connected through a closed network and were the part of groups. The data was collected via an electronic questionnaire, and100 SMEs were contacted and invited to participate in the survey on a purposive sampling basis. Structural equation modelling was applied to identify the direct impacts and the mediating impact. The findings identified that amongst the chosen firms, entrepreneurial networking has an insignificant impact; however, entrepreneurial orientation has shown a significant positive impact. Furthermore, the mediating role of dynamic capabilities was significant in both the relationships. The findings suggested that the sector should develop strong networks and should consider strategic alliances to gain competitive edge. Future researchers are guided to implement the same framework along with the dimensions of the variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate entrepreneurship creates opportunities in employment, technological advances, value creation, and cultural transformation for entrepreneurial ecosystems, entrepreneurs, governments, economies, and society around the globe. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of corporate entrepreneurship on the financial performance of subsidiaries in Colombian business groups under the moderating effect of the environmental dynamism, because the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and financial performance in emerging economies must differ from developed economies. Using a cross-sectional structural equation modeling analysis, this study assessed the impact of entrepreneurial orientation and corporate venturing on the firm financial performance of 87 subsidiaries of Colombian business groups at different levels of environmental dynamism. This study also confirms that the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and performance is context-dependent and that entrepreneurial orientation has a strong and positive causal relationship with corporate venturing. Additionally, subsidiaries of Colombian business groups increase their financial performance when also does the entrepreneurial orientation, and decrease financial performance when so does corporate venturing. Furthermore, the results show that environmental dynamism does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship of subsidiaries in Colombian business groups and their performance. This paper would contribute to important areas in Latin America business, where such studies are scarce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By shifting towards Romer's (Am Econ Rev 94:1002–1037, 1986) economy and so the spread of knowledge economy, universities started to adopt a collaborative approach with their entrepreneurial ecosystem. They turn out to be risk taker, autonomous, proactive, competitive, and innovative. In a nutshell, they are entrepreneurial oriented with the aim to generate new innovative ventures, known as research-based spin offs. Doubly, this has induced an improvement of technology transfer and the degree of entrepreneurship in the current knowledge economy. However there still is a paucity of studies on the spill over effect of entrepreneurial orientated universities and research-based spin off on technology transfer need to be more explored. Therefore, the article investigates the link between entrepreneurial orientation and such spill overs by offering an outlook of two universities and two research-based spin offs in the United Kingdom. The scope is to provide a deep view of technological innovativeness in a research context, entrepreneurial oriented. Our research suggests that entrepreneurial attitude has become an imperative to succeed in the context where British institutions currently operate. Entrepreneurship brings the necessary technological innovation to the university and its students, which results in better positioning of the university at national and international levels, with the subsequent impact on their ability to attract not only new students and academics but also funding to conduct their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists' engagement with industry is of undoubted interest to research and practice. Researchers do now recognize the organizational attributes of academic chairs as factors that potentially influence scientists' activities. However, we know little about how scientists perceive academic chairs, and how this perception affects their individual academic engagement. Based on the theoretical concept of organizational climate, we investigate differences in the academic engagement of university scientists and find support for our theory that scientists' academic engagement depends on how they perceive their academic chairs. Drawing on a dataset of 1428 university scientists, we theoretically derive and empirically validate the relationship between scientists' perceptions of their academic chair's entrepreneurial orientation and network capabilities and scientists' individual academic engagement. We find that the perception of entrepreneurial orientation and network capabilities directly affects scientists' academic engagement. Furthermore, the interaction between entrepreneurial orientation and network capability significantly enhances academic engagement. Entrepreneurial orientation and network capabilities thus emerge as important factors in an academic chair's organizational climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SMEs' performance can be measured using various indicators. Guided by the resource-based view, this study aimed at determining the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on SMEs' performance under the mediation of competitive advantage using firm growth and personal wealth measures. Entrepreneurial orientation was adopted as an intangible resource in form of processes. A survey method with cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 300 owners-managers of welding industry SMEs located in Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, and Morogoro urban centers in Tanzania. By the aid of AMOS software, data analysis comprised of developing measurement and structural models using structural equation modeling technique. Sample data were then bootstrapped using 200 samples to determine the indirect effect of entrepreneurial orientation on SMEs' performance through competitive advantage. Findings from this study inform that competitive advantage mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs' performance for both firm growth and personal wealth performance measures. This study has contributed to existing literature by providing evidence on use of personal wealth as measures of SMEs' performance. The findings of the study imply that the resource-based view is suitable in describing not only physical resources but also intangible resources such as entrepreneurial orientation. Future studies may investigate the influence of more constructs such as learning orientation on SMEs' performance under the mediation of competitive advantage using the same firm growth and personal wealth performance measures. Such studies will establish whether the findings of this study are specific to entrepreneurial orientation construct or applicable to other constructs as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating the institution-based view and the resource-based view, this article explores the contingent effects of national institutions and firm resource bases on the relationships between strategic orientations—i.e., entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO)—and firm performance. This is accomplished through a meta-analysis of 160 independent samples reported in 154 studies drawing from 35,367 organizations in 33 countries (22 developed and 11 emerging economies). Considering combined contingent effects of institutions and resource bases, we find that strategic orientations—both EO and MO—in developed economies lead to higher performance in large firms than in small firms. In emerging economies, the effect of EO and MO on performance is, in contrast, more pronounced in small firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite of the importance of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in international performance, we have yet to obtain sufficient insights into how and why a firm's EO strengthens international performance. This article focuses on the underlying mechanism through which EO influences international performance, and develops a model of EO → knowledge creation → international venturing, and new product development decision-making flexibility → international performance linkages. Following a survey of 141 Taiwanese electronics firms, the results provide support for our proposed mediating process behind the EO–international performance link. These findings offer several theoretical and practical implications in the entrepreneurship and international business areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its importance to business performance, the role of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) in multinational corporations (MNCs) is under-researched. This study investigates the drivers of EO and its performance outcome in the context of large MNCs. The authors theorize that an MNC's organizational characteristics drive the formation of its EO and an MNC's EO affects its performance in the global market under certain contingency conditions. Based on a survey of large MNCs, the authors find that an MNC's EO is positively affected by its technological flexibility and subsidiary cooperation, and negatively influenced by centralization of its organizational structure. In addition, EO's positive effect on an MNC's performance is weakened by its international experience. This study advances the literature by developing and empirically supporting a theory of EO in large MNCs. The results also have significant implications for MNCs that consider adopting EO to improve their performance in the global market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can a firm harness its resources for releasing the potential of entrepreneurial orientation (EO)? In this study we investigate the moderating roles of both internal and network resource mechanisms on the relationship between EO and firm performance. Specifically, we argue that organizational structure (centralization and formalization) and coordination (knowledge integration), as well as firms' connections with external stakeholders (business versus institutional networks) are critical for mobilizing resources to support EO activities. Using survey data in two Chinese industries, we find that centralization strengthens the positive relationship between EO and performance, while formalization weakens it. Interestingly, a firm's business network also strengthens this relationship, while its institutional network dampens it. Finally, knowledge integration positively moderates this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has established the relevance of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) to firm performance but skepticism remains because of the ambiguity surrounding how EO might improve firm performance. We examine the key concepts of absorptive capacity and improvisation as two alternative learning modes serving as intermediate steps between EO and firm performance. Locating our study within manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia, we find that absorptive capacity enhances the EO-performance relationship, both as a moderator and a mediator. In contrast to expectations, however, improvisation showed no such effects but conferred its own separate benefits instead. We further discuss the different effects of these learning modes on high performance and low performance groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study compares the motivations of Australian and German book publishers. The results demonstrate remarkable similarities, but also a significant difference regarding the effects of the publishers’ self-concept. In the German case the publishers with a dominant economic orientation are more proactive than the publishers with a dominant cultural orientation. In the Australian case, this correlation does not exist. The same difference holds for the relationship between the economic orientation and extrinsic motivation. We discuss these results and examine empirical evidence and theoretical suggestions to explain the differing findings. The data stem from surveys conducted in the two countries with responses of 196 (Germany) and 54 publishers (Australia). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand an entrepreneur's decision to either the services or manufacturing sectors of the Ghanaian economy. This objective is significant because it provides an extension of current stream of literature, specifically, the Evans and Jovanovic (EJ) Model which focuses largely on an entrepreneur's decision to start a business. The study seeks to understand the industry choice of an entrepreneur by adopting the entrepreneurial orientation concept as its theoretical base. Data for the study is collected from entrepreneurs in Accra, Ghana and analysed by means of structural equation modelling precededwhich is by a confirmatory factor analysis of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) scale. The estimation results indicate that, entrepreneurs with high risk-taking thresholds are more likely to enter into the manufacturing sector while innovative individuals are more likely to enter into the services sector. Proactiveness is not seen to be significant. The results show that an entrepreneur's personal characteristics influence the choice of industry he or she will participate in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has shown that early development of marketing capabilities enable firms to achieve competitive advantage. The entrepreneurial orientation of the firm acts as a catalyst and impacts the market orientation and the marketing capabilities of the firm in a positive way. A high level of entrepreneurial orientation enables the firms to be innovative, take calculated risks and be proactive in their marketing- related activities. The marketing activity of the firm becomes entrepreneurial. In this empirical study, we test the various antecedents and outcomes of marketing capabilities in entrepreneurial new technology- based firms (NTBFs) in a developing country's environment. The study sample consists of 253 small and medium sized NTBFs operating in the METU Technopark, Turkey. The structural equation modelling approach using PLS was employed to test the research hypotheses. Results show that the early development of marketing capabilities of the NTBF significantly impacted performance, prompting implications for policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider whether the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on business performance is moderated by the company affiliation with business groups. Within business groups, we explore the trade-off between inter-firm insurance that enables risk-taking, and inefficient resource allocation. Risk-taking in group affiliated firms leads to higher performance, compared to independent firms, but the impact of proactivity is attenuated. Utilizing Indian data, we show that risk-taking may undermine rather than improve business performance, but this effect is not present in business groups. Proactivity enhances performance, but less so in business groups. Firms can also enhance performance by technological knowledge acquisition, but these effects are not significantly different for various ownership categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 25 years after its appearance, Ghoshal and Bartlett's seminal paper 'The Multinational Corporation as an Interorganizational Network' stands as a widely recognized but insufficiently understood contribution to the international management literature. This paper reviews related literature, celebrates and critically discusses Ghoshal and Bartlett's work and proposes ways to address its main limitations, which are a lack of a defined set of parameters describing networks and the delineation of network boundaries. We then translate their theory into concrete propositions and thereby bring it closer to empirical testing. Taking a subsidiary-network perspective, we expand the authors' work by combining network and entrepreneurship literature and theoretically deducting positive effects of networks on subsidiary entrepreneurial orientation. This yields entirely new insights and a more holistic view of the effects of subsidiary networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the importance of two resources, namely a market orientation and an entrepreneurial orientation, in new product development and satisfaction with firm performance among direct and alternative marketers. Using a partial least squares structural equation model and data from a 2013 survey, this paper models the effect of a market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on satisfaction with current performance and expected future performance for agricultural firms in Ontario, Canada. Our results show that a market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation are important factors in determining rates of product and marketing innovations among farm-based agribusinesses. These findings further demonstrate that a market orientation is a powerful resource as it enables firms to become aware of opportunities to provide superior value for consumers, especially when operating in non-traditional markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the role of a country's culture in influencing the entrepreneurial attitudes of Principal Investigators, in shaping their ability to combine knowledge theory and business practice, in determining their capacity to strengthen the cooperation between the two domains of research and business, and in supporting research spin-off creation in entrepreneurial universities. To make Principal Investigators' orientation match Entrepreneurial Universities' goals of the marketing of innovation and entrepreneurship is not an easy task. A research-oriented approach, rather than an explorative entrepreneurial orientation, is still predominant in Principal Investigators. Among the factors influencing the strategic orientation towards entrepreneurship of Principal Investigators, the paper argues that the country's culture could be key. Evaluating the influence of the entrepreneurial culture on a Principal Investigator's activity is critical in predicting his performance and comparing it with that of Principal Investigators in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research is to explore how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) contributes to explaining the performance of academic research groups through knowledge sharing. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 87 research groups (284 researchers) at a Spanish University. The relationships established were tested using 3SLS simultaneous equation models. We provide evidence in the present paper that the entrepreneurial orientation of research groups has a negative direct influence on performance, measured by the number of ISI articles published, if no knowledge sharing takes place between the group members. These results stress the importance of knowledge sharing in research groups in order to ensure that entrepreneurial group strategies (risky, proactive and innovative) are positive within an academic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, the phenomenon of technology entrepreneurship has attracted the interest of researchers and policy makers due to its significant impact upon economic progress. Several authors define technology entrepreneurship as the interface of two well-established, but related fields-entrepreneurship and technological innovation. In this vein, technological opportunities can be recognized and exploited by individuals through new venture creation yet equally can be pursued by individuals or groups within existing public or private organizations. This special section provides a more fine grained understanding of technology entrepreneurship by considering interactions across these individual and organizational levels. We present three studies, empirically grounded within the specific and distinct policy contexts of Spain, Italy and the UK, that reveal new insights on the determinants of technology entrepreneurship. In this introductory paper, we consider the themes and contributions of these papers and provide an agenda for further research outlining a greater use of multi-level approaches to further our understanding of technology entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of entrepreneurship to a nation development is unneglectable. Malaysian government has carried out various supporting activities to promote entrepreneurial activities in the country. However, the results were less embracing, especially among the young adults. As such, understanding of what influence young adults' intention towards entrepreneurship is important in the effort of entrepreneurship development. This study was carried out to address the university students' level of entrepreneurial intention and the influence of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) on entrepreneurial intention. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 176 undergraduate students from a public university with 'entrepreneurial university' status. The results indicated that university students demonstrated intention towards entrepreneurship and were quite positive towards becoming entrepreneurs. In addition, university students' entrepreneurial intention was found to be positively affected by their quality of proactiveness and innovativeness. However, risk-taking ability was not an influential factor on entrepreneurial intention. Theoretically, this paper confirmed the importance of studying EO at the individual level. Practically, it suggested that higher learning institutions should pay careful attention in designing their entrepreneurship education curriculum. Specifically, the entrepreneurship training should focus on enhancing students IEO ability and increasing their entrepreneurial intention. Recommendations for future researchers have also been put forth at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative work behavior has been one of the essential attribute of high performing firms, and the roles of entrepreneurial orientation and self-leadership have been important for promoting innovative work behavior. This study advances research on innovative work behavior by examining the mediating role of self-leadership in the relationship between perceived entrepreneurial orientation and innovative work behavior. Structural equation modelling is employed to analyze data from a survey of 404 employees in banking sector. The results of reliability measures and confirmatory factor analysis strongly support the scale of the study. The results from an empirical survey study in the deposit banks reveal that participants' perceptions about high levels of entrepreneurial orientation have a positive impact on innovative work behavior. The results also provide support for the full mediating role of self-leadership in the relationship between participants' perceptions of entrepreneurial orientation and innovative work behavior. Additionally, this study provides some implications for practitioners in the banking sector to facilitate innovative work behavior through entrepreneurial orientation and self- leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research has been designed with the purpose of analysing the influence of both the composition of academic spin-offs' management teams and the potential conflict emerged within such teams on the degree of entrepreneurial orientation exhibited by academic spin-offs. To this end, we have used the upper echelon theory as theoretical background and have analysed the impact of the proportion of non-academic managers within management teams, the heterogeneity of such teams with respect to the age and main educational area of their managers, as well as the potential mediating role of the conflict emerged. Drawing on a database of 167 Spanish academic spin-offs, results show, on the one hand, that the presence of non-academic managers within management teams is a key factor in the academic spin-offs' exhibitions of higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation and, on the other hand, that conflict fully mediates the relationship between management teams' age heterogeneity and entrepreneurial orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research examining the relationship between centralization and innovation performance has suggested conflicting views and mixed results. Drawing on the knowledge-based view, this study identifies two mechanisms underlying the relationship between centralization and innovation performance: information flow and behavior change of organizational members. We argue that the relationship between centralization and innovation performance can be positively moderated if the constrained information flow can be compensated, or the undermined motivation of employees can be adjusted, or both information and behavior drawbacks can be mitigated. With a sample of Chinese high-tech firms, we find that a positive relationship between centralization and innovation performance is more likely to occur if the firm owns higher-level human capital, charismatic leadership or entrepreneurial orientation. These findings shed light on the debate concerning when centralization enhances innovation performance and provide managerial implications for firms in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New ventures often encounter a strategic dilemma of whether to differentiate themselves from or to conform to other businesses in the industry. The present study joins this ongoing debate by asking the following question: How will organizational regulatory legitimacy and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) interactively impact new venture performance (NVP) in the context of emerging economies? Drawing on institutional theory, we developed competing hypotheses regarding the interactive impact of organizational regulatory legitimacy and EO on NVP. Employing a dataset of 116 entrepreneurial firms in China, results indicate that although organizational regulatory legitimacy and EO improve NVP independently, their interaction is negatively linked to performance. We derive several implications from these findings in an effort to guide future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation scholars are interested in how slack affects product innovation in high-tech Chinese firms. We highlight that slack-innovation linkages may differ depending on whether slack is absorbed or unabsorbed, and argue that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) moderates the slack-innovation connection. Our empirical study of 308 high-tech Chinese firms suggests that unabsorbed slack is more strongly positively related with product innovation than is absorbed slack in high-tech settings. Meanwhile, firms with high levels of EO enjoy better effects between unabsorbed slack and innovation, but worse effects between absorbed slack and innovation. We also provide theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High performance work practices (HPWPs) are human resource management practices aimed at stimulating employee and organisational performance. The application of HPWPs is not widespread in small organisations. We examine whether the implementation of coherent bundles of HPWPs (aimed at employee ability, employee motivation or at the opportunity to perform) depends on the scarcity of resources, as reflected in the size of the company, and on strategic decision-making in small firms related to the owner's expertise and attitudes. In our research, a total of 211 employees from 45 small organisations were asked to rate the presence of HPWPs in their organisation. These averaged perceptions were linked to information provided by the owner-managers on the size of their firm and their own expertise and attitudes. The findings support that smaller but coherent bundles of HPWPs can be found in small organisations and that the implementation of these bundles depends on available resources, strategic decision-making and the combination of the two. These findings highlight the need to integrate the notions of resource poverty and strategic decision-making to understand the uptake of bundles of HPWPs within small firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have compared and contrasted commercial and social entrepreneurship along a variety of dimensions, suggesting that entrepreneurial antecedents and outcomes differ within a social context. However, little is known about whether entrepreneurial processes differ within social contexts. In this paper, we ask to what extent the antecedents and outcomes that make social entrepreneurship unique influence entrepreneurial processes. Using an inputs-throughputs-outputs framework, we assess the relationship between four antecedents (social mission/motivation, opportunity identification, access to resources/funding, and multiple stakeholders) and three outcomes (social value creation, sustainable solutions, and satisfying multiple stakeholders) to the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy) (Lumpkin and Dess, Acad Manag Rev 21(1):135-172, ). Our analysis suggests that many entrepreneurial processes remain essentially the same or are affected only slightly. However, autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, and risk-taking are influenced to some extent by the presence of multiple stakeholders and access to resources/funding. Entrepreneurial processes may also differ when applied to efforts to satisfy multiple stakeholders and achieve sustainable solutions. We subsequently discuss the implications of our analysis for future social entrepreneurship research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have generally established a positive relationship between aggregated measures of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance. However, there are theoretical reasons suggesting that three dimensions of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) may possess differential relationships with performance in smaller firms. This study utilizes a sample consisting of 1,668 small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in nine countries across 13 different industries to provide a finer-grained analysis of the EO-performance relationship. Specifically, we theorize and test a non-monotonic influence of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on SME performance. Innovativeness and proactiveness displayed predominantly positive U-shaped relationships with SME performance. Risk-taking, however, displayed a predominantly negative U-shaped relationship with SME performance. Further, individualism was found to positively moderate the relationships between innovativeness-performance and proactiveness-performance. Taken together, these results suggest that differential relationships exist between three dimensions of EO and SME performance, with important theoretical implications for future EO research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has found an inverted U-shape relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance in the Chinese context. Building on Miles and Snow's (1978) strategy framework and Scott's (1995) country institutional profile, we propose that prospector and analyzer strategies align better with entrepreneurial orientation to allow firms to fully benefit from their risk-taking, proactiveness, and innovativeness. Data collected from 155 SMEs in China confirmed that prospector and analyzer strategies alleviated the curve significantly. The defender strategy enhanced the curvilinearity, yet this moderating effect was insignificant. Implications for policy-makers, international businesses, and entrepreneurial firms in China are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We adopt a generational perspective to investigate entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in family firms. We test a model that determines how the influence on EO of external factors and internal factors differs in first-, second- and third-and-beyond-generation family firms. We argue that while the founder is vital in the first generation, EO is more subject to interpretations of the competitive environment in the second generation and that in the third generation and beyond, access to non-family resources drives EO to a greater extent. Our findings show that perceptions of the competitive environment and EO correlate differently in family firms, depending on the generation in charge, and it is generally stronger in second-generation family firms. Further, we find that non-family managers on the top management team makes a positive difference for EO only in the third-generation and beyond family firms. The significance of non-family investors' on EO is particularly strong in third-generation-and-beyond firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We apply a key construct from the entrepreneurship field, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), in the context of long-lived family firms. Our qualitative in-depth case studies show that a permanently high level of the five EO dimensions is not a necessary condition for long-term success, as traditional entrepreneurship and EO literature implicitly suggest. Rather, we claim that the level of EO is dynamically adapted over time and that the original EO scales ( autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness) do not sufficiently capture the full extent of entrepreneurial behaviors in long-lived family firms. Based on these considerations we suggest extending the existing EO scales to provide a more fine-grained depiction of firm-level corporate entrepreneurship in long-lived family firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the call for increased theoretical diversity in franchising research, the incorporation of organizational theory into this literature has been minimal. In response, we examine how aspects of organizational identity are represented in franchisee recruitment Web sites. We develop the concept of franchise branding to understand how franchisors position franchise opportunities to attract potential franchisees. We find that firms in the Franchise 500 use more language associated with market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and charismatic rhetoric when compared to a sample of lower-performing franchises. We also examine the impact of franchisor size and age to examine how liabilities of size and newness impact language use. We find that larger firms tend to use more rhetoric but detect no significant differences based on age. We conclude by discussing future possibilities for incorporating additional theoretical perspectives into the franchising literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates how an organization’s entrepreneurial orientation moderates the interplay between market orientation and marketing subunit influence on firm performance. The hypothesized model predicts that the positive interaction between market orientation and marketing subunit influence has a weaker effect on firm performance under conditions of high entrepreneurial orientation. The regression and supplementary analyses provide support for most predictions and, most importantly, for a negative three-way interaction effect: At higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation, the positive moderating effect of marketing subunit influence on the market orientation–business performance relationship is reduced. The authors discuss the managerial and theoretical implications of their findings and provide a number of directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to develop an integrative model of small business growth that is both broad in scope and parsimonious in nature. Such a “big picture” model provides an opportunity (1) to gauge how much we really know about small business growth, when we simultaneously consider the constructs from the dominant perspectives, (2) to assess the contribution of each of these perspectives, (3) to examine the indirect effects that some constructs from one perspective might have on small business growth through constructs from another perspective, and (4) to consider different levels of analysis. Based on an analysis of data from 413 small businesses, we derive a set of propositions that suggest how entrepreneurial orientation, environmental characteristics, firm resources, and managers’ personal attitudes directly and/or indirectly influence the growth of small businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two important areas are underexplored in the relationship between marketing resources and performance. First, the subject has been primarily investigated in the context of Western countries, and inadequate attention has been given to emerging economies. Second, despite the recent growth in globalization, the moderating role of globalization on the link between marketing resources and performance has not been investigated. Addressing these important gaps, this article focuses on an emerging economy (China) and explores the moderating effect of globalization on this link. Specifically, the authors develop several hypotheses highlighting the moderating role of globalization activities (global product sourcing, global market seeking, and global partnership) on the link between marketing resources (market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and innovative capability) and firm performance. The findings of the moderating role of globalization provide several important implications for marketing theory development and managerial practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the liability of newness, a scarcity of resources, and concerns of survival, new firms frequently encounter difficult ethical decisions and might be pressured to make choices that run counter to the tenets of more developed ethical and moral reasoning. This study explores the impact of newness and entrepreneurial orientation on the ethical climate of firms. Data collected from 304 individuals across 37 firms indicated that firm newness was more strongly related to ethical climate than was an entrepreneurial orientation. Results also revealed that firm newness may be usefully conceptualized in both continuous and categorical terms, with each operationalization holding a somewhat different relationship with climate. Finally, results revealed that firm size was related to several types of ethical climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) research has investigated EO from a unidimensional perspective. By taking the more novel approach of the multidimensional view and focusing on the sub-dimensions, a fine-grained view is achieved. Previous research has often mixed process and outcomes in the conceptualizations of the sub-dimensions of EO. This study argues for making a distinction between process and outcome, which can realize a more nuanced understanding of EO. A qualitative approach is used to achieve a richer understanding of EO. The findings highlight that EO and its sub-dimensions of innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness can be meaningfully divided between the attributes of process and outcome. The sub-dimensions and the attributes of process and outcome are also argued to vary independently of each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature considers entrepreneurship as an important catalyst in the process of improving firm performance and growth. This study analyzes the impacts of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) dimensions (i.e., innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking) on the profitability growth of local Tanzania's construction firms. A survey to 132 Tanzanian construction firms was undertaken using a questionnaire. With the help of STATA 13.0 Software, data collected was analyzed by using a multiple regression analysis. The findings show that both innovativeness and risk taking dimensions have a significantly positive effect on the growth of profitability for local Tanzania's construction firms, whereas the proactiveness dimension has a negative significant effect. This study contributes to the field of entrepreneurship in developing countries and enhances the knowledge of the impacts of EO dimensions on the profitability growth of firms (in particular construction firms). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]