Using core self-evaluation theory, the current study assesses the effect of internal work locus of control and bricolage on social entrepreneurship orientation. We adopted the cross-sectional survey design using a sampling frame to engage 400 top executives of social enterprises in mainland China. Three hundred and seventy-two of the executives replied, presenting a response rate of 93%. Results of structural equation modeling analysis show significant positive relationships between internal work locus of control, bricolage, and social entrepreneurship orientation. The positive mediating effect of bricolage on the relationship between internal work locus of control and social entrepreneurship orientation was also found to be true. Consequently, to foster social entrepreneurship orientation, top executives of social enterprises need to gather available resources for bricolage tasks. These findings contribute new knowledge to how internal work locus of control affects social entrepreneurship orientation through the bricolage activity of Chinese social enterprises. Through core self-evaluation theory, we demonstrate the effect of internal work locus of control as a preceding factor in the relationship between bricolage and social entrepreneurship orientation.

Prior studies demonstrate the role of resources in shaping a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation from the resource-based view. We expand this line of research by theorising and testing the impact of resource bricolage on entrepreneurial orientation. Based on the data of 295 start-ups, we find that when start-ups face resource constraints, the strategy of resource bricolage has a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial orientation, and the relationship is positively moderated by top management team (TMT) heterogeneity. Meanwhile, the relationship is negatively moderated by TMT behavioral integration. The results are expected to provide theoretical guidance for start-ups to overcome resource constraints and achieve smooth survival and growth.

Entrepreneurial orientation is the key factor for enterprises to obtain competitive advantages in dynamic circumstances. Thus, prior studies established the effect of psychological factors, for instance, entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial orientation using social cognitive theory. However, prior studies presented two main opposite views consisting of a positive and negative relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation as well as providing no alleyway to enrich this relationship. We join the conversation on the positive linkage and argue on the essence of exploring the black box mechanisms to strengthen enterprises’ entrepreneurial orientation. We employed the social cognitive theory and collected 220 valid responses from CEOs and TMTs from 10 enterprises in the high-tech industrial development zones of nine provinces in China to clarify the effect of top management team (TMT) collective efficacy, and CEO–TMT interface on the link between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation. Our findings show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy positively affects entrepreneurial orientation. In addition, we found that a higher level of TMT collective efficacy strengthens the positive relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, we discovered differential moderating effects. First, CEO-TMT interface positively affects entrepreneurial orientation when it interacts with TMT collective efficacy and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Second, CEO-TMT interface has a significant negative indirect effect on entrepreneurial orientation, when it only interacts with TMT collective efficacy. Our study enriches the entrepreneurial orientation literature by positioning TMT collective efficacy and CEO-TMT interface as social cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation nexus. Thus, we open a window of opportunities for CEOs and decision-makers to maintain a sustainable position in the market, grasping more opportunities in uncertain conditions via timely entries into new markets and maintaining pre-existing ones.

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