Firm-level entrepreneurship and international performance: A simultaneous examination of orientation and action

Abstract

Relying on the resource-based view and contingency analysis, this study aims to investigate the relationship between firm-level entrepreneurship (FLE) and international performance among Iranian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The environment is considered as a moderating factor which enables us to discuss the results more precisely. To draw a more holistic picture of entrepreneurship in existing companies, both orientation and action are included in the research model. A survey study of 140 SMEs using a partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis demonstrated a negative effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on international performance, but a positive impact for corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Environmental dynamism (ED) appeared as an insignificant moderator, while environmental hostility (EH) significantly moderated the effect of EO on international performance. The unexpected results of this study, especially in the case of EO, add new insights on the FLE research of smaller companies. When SMEs are performing in a business network, cooperation becomes the priority, and any type of opportunistic behaviour which harms the trust weakens their collective performance.Résumé Reposant sur l'approche fondée sur les ressources et l'analyse des contingences, cette étude vise à investiguer la relation entre l'entrepreneuriat au niveau de l'entreprise et la performance internationale des PME iraniennes. L'environnement est. J Int Entrep (2018) Summary highlightsContribution: This study contributes to the literature by analysing the simultaneous effects of both entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial action on international performance. It is also performed in a developing country, a context that is widely neglected in the current studies of international entrepreneurship.Research questions/purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial action on the international performance of SMEs, when the moderating impact of environment is considered. Therefore, the research has made inquiries about the relationships between EO and CE on international performance of SMEs and whether they lead to the same international performance consequences in different environmental situations.Theoretical or conceptual framework: On the basis of resource-based view, contingency analysis and reviewing the current literature, we have constructed a theoretical framework which supports and explains the research hypotheses.Data/information: Data for this study was collected from 140 Iranian food and beverage SMEs. A face-to-face approach was applied to filling out the survey questionnaires. This method is recommended as a useful strategy to reduce the risk of low response rates in developing countries such as Iran.Firm-level entrepreneurship and international performance: A... 339Results/findings: We found a negative linkage between entrepreneurial orientation and international performance, but a positive relationship for entreprene...

Government institutional support, entrepreneurial orientation, strategic renewal, and firm performance in transitional China

“…To address these gaps, it is argued that strategic renewal mediates the relationship of a firm's EO with both its financial performance and reputation. First, previous studies that examine the link between firm-level entrepreneurship and financial performance have drawn from the resource-based view (Barney, 1991) to conceptualize EO and CE activities as critical, intangible resources (Hosseini et al, 2018;Shirokova et al, 2016). To the extent that these resources are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable, they can serve as sources of a firm's sustainable competitive advantage and superior financial performance (Wiklund and Shepherd, 2011;Zahra and George, 2002).…”

When are innovativeness and responsiveness effective in a foreign market?

“…External factors that moderate relationships between the entire constructs of EO/MO and foreign unit performance have been recognized. These include national context (Martens et al 2016;Montiel-Campos 2018;Wales et al, 2013), general environmental uncertainty or dynamism (Dimitratos et al 2004;Sundqvist et al 2012), environmental hostility (Hosseini et al 2018;Zahra and Garvis 2000), competitive intensity (Boso et al 2012;Cadogan et al 2003), and market heterogeneity (Qu and Zhang 2015). Most studies have found positive moderating effects, but the results are inconclusive, given that Sundqvist et al (2012) identified negative moderation effects.…”

Entrepreneurial Intentions: Gem Based Empirical Analysis on the Northern Europe and Asian Countries

“…EI may be considered as the key initial phase in the entrepreneurial activity and venture creation development process. The existing literature provides a variety of entrepreneurship definitions -according to GEM, entrepreneurs are defined as "the adult people who are active in an entrepreneurial way in developing a start-up they will partially own or are owing in the present and running an effective infant business (Reijonen and Komppula, 2007;Hosseini, Dadfar, &Brege, 2018). In a broader sense, an entrepreneurial experience comprises of creating a new venture (whether workable or not), a small business that provides employment opportunity (Lee & Wong, 2004).…”