Entrepreneurial strategy making and performance in China's new technology ventures – the contingency effect of environments and firm competences

Dynamic capabilities: antecedents and implications for firms' performance

Purpose

This paper aims to explore a new causal link between learning, market and entrepreneurial orientations and firms' performance by introducing dynamic capabilities and competitive advantages as mediator variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The mediating role of dynamic capabilities and competitive advantages is tested using a sample of 1,190 Portuguese firms, and structural equation models.

Findings

It is shown that dynamic capabilities mediate the relationship between the three orientations–learning, market and entrepreneurial–and competitive advantages of differentiation and cost leadership, and both competitive advantages lead to firm's performance. It is also shown that learning orientation is an antecedent of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation.

Practical implications

This research shows that firm's performance depends on the capacity of firms to learn, innovate, be proactive, take risks and collect the best market data. Indeed, by optimizing the internal management and knowledge dissemination, firms will develop a set of capabilities and competitive advantages that lead to an appropriate response to market challenges.

Originality/value

This study tests the relationship between strategic orientations and firm's performance by taking the mediating effects of dynamic capabilities and competitive advantages into account. This research was conducted in Portugal.

Institutional Change and Early-Stage Start-Up Selection: Evidence from Applicants to Venture Accelerators

Existing research at the nexus of institutional theory and entrepreneurship suggests that lowering institutional barriers to forming, growing, and exiting new firms can affect the types of start-ups that entrepreneurs found in a region. These institutional changes could influence entrepreneurs’ perceptions of the value of partnering with venture accelerators and potentially improve these sponsors’ capacity to select high-growth start-ups to fund and develop. This study evaluates these ideas by developing and testing three hypotheses. First, institutional reforms improve entrepreneurs’ perceived value of venture accelerators for resources that affect new venture development. Second, they reduce the average probability of being selected for new applicants, due to a surge in the number and heterogeneity of new applicants within accelerators’ local ecosystems. Third, institutional reforms increase the quality of selected cohorts for accelerator managers due to increases in the average quality and human capital of new applicants. To evaluate these hypotheses, I analyze data from 13,770 applicants to venture accelerators over multiple application cycles between 2016 and 2018 in 170 countries. I use a differences-in-differences design to estimate the effects of institutional changes on start-up selection after regulatory reforms that reduced the time and procedures to start new firms, obtain credit, and resolve bankruptcy for entrepreneurs. The findings have valuable implications for how governments, especially those in emerging and developing economies, can support high-growth entrepreneurship.

Innovativeness in the context of technological and market dynamism

Purpose

Innovativeness is a critical aspect for the survival and success of the company in the long term. The purpose of this paper is to study how the density of the network in which the company is immersed influences the relationship between environment, dynamism and innovativeness. More specifically, the authors analyse whether the network density acts in a heterogeneous way, worsening or improving the effects of technological and market dynamism on innovativeness, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 292 companies in the agri-food industry in Spain. In order to test the proposed model, the authors used partial least squares.

Findings

The results show that technological dynamism has a positive effect on the generation and development of a firm’s innovativeness. However, market dynamism does not influence innovativeness. The authors also observe that the interactive effects between network density and dynamism are significant, but in a divergent way. Whereas the interactive effect between density and technological dynamism is negative, the interaction between density and market dynamism is positive.

Originality/value

The main contribution of the study is to show how the level of network density alters the effect of technological and market dynamism on innovativeness. The authors highlight the relevance of network theory to explain the contextual background to innovativeness. The authors also stress the importance of differentiating between the market and technological components of dynamism to further elucidate their effects.

The impact of Total Quality Management and entrepreneurial orientation on organizational performance

Purpose

One of the primary goals of this study was to examine the joint effect of entrepreneurial orientation and Total Quality Management on the organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the hypothesized model of the study, the survey questionnaire research design was employed. The data were collected from Dubai police departments. The total number of questionnaires distributed was 320 out of which only 111 usable questionnaires were returned. The Structural Equation Modelling partial least squares approach was used.

Findings

The statistical results confirmed the effect of entrepreneurial orientation and TQM on the organizational performance.

Practical implications

. Further details and valuable implications of this study were discussed throughout the study. The results of this study have many practical implications. The results will help managers to take the proper decision when deciding to implement TQM in their organizations. The TQM can help managers with strong EO to achieve the maximum performance in organizations and to remain competitive in the market.

Originality/value

This study is considered one of the very few empirical studies that examine the effect of EO and TQM the organizational performance.

The mediating role of total quality management between the entrepreneurial orientation and the organizational performance

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the joint effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and total quality management (TQM) on the organizational performance. In addition, this study aimed to examine the ability of TQM to transmit the effect of EO on the organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– To examine the hypothesized model of the study, the survey questionnaire research design was employed. The data were collected from Dubai police department. The total number of questionnaires distributed was 320 out of which only 111 usable questionnaires were returned. The structural equation modeling partial least squares approach was used.

Findings

– The statistical results confirmed the effect of EO and TQM on the organizational performance. In addition, TQM was found to partially mediate the effect of EO on organizational performance.

Practical implications

– Further details and valuable implications of this study were discussed throughout the study. The results of this study have many practical implications. The results will help managers to make the proper decisions when deciding to implement TQM in their organizations. TQM can help managers with strong EO to achieve maximum performance in organizations and to remain competitive in the market.

Originality/value

– This study is a rare and unique empirical study that examines the effect of EO on TQM and the mediating effect of TQM on the EO-performance relationship.

Technological Capability, Marketing Capability, and Firm Performance in Turbulent Conditions

The manner in which technological capability and marketing capability can be successfully leveraged is an important research issue. Based on the resource-management model, this study aims to answer two research questions: (1) whether technological capability and marketing capability are complementary or supplementary capabilities; and (2) how technological capability and marketing capability can be used appropriately to respond to environmental turbulence. Based on a face-to-face interview survey of 212 Chinese firms, we find that technological capability and marketing capability have synergistic effects. We also find that technological turbulence enhances the performance effect of technological capability, but impedes that of marketing capability; whereas market turbulence advances the performance effect of marketing capability, but impedes that of technological capability. Thus, the appropriate way to leverage technological capability and marketing capability is to integrate them and to deploy technological capability to respond to technological turbulence and marketing capability to respond to market turbulence.