Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: the mediating role of generative and acquisitive learning through cust
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Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: the mediating role of generative and acquisitive learning through customer relationships Vishal K. Gupta1 · Suman Niranjan2 · Erik Markin3 Received: 21 May 2017 / Accepted: 15 January 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) attracts much discussion and debate in the academic literature. As knowledge about EO has expanded, increased consideration is being given to the causal processes linking EO with superior firm performance. Building on the growing body of research on learning through interorganizational relationships, we introduce acquisitive learning and generative learning through key customer relationships as distinct conduits for the translation of EO into performance effectiveness. The research model is empirically examined using structural equation modeling on data obtained from small-and-medium sized hightechnology firms in the United States. Findings indicate that EO boosts generative and acquisitive learning through customer relationships, and both generative and acquisitive learning have significant positive impact on firm performance. Notably, although generative learning and acquisitive learning through customer relationships act as mediators of the EO-performance link, the mediating effect through generative learning is significantly stronger than through acquisitive learning. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. Keywords Entrepreneurial orientation · Inter-organizational learning · Customer relationships · Mediation · High technology JEL Classification D83 · L14 · L26 * Vishal K. Gupta [email protected] Suman Niranjan [email protected] Erik Markin [email protected] 1
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35406, USA
2
Savannah State University, Savannah, GA, USA
3
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
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1 Introduction Firms with an entrepreneurial orientation (EO)—defined as a strategic posture capturing entrepreneurial aspects of decision-making practices and managerial tendencies (Covin and Slevin 1989)—are associated with superior performance than their more conservative counterparts (Rauch et al. 2009). As knowledge around the topic of EO has expanded, calls for articulating causal processes through which the performance consequences of entrepreneurial strategy get actualized have been growing (Miller 2011; Wales et al. 2013). Consequently, researchers have started to delve deeper into the mediating mechanisms translating EO into superior performance (e.g., Alegre and Chiva 2013; Jiang et al. 2018). With the goal of advancing this line of inquiry, and building on growing interest around interorganizational alliances in the EO literature (e.g., Bouncken et al. 2015, 2016), we draw on knowledge-based logic (Grant 2015) to examine the intervening role of downstream acquisitive and generative learning in the EO-performance linkage. The present
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