Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Considering that context is important and relying on a contingency perspective, the purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance in one of the world's oldest economies: Italy...

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Main Authors: Galbreath, Jeremy, Lucianetti, L., Thomas, Ben, Tisch, D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79840
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author Galbreath, Jeremy
Lucianetti, L.
Thomas, Ben
Tisch, D.
author_facet Galbreath, Jeremy
Lucianetti, L.
Thomas, Ben
Tisch, D.
author_sort Galbreath, Jeremy
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Considering that context is important and relying on a contingency perspective, the purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance in one of the world's oldest economies: Italy. The contingency perspective relies on competitive strategy as a moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach: Using a mix of primary and secondary data sources, relationships are explored in a sample of 229 Italian for-profit firms. Moderated regression analysis is used for the sample and additional tests are conducted by firm size groupings. Findings: The analysis suggests that an EO is positively associated with firm performance in the sample firms. Further, competitive strategy acts as a moderating influence: a low-cost strategy negatively influences the relationship, while a differentiation strategy positively influences the relationship. The firm size groupings do not appear to affect the results. Research limitations/implications: The study examines only for-profit firms in a single country, Italy; therefore, generalizability is limited. The results must be interpreted in light of these limitations. Originality/value: This study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by considering a relatively new international context in the EO–firm performance relationship. Further, a new contingency perspective is advanced by considering competitive strategy. In doing so, this study extends an understanding of the conditions under which an EO might be associated with firm performance.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-798402020-08-10T06:04:14Z Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy Galbreath, Jeremy Lucianetti, L. Thomas, Ben Tisch, D. Social Sciences Business Management Business & Economics Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial orientation Competitive strategy Firm performance Moderation Strategy BUSINESS PERFORMANCE CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP ENVIRONMENTS MANAGEMENT LINKING IMPACT FIT SUGGESTIONS INNOVATION MODELS © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Considering that context is important and relying on a contingency perspective, the purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance in one of the world's oldest economies: Italy. The contingency perspective relies on competitive strategy as a moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach: Using a mix of primary and secondary data sources, relationships are explored in a sample of 229 Italian for-profit firms. Moderated regression analysis is used for the sample and additional tests are conducted by firm size groupings. Findings: The analysis suggests that an EO is positively associated with firm performance in the sample firms. Further, competitive strategy acts as a moderating influence: a low-cost strategy negatively influences the relationship, while a differentiation strategy positively influences the relationship. The firm size groupings do not appear to affect the results. Research limitations/implications: The study examines only for-profit firms in a single country, Italy; therefore, generalizability is limited. The results must be interpreted in light of these limitations. Originality/value: This study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by considering a relatively new international context in the EO–firm performance relationship. Further, a new contingency perspective is advanced by considering competitive strategy. In doing so, this study extends an understanding of the conditions under which an EO might be associated with firm performance. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79840 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2019-0457 English EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD restricted
spellingShingle Social Sciences
Business
Management
Business & Economics
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial orientation
Competitive strategy
Firm performance
Moderation
Strategy
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ENVIRONMENTS
MANAGEMENT
LINKING
IMPACT
FIT
SUGGESTIONS
INNOVATION
MODELS
Galbreath, Jeremy
Lucianetti, L.
Thomas, Ben
Tisch, D.
Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy
title Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy
title_full Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy
title_fullStr Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy
title_full_unstemmed Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy
title_short Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Italian firms: The moderating role of competitive strategy
title_sort entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in italian firms: the moderating role of competitive strategy
topic Social Sciences
Business
Management
Business & Economics
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial orientation
Competitive strategy
Firm performance
Moderation
Strategy
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ENVIRONMENTS
MANAGEMENT
LINKING
IMPACT
FIT
SUGGESTIONS
INNOVATION
MODELS
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79840