scholarly journals Understanding early-stage firm performance: the explanatory role of individual and firm level factors

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Shen Seet ◽  
Noel Lindsay ◽  
Fredric Kropp
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Explanatory Role ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Attitude ◽  
The Individual

PurposeThis study presents and validates a theoretical model linking individual characteristics of the founding or lead innovative entrepreneur of a start-up venture – the entrepreneur's values, entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial self-efficacy – to the firm's entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) and, ultimately, to firm performance.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a survey on a stratified random sample of founders of early-stage South Australian micro- and small enterprises with a response rate of 24% (N = 204). Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the model.FindingsThe study found that there is a significant relationship between the individual lead entrepreneur and firm strategies developed in early-stage firms in explaining firm performance. It also found that internal values are positively related to entrepreneurial attitude. Entrepreneurial attitude is positively related to entrepreneurial self-efficacy and EO innovativeness. In turn, entrepreneurial self-efficacy is related to innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking. The proactiveness dimension of EO and entrepreneurial attitude is related to MO. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy, innovativeness and MO are related to firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was limited to entrepreneurial ventures in South Australia and may lack generalisability in other states and countries.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the understanding of the heterogeneity within self-employed individuals, in particular among innovative entrepreneurs, by expanding insights regarding antecedents and consequences of the entrepreneurial process. It develops insights into the links of individual-level constructs with firm-level constructs to develop a more meaningful understanding of new venture creation and performance. It enhances our knowledge of the heterogeneity within the group of self-employed by exploring the individual entrepreneurial antecedents of performance in early-stage firms.

Entrepreneurially oriented employees and firm performance: mediating effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Fellnhofer
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the literature on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) with a focus on the interplay between the individual and firm level for embedding EO pervasively within organisations.Design/methodology/approachComprising 356 individual employees from five companies collected from June to September 2015, this investigation uses structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results show significant indirect effects from individuals’ EO on firm’s performance, mediated by both individuals’ performance and firm’s EO.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the construct of EO is strengthened with a multi-level approach, the authors also stress the organisational homogeneity of EO.Practical implicationsConsequently, the EO instrument can be used as a strategic tool to evaluate an individual’s orientation towards entrepreneurship to facilitate firm performance.Originality/valueFinally, the EO instrument can be used as a strategic tool to evaluate an individual’s orientation towards entrepreneurship to facilitate firm performance.

Supply chain network and information sharing effects of SMEs’ credit quality on firm performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 714-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zulqurnain Ali ◽  
Bi Gongbing ◽  
Aqsa Mehreen
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Credit Quality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how a supply chain (SC) network helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to obtain liquidity and working capital for enhancing their performance while developing the relationships among SC members through information sharing. Moreover, this study also investigates whether a strong tie or bridge tie improves the availability of SMEs’ credit and performance. Design/methodology/approach Using a survey approach, data were collected from textile SMEs, located in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression model were run to validate the proposed model and the relationships. Findings Findings highlighted that strong tie and bridge tie of SMEs positively and significantly enhance the credit quality and SMEs’ performance. Furthermore, information sharing significantly moderates the relationship between SC network ties and SMEs’ credit quality. Credit quality significantly explains the indirect (mediation) association between the strong tie and the firm performance. Practical implications This study will help the SMEs’ entrepreneurs and SC executives to strengthen the liquidity position of SME and improve SMEs’ performance by developing the bridge ties. SMEs should share more information in their SC network while performing business transactions so that financers or lenders can easily access their operational capabilities and individual characteristics to offer them quality credit such as supply chain finance (SCF). Originality/value SMEs always face the issue of risk-free financing which adversely affects the firm performance. This study covered the hidden gap in SCM and SMEs’ financing literature by identifying the crucial role of SCF as quality credit in the development of SMEs. Moreover, SMEs can get benefits (e.g. quality credit=SCF) for better embedding in an SC network through information sharing.

Fostering performance through leaders’ behavioral competencies

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Tognazzo ◽  
Paolo Gubitta ◽  
Fabrizio Gerli
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Firm Financial Performance ◽  
Performance Determinants ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This paper aims to identify which top leaders’ behavioral emotional intelligence (EI)-competencies affect firm performance when considering the overall organization orientation toward efficiency, human resources and adaptability to the external environment as an interface (i.e. a filter) between the individual leader and firm outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted on a sample of Italian top leaders. The authors used a cross-level analysis that distinguishes individual characteristics, mid-level performance determinants and organizational results. The authors used a variety of methods of assessment: behavioral event interviews for top leaders’ EI-competencies; subject matter experts’ evaluations for organizational orientation; a non-parametric statistical analysis for distinctive competencies; objective financial data for firm financial performance. To identify which competencies impact on financial performance, factor and regression analysis was used. Findings In firms oriented toward efficiency, human resources and adaptability to the external environment, top leaders’ people management EI-competencies are the most frequent distinctive abilities. These distinctive competencies can be further distinguished into task, relationship and change-oriented behaviors, although only the first two appear to be related to firm performance. Practical implications To foster firm performance, top leaders should leverage certain EI-related competencies, especially those that are task and relationship oriented. Leaders should not only see the organization as an extension of themselves but also be aware that the organization might obstacle their individual impact. Originality/value This original empirical study uses different data sources and methodologies, it assesses a multi-level model and is conducted in Italy. No previous empirical study has considered the organization as a filter – and not an enhancer – between the top leader and firm performance.

Thought self-leadership strategies and sales performance: integrating selling skills and adaptive selling behavior as missing links

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 652-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Singh ◽  
Narendra Kumar ◽  
Sandeep Puri
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Sales Performance ◽  
Sales Force ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adaptive Selling ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Adaptive Selling Behavior ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This study aims to address the need to study salespersons’ thought self-leadership (TSL) and its effectiveness through the interplay of self-efficacy, skills and behavior at the individual level. It also advances the agenda of integrating self-leadership into marketing literature. Design/methodology/approach A model was tested using survey data collected from salespeople within pharmaceutical companies located in India and other Asian countries. A structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results suggest an interesting interplay between a salesperson’s TSL and his/her sales performance. The results also demonstrate the relationship between TSL and self-efficacy and the mediation mechanism through which self-efficacy influences sales performance. Results support the role of TSL as a distal predictor of performance and delineate the complexity of the mediation mechanism through theoretical grounding and empirical evidence. Research limitations/implications The research suggests that a salesperson’s TSL relates positively with the sales performance through three process variables; self-efficacy, selling skills and adaptive selling behavior. The results should encourage managers to leverage salesperson’s TSL strategies to build a self-leading sales force and optimize supervision cost. Moreover, training the sales force for enhanced TSL has immediate payoffs in terms of increased selling effectiveness. The study also discusses theoretical implications. Originality/value By examining TSL in the sales context, the study makes an original contribution to the extant literature. The results of the study enrich the extant information on self-leadership and sales performance linkages by suggesting a mediation mechanism and proposing an integrated framework with selling skills and adaptive selling behavior.

The innovating firm as corporate entrepreneurship

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Urban ◽  
Eric Wood
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Entrepreneurial Alertness ◽  
The Individual

Purpose Innovation is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and at the firm level incorporates the behaviors and interactions of individuals and various organizational factors. Not only are entrepreneurship and innovation complementary, but a combination of the two is vital to organizational success. The purpose of this paper is to respond directly to research calls to provide an integrated model of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) which encompasses both organizational- and individual-level factors. Design/methodology/approach A model was formulated in accordance with the study hypotheses and statistically tested. A sample of 784 responses from the South African financial sector was surveyed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test for model fit. Findings The results support the hypotheses that it is through the interaction of the firm (in establishing corporate building blocks), and the individual (through entrepreneurial alertness and metacognitions) that CE activity is realized. SEM results showed that entrepreneurial alertness had the greatest direct path impact on CE. Practical implications Managers need to understand and leverage corporate building blocks in a manner that influences employee’s respective levels of entrepreneurial alertness and metacognitions in order to foster CE. Originality/value The study is one of the first to model and empirically test causal links between corporate building blocks, entrepreneurial alertness, metacognitions, and CE at the firm level. Moreover, the study takes place in an under-researched African context, allowing for fresh insights to evolve.

scholarly journals Secretion of Anti-Plasmodium Effector Proteins from a Natural Pantoea agglomerans Isolate by Using PelB and HlyA Secretion Signals

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (13) ◽  
pp. 4669-4675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn C. Bisi ◽  
David J. Lampe
Keyword(s):  
Control Strategies ◽  
Pectate Lyase ◽  
Erwinia Carotovora ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Pantoea Agglomerans ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
World Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
The Individual

ABSTRACTThe insect-vectored disease malaria is a major world health problem. New control strategies are needed to supplement the current use of insecticides and medications. A genetic approach can be used to inhibit development of malaria parasites (Plasmodiumspp.) in the mosquito host. We hypothesized thatPantoea agglomerans, a bacterial symbiont ofAnophelesmosquitoes, could be engineered to express and secrete anti-Plasmodiumeffector proteins, a strategy termed paratransgenesis. To this end, plasmids that include thepelBorhlyAsecretion signals from the genes of related species (pectate lyase fromErwinia carotovoraand hemolysin A fromEscherichia coli, respectively) were created and tested for their efficacy in secreting known anti-Plasmodiumeffector proteins (SM1, anti-Pbs21, and PLA2) inP. agglomeransandE. coli.P. agglomeranssuccessfully secreted HlyA fusions of anti-Pbs21 and PLA2, and these strains are under evaluation for anti-Plasmodiumactivity in infected mosquitoes. Varied expression and/or secretion of the effector proteins was observed, suggesting that the individual characteristics of a particular effector may require empirical testing of several secretion signals. Importantly, those strains that secreted efficiently grew as well as wild-type strains under laboratory conditions and, thus, may be expected to be competitive with the native microbiota in the environment of the mosquito midgut.

Guest–Server Exchange Model and Performance: The Connection Between Service Climate and Unit-Level Sales in Multiunit Restaurants

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex M. Susskind ◽  
K. Michele Kacmar ◽  
Carl P. Borchgrevink
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Process Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Exchange Model ◽  
Service Climate ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Guest Satisfaction

Using a sample of 51 full-service restaurants from three competing full-service restaurant companies, we extended the research on service process management by connecting the reactions of service-based employees to guests’ satisfaction with their service experience and firm-level performance. We replicated and confirmed previous tests of the existing guest–server exchange model connecting frontline-level employees’ attitudes toward their work as service providers to guests’ satisfaction in the restaurants. Most notably, we extended the guest–server exchange model by including the relationship between guests’ reports of satisfaction with service and firm performance, bringing together three unique sources of data. The findings from the test of our structural equation model revealed that 26% of the variance in firm performance was accounted for by guest satisfaction, showing that organizational policies and support for employees, are connected to a positive service climate, guest satisfaction, and firm performance, measured as sales per available seat in each restaurant.

Unravelling the nexus between creative self-efficacy, humble leadership, innovative work behaviour and job performance amongst physicians in public hospitals

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joather Al Wali ◽  
Rajendran Muthuveloo ◽  
Ai Ping Teoh
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Innovative Work ◽  
Innovative Work Behaviour ◽  
Creative Self ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Humble Leadership

PurposeThe study aims to examine the relationship between innovative work behaviour (IWB) and JP amongst physicians in Iraq public hospitals. The study also determines the effects of creative self-efficacy (CSE) and humble leadership (HL) on IWB. Besides, the study investigates the mediating role of IWB on the relationship between CSE and JP as well as between HL and JP.Design/methodology/approachA total of 332 respondents participated in the survey, although 173 responses were utilised after data screening. The study employs the structural equation modelling via partial least squares (PLS-SEM) to ascertain the relationship between the variables.FindingsEvidence from the study indicates that IWB has a positive relationship with JP, whilst CSE and HL are significant determinants of IWB amongst physicians in Iraq public hospitals. The study provides evidence that IWB plays a positive mediating role in the relationship between CSE and JP as well as between HL and JP amongst physicians in Iraq public hospitals.Originality/valueThe study implies that the JP of physicians in Iraq public hospitals can be enhanced by IWB, whilst the latter can be improved by CSE and HL. The influences of CSE and HL on JP can be boosted by IWB. Hence, efforts to promote IWB should be vigorously pursued by Iraq public hospitals to foster the physicians' JP.

The effect of effectuation and causation approach on entrepreneurial orientation in the presence of leader dominance and self-efficacy

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma Jun ◽  
Fitri Rini Ariyesti ◽  
Sumran Ali ◽  
Peng Xiaobao
Keyword(s):  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Chinese Firms ◽  
Strategic Manoeuvring ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leader Traits

Purpose Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has witnessed a daunting rise in firm-level practices; to some extent, it has been augmented by the factors such as globalization and technological shift. The wide variety of literature has explained the importance of EO for firm performance. However, it has not yet been explored at a firm-level the approaches of causation and effectuation through the prism of leader traits such as leader dominance and self-efficacy as administrative ability and EO as strategic manoeuvring with strategic decisions obliged as a spin of firms. Design/methodology/approach The authors used the quantitative method to analyse the proposed relationships. For this reason, the authors targeted the Chinese firms to collect the data through the semi-structured survey from December 2020 to March 2021 and contributed to the literature by investigating 480 valid responses of leaders from Chinese firms. Findings The findings support the incorporated view of causation and effectuation on EO, which serve as vital strategic manoeuvring along with leader traits for firm stability and growth. Practical implications This study assists the decision-makers (including the top management team, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer choose the particular approach (effectual or causal) to create the new venture/new product/new process or scale up the existing firm on another level for optimal benefits by considering their existing resources. Originality/value EO is a unidirectional process with three dimensions: innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking that could directly favour the firm by considering the well-known approaches (effectuation and causation) in crisis circumstances (like Covid-19). These approaches help the executives enhance their firm’s performance and maintain its sustainability and stability in crisis conditions by effectively using the available resources within its boundaries.

Conspicuous consumption of luxury experiences: an experimental investigation of status perceptions on social media

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Siepmann ◽  
Lisa Carola Holthoff ◽  
Pascal Kowalczuk
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Conspicuous Consumption ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level

Purpose As luxury goods are losing their importance for demonstrating status, wealth or power to others, individuals are searching for alternative status symbols. Recently, individuals have increasingly used conspicuous consumption and displays of experiences on social media to obtain affirmation. This study aims to analyze the effects of luxury and nonluxury experiences, as well as traditional luxury goods on status- and nonstatus-related dimensions. Design/methodology/approach After presenting the theoretical foundation, the authors conduct a study with 599 participants to compare status perceptions elicited by the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods, luxury experiences and nonluxury experiences. The authors investigate whether experiences that are visibly consumed on Instagram are replacing traditional luxury goods as the most important status symbols. Furthermore, the authors examine the effects of the content shown on nonstatus-related dimensions and analyze whether status perceptions differ between female and male social media communicators. Finally, the authors analyze how personal characteristics (self-esteem, self-actualization and materialism) influence the status perceptions of others on social media. Findings The results show that luxury goods are still the most important means of displaying status. However, especially for women, luxury experiences are also associated with a high level of social status. Thus, the results imply important gender differences in the perceptions of status- and nonstatus-related dimensions. Furthermore, the findings indicate that, in particular, the individual characteristics of self-actualization and materialism affect status perceptions depending on the posted content. Originality/value While the research has already considered some alternative forms of conspicuous consumption, little attention has been given to experiences as status symbols. However, with their growing importance as substitutes for luxury goods and the rise of social media, the desire to conspicuously consume experiences is increasing. The authors address this gap in the literature by focusing on the conspicuous display of luxury and nonluxury experiences on social media.

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