This study explores how and when chief executive officer (CEO) learning goal orientation affects firm innovation. A sample of 164 small and medium-sized firms in China, with 164 CEOs and 488 top management team (TMT) members, reveals that CEO learning goal orientation exerts positive influences on firm innovation. TMT learning goal orientation mediates this link. Environmental uncertainty and TMT centralization moderate both the direct effect of CEO learning goal orientation on TMT learning goal orientation and the indirect, mediated effect of CEO learning goal orientation on firm innovation through TMT learning goal orientation. Therefore, the effects are amplified at high environmental uncertainty or low TMT centralization.
Access to inexpensive short-term credit from banks is vital for many small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which face liquidity problems because of an imbalance between cash outflows and receipt of outstanding payments. This article investigates the key determinants of short-term credit access and pricing for UK SMEs, disentangling between regional effects and firm-specific effects (that is, credit risk ratings). We use a large dataset of 30,183 responses to six waves of the SME Finance Monitor survey. While there are underlying differences at the firm level in risk behavior across regions, our key finding is that, faced with the same risk, banks do react fairly to funding applications in terms of access but not price at the regional level. We conclude that regional differences directly and indirectly affect the way banks allocate and price short-term credit. There is evidence of a peripheral region price penalty.
By Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver, Francisca Sempere-Ripoll, Carles Boronat-Moll & Sofia Estelles-Miguel
Originally published online: 17 Dec 2019
ABSTRACT
Small and medium enterprise (SME) open innovation has received attention only for new product development, overlooking the fact that process innovation is a strategy commonly pursued by SMEs which requires organizing search strategies or external knowledge sourcing for that purpose. Focusing on 3,348 process-oriented innovative SMEs, defined as those that usually and primarily only introduce process rather than product innovation, this study empirically identifies key external sources of SME innovation for process technologies, linking open innovation to SME performance, and highlighting a very important distinction to literature focused on product development. The results contribute to the literature on SME open innovation.
Drawing on a stage-based and knowledge-based view, this study investigates the process of team evolution in technology ventures, paying attention to top managers and other team members. In-depth analysis of six cases shows that team evolution is linked to the changing knowledge needs technology ventures face when proceeding through different development stages. In each stage, they add (1) complementary or (2) more of the same knowledge to their existing knowledge base by hiring top managers as well as non-top management employees, and redirect team members whose knowledge is no longer crucial. In particular, the study highlights the crucial role of non-top management employees for technology ventures’ development.
By Yingzhao Xiao,Marta K. Dowejko, Kevin Au & Anna J. C. Hsu
Originally published online: 13 Nov 2019
ABSTRACT
This study tests the thesis of the “jack-of-all-trades” – whether individuals with a variety of skills are more likely to pursue entrepreneurship – at the early stage of venture formation. We also investigate if entrepreneurial passion would heighten the effect of a variety of skills to make would-be entrepreneurs keener to pursue the startup process and form new venture teams. Taking advantage of a 10-month entrepreneurship training project, we tested our propositions with a longitudinal sample of 215 participating waged employees. The findings show that skill variety positively influenced participants to form teams for new venturing in the program, and such effect was stronger among passionate individuals. Implications of the findings for human capital theory and entrepreneurial practice are discussed.
By Giancarlo Lauto, Daniel Pittino & Francesca Visintin
Originally published online: 13 Nov 2019
ABSTRACT
Although a substantial body of literature compares the job satisfaction of employees to that of the self-employed, scholars rarely take into account the heterogeneity of the latter population. We compare the level and the drivers of job satisfaction of founders and successors in family businesses. Building on the notion of procedural utility, which entails the gratification that individuals experience in the process of performing a task, we find that job satisfaction and perceived discretion in decision making is lower for successors. We also find that perceived discretion fully mediates the relationship between mode of entry into entrepreneurship and job satisfaction.
