K. Mark Weaver

Assessing the psychometric properties of the entrepreneurial orientation scale: a multi-country analysis

This study utilized data from 1,067 firms In six countries to clarify the psychometric properties of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) measure. The first research question addressed dimensionality and explored whether EO achieved the best model fit when structured as a one-, two-, or three-dimensional measure. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis in LISREL supported modeling entrepreneurial orientation with three sub-dimensions: innovation, proactiveness, and risk-taking. The second research question addressed the extent to which the three sub-dimensions of the entrepreneurial orientation measure co-varied with one another. Correlation analysis revealed that the three sub-dimensions of EO are able to vary independently of one another in many situations. This study also provided strong support for the cross-cultural validity of the Covin and Slevin EO scale.

The Influence of National Culture on the Formation of Technology Alliances by Entrepreneurial Firms

We consider the effect that national culture has on the propensity for small, independent manufacturing enterprises to (1) cooperate with other firms for technological innovation and (2) use equity...

Environmental Determinants and Individual-Level Moderators of Alliance Use

This study, utilizing data drawn from a sample of 433 Norwegian manufacturing firms, examined the direct effects of perceived environmental uncertainty and the moderating effects of key manager ori...

Cultural Influences on Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Impact of National Culture on Risk Taking and Proactiveness in SMEs

This study utilizes data from 1,048 firms in six countries to assess the impact of national culture and certain institutions that are representative of national culture on two key dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation: risk taking and proactiveness. Eight hypotheses are developed specifying the expected relationships between four cultural dimensions and levels of risk taking and proactiveness within SMEs. Additionally, two hypotheses are developed to explore between–country differences in the relationship between risk taking and proactiveness and a range of institutional variables. Uncertainty avoidance and power distance are both found to have a significant negative influence on risk taking; uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and power distance are found to negatively influence proactive firm behaviors. A number of institutional factors are also found to be significantly linked to between–country differences in both risk taking and proactive behaviors. This research contributes to existing theories of national culture by suggesting that the various dimensions of cultural values and several of the institutions that are representative of national culture impact the willingness of entrepreneurial firms to display risk taking and proactive behaviors.

Entrepreneurial selection and success: does education matter?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between general education, specific forms of entrepreneurial education and a range of entrepreneurial activities.Design/methodology/approach – The relationships were investigated through an analysis of peer‐reviewed research published in a wide range of journals and proceedings between 1995 and 2006.Findings – Findings suggest strong evidence supporting the relationship between levels of general education and several entrepreneurial success measures. The findings are less clear in regards to the link between general education and the choice to become an entrepreneur. The findings linking specific programs of entrepreneurship education to entrepreneurship, although ambiguous, suggest a positive link between such education and both the choice to become an entrepreneur and subsequent entrepreneurial success.Research limitations/implications – The review of research suggests four implications for existing research: a need for increased researc...

The moderating effect of national culture on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and strategic alliance portfolio extensiveness

This study examines the influence that national culture has on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and strategic alliance formation. Using a sample of small- to medium-sized enterprises located in Finland, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Sweden, we find that firms with higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation will use strategic alliances more extensively (i.e., use a greater number of agreements) than those firms with a weaker entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, this relationship is strengthened in those countries that demonstrate either feminine or collective characteristics.

A historical examination of small business management and entrepreneurship pedagogy

Four national surveys on course offerings and pedagogies in entrepreneurship and small business management were conducted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in 1979, 1982, 1986, and 1992. The data are summarized, providing historical information in terms of the number of responses received and the major teaching pedagogies used by both 4-year colleges and universities and 2-year community and junior colleges. Tables are provided that reflect a definite growth pattern in small business management and entrepreneurship course offerings at both 4-year and 2-year schools. Tables also are provided that indicate the extent and use of various teaching and evaluation pedagogies used by these academic institutions.

Outcome quality of small- to medium- sized enterprise–based alliances: The role of perceived partner behaviors

Abstract Proponents of transaction cost theory have assumed that alliance formation is motivated by environmental uncertainty, with the structure and outcomes of alliance relationships being determined by the costs versus benefits of opportunism on the part of alliance participants ( Williamson 1985 ; Zaheer and Venkatraman 1995). Williamson argued that cooperative relationships driven by perceived efficiency are inherently prone to opportunism or “self-interest seeking with guile” (1975, p. 6). In alliance relationships, opportunism generally takes the form of negative departures from the behavioral norms established for the alliance and is usually motivated by the firm leader’s desire to improve the firm’s position, regardless of the cost to the alliance (Parkhe 1993a) . The traditional focus of transaction cost theory has been on the norms established by the formal alliance relationship. These contractual mandates encompass both goal-based and relationship-based expectations. Failure to meet these types of expectations significantly, but not completely, explains the quality of outcomes for alliance relationships. A growing body of research on social control theory suggests that the social embeddedness of the alliance relationship may also establish behavioral norms against which opportunistic departures may be judged (Ouchi 1979; Parkhe 1993b) . Such norms are extracontractual or taken-for-granted expectations established by both the prior experience of the firms’ leaders and the placement of the firms’ alliance relationships within the network of interpersonal relationships maintained by the firms’ leaders. This study explores the relative impact of negative departures from both contractual and extracontractual behavioral norms on the quality of alliance outcomes, while controlling for a wide range of environmental and firm-specific factors suggested to have an impact on alliance outcome quality. Norwegian manufacturing firms that met the study’s size criteria and belonged to any one of 10 industry types were surveyed. From a list of over 7,000 small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we randomly selected and mailed surveys to the key decision leaders of over 2,500 firms, ultimately identifying, of the 433 (17.6%) owners and general managers responding, 252 (58%) that maintained alliance relationships. The results of this study challenge several assumptions regarding the determinants of alliance outcomes. A number of resource- and environment-based factors, including the firm’s industry, size, and financial strength, are not found to significantly influence alliance outcomes. The financial return provided by the SME’s alliance relationships, as an indicator of goal-based determinants, was found to be the most important factor related to outcome quality, but the results also suggested that contract noncompliance and the perceived behaviors of the SME’s alliance partners are significant as well. Additionally, the notion that SME-based alliance relationships are generally marked by assumptions of trust rather than opportunism was supported. When partner behaviors are seen or perceived to be inconsistent with either contractually mandated or socially obligated expectations, the outcomes of those relationships are negatively effected, even when the financial goals have been met. An additional finding of this study was that firm leaders make judgments regarding the quality of alliance outcomes in light of their cumulative experience with alliance relationships.

Environmental Shocks and SME Alliance Formation Intentions in an Emerging Economy: Evidence from the Asian Financial Crisis in Indonesia

Environmental shocks can occur when emerging country governments open their markets to outside influences. We extend research conducted primarily in mature economies on how managers react to environmental shocks by evaluating how environmental shock type, a firms strategic orientation, and its slack resources affected strategic alliance formation intentions during and immediately following the Asian Financial Crisis. Results from two Indonesian small– and medium–sized enterprises (SME) samples show that these factors influenced alliance intentions, although not always in ways that were consistent with previous research findings in more mature markets. Overall, our results provide critical insights into emerging market firms’ strategic actions, particularly related to key managerial motivations for SME alliance formation.

Institutional Readiness and Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise Alliance Formation

The focus of this study, in contrast to research that explores the strategic choice by small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to form strategic alliances, is a characterization of the institutional attributes that enable alliance formation. This enabled state is defined as “institutional readiness,” which is the capacity of the institutional environment to support the formation of SME‐based strategic alliances. Utilizing institutional theory as a lens, this study sets forth a theoretical framework for institutional readiness and tests the framework using a survey of 2,054 SMEs from eight countries. Though it has been speculated for some time that institutional forces might have an important effect on firm behavior, to date, in contrast to the current research, there has been little research exploring these effects that is based upon multiple country settings and large samples of SMEs. Additionally, in contrast to the present study, few studies have been designed to rigorously test a broad set of institutional factors and in so doing provide a clear conceptualization of the interplay of institutional and firm attributes in the formation of interfirm alliances. The findings of this study suggest that in the case of SME‐based alliance formation, institutions do matter and in some cases, in unexpected and surprising ways.