William J. Wales

Entrepreneurial orientation: A review and synthesis of promising research directions

This review article analyzes and synthesizes key research on the topic of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in a scholarly effort to provide an integrative guide which enables researchers to more readily assimilate influential works on EO and thereby more productively contribute to the ever-evolving EO conversation in the literature. The article reviews and synthesizes promising directions in the EO research domain from a variety of perspectives, including how EO is manifest, how building on the Miller/Covin and Slevin conceptualization facilitates knowledge accumulation, which theories have been suggested as relevant to advancing the EO conversation, EO model building directions including the demand for longitudinal research, measurement considerations and implications, and the enduring unanswered call for qualitative research.

Cashing-in: understanding post-acquisition CEO stock option exercise

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore post-acquisition compensation management and examine how the two most commonly used theories to explain CEO stock option exercise, agency theory and CEO overconfidence, expect CEOs to manage their stock options following an acquisition. Design/methodology/approach – Using logistic regression analysis, the authors investigate whether CEOs are more or less likely to exercise options following an acquisition, and the effect which CEO tenure and acquisition history may have on option exercise. Findings – The results suggest that CEOs are more likely to exercise options following an acquisition. The authors also find that CEO tenure and acquisition experience are both linked to an increase in option exercise. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that future research should expect agency effects to outweigh overconfidence effects when considering CEO stock option exercise behavior within the post-acquisition firm context. Practical implicatio...

Examining affective and cognitive discourse at the time of IPO: Effects on underpricing and the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation

This study presents evidence concerning the effects of affective and cognitive rhetoric on the underpricing of firms at the time of their initial public offering. It is suggested that firms that use less affective, and more cognitively oriented discourse in their IPO prospectus will experience better underpricing outcomes. We examine these assertions using a sample of young high-tech IPO firms where investors rely on prospectuses as accurate and informative firm communications. Results from a robust five-year time span observe initial support for the hypothesized effects. Moreover, the signaling of a higher degree of entrepreneurial orientation in the firm prospectus is found to worsen the negative effects of affective discourse

Crafting High-Impact Entrepreneurial Orientation Research: Some Suggested Guidelines:

Research on the topic of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) continues to proliferate. Nonetheless, the conceptualization and measurement of this construct are matters of ongoing discussion and debate, and construct-specific advice with respect to the generation high value-added EO research is sparse. This editorial is aimed at providing guidance to EO researchers in three areas: (a) EO’s conceptualization(s) and position as they relate to the larger set of corporate entrepreneurship-related constructs, (b) EO’s measurement challenges and possibilities, and (c) suggested guidance and directions for future EO research.

Examining Facilitative Configurations of Entrepreneurially Oriented Growth: An Information Processing Perspective

This study examines how the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm growth is shaped by learning orientation in technologically sophisticated environments. We draw upon an information processing perspective that emphasizes alignment between information processing demands and support mechanisms. Using data from 116 small to medium-sized enterprises in the Netherlands, we observe that the ability of entrepreneurial orientation to drive firm growth greatly depends on the joint consideration of technological sophistication and learning orientation. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of how configurations of strategic orientations and environmental considerations work in concert to influence the efficacy of organizational entrepreneurial efforts dramatically.

Institutional Contextualization of the Entrepreneurial Orientation-Performance Relationship

While a significant body of literature has explored the link between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance, most research has focused on single country settings without considering ...