The general aim of the study was to determine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived success of the pipeline gas company. This type of study has not been conducted previously for such a pipeline gas company and as such, a valuable contribution could be made to a more effective entrepreneurial orientation in the business environment. Two questionnaires were administered, which focused on entrepreneurial orientation and perceived success of business respectively. A response rate of 87.63% was obtained from a sample of 97 employees at management level in the pipeline gas company concerned. The results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business development as variable of business success. The data also revealed correlations among the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, some with significant differences for various demographic groups and their level of entrepreneurial skills. Limitations within the study were discussed and recommendations were made for future research. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The general aim of the study was to determine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived success of the pipeline gas company. This type of study has not been conducted previously for such a pipeline gas company and as such, a valuable contribution could be made to a more effective entrepreneurial orientation in the business environment. Two questionnaires were administered, which focused on entrepreneurial orientation and perceived success of business respectively. A response rate of 87.63% was obtained from a sample of 97 employees at management level in the pipeline gas company concerned. The results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business development as variable of business success. The data also revealed correlations among the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, some with significant differences for various demographic groups and their level of entrepreneurial skills. Limitations within the study were discussed and recommendations were made for future research. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Cette thèse étudie les typologies des stratégies relationnelles que peuvent entretenir les firmes avec leurs concurrentes dans une industrie de réseau : la téléphonie mobile. Elle se donne aussi pour objet de mettre en évidence les déterminants de ces choix stratégiques ; ainsi que leur implication. Elle vise enfin à effectuer une comparaison des performances des firmes en fonction des choix de stratégies relationnelles. Pour aborder ces préoccupations, nous avons eu recours, d'une part à la méthode d'analyse de contenu structuré, afin d'identifier les mouvements stratégiques des opérateurs mobiles de pays et régions géographiques différents ; d'autre part à deux méthodes (exploratoire et confirmatoire) d'analyse et de traitements des données. A travers cette thèse, nous mettons en évidence trois résultats principaux : Le premier résultat montre que l'agressivité concurrentielle, la coopérativité et la coopétition sont les stratégies relationnelles viables dans le secteur de la téléphonie mobile. Le second résultat majeur montre que des variables sectorielles telles que la concentration industrielle, la maturité sectorielle ou la plus ou moins forte présence à l'international apparaissent comme des facteurs déterminant les comportements stratégiques (agressif, coopératif et coopétitif) des opérateurs mobiles ; de même que plus d'agressivité et plus de coopérativité conduisent à de meilleures performances. En dernier lieu, il est montré dans cette recherche que la performance de la firme varie en fonction de la stratégie adoptée (agressivité, coopérativité ou coopétitivité) par l'opérateur mobile, mais aussi en fonction de son implantation géographique. / This thesis examines the types of relational strategies that firms can adopt with their competitors in a network industry : the mobile phone industry. It also purposes to highlight the determinants of these strategic choices and their implication. Finally, it aims to make a comparison of the performances of firms, according to their relational strategies choises. To address these concerns, we used, on one hand the method of structured content analysis so as to identify the strategic movements of the mobile phone operators of different countries and geographical areas ; on the other hand, we used two methods (exploratory and confirmatory) analysis for data processing. Through this thesis, we highlight three key findings : The first result shows that competitive aggressiveness, cooperativeness and coopetition are the viable relational strategies in the mobile phone industry. The second major result shows that the sectorial variables such as industrial concentration, sectorial maturity ; or more or less international presence appear to be factors determining the strategic behavior (aggressive, cooperative and coopetitive) of the mobile operators ; as well that more aggressiveness and more cooperativeness lead to better performance. Finally, it is shown in this study that the performance of the firm depends on the strategy (aggressive, cooperative, or coopetitive) adopted by the mobile operator, but also on its geographical location.

Made available in DSpace on 2009-11-18T19:01:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 abenedito.pdf: 555296 bytes, checksum: d24c813a868e1b743e55942cb049c317 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / The subject entrepreneurship has been gaining strength within the area of strategy, as the entrepreneurial activity represents one of the gears of economic growth and a political social and economic response of the entrepreneur¿s capital. Nevertheless, there are not many studies that investigated if entrepreneurial orientation influences firm performance in Brazil. The objective of the research is to understand and conclude on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. To achieve this objective, qualitative research through in-depth interviews with 14 managers was followed by quantitative research through data collection involving 104 managers in a heterogeneous sample of 104 companies. The research used the model of Lumpkin; Dess (1996) for entrepreneurial orientation in five dimensions (autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness), to which two more dimensions were added: strategic alliances and market orientation ¿ that emerged during the qualitative phase of the study. As a result a generic model was obtained ¿ composed of one variable (proactiveness) which positively impacts the firm performance. Proactiveness was also the key factor that positively impacted the firm performance for the service sector and small businesses. For the commercial sector, the model was composed by three dimensions (innovativeness, risk taking and market orientation). While the industry / construction sectors showed no linear relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Competitive aggressiveness is the key factor that impacts positively on firm performance for big companies, whereas for mediumsized companies it is the market orientation which relates positively to firm performance. Finally, there are no significant differences depending on the sector in which the firm operates or its size. / O tema empreendedorismo vem ganhando força dentro da área de estratégia, uma vez que a atividade empreendedora representa uma das engrenagens do crescimento econômico e uma resposta política, social e econômica do capital empreendedor. Apesar disso, não há muitas pesquisas que investigaram se a orientação empreendedora (OE) influencia a performance das empresas (PE) no Brasil. O objetivo da pesquisa visa compreender e concluir sobre a relação entre OE e PE. Para atingir este objetivo, realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa, através de entrevistas em profundidade com 14 gestores, seguida de pesquisa quantitativa, através de coleta de dados envolvendo 104 gestores de uma amostra heterogênea de 104 empresas. A pesquisa utilizou o modelo de Lumpkin; Dess (1996) para OE em cinco dimensões (autonomia [A], inovação [I], capacidade de assumir riscos [CAR], pró-atividade [PA] e competitividade agressiva [CA]), ao qual foram acrescentadas mais duas dimensões, formação de parcerias [FP] e orientação para o mercado [OM] que surgiram durante a fase qualitativa do estudo. Obteve-se um modelo genérico composto por uma variável (PA) que impacta positivamente a PE. A PA também foi o fator-chave que impactou positivamente a PE para o setor de serviços e para empresas pequenas/micro. Para o setor de comércio o modelo foi formado por três dimensões (I, CAR, OM). Enquanto o setor de indústria/construção não apresentou relação linear entre OE e PE. A CA é o fator-chave que impacta positivamente a PE para empresas grandes, ao passo que para médias é a OM que se relaciona positivamente à PE. Por fim, não existem diferenças significativas dependendo do setor em que a empresa atua ou do seu tamanho.