The primary objective of this study was to investigate the entrepreneurial orientation of a vehicle management and sales company. This was done to help design recommendations to establish an entrepreneurial orientation in the company and enhance the personal traits of the company. A vast journey into the body of knowledge about entrepreneurship emerged when the literature review of Chapter 2 resulted in the leaders in the field, internationally and local, gave shape and depth to the study. The empirical study was conducted by distributing a questionnaire to a target population of 120 employees. A total of 41 questionnaires were received and was used to conduct a statistical analysis on. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by calculating the Cronbach Alpha coefficients for all the variables of entrepreneurial orientation as well as the personal traits. The data was used to calculate the mean and standard deviations of the individual responses for all the variables. The analysis also included the relationship between different demographic information and the variables of the study to test for any significant differences in the means. Conclusions were drawn from the data extracted from the questionnaires and recommendations were made based on the conclusions and the data on the relevant topics identified in the study. An action plan that supports the data, conclusions and recommendations was designed to help the company enhance the entrepreneurial orientation as well as the companies’ entrepreneurial behaviour. The study concludes with measurements of the objectives as well as suggestions for further research on the topic. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The positive relationship of firm-level entrepreneurship and performance has received much attention in recent years and has become an attractive title in the entrepreneurship literature. This popularity encourages researchers to study the role played by the phenomenon on other organizational outputs such as internationalization. Until now, the majority of international studies have put their attention on the conceptual explanation of the interaction, and the number of empirical studies on the subject is few. Furthermore, almost all the empirical studies have been performed in developed and emerging markets, and developing areas such as the Middle East are nearly ignored. In the real context of Iranian business, policymakers support entrepreneurship as a proven way to improve the internationalization of smaller companies. Following this assumption, several supportive plans have been designed and executed which aim to increase the entrepreneurial status of SMEs as a way to enhance their internationalization. A question worth answering here is: Does having a better entrepreneurial stature mean better internationalization for Iranian SMEs? To answer this question and to fill the gap in the literature on the subject, this research explains the relationship of firm-level entrepreneurship and the internationalization of Iranian SMEs. To resolve the current conceptualization problem of firm-level entrepreneurship and to respect a broad conceptualization of entrepreneurship, a profile measurement model was employed in which companies are classified into four different groups: non-entrepreneurial, forced entrepreneurial, latent entrepreneurial, and actual entrepreneurial. This profile model incorporates the two popular constructs of entrepreneurial orientation and corporate entrepreneurship to determine the entrepreneurial stature of a company. Surprisingly, while the literature predicted the highest level of internationalization for actual entrepreneurial companies, the forced entrepreneurial firms showed the best internationalization in reality. The only exception was when the environments became very hostile, in which the actual entrepreneurial SMEs suppressed the forced entrepreneurial, showing better internationalization. These unexpected conclusions led the researcher to consider the complementary role of business networks. A case study approach was applied. The results revealed the importance of actor type in the decision to enter a foreign market, structural holes in identifying international opportunities, and network closure in realizing the opportunities. In simpler words, the forced entrepreneurial company held a better position to receive the information about international markets because most actors who dealt with them where international companies. In addition, it enjoyed an external network rich of structural holes and a dense internal network, which respectively facilitated the exploration and exploitation of subsequent international opportunities. All in all, however, firm-level entrepreneurship seems an important factor of companies’ internationalization that could somehow justify why entrepreneurial companies show better international activities than nonentrepreneurial firms, it is not able to explain how different types of entrepreneurial companies could hold different levels of internationalization. This is the mutual interaction of entrepreneurial status and the network structure that presents a powerful explanation of the difference in internationalization among companies. Therefore, researchers are invited to focus more on a configurational analysis of firm-level entrepreneurship, network structure, and internationalization, and policymakers are recommended to see both entrepreneurship and business networks when they design a supportive plan to improve the internationalization of SMEs. / <p>In the printed version is the ISBN incorrrect: 978-91-7519-497-4. The ISBN is corrected in the electronic version.</p>

750 000 emplois à sauvegarder. Ce nombre – mis en avant par l'ancienne députée de l'Hérault, Fanny Dombre-Coste, – souligne toute l'influence de la reprise de PME dans le développement de l'économie locale voire nationale. Toutefois, le repreneur, qui est un entrepreneur à part entière, est un acteur encore peu étudié, tant par les organismes professionnels que par les universitaires. Nous engageons alors une recherche pour combler ce manque et, sous une perspective entrepreneuriale, essayons de mieux comprendre le profil du repreneur. Pour circonscrire la question du profil, nous utilisons un concept central en entrepreneuriat : l'opportunité. Dès lors, en prenant appui sur la logique de Kirzner, la fonction du repreneur devient plus claire : il doit identifier des opportunités. Comment peut-il faire ? Il va utiliser sa vigilance. Cela nous amène à poser la problématique suivante : comment la vigilance entrepreneuriale du repreneur influence-t-elle la performance financière de la reprise ? Pour apporter des éléments de réponse, nous utilisons un raisonnement hypothético-déductif et réalisons une recherche quantitative. Cela nous amène à formuler des hypothèses pour in fine construire un modèle de recherche. Nous posons ainsi un lien entre la vigilance entrepreneuriale (Tang et al., 2012) et deux variables médiatrices : l'identification des opportunités (Ozgen et Baron, 2007) et l'orientation entrepreneuriale (Covin et Slevin, 1989). Ces deux variables sont ensuite reliées à la performance financière de la reprise – qui est une mesure subjective quant à l'évolution de huit indicateurs. Après avoir montré que la procédure MICIOM autorise une démarche comparative, nous testons notre modèle sur tous les repreneurs (n = 278) et procédons à une comparaison – qualitative puis grâce à une analyse multigroupe – entre les repreneurs mentorés (n = 199) et non mentorés (n = 79), et entre les repreneurs mentorés avant (n = 79) et après la reprise (n = 120). Les résultats de cette recherche montrent que la vigilance entrepreneuriale est un antécédent de la performance financière. Par ailleurs, ce travail souligne que le mentorat permet de mieux comprendre comment un entrepreneur réussit – au moins sur un plan financier – une reprise de PME. Dès lors, il semble pertinent de développer un volet cognitif dans les programmes d'accompagnement du repreneur mais également de travailler sur la relation de mentorat dans ce contexte singulier. / 750 000 employments to keep. This number, highlight by the former deputy of Herault, Fanny Dombre-Coste, underline influence of SME takeovers on development of local economy. However, buyer, an entrepreneur, is understudied. We then engaged an academic research in order to fill in this gap and, using an entrepreneurial perspective, we try to better understand buyer profile. To confine profile question, we use a central concept in entrepreneurship: opportunity. Then, leaning on Kirzner logic, buyer function become clearly: he has to identify opportunity. How can he do it? He is going to use his alertness. So, we ask the following problematic: how does buyer entrepreneurial alertness influence takeover financial performance? To answer, we use an hypothetico-deductive reasoning and realise a quantitative research. This lead us to formulate hypotheses and build a research model. We put a link between entrepreneurial alertness (Tang et al., 2012) and two mediator's variables: opportunity identification (Ozgen et Baron, 2007) and entrepreneurial orientation (Covin et Slevin, 1989). Then, this two variables are linked to takeover financial performance – which is a subjective measure of the evolution of height indicators. After used MICOM procedure, we test our model on all buyers (n = 278) and make a comparison – qualitative and using a multi-group analysis – between buyers supported by a mentor (n = 199) and non-supported (n = 79), and between buyers supported before (n = 79) and after takeover (n = 120). Firstly, results show that entrepreneurial alertness is an antecedent of financial performance. On the other hand, our research underline that mentorship has the potential to add substantially to our understanding of how buyer succeed – at least on an financial plan – SME takeover. Consequently, it seems relevant to develop a cognitive part in buyer support program and to work on mentorship in this singular context.

Problem: Is there a statistically significant relationship between the EI of an ownermanager and the EO within a small firm? Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to perform an exploratory study of the research by addressing the first hypothesis. The secondary purpose of this study was to characterize the nature of this relationship by exploring micro-connections between EI and EO factors, by addressing the second hypothesis. Hypotheses: 1) An owner-manager’s EI can be used to predict EO within small firms. 2) An owner-managers’ EI dimensions are positively correlated to the EO dimensions in small firms.   Method: A questionnaire including the EISDI (Emotional Intelligence) instrument and the Covin &amp; Slevin (1989) Entrepreneurial Orientation (entrepreneurial/strategic posture) instrument were sent by email to respondents. Responses were collected from a sample of 35 respondents, who were identified as owner-managers of small, young firms within the Swedish high-tech industry. An empirical analysis examined correlations between global EI and global EO, as well as EI and EO factors.     Main findings: Both hypotheses were rejected. It was concluded that an owner-manager’s EI cannot be used to predict EO within small firms. Moreover, it was found that no part of an owner-manager’s EI is significantly nor strongly correlated to EO dimensions within small firms.

Anno 2013 Europe resides in a severe economic crisis that has been lasting for five years. Companies are struggling to deal with the influences of this crisis and require strategic insights to maintain performance. According to theory entrepreneurship and innovation are central mechanisms in the creation of wealth in the capitalist system and an entrepreneurial strategy could provide relatively much benefit in a crisis period. This study focuses on the central question:  How does an entrepreneurial orientation affect the performance of companies in the economic crisis? To answer this question a variety of theories on entrepreneurship, innovation and the creation of wealth in capitalism were examined. On many occasions quantitative research has been performed to measure the relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation and performance. This study provides an extra dimension by using archival financial data of companies during and before the crisis to draw comparisons and examine developments in performance in relation to an entrepreneurial orientation. Data on the entrepreneurial orientation was collected with an online survey which was sent to companies. The results of the survey indicated the degree of entrepreneurial orientation of the companies in separate categories; innovativeness, proactiveness and risk taking. The results were linked to their financial performance which was obtained from a database. Comparisons between the performance before and during the crisis in relation to the scores on entrepreneurship were made, and the development of their financial performance since the crisis was examined. The results of this study indicate that an entrepreneurial orientation has a relatively more positive influence on performance during the crisis. However the relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation and performance is highly dependent on the company and type of industry so no unilateral positive correlations with performance were found. For a set of industrial, manufacturing, chemical and service companies the development of the financial performance since the crisis is highly positively correlated with innovativeness and proactiveness. For a set of other company types including foundations, (public) utility companies, (public) real estate companies, construction companies, trade and investment firms no correlations were found. The findings in this study indicate that depending on the type of company and industry, an entrepreneurial orientation can have a strong positive effect on the development of financial performance in the crisis.

<p>Problem: Is there a statistically significant relationship between the EI of an ownermanager and the EO within a small firm?</p><p>Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to perform an exploratory study of the research by addressing the first hypothesis. The secondary purpose of this study was to characterize the nature of this relationship by exploring micro-connections between EI and EO factors, by addressing the second hypothesis.</p><p>Hypotheses: 1) An owner-manager’s EI can be used to predict EO within small firms. 2) An owner-managers’ EI dimensions are positively correlated to the EO dimensions in small firms.</p><p> </p><p>Method: A questionnaire including the EISDI (Emotional Intelligence) instrument and the Covin & Slevin (1989) Entrepreneurial Orientation (entrepreneurial/strategic posture) instrument were sent by email to respondents. Responses were collected from a sample of 35 respondents, who were identified as owner-managers of small, young firms within the Swedish high-tech industry. An empirical analysis examined correlations between global EI and global EO, as well as EI and EO factors.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Main findings: Both hypotheses were rejected. It was concluded that an owner-manager’s EI cannot be used to predict EO within small firms. Moreover, it was found that no part of an owner-manager’s EI is significantly nor strongly correlated to EO dimensions within small firms.</p><p> </p>

The business environment has been changing as it becomes easier to interact acrossboundaries with globalisation. One of the key elements of globalisation is the culturaldiversity resulting from the cross-cultural and ethnic interactions between individuals.This constant growing globalisation challenges small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) to interact with different cultural backgrounds in their foreign markets and withtheir local staff. This cultural diversity can bring both positive and negative outcomes toSMEs depending on how they approach these challenges.The purpose of our research is to discover the contribution of cultural diversity in theinternationalisation process of a Swedish SME, named CodeMill and to understand howthis contribution is ensured by this particular SME. Our research focuses on two specificcriteria of cultural diversity, which are expressed as (1) the individual's internationalexperience as an employee and (2) the SME's social network abroad. Our studyprovides them with practical contributions presented in a final framework, whichexplains how to take advantage of cultural diversity to enhance the positive outcomes ofit and strengthen their internationalisation process.A qualitative case study was conducted with CodeMill, a locally based InformationTechnology (IT). They fulfilled the principal requirements in terms of employees andyearly turnover in order to be categorised as an SME. Conducting seven semi -structured interviews in total, with people from different hierarchical levels and spheresenabled us to gain insights on how matters relating to cultural diversity are handled inCodeMill. Secondary Data served to confirm information we received from theinterviews and functioned as an additional source of information.The study proposes a framework that has been revised from the analysis of ourempirical findings. This framework is positioned within the field of Cultural DiversityManagement in an internationalisation context. The gathered findings implicate that thelevel of informational diversity, which needs to be used with a high synergy level,determines the importance of the contribution of cultural diversity. This can be ensuredvia three key elements: leadership, research &amp; measurement, and follow-up. Thecompany’s Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), especially included the three investigateddimensions of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking proved to be applied inCodeMill. They were considered to have a positive influence on the internationalisationprocess of the company. CodeMill enhances its internationalisation process thanks to sixcompetitive advantages ensuing from its level of cultural diversity. However its socialnetwork hinders the opportunities to enter new markets. We found proof that CodeMillbenefits strongly from connections at an organisational level (e.g. partner companies,international customers); whilst an individual’s international experience, gathered fromliving abroad or just having personal international contacts, did not significantlycontribute to the firm’s internationalisation.

In this mixed-method study, I explore the idea that an entrepreneurial orientation serves as a key driver of nonprofit organizational performance, and that a focal nonprofit’s set of collaborative ties moderates that relationship. I theorize that for nonprofits operating in an environment characterized by resource scarcity, possessing an EO is vital. More specifically, I theorize that organizations with smaller and less heterogeneous sets of collaborative ties benefit more from an EO than those with larger and more heterogeneous sets. I also explore the possibility that a focal nonprofit’s pattern of collaborative ties may be a function of that nonprofit’s EO. These ideas are tested using an original data set collected from a sample of the estimated 200 economic development organizations operating in eastern Kentucky. This is an area where economic growth has been particularly elusive, and where a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial and collaborative practices of nonprofits might be especially valuable. The results reveal some significant empirical support for these ideas, and point to a promising research program aiming to uncover the interactive effects of EO, collaborative networks, and nonprofit performance across a range of organizational contexts.

In today’s Sweden there is great belief in entrepreneurship and the benefits it can bring to the country. The Swedish government has taken note of this growing enthusiasm and realized the contribution it can make to facilitate national growth. Successful efforts have been made in Sweden to support entrepreneurship and innovation, which has resulted in a relative ease for individuals to start their own businesses. The number of companies started today is higher than ever and there are signs of a common faith in growth among new entrepreneurs. Unfortunately only a small fraction of these new businesses succeed in growing big. The harsh truth is that these companies will not contribute to national growth if they do not grow themselves. But what is preventing them from growing? A number of studies have shown that both the environment and the entrepreneur himself are important factors when examining companies’ growth. That is because the environment affects the entrepreneur’s strategic decisions and forces him/her to act in certain ways. These decisions, in turn, affect the company, that can then demonstrategrowth (or not). By examining five different factors that can influence the entrepreneur’s opportunity for growth, this study concludes that a number of political decisions and conditions can constitute as barriers for growth while a strong entrepreneurial orientation can help the entrepreneur to deal with negative factors in the environment.

The instability within the financial services sector is not a new phenomenon, and this has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis. There is a requirement of banks to stay at the forefront of change and innovation, due to the fact that technological advancements and heightened competition are changing the face of banking as we know it. The requirement of corporate training divisions to be innovative is also apparent in the literature. Corporate training divisions within the banking industry operate against the backdrop of a severe skills shortage within South Africa. Furthermore, the necessity of corporate training divisions to be able to show a return on investment for money spent on training is evident. Hence, there is a requirement of both the banking industry as well as corporate training divisions to function entrepreneurially. A relationship is evident in the literature between the performance of organisations, which is seen as a multidimensional construct and entrepreneurial orientation. The primary objective of this research study was to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived success of corporate training divisions within selected South African banks. The dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation assessed included Innovativeness; Competitive Aggressiveness; Autonomy; Risk-Taking and Proactiveness. The study also identified the success factors of corporate training organisations and correlated these factors with the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation. Secondary objectives were also formulated to support the attainment of the primary objective. Fourteen South African banks‟ corporate training divisions were selected to participate in the research study. A comprehensive literature study was followed by an empirical study. An existing questionnaire was adapted to assess entrepreneurial orientation, and a questionnaire was designed based on the literature study to assess the perceived success factors within the selected corporate training divisions. The survey was housed on the internet in electronic format. Factor analysis was applied to assess the discriminant validity of the items measuring entrepreneurial orientation and success factors. Furthermore, Kaiser‟s criterion was used to determine the number of factors to be extracted and the Cronbach alpha coefficients were calculated to assess the internal consistency of the items measuring the various factors under investigation. Regression analysis was used to determine relationships between the entrepreneurial constructs and the success factors as identified in the study. Furthermore, hypotheses were formulated and tested regarding the correlations between the entrepreneurial dimensions and the success factors within corporate training organisations. Relationships between some demographic factors and the constructs under investigation were also analysed. After a detailed analysis of the data, it was concluded that positive relationships do exist between some constructs of entrepreneurial orientation and some constructs of success factors of corporate training organisations. One negative relationship was evident. Positive relationships were also observed between some demographic factors and the constructs investigated. Consequently, Competitive Aggressiveness demonstrated a positive influence on Learner Reaction2; Learning; Learner Behaviour; Business Results; Return on Investment; Supportive Learning Environment; Concrete Learning Processes and Leadership Reinforces Learning within corporate training divisions. Furthermore, the results of the multiple regression analysis also indicated that respondents within the selected banks view that Innovativeness has a positive influence on Supportive Learning Environment; Concrete Learning Processes and Leadership Reinforces Learning. A negative relationship was indicated between Innovativeness and Learner Behaviour. In addition, the results of the multiple regression analysis disclosed that respondents within the selected banks perceive that Autonomy has a positive influence on Learner Behaviour; Supportive Learning Environment and Leadership Reinforces Learning. Moreover, the results of the multiple regression analysis disclosed that respondents within the selected banks perceive that Risk-Taking has a positive influence on Learning; Business Results; and Return on Investment. Also, a statistically significant difference in terms of the mean values in which respondents of 39 years and younger and respondents of 40 years and older perceived six variables, namely Competitive Aggressiveness; Learning; Learner Behaviour; Business Results; Return on Investment and Supportive Learning Environment were indicated. Practical statistical significances which yielded medium effect sizes for Learner Behaviour and Return on Investment were noted. No statistical significant differences were observed in the mean values of males and females. A statistically significant difference in terms of the mean values in which respondents with a highest qualification being a diploma or lower, and respondents with a highest qualification being a degree or higher perceive Learning; Learner Behaviour; Return on Investment and Concrete Learning Processes were reflected. However, no practical statistical significances were noted. Based on the findings of the empirical study recommendations were made to cultivate and foster entrepreneurial orientation within corporate training organisations within the banking industry. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013