The Impact of Moral Awareness on the Entrepreneurial Orientation-Performance Relationship in New Technology Based Firms

Francesc Solé-Parellada; Luis A. Aguilar-Valenzuela; Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent; Jorge A. Duran-Encalada

doi:10.4067/S0718-27242011000400008

Autores/as

Francesc Solé-Parellada Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Luis A. Aguilar-Valenzuela Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C.
Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Jorge A. Duran-Encalada Universidad de las Américas Puebla

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242011000400008

Resumen

Prior studies have suggested the predominant role of the founder-manager´s moral awareness in the emergence and persistence of a strong entrepreneurial culture likely to shape the firm´s collective behavior. Although the strategic importance of founder-manager´s moral awareness on a general level is undisputed, one major shortcoming of prior studies has been to evaluate his influence in the firm. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effect of technology founder-manager´s moral awareness on the entrepreneurial orientation-performance relationship in New Technology Based Firms. Not only do the results suggest that performance is positively influenced by its entrepreneurial orientation, but the findings also indicate that technology founder-manager´s moral awareness moderates the relationship. The entrepreneurial orientation-performance link is stronger for low levels of moral awareness. The study´s implications and future research directions are discussed.

Palabras clave:

new technology based firms
moral awareness
entrepreneurial orientation
firm performance
technology founder-manager

Descargas

Los datos de descargas todavía no están disponibles.

Citas

AIKEN, L.S.; West, S.G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage: Newbury Park, CA.

ANDERSON, J.C.; Gerbing, D.W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychlogical Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.

ARMSTRONG, J.S.; Overton, T.S. (1977). Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 14(3), 396-402.

AUTIO, E. (1997). New technology-based firms in innovation networks symplectic and generative impacts. Research Policy, 26(3), 263-281.

BAGOZZI, R.P.; Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74-94.

BARON, R.A. (2004). The cognitive perspective: a valuable tool for answering entrepreneurship´s basic “Why” Questions. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(2),

-239.

BARRINGER, B.R.; Bluedorn, A.C. (1999). The relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 20(5), 421-444.

BENTLER, P.M. (1992). EQS structural equations program manual. BMDP Statistical Software: CA

BETTIS, R.A.; Prahalad, C.K. (1995). The dominant logic: Retrospective and extension. Strategic Management Journal, 16(1), 5-14.

BLUM, L.A. (1994). Moral Perception and Particularity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

BROWN, T.E.; Davidsson, P.; Wiklund, J. (2001). An operationalization of Stevenson´s conceptualization of entrepreneurship as opportunity-based firm behavior. Strategic Management Journal, 22(10), 953-968.

BRUSH, C.G.; Vanderwerf, P.A. (1992). A comparison of methods and sources for obtaining estimates of new venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 7(2), 157-170.

BRYAN, P. (2009). Self-regulation and moral awareness among entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5): 505-518.

BUCAR, B.; Hisrich, R.D. (2001). Ethics of Business Managers vs. Entrepreneurs. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 6(1), 59– 82.

BUTTERFIELD, K.; Trevino, L.K.; Weaver, G. (2000). Moral Awareness in Business Organizations: Influences of Issue-Related and Social Context Factors. Human Relations, 53(7), 981–1018.

CHANDLER, G.N.; Hanks, S.H. (1993). Measuring the performance of emerging business: A validation study. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(5), 391-408.

COOPER, A.C. (1993). Challenges in predicting new firm performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(3), 241-254.

COHEN, J.; Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/ correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

COVIN, J.G.; Slevin, D.P. (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments. Strategic Management Journal, 10(1):75-87.

COVIN, J.G.; Covin, T.J. (1990). Competitive aggressiveness, environmental context, and small firm performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 14(4), 35-50.

COVIN, J.G.; Slevin, D.P. (1990). New venture strategic posture, structure, and performance: an industry life cycle analysis. Journal of Business Venturing, 5(2), 123-135.

COVIN, J.G.; Slevin, D.P. (1991). A conceptual model of entrepreneurship as firm behavior. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 16(1), 7-25.

COVIN, J.G.; Green, K.M.; Slevin, D.P. (2006). Strategic process effects on the entrepreneurial orientation-sales growth rate relationship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(1), 57-81.

DAWSON, S.; Breen, J.; Satyen, L. (2002). The ethical outlook of micro business operators. Journal of Small Business Management, 40(4), 302-313.

DILLMAN, D.A. (2000). Mail and Internet surveys: The tailored design method. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

EISENHARDT, K.; Martin, J.A. (2000). Dynamic capabilities: what are they? Strategic Management Journal, 21(10/11), 1105-1121.

HANNAFEY, F.T. (2003). Entrepreneurship and ethics: a literature review. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(2), 99-100.

HARRIS, C.E.; Pritchard, M.S.; Rabins, M.J. (1995). Engineering Ethics: Concepts and cases. International Thomson Publishing. Belmont, CA.

HARRIS, J.D.; Sapienza, H.J.; Bowie, N.E. (2009). Ethics and entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5), 407-418.

HITT, M.; Ireland, R.; Camp, S.; Sexton, D. (2001). Introduction to the special issue strategic entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial strategies for wealth creation. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6/7), 479-491.

HOFSTEDE, G. (1985). The interaction between national and organizational value systems. Journal of Management Studies, 22(4), 347-357.

HOFSTEDE, G. (2001). Culture´s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. 2nd Ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

JONES, T.M. (1991). Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366 –395.

JORDAN, J. (2009). A social cognition framework for examining moral awareness in managers and academics. Journal of Business Ethics, 84(2), 237-258.

JÖRESKOG, K.G.; Sörbom, D. (1996). LISREL 8: The simplis command language. Chicago: Scientific Software International.

KALE, P.; Singh, H.; Perlmutter, H. (2000). Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: building relational capital. Strategic Management Journal, 21(3), 217-237.

KHANDWALLA, P.N. (1977). The Design of Organizations. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

LI, H.; Atuahene-Gima, K. (2001). Product innovation strategy and performance of new technology ventures in China. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1123-1134.

LICHTENTHALER, U. (2009). Absorptive capacity, environmental turbulence, and the complementarity of organizational learning process. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 822-846.

LITTUNEN, H.; Storhammar, E.; Nenonen, T. (1998). The survival of firms over the critical first 3 year and the local environment. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 10(3), 189-203.

LOWRY, D. (2003). An investigation of student moral awareness and associated factors in two cohorts of an undergraduate business degree in a British university: Implications for business ethics curriculum design. Journal of Business Ethics, 48(1), 7-19.

LUMPKIN, G.T.; Dess, G.G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 135-157.

LUMPKIN, G.T.; Dess, G.G. (2001). Linking two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to firm performance: the moderating role of environment and industry life cycle. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(5), 429-451.

LYON, D.W.; Lumpkin, G.T.; Dess, G.G. (2000). Enhancing entrepreneurial orientation research: Operationalizing and measuring a key strategic decision making process. Journal of Management, 26(5), 1055-1085.

MARVEL, M.R.; Lumpkin, G.T. (2007). Technology entrepreneur´s human capital and its effects on innovation radicalness. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31(6), 807-828.

MILLER, D.; Friesen, P.H. (1982). Innovation in conservative and entrepreneurial firms. Two models of strategic momentum. Strategic Management Journal, 3(1), 1-25.

MILLER, D. (1983). The correlates of entrepreneurship in three types of firms. Management Science, 29(7), 770-791.

MORRIS, M.H.; Schindehutte, M.; Walton, J.; Allen, J. (2002). The ethical context of entrepreneurship: proposing and testing a developmental framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 40(4), 331-361.

MONTIEL-CAMPOS, H.; Del Palacio-Aguirre, I.; Solé- Parellada, F.; Nuño de la Parra, J.P. (2009). Technology Strategy and New Technology Based Firms. Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, 4(4), 42-52.

PARIDA, V.; Westerberg, M.; Ylinenpää, H.; Roininen, S. (2010). Exploring the effects of network configurations on entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: an empirical study of new ventures and small firms. Annals of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 1-13.

PREMKUMAR, G.; King, W.R. (1994). Organizational characteristics and information systems planning: An empirical study. Information Systems Research, 5(2), 75-109.

QUINN, J. (1997). Personal Ethics and Business Ethics: The Ethical Attitudes of Owner/Managers of Small Business. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(2), 119–127.

RAUCH, A.; Wiklund, J.; Lumpkin, G.T.; Frese, M. (2009). Entrepreneurial orientation and business performance: An assessment of past research and suggestions for the future. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(3), 761-787.

REST, J.R. (1994). Background: theory and research. In J. R. Rest and D. Narvaez (eds). Moral development in the professions: Psychology and applied ethics. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey.

REYNOLDS, S. (2006). Moral awareness and ethical predispositions: investigating the role of individual differences in the recognition of moral issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 233-243.

SARASVATHY, S.D. (2002). Entrepreneurship as economics with imagination. Ruffin Series in Business Ethics, 3, 95-112.

SOLYMOSSY, E.; Masters, J.K. (2002). Ethics through an entrepreneurial lens: theory and observation. Journal of Business Ethics, 38(3), 227-241.

SOMMER, S.M.; Welsh, D.H.B.; Gubman, B.L. (2000). The ethical orientation of Russian entrepreneurs. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49(4), 688-708.

SPARKS, J.R.; Hunt, S.D. (1998). Marketing researcher ethical sensitivity: conceptualization, measurement, and exploratory investigation. Journal of Marketing, 62(2), 92-

SPENCE, L.J. (1999). Does Size Matter? The State of the Art in Small Business Ethics. Business Ethics: A European Review, 8(3), 163–174.

SPENCE, L.J.; Rutherford, R. (2003). Small business and empirical perspectives in business ethics: an editorial. Journal of Business Ethics, 47(1), 1-5.

STEVENSON, H.H.; Jarrillo, J.C. (1990). A paradigm of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial management. Strategic Management Journal, 11(4), 17-27.

STOPFORD, J.M.; Baden-Fuller, C.W.F. (1994). Creating corporate entrepreneurship. Strategic Management Journal, 15(7), 521-536.

TEAL, E.J.; Carroll, A.B. (1999). Moral Reasoning Skills: Are Entrepreneurs Different?. Journal of Business Ethics, 19(3), 229–240.

TREVIÑO, L.K. (1986). Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601– 617.

TREVIÑO, L.K.; Youngblood, S.A. (1990). Bad apples in bad barrels: A causal analysis of ethical decision-making behavior. Journal of Apllied Psychology, 75(4), 378-386.

VANDSANDT, C.V.; Shepard, J.M.; Zappe, S.M. (2006). An examination of the relationship between ethical work climate and moral awareness. Journal of Business Ethics,

(4), 409-432.

VITTEL, S.J.; Dickerson, E.B.; Festervant, T.A. (2000). Ethical problems, conflicts and beliefs of small business professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 19(1), 15-24.

VYAKARNAM, S.; Bailey, A.; Myers, A.; Burnett, D. (1997). Towards an Understanding of Ethical Behaviour in Small Firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(15), 1625–1636.

WALTER, A.; Auer, M.; Ritter, T. (2006). The impact of network capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation on university spin-off performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 21(4), 541-567.

WIKLUND, J.; Shepherd, D. (2003). Knowledge- based resources, entrepreneurial orientation, and the performance of small and medium sized business. Strategic Management Journal, 24(13), 1307-1314.