Organisational antecedents of innovative firms: a focus on entrepreneurial orientation in South Africa

Abstract

A longstanding literature has theorised corporate entrepreneurship as a multidimensional phenomenon, which incorporates the behaviour and interactions of the individual and organisational factors within organisations. However, adopting a firm level entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is difficult as organisational antecedents are a prerequisite for the type of environment that promotes or inhibits EO. This article is motivated by the dearth of empirical research on understanding EO in an African context. A model is tested in terms of the causal links between organisational antecedents, EO and firm performance. Survey data from South African corporates is collected to test the hypotheses using structural equation modelling. Study findings reveal that the antecedents of management support and rewards and reinforcement significantly influence EO, which in turn has a strong influence on firm performance. The study findings also have contextual relevance when considering the effectiveness of African organisations is severely limited.

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