Title: Antecedents of innovation and growth: analysing the impact of entrepreneurial orientation and goal-oriented management

Authors: Rainer Harms, Carl Henning Reschke, Sascha Kraus, Matthias Fink

Addresses: Dutch Institute for Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship (NIKOS), University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands; Department IUG, University of Klagenfurt, A-9020 Klagenfurt, Austria. ' Institute of Management Research Cologne, Mainzer Str. 80, D-50678 Cologne, Germany. ' University of Liechtenstein, Fürst-Franz-Josef-Strasse, LI-9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein; Utrecht University, Janskerkhof 12, NL-3512 BL Utrecht, The Netherlands. ' Department of Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Augasse 2-6, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

Abstract: For technology-oriented SME, innovation and growth are important aspects of firm performance. A strategic orientation that emphasises entrepreneurial behaviour (entrepreneurial orientation, EO) may be an effective way to obtain these goals. However, there is little information on the internal organisational processes that link EO to innovation and growth. In this study, the performance implications of goal-oriented management techniques (GoM) such as management by objectives (MbO) on innovation and growth in the context of EO are analysed on a sample of 165 fast growth technology-based ventures from Germany. The results show that EO has a positive impact on innovation and growth, with innovation being a partial mediator. In addition to that, EO seems to be negatively related to the degree to which GoM is used, while GoM itself has a negative relationship with innovation.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; goal-oriented management; GoM; economic growth; innovation antecedents; management by objectives; MbO; technology-oriented SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; entrepreneurial orientation; firm growth; Germany.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2010.035859

International Journal of Technology Management, 2010 Vol.52 No.1/2, pp.135 - 152

Published online: 06 Apr 2013 *

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