Title: An investigation of entrepreneurial orientation and organisational strategies in Chinese SMEs

Authors: Zhi Tang, Jintong Tang, Louis D. Marino, Yuli Zhang, Qianwen Li

Addresses: Rochester Institute of Technology, E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Max Lowenthal Building, Building 12, Room 3310, 108 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, 14623-5608, USA. ' Department of Management, John Cook School of Business, Saint Louis University, 3674 Lindell Blvd., Room 406, St. Louis MO 63108, USA. ' The University of Alabama, P.O. Box 870225, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA. ' Business College, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China. ' Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing, 210029, China

Abstract: This paper attempts to enhance our understanding of entrepreneurship in China by addressing two research questions: 1) Can entrepreneurship in China be understood through the constructs (e.g., entrepreneurial orientation) developed in Western cultures?; 2) Do entrepreneurial firms in China employ the same strategies as their Western peers do? We conducted two studies to examine the validity of Miller|s original scale of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the Chinese context and to investigate the relationships between EO and organisational strategies. Results indicate that the EO measure is psychometrically valid when applied in China. Further, innovation strategy is commonly adopted to compete in the market place, while cost-saving is not a significant strategic option.

Keywords: entrepreneurial orientation; organisational strategy; China; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; entrepreneurship; culture; innovation strategy; cost saving.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2010.036675

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2010 Vol.6 No.3, pp.206 - 223

Published online: 05 Nov 2010 *

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