THEORY CONCEPT AND RELATED RESEARCH
2.10.2 Main Characteristics of Entrepreneurship
entrepreneur meaning. Typically, entrepreneurship focuses on process, responsibility, or consequence of entrepreneurs‟ roles. Bygrave and Hofer (1991) defined entrepreneurship as all duties and activities concerning the seizure of opportunities and pursuit of such opportunities by an organization. Amit et al (1993) view entrepreneurship as a process of profit-making from new resources utilization, which is unique and valuable under an uncertain, vague or unclear environment. While Shane and Venkataraman (2000) regarded entrepreneurship as a convergence of two indispensable phenomena, which are the discovery of profitable business opportunity and the entrepreneurial readiness for operation. Therefore, only the entrepreneur definition is not complete since skepticism about entrepreneurship still remains.
Swedberg (2007) defined entrepreneurship as a process of changes on economics from new resources utilization resulting in a creative destruction of market balance.
Entrepreneurship, therefore, creates changes in condition from static to dynamic.
Although the concept of entrepreneurship has been studied for only three decades, its definition can be summed up as an enterprise‟s process or operation from an entrepreneur‟s roles in seeking of new business opportunities including resources management capability employed to achieve the opportunity on hand.
of entrepreneur‟s role or the generally accepted theory of entrepreneurship has not been achieved (Swedberg, 2007: 2). However, such research findings on entrepreneurship have revealed that the concept is not a single concept with one particular theory, but rather a combination of components from several theories (Low and MacMillan, 1988: 140). Although the literature on entrepreneurship in the last three decades cannot be integrated into a universally accepted theory (Swedberg, 2007), recent research works have offered concepts or major aspects of entrepreneurship, many of which can lead to the creation of a key component of entrepreneurship. An important feature of entrepreneurship is that it means more than just an individual entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship refers to the behavior or actions, not just characteristic. It is a complex subject that requires multidisciplines to explain; for example, leadership, resources management, strategic management, and recognition and utilization of opportunity found. Entrepreneurs are responsible for the framing of a vision that is used to convince followers, adoption of commitment and responsibility, and elimination or reduction of barriers in the workplace so organizational goals can be reached. With diverse and plentiful resources, an organization stands a good chance on holding a competitive advantage. The ability to preserve an organization‟s resources from changing hand or losing creates a competitive advantage as well (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993). Entrepreneurs have a role to procure resources and make use of them for the best interest of the organization, as well as to maintain and develop resources to gain a competitive advantage. A review of related research on the influence of entrepreneurship on small and medium enterprises performance (Widhoon Chiamchittrong, 2010) aims to understand the concept of entrepreneurship on these enterprises‟ performance. The research probes the components of entrepreneurship and how they are associated with small and medium enterprises performance. The definition of entrepreneurship, along with the consistency on assumptions of entrepreneurship and of theories, conclude that the components of entrepreneurship can be explained by several theories, such as the Leadership Theory, Strategic Management Theory, Resource-Based View Theory, and Cognitive Theory.
Entrepreneurship is, therefore, composed of four factors, i.e. entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurial strategic management, entrepreneurial business opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial business opportunity management. These factors act as a representative of entrepreneurship. Assumption testing on the relationship
between entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises performance employs mail survey data of 125 industrial enterprises in Thailand and rationality analysis of the basics of structural equation modeling and model testing on the measurement of entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises performance. The influence of entrepreneurship comprises four aspects: 1) entrepreneurial leadership, which includes inspiration, influence, and motivation, 2) entrepreneurial strategic management, which includes risk taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness, 3) entrepreneurial business opportunity recognition, which includes social experiences connected knowledge, and 4) entrepreneurial business opportunity management, which includes resources utilization, resources readiness, resources protection, and imitation. The dependent variables of small and medium enterprises performance consist of three variables:
growth as measured by an increase in revenue, market share, sales, and the number of employees; profitability as measured by company profit, return on investment, gross profit, net profit, and return on assets; and survival as measured by current ratio. The empirical study confirms that these four factors are components of entrepreneurship.
The testing of the basics of structural equation modeling indicates that inside entrepreneurial, business opportunity recognition is an initial factor affecting strategic decision-making and business opportunity management. The two factors influence entrepreneurial leadership, which affects small and medium enterprises performance.
This research clarifies that in order to reach small and medium enterprises performance about profitability, growth, and stability, an enterprise needs entrepreneurship development. In addition, entrepreneurial competency assessment helps provide government agencies tools to identify and track the capacity of enterprise performance more conveniently and effectively than the performance tracking, which measures the outcomes.
This researcher, therefore, asserts that entrepreneurial orientation and export performance are related. However, this research only focuses on entrepreneurship in the context of entrepreneurs‟ strategic decisions, which include innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking. This is because entrepreneurs should possess such components in order to be successful in the export business.
A review of the related research on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and export performance is summarized in Table 2.4 below.
Table 2.4 Related Research on the Relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Export Performance
Authors Country of study
Dimensions of Export Entrepreneurial
Orientation
Sample size
Industry Type Firm size
Data Collect
Analytical approach
Unit of analysis
Export Performance
Findings
Associate Professor Dr.
John O. Okpara (2009)
Emerging Economy (Nigeria)
Innovativeness Risk Taking Proactiveness
143 Manufacturing (Firm Listed in the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Export Promotion Group Directory)
S Survey Factor Analysis/
Correlation
Firm -Profitability -Sales Volume -Growth -Overall Performances
There is a positive (+) relationship between a firm‟s owner/
manager‟s Innovative Orientation, Risk- taking orientation, Proactive-Orientation and Export
Performance
Godwin Ahimbisibwe M and Ernest Abaho (2013)
Uganda Innovativeness Risk Taking Proactiveness
167 Manufacturing (small and medium exporting firms registered with the Uganda Export promotions board )
SMEs Survey Reliability Test, Pearson Correlation
Firm -Profitability -Sales Volume -Sales Growth -Satisfaction of export operation Performances
EEO is an important tool in enhancing the export performance of SMEs.
65
Table 2.4 (Continued)
Authors Country of study
Dimensions of Export Entrepreneurial
Orientation
Sample size
Industry Type Firm size
Data Collect
Analytical approach
Unit of analysis
Export Performance
Findings
Seyed Hossein Jalali (2012)
Iran Innovativeness Risk Taking Proactiveness
183 Food Industry SMEs Survey Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)
Firm -Export Sales -Profitability -Market Share -International expansion
Innovativeness is the most effective strategy for SMEs to improve export performance
Paul Taylor (2013)
Jamaika Innovativeness Proactiveness Risk Taking
N/A Manufacturer / export furniture, agricultural products, crafts, food and beverages (From Jamaica Exporters Association Directory and the Jamaica Trade and Invest (Jamaica Promotions Directory)
SMEs Survey and Depth interview
Correlation Firm -Presence in Export Markets -Plans for Existing and New Export Markets
There is a positive relationship between EO and the Inter nationalization (Export Performance) of SMEs
66
Table 2.4 (Continued)
Authors Country of study
Dimensions of Export Entrepreneurial
Orientation
Sample size
Industry Type Firm size
Data Collect
Analytical approach
Unit of analysis
Export Performance
Findings
Anabel Fernandez- Mesa (2013)
Spain Innovativeness Risk Taking Proactiveness
182 Italian and Spanish ceramic tile producers
SMEs Survey Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)
Firm -The share of exports in total sales
Firms with entrepreneurial orientation are able to have the capability of learning and superior innovation
performance which finally increases export intensity
67
2.11 Concepts, Theories, and Related Research on the Relationship