Revisiting the Mediating Effect of Entrepreneurial Behaviour on Proactiveness - Performance Relationship: The Role of Business Ties and Competitive Intensity

Abstract

Drawing on previous literature proposing that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) - performance relationship is mediated by entrepreneurial activity, we examine the mediating role that exploratory and exploitative innovation plays in proactiveness-new product performance association. We complement the literature concerning the EO-performance relationship with the introduction of business ties and competitive intensity that the mediation effect is conditioned to. While data from 344 small-medium enterprises indicate the mediation effects, we provide empirical evidence that these mediation effects are conditional to the strategic resources and external stimuli. In this context, whereas the mediation effect of exploratory innovation in the proactiveness-new product performance relationship is not conditional to either business ties or competitive intensity, we show that exploitative innovation mediates this relationship only in the presence of business ties irrespective of competitive intensity level.