Entrepreneurial Orientation, Firm Strategy and Small Firm Performance

We examine how individual entrepreneurial orientation dimensions influence the relationship between competitive strategy and firm performance. The findings, based on a data set of 115 entrepreneurial firms, show the different impacts that the individual dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation have on competitive advantage as well as the different effects the two generic types of competitive advantage (cost leadership and differentiation) have on performance. Innovativeness is the most robust variable influencing differentiation and firm performance. Risk taking and competitive aggressiveness negatively influence both generic strategies. Overall, this study refines our understanding of the effects of entrepreneurial orientation on firm performance