Transforming Caterpillars Into Butterflies: The Role of Managerial Values and HR Systems in the Performance of Emergent Organizations

Emerging firms are the foundation for economic growth in today's business world, yet relatively little is known about the factors that contribute to the success or failure of developing organizations. This research study helps to address this broad question by examining the role that managerial values and practices play in the performance of high-tech start-ups. Using the resource-based and dynamic capability perspectives, this research project examines three critical factors that are likely to affect the performance of emerging firms: human resource policies and practices, an overarching philosophy of partnership, and an entrepreneurial orientation. Each of these is argued to produce a sustainable competitive advantage by providing firms with the ability to dynamically configure and reconfigure resource bundles. Results indicate that high performance work systems and partnership philosophy are positively associated with sales growth and innovation. Additional findings suggest that partnership and an entrepreneurial orientation both increase the likelihood of implementing high performance work systems. Finally, the results suggest that firms combining a greater utilization of high performance work systems with an entrepreneurial orientation achieve higher levels of sales growth.