Although entrepreneurial orientation has been identified as a key facilitator of a firm's innovative behaviors, its antecedents, especially the determinant role of the business leader, have yet to be explored. Drawin...Although entrepreneurial orientation has been identified as a key facilitator of a firm's innovative behaviors, its antecedents, especially the determinant role of the business leader, have yet to be explored. Drawing on strategic leadership theory, which posits the role of CEO in determining a firm's strategic direction, we examined the influence of CEO demography, specifically age, tenure, and education, on a firm's entrepreneurial orientation. Based on a sample of 231 Chinese firms, we found firms with a CEO who was younger, higher educated, and with a shorter tenure on the job had a greater extent of entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, the firm's competitive environment moderated these relationships.展开更多
基金Acknowledgements We appreciate the financial support from the Faculty Research Grant of Hong Kong Baptist University (FRG2/10-11/064). The study is also supported by two research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 70902050 and No. 71272186), two research grants from the Chinese Ministry of Education of China (No. 09YJC630132 and No. 201190).
文摘Although entrepreneurial orientation has been identified as a key facilitator of a firm's innovative behaviors, its antecedents, especially the determinant role of the business leader, have yet to be explored. Drawing on strategic leadership theory, which posits the role of CEO in determining a firm's strategic direction, we examined the influence of CEO demography, specifically age, tenure, and education, on a firm's entrepreneurial orientation. Based on a sample of 231 Chinese firms, we found firms with a CEO who was younger, higher educated, and with a shorter tenure on the job had a greater extent of entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, the firm's competitive environment moderated these relationships.