Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance of Chinese High-Tech Firms: The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning and Moderating Role of Firm Life Cycle

Abstract

The evidence about how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) affects firms’ performance remains inconclusive. This study joins the research by incorporating organizational learning (OL) as a micro-macro link and by extending empirical work to the largely underexplored context of Chinese high-tech industries. Results from a survey of 252 Chinese high-tech firms demonstrate: (1) entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to firm performance; (2) organizational learning is also positively related to firm performance; (3) organizational learning partly mediates the positive impact of entrepreneurial orientation on firm performance; and (4) high-tech companies in the start-up and growth stage are likely to demonstrate stronger linkages in the EO–OL–performance relationship than in mature stage, which shows that the EO–OL–performance relationship is moderated by firms’ life cycle.

Keywords

entrepreneurial orientation (EO) / organizational learning (OL) / firm life cycle / performance / high-tech firms / China