Management Review

›› 2020, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1): 119-131.

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How does New Ventures' Network Orientation Affect Their Entrepreneurial Orientation?

Rui Zhengyun1, Luo Jinlian2, Gan Jingxian3   

  1. 1. School of Government Audit, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815;
    2. School of Economic and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092;
    3. Schoolof Intellectual Property, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094
  • Received:2017-04-17 Online:2020-01-28 Published:2020-01-19

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Abstract:

For new ventures, enhancing entrepreneurial orientation by the help of external networks becomes one of the keychallenges, as start-ups often lack necessary fundamental resources and competence due to their newborn weakness, especially in the background of China's economic transition. Combined with social network theory and organizational learning theory, this paper analyzes the influence of network orientation on entrepreneurial orientation through the dual mechanisms of network embeddedness and entrepreneurial learning. Then we use the method of multiple regression analysis and statistical software of SPSS to test our hypotheses. Results show that, first, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between new ventures' network orientation and entrepreneurial orientation. Second, new ven-tures' network embeddedness and entrepreneurial learning play positive moderating roles in the link between network orientation and en-trepreneurial orientation, but the moderating effect of exploitive entrepreneurial learning is not significant. Third, complementarity effect exists between network embeddedness and entrepreneurial learning. Specifically, there is a significant synergistic effect between relational embeddedness and exploitive learning, as well as the interaction between structural embeddedness and exploratory learning. This paper helps guide new ventures' entrepreneurial orientation by underscoring their network embeddedness and entrepreneurial learning.

Key words: network orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, new ventures, network embeddedness, entrepreneurial learning