The Performance Implications of Entrepreneurial Proclivity: A Dynamic Capabilities Approach

Abstract

The aim of this research is to improve ourunderstanding of the factors influencing the development of knowledge resourcesin the retail marketplace and their conversion into the dynamic capability ofmarket responsiveness. A model of the effects of entrepreneurial proclivity(i.e., innovativeness, proactiveness, competitiveness, and autonomy) onknowledge resources is used to generate several hypotheses. Taken together, the hypotheses suggest that a retailer's knowledge of itscustomers, competitors, suppliers, and regulatory agencies is positivelyassociated with the retailer's market responsiveness. It is also hypothesizedthat a retailer's entrepreneurial proclivity moderates this positiverelationship. Data from a survey of 269 small retailers are used to test these hypotheses.Overall, the results suggest that entrepreneurial proclivity plays a centralrole in a smaller retailer's development and utilization of its knowledgeresources. (SAA)

Keywords: Knowledge management, Entrepreneurial orientation, Retail industry, Market strategies, Competitive advantages, Customers, Market competition