Delving into Entrepreneurial Orientation Pervasiveness Question: The Critical Role of Consensus

Previous research has extensively investigated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance, leaving the way entrepreneurial orientation is shaped, fostered, developed and maintained within organizations almost unattended. This paper is among the first to systematically investigate the pervasiveness of entrepreneurial orientation within an organization by exploring varying perceptions of entrepreneurial orientation both within and between the business units of a well-established multi-national company. First, we examine the overarching question of whether and how entrepreneurial orientation exhibits variance across hierarchical levels and business units. Second, we explore the dynamics of entrepreneurial orientation change over time, providing insights into the factors which affect the manifestation of entrepreneurial orientation in different time periods. The study is conducted on a full population of business units from an industrial company observed with a time lag of three years. We find partial confirmation for our hypotheses and we contribute to the call for greater research exploring the antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation, extend this research conversation beyond reports of top managers, and examine employee perceptions in regards to manifestation of a business unit’s level of entrepreneurial orientation.