What about the employees in entrepreneurial firms? : A multi-level analysis of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, role ambiguity, and social support

• Research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has mainly addressed outcomes of EO at the level of the firm. However, few studies have examined how EO affects employees. Using a multi-level analysis of 343 employees nested in 25 SMEs, revealed that EO will increase the degree of role ambiguity among employees. Social support from management was not found to have any effect on the relationship between EO and role ambiguity. However, social support from co-workers weakens the EO-ambiguity relationship and can counteract the negative effects of EO to some degree. The study contributes to the EO literature by being one of very few that have considered possible negative consequences of EO, and it also highlights how to reduce role ambiguity in entrepreneurial SMEs.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

employee well-being

entrepreneurial orientation

hierarchical linear modeling

role ambiguity

small and medium-sized enterprises

social exchange theory

Strategiskt entreprenörskap (StrEnt)

Strategic Entrepreneurship

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)