The Impact Of Entrepreneurial Orientation On Incubated Enterprise Innovation Performance

Entrepreneurial activities develop rapidly worldwide with complex and fast changing technology in the context of economic globalization. In China, high-tech start-ups have become an important driving force for constructing the innovative country. The role of business incubators increases prominently on the functions of optimization local environment, enhancing the survival rate of enterprises and so on. Meanwhile entrepreneurial orientation, as a strategic construct leading corporate entrepreneurship, is one of research focuses in the field of entrepreneurship. As an important external factor affecting business growth and performance, incubation environment receives much attention from international and domestic academics. However, there is very little confluence analysis about entrepreneurial orientation and incubation environment, and the existing research models ignore how the interaction between the two works on incubated enterprise innovation performance.From the micro perspective of incubated enterprises, this study adopts the theoretical paradigm of "entrepreneurial strategic construct-innovation behavior-innovation performance", based on entrepreneurial orientation theory, resource-based view and theory of reasoned action. Combining literature research, empirical research, DEMATEL method and system dynamics method, this study makes theoretical analysis and empirical research on how entrepreneurial orientation and incubation environment impact on incubated enterprise innovation performance. This study investigates the mechanism how entrepreneurial orientation, incubation environment and the interaction work on technology innovation of incubated enterprises, and reveals the path how entrepreneurial orientation influences incubated enterprise innovation performance with incubation environmental impact. The purpose of this studyis to make the incubator play an effective role in supporting incubated enterprises, to make the entrepreneurial orientation play an effective role in improving innovation performance, to coordinate the matching relationship between them, and finally to accelerate the growth of new ventures. It has great theoretical value and practical significance in improving theories of entrepreneurial orientation and incubation, optimizing incubator management practices in China, stimulating innovation vitality and growth dynamic of new ventures and booming entrepreneurial economy. Main research work is as follows.(1) Concepts defining, dimensions dividing and basic theoretical framework proposing. On the basis of analyzing relevant literature systematically, this study defines the concepts of significant variables, explains the meaning and divides the dimensions. Then this studysummarizes the key issues of entrepreneurial orientation, and puts forward broad and narrow concept of incubation environment. On this basis, entrepreneurial orientation is divided in creation EO and discovery EO according to entrepreneurial intention and resource endowment of incubated enterprises. This study summarizes three attributive characters of entrepreneurial orientation:culture attribute, strategy attribute and resource attribute, and then proposes the basic theoretical framework-"EO-IRF-IEIP" triangular pyramid model revealing how entrepreneurial orientation influences incubated enterprise innovation performance. This study points out that incubated enterprise innovation performance can be affected by innovation decision tendency and the degree of effort in three levels which are "intention-resource-flexibility".(2) The mechanism is analyzed about the influence of entrepreneurial orientation and incubation environment to the incubated enterprise innovation performance by integrated use of literature research, DEMATEL method and system dynamics method. First, on the base of literature research, the author draws the DEMATEL causal maps of the causal factors and the result factors of the innovation performance from three separated perspectives of the cultural perspective, the strategic perspective, and the resource-based perspective, and reveals the relationships between these factors. Then the author discusses the dynamic relationship among entrepreneurial orientation, incubation environment, and incubated enterprise innovation performance on a systematic perspective; builds the causal model of "EO-IE-IEIP" system, and condensed out the dominant path and factors that have effect on the system. The results show that:there are five dominant system evolution paths, which can explain how five characteristic dimensions in two types influence the innovation performance of the incubated enterprise by affecting related factors of corporate willingness, resources, and flexibility to innovate. The results also show that "information and knowledge sharing" plays the dominant role in the system since it connects three subsystems.(3) Research hypothesis and conceptual model are putted forward based on literature research. Conducting data is analyzed and hypothesis is tested by the way of factor analysis and regression analysis. The empirical results show that:①Entrepreneurial orientation can influence incubated enterprise innovation performance through direct and indirect ways. While two types of entrepreneurial orientation are different in impact strength and influence path. Creation-based EO has both greater direct and indirect influence on incubated enterprise innovation performance than discovery-based EO. The creation-based EO generates three indirect influence paths through the intermediary utility of willingness, flexibility, and resource to innovate. The discovery-based EO generates two indirect influence paths through the intermediary utility of the willingness and resource to innovate.②Incubation environment plays multifarious regulating effects in the conversion process of entrepreneurial orientation transforming into incubated enterprise innovation performance. Environmental dynamism has positive regulatory effect on the relationship between creation-based EO and innovation performance, as well as on the relationship between innovation flexibility and innovation performance. While environmental supportiveness has positive regulatory effect not only on the relationship between creation-based EO and innovation performance, but also on the relationship between discovery-based EO and innovation performance. Meanwhile, environmental inclusiveness has negative regulating effect on the relationship between innovation flexibility and innovation performance.③Willingness, resources, and flexibility have different effect strengths on the entrepreneurial orientation and innovation performance They can all play partial mediator regulatory effect on the relationship between creation-based EO and innovation performance, while willingness and resources have totally mediator regulatory effect on the relationship between discovery-based EO and innovation performance.