The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on New Product Creativity, Competitive Advantage and New Product Performance in SMEs: The Moderating Role of Corporate Life Cycle

Abstract

The current study aims to empirically examine the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on new product creativity, competitive advantage, and new product performance. Data are collected from 424 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea. The suggested hypotheses are tested through the structural equation modeling technique. The analysis outcome shows that entrepreneurial orientation has a significant positive effect on both new product (NP) novelty and new product meaningfulness. The study further finds that both new product novelty and meaningfulness have significant positive impacts on competitive advantage, respectively, while the latter has a significant positive effect on new product performance. Similarly, the study finds that corporate life cycle significantly moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and new product meaningfulness. The study offers practical and theoretical insights into understanding entrepreneurship dynamics, new product creativity, and new product performance. The research shows that SME managers must adopt an entrepreneurial orientation at an early stage in the life cycle.