Returnee entrepreneurs, science park location choice and performance: an analysis of high-technology SMEs in China

Building on an asset complementarity perspective, human capital and social capital measures are used to examine the science park location decisions of returnee entrepreneurs and the performance of their ventures. The study uses a unique, hand-collected data set of 349 SMEs from Zhongguancun Science Park in China, including 53 SMEs from locations administered by universities. The article considers the antecedents of university and nonuniversity science park location and firm growth with a view to drawing conclusions that go beyond the specific context of Beijing and China. Its findings include the tendency for returning entrepreneurs with academic knowledge in the form of patents transferred from abroad to locate in nonuniversity science parks, and for those with previous firm ownership abroad to choose university science parks. The firms of returnees with patents from abroad enjoyed stronger employment growth in nonuniversity science parks and those with commercial experience abroad with MNCs performed better in university science parks. This evidence is consistent with the view that returning entrepreneurs seek complementary (academic and commercial) assets in their location decisions, although some inconsistencies with this view are also discussed

Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: The unique impact of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking

This paper develops a theoretical model of the relationship between firm-level entrepreneurship and firm performance. This model is intended to further clarify the consequences of an ‘entrepreneurial orientation,’ paying particular attention to the differential relationship that exists between the three sub-dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Included in the theoretical model are other important variables (such as organizational structure and environmental characteristics) that may impact the EO-performance relationship. Propositions are developed regarding the various configurations of the sub-dimensions of EO and organizational structure that would be most appropriate in a given environmental context. Future research may also benefit from considering the important role that organizational strategy and life cycle stage play in this model. The implications of this model for both researchers and managers are discussed.Journal Articl

How variation in management perceptions affects organizational performance

Multiple respondents, Variation, Organizational performance, Management perception,