Entrepreneurial orientation, network resource acquisition, and firm performance: A network approach

This study applies a network approach to develop a model that highlights the role of resource acquisition through networks as an important mediating mechanism through which entrepreneurial orientation influences firm performance. This approach provides an alternative explanation for the divergent findings of the EO-performance relationship. We also investigate how business and political ties, differently and configurationally, shape the relationship between EO and network resource acquisition. Empirical findings from a study of 251 firms provide general support for the hypotheses, highlighting the unique value of leveraging a network approach to reconsider the performance-enhancing mechanism of entrepreneurial orientation.