Purpose -This study examines the interrelationships between aspects of entrepreneurial, market, and learning orientations, and international entrepreneurial business venture (IEBV) performance. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from 396 entrepreneurs and 143 senior managers from early stage, growth-oriented firms in the Republic of South Africa. These firms had an international focus in that 20 per cent began exporting from their inception and the remaining 80 per cent either began exporting within three years of inception or planned to export within three years of inception. Given the multidimensional nature of IEBV performance, structural equation modeling (AMOS) was used to test the measurement and substantive models. Findings -Results indicate that IEBV performance is positively related to the innovativeness component of an entrepreneurial orientation (EO), a market orientation, and a learning orientation. Contrary to expectations, the communications aspect of EO is inversely related to objective performance measures. Research limitations/implications -By design, only successful IEBVs in South Africa were studied, potentially limiting generalizability. Practical implications -Financiers can enhance the probability of success by assigning a greater weight to an entrepreneur's creativity. Originality/value -This is the first examination of the role of all three orientations and multidimensional measures of objective and subjective performance. It examines South Africa, a more dynamic, changing and hostile business environment. Managers and financiers can enhance their probability of success by developing the different orientations.

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PurposeThis study seeks to examine the interrelationships among three elements of an entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk‐taking), age and education of the entrepreneur, and the international entrepreneurial business venture (IEBV) start‐up decision.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a sample of 539 individuals from dynamic internationally focused South African firms. Since the dependent variable is non‐metric and the independent variables associated with the IEBV new entry decision are metric, multiple discriminant analysis was used to test new entry decisions.FindingsResults indicate that the start‐up decision is positively related to the proactiveness and risk‐taking components of an entrepreneurial orientation and the age of the lead entrepreneur and negatively related to the education of the lead entrepreneur. As predicted, the innovativeness component of entrepreneurial orientation is not a factor in the start‐up decision.Practical implicationsInvestors can determine the likelihood of venture start‐up by examining the proactiveness and risk‐taking dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and the age and education of the lead entrepreneur. Since older and less educated entrepreneurs have a greater likelihood of starting ventures, entrepreneurial training programs may provide greater returns by targeting this age and education group.Originality/valueThis is the first examination of the role of entrepreneurial orientation, age, and the IEBV start‐up decision. It examines South Africa, a more dynamic, changing and hostile business environment. Managers and financiers can enhance their probability of success by developing the proactiveness and risk taking entrepreneurial orientation dimensions.

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This research furthers our understanding of the interaction between the fields of entrepreneurship and family business. It presents a framework that introduces the family dynamic to Timmons’ driving forces model of entrepreneurship. The framework highlights the influence of the family in the entrepreneurship process and the importance of the fit among the three driving forces and the family. It highlights the importance of, and the pivotal roles played by, outside boards of directors when entrepreneurial activities are undertaken by family businesses. Using extracts from interviews with family and non‐family executives and board members, the research employs a single case study that describes an actual series of events to provide a practical application of the theory.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how and why small to medium enterprises (SMEs) access knowledge from external actors in general and from higher education institutions (HEIs) in particular and what is the extent to which these knowledge access pathways affect SME innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach – The paper involved both quantitative and qualitative approaches: a survey of 1,226 SMEs and a mini case study to follow-up on issues arising from the survey analysis. Survey data were analysed using both non-parametric and multivariate Poisson regression analysis. The case study was based on a medium-sized manufacturing firm in South Australia. Findings – While there are significant differences between the micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, the evidence suggests that SMEs generally use “generic” university–industry knowledge transfer pathways (e.g. published research results) rather than university–industry links with high “relational” involvement. More significantly, the results indicate that SMEs are more likely to rely on organisations other than universities and related R&D enterprises for knowledge acquisition like clients/customers or suppliers. While collaboration is most likely to occur within the same state/territory, or Australia, many SMEs also collaborate internationally, usually as part of normal supplier–customer relationships, reinforcing knowledge acquisition from organisationally proximate partners. These findings are also supported by the case study. Research limitations/implications – This research was limited to surveying SMEs in one geographic (metropolitan) region in Australia. It also does not account for the different patterns of HEI–SME interactions in different industry sectors. There is also only one case study. Originality/value – First, the research adds to the few field studies that have investigated accessing knowledge for innovation among SMEs. Specifically, the research contributes to an understanding of the heterogeneous roles that different actors play in facilitating knowledge access for improving innovative SMEs outcomes. Second, the research does not treat all SMEs similarly in terms of size effects but instead accounts for differing SME sizes and how this affects their selection of knowledge access pathways. Third, the research contributes to a small number of studies that attempt to understand how HEIs and SMEs can work better together in the context of a regional innovation system, especially one that is relatively less competitive to the larger economy.

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This research examines how entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) of tourism entrepreneurs affect the performance of small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs). The conceptual structural model reflecting these interrelationships is examined in terms of data collected from 298 SMTE entrepreneurs in regional South Australia. Contrary to the findings of studies conducted in nontourism contexts, entrepreneurial experience was not related to ESE nor to enterprise performance. How long one has been in a tourism enterprise or how many enterprises an individual has owned is not a good predictor of whether that entrepreneur will be able to develop a high performing SMTE that contributes toward economic wealth and job creation in the community. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy, rather than entrepreneurial experience, is a significant predictor of enterprise performance among SMTEs. This raises a number of questions. If experience gained through operating an SMTE does not contribute toward entrepreneurial confidence or entrepreneurial performance, what does? Are tourism entrepreneurs so different from entrepreneurs found in other industries that theories require modification when applied in tourism? The findings suggest that destination managers and policy makers need to understand the importance of entrepreneurial self-efficacy if they wish to enhance performance within the industry.