This study utilizes data from 1,048 firms in six countries to assess the impact of national culture and certain institutions that are representative of national culture on two key dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation: risk taking and proactiveness. Eight hypotheses are developed specifying the expected relationships between four cultural dimensions and levels of risk taking and proactiveness within SMEs. Additionally, two hypotheses are developed to explore between-country differences in the relationship between risk taking and proactiveness and a range of institutional variables. Uncertainty avoidance and power distance are both found to have a significant negative influence on risk taking; uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and power distance are found to negatively influence proactive firm behaviors. A number of institutional factors are also found to be significantly linked to between-country differences in both risk taking and proactive behaviors. This research contributes to existing theories of national culture by suggesting that the various dimensions of cultural values and several of the institutions that are representative of national culture impact the willingness of entrepreneurial firms to display risk taking and proactive behaviors.

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by LINKOPINGS UNIVERSITET For Authors:If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comWith over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between general education, specific forms of entrepreneurial education and a range of entrepreneurial activities. Design/methodology/approach -The relationships were investigated through an analysis of peer-reviewed research published in a wide range of journals and proceedings between 1995 and 2006. Findings -Findings suggest strong evidence supporting the relationship between levels of general education and several entrepreneurial success measures. The findings are less clear in regards to the link between general education and the choice to become an entrepreneur. The findings linking specific programs of entrepreneurship education to entrepreneurship, although ambiguous, suggest a positive link between such education and both the choice to become an entrepreneur and subsequent entrepreneurial success.Research limitations/implications -The review of research suggests four implications for existing research: a need for increased research outside the USA; an understanding that inconsistencies in findings may be to a great extent temporal artifacts; a need for increased research focused on innovation; and an acknowledgement that "venture exit" as an outcome measure has received limited attention. Practical implications -Given the significant investments by both private organizations and governments aimed at increasing rates of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial success through education, it is important to understand that while the evidence supporting the links between education and entrepreneurial outcomes is promising it is not yet definitive. Originality/value -In addition to providing a review of existing research this paper suggests an integrative framework for future research.

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We shed new light on the structure of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance and how this relationship varies across contexts. Using commonality analysis, we decompose the variance in performance-in terms of the effects of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking-into parts that are attributable to unique variations in these dimensions (unique effects) and those attributable to covariation between these dimensions (shared effects). By demonstrating the empirical relevance of unique, bilaterally shared, and commonly shared effects in a heterogeneous sample of low-tech, hightech, and multi-sector firms, we consolidate existing conceptualizations of EO and propose an extension of the extant theoretical views of the construct. (1989). This conceptualization emphasizes the common, or shared effect of the dimensions of EO such that "EO can be understood as a sustained firm-level attribute represented by the singular quality that risk taking, innovative, and proactive behaviors have in common" (Covin & 2

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