Entrepreneurial orientation in the emerging Russian regulatory context: the criticality of interpersonal relationships

Abstract

Abstract:The present research examines the understudied impact of the regulatory environment on the manifestation of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) among firms within an emerging market context. Results from an exploratory sample of 432 Russian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) suggest that key aspects of the regulatory environment may deserve further attention in future research. Controlling for the level of compliance by a given Russian SME, the perceived protection of private property rights was observed to have a marginally significant direct positive effect, whereas the perceived strength of contract law is shown to exhibit a marginal negative relationship with EO among Russian SMEs. In terms of operating within this emerging regulatory context, the perceived availability of governmental contracts had a marginal positive effect on EO. Finally, stressing the importance of 'who you know is more important than what you know', relationships with government officials had a very strong positive effect on EO.

Strategic Sensemaking and Political Connections in Unstable Institutional Contexts

“…Governments oversee the legislative, executive, and judicial branches that create and maintain organizational environments (Aslund, 2009; Ledeneva, 2012). Where there are institutional voids and performance is dependent on the supreme mechanisms, connections to the central apparatus are often imperative to make sense of the environment and gain a foothold in the playing field (Mann, 2014; Wales, Shirokova, Sokolova, & Stein, 2016). Thus, the observation and recognition process of the value of connections is deemed as scanning and interpretation in this article.…”

Knowledge Management and Performance Measurement Systems for SMEs’ Economic Sustainability

“…Hence, entrepreneurial orientation and culture lead towards better firms' performance, represented by higher profits and greater firm's growth [86]. Similarly, Stein et al [91] underline the importance of entrepreneurship in enhancing the firm's profitability, market share, and sales growth. "Exploration suggests that organizations are categorized by search, discovery, experimentation, risk taking and innovation" [27], which is a feature often associated with SMEs [92].…”

Striving for Entrepreneurial Autonomy: A Comparison of Russia and the Netherlands

“…Faced with actively involved government agencies, firms must develop both political and market capabilities (Li, Peng, & Macaulay, 2013). Utilization of ‘administrative resource’ (Russians use singular rather than plural), or sviazi (Batjargal, 2007) (the concept of blat (Ledeneva, 2009) is considered outmoded), meaning network linkages in or with the government that facilitate doing business, is vital for mitigating state coercion and interference with commercial affairs and for protecting businesses from extortion and expropriation (Wales, Shirokova, Sokolova, & Stein, 2016; Yukhanaev, Fallon, Baranchenko, & Anisimova, 2015).…”