Prospecting for Strategic Advantage: The Proactive Entrepreneurial Personality and Small Firm Innovation

Abstract

Our study proposed and tested an entrepreneurial process model that examined the interrelationships among a small firm owner's personality, strategic orientation, and innovation. In the first part of the model, it was posited that a proactive personality would directly influence a prospector strategic orientation. This type of strategic orientation would then be a key factor in determining the type of innovations introduced and implemented within the business. Using a sample of 107 small business owners, results revealed that the prospector strategy orientation mediated the relationship between proactive personality and three types of innovations: innovative targeting processes, innovative organizational systems, and innovative boundary supports. Implications for small business managers as well as future research directions are discussed.