Is innovativeness influenced by proactiveness and risk-taking? Evidence from Poland based on structural equation modelling

Abstract

This article focuses on entrepreneurial orientation in a firm’s internationalisation process, which is one of the leading research trends in international entrepreneurship. The objective of the study is to verify the relationship between proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness as components of the entrepreneurial orientation of internationalised Polish firms. The article answers the main research question of how proactiveness and risk-taking influence innovativeness as an interrelated three-dimensional construct of entrepreneurial orientation. We present the results of a study based on a stratified sampling of 355 internationalised Polish firms. Structural equation modelling (CB-​SEM) demonstrated a positive effect of proactiveness (PROACT) and risk-taking (RISK) on innovativeness (INNO) as an interrelated three-dimensional construct of entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, the level of proactiveness (PROACT) and risk-taking (RISK) explained 32% of the variation in innovativeness (INNO), which is high in social sciences, including business studies.

Keywords

• Entrepreneurial orientation
• innovativeness
• risk-taking
• proactiveness
• international entrepreneurship
• internationalization of the firm