The influence of decision comprehensiveness on innovative behaviors in small entrepreneurial firms: the power of connectivity

Abstract

Small entrepreneurial firms lack the resources that large firms possess, but they often thrive on innovation. A key question is how these firms develop this innovative capacity despite their limited resources and administrative support. We examine decision-making processes and explore the relational conditions within a firm’s top management team (TMT) that drive innovation. Specifically, we develop a conceptual model in which we theorize about the socio-psychological conditions of connectivity under which strategic decision-making processes help to defy the norms and facilitate innovative behaviors. Results of data collected from the TMTs of 149 small entrepreneurial firms indicate that the link between Strategic Decision Comprehensiveness (SDC) and TMT innovative behavior was stronger when the relationships among TMT members were characterized by a high level of connectivity. This research integrates the emerging theory of Positive Work Relationships to inform Upper Echelon research on the socio-psychological conditions in which SDC may drive TMT innovative behavior.

Keywords:

• Comprehensiveness
• connectivity
• innovation
• innovative work behavior
• top management teams
• small entrepreneurial firms

Acknowledgments

We thank Paula Guice and Esther Singer for their helpful editorial comments. We acknowledge the financial support of the Raya Strauss Family Business Research Center at Tel Aviv University. All remaining errors are entirely our own.