Dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial performance of Chinese start-ups: the mediating roles of managerial attitude towards risk and entrepreneurial behaviour

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the sequential mediation effects of managerial attitude towards risk and entrepreneurial behaviour on the relationship between dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial performance in the Chinese context. Our proposed model explains the key micro-level mechanisms through which dynamic capabilities drive entrepreneurial performance and the varying effects of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions on performance, thus, enabling decision-makers to understand how to utilize dynamic capabilities to achieve desirable performance. Drawing on survey data of 250 new ventures across different industries in China, we find that dynamic capabilities have both a direct positive effect and an indirect effect on entrepreneurial performance through the chain mediation effects of managerial attitude towards risk and entrepreneurial behaviour.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese start-ups
• dynamic capabilities
• entrepreneurial behaviour
• managerial attitude towards risk
• entrepreneurial performance

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the Editor Professor Chris Rowley, the Associate Editor Professor Ingyu Oh and the anonymous reviewers for their supportive comments and suggestions to improve this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [71673082].

Notes on contributors

Zhe Shi

Zhe Shi is a PhD candidate at the College of Business Administration, Hunan University. She received her MSc in Human Resource Management and Organisational Analysis from King’s College London and BSc in Business Management from Queen Mary, University of London. Her research interests are in entrepreneurship, strategic management, and human resource management.

Ling Yuan

Ling Yuan is a Professor at the College of Business Administration, Hunan University, China. His research interest is in the areas of organizational behaviour and human resource management. His work has been published in the Journal of Knowledge Management, Chinese Management Studies, and International Journal of Manpower, among others.

Soo Hee Lee

Soo Hee Lee is Professor in Organization Studies at Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK. His research focuses on institutional underpinnings and behavioural dynamics of creativity, innovation and power. His work has been published in Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, and Research Policy.