Understanding the Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Smes’ Performance. the Role of the Financing Structure

AbstractBased on a sample of 300 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in the Province of Udine (north East of Italy) and the Kärtner Region (South of Austria) we perform an analysis of the impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on SMEs’ subjective performances. We develop a model in which EO dimensions are moderated by the role of financial leverage The present work is part of a research project on an interregional co-operation programme Italy-Austria (INTERREG IV) financed by the European Regional Development Fund whose program areas include the Province of Udine and the Kärtner Region. Subjective performances has been widely investigated in academic literature where various streams of research have been developed. A prominent field of research focuses on the constructs of EO orientation and their ability to prompt performances through innovative attitude, risk taking behaviour, aggressiveness, autonomy and competitive energy. Another established field of research focuses on the impact of financial structure (i.e. leverage) on performances, although with ambiguous results.. We find support to the hypothesis that competitive energy might have a significant and positive impact in driving performance, which has obvious implications for managers and theoreticians. We also find that leverage might have a significant moderating role through interactions with EO dimensions