IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v185y2022ics0040162522005558.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

External knowledge resources and new venture success in developing economies: Leveraging innovative opportunities and legitimacy strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Donbesuur, Francis
  • Hultman, Magnus
  • Oghazi, Pejvak
  • Boso, Nathaniel

Abstract

This study draws insights from entrepreneurial opportunity and organizational legitimacy perspectives to specify an intervening role of opportunity recognition and the contingency effect of entrepreneurial legitimacy to explain how and when external knowledge resources are associated with new venture performance. The conceptual model is tested on primary data from 230 new ventures operating in a sub-Saharan African economy: Ghana. Findings from the study indicate that the relationship between external knowledge resources and new venture performance is mediated by opportunity recognition and that high levels of both strategic and regulatory legitimacy strategies strengthen the indirect relationship. Theoretical implications and new venture management lessons drawn from these findings are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Donbesuur, Francis & Hultman, Magnus & Oghazi, Pejvak & Boso, Nathaniel, 2022. "External knowledge resources and new venture success in developing economies: Leveraging innovative opportunities and legitimacy strategies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:185:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522005558
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122034
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162522005558
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ferraris, Alberto & Bogers, Marcel L.A.M. & Bresciani, Stefano, 2020. "Subsidiary innovation performance: Balancing external knowledge sources and internal embeddedness," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(4).
    2. Christoph Grimpe & Ulrich Kaiser, 2010. "Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 1483-1509, December.
    3. Sharon A. Alvarez & Jay B. Barney & Philip Anderson, 2013. "Forming and Exploiting Opportunities: The Implications of Discovery and Creation Processes for Entrepreneurial and Organizational Research," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 301-317, February.
    4. Katrin M. Smolka & Ingrid Verheul & Katrin Burmeister–Lamp & Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens, 2018. "Get it Together! Synergistic Effects of Causal and Effectual Decision–Making Logics on Venture Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(4), pages 571-604, July.
    5. Corey C. Phelps & Ralph Heidl & Anu Wadhwa, 2012. "Networks, knowledge, and knowledge networks: A critical review and research agenda," Post-Print hal-00715591, HAL.
    6. Chandler, Gaylen N. & Hanks, Steven H., 1994. "Market attractiveness, resource-based capabilities, venture strategies, and venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 331-349, July.
    7. Marcati, Alberto & Guido, Gianluigi & Peluso, Alessandro M., 2008. "The role of SME entrepreneurs' innovativeness and personality in the adoption of innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1579-1590, October.
    8. Jeffrey M. Pollack & Matthew W. Rutherford & Brian G. Nagy, 2012. "Preparedness and Cognitive Legitimacy as Antecedents of New Venture Funding in Televised Business Pitches," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(5), pages 915-939, September.
    9. Zahra, Shaker A. & Korri, Juha Santeri & Yu, JiFeng, 2005. "Cognition and international entrepreneurship: implications for research on international opportunity recognition and exploitation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 129-146, April.
    10. Yu, Xiaoyu & Meng, Xiaotong & Chen, Yi & Chen, Yingying & Nguyen, Bang, 2018. "Work-family conflict, organizational ambidexterity and new venture legitimacy in emerging economies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 229-240.
    11. Patrick Kreiser & Louis Marino & Donald Kuratko & K. Weaver, 2013. "Disaggregating entrepreneurial orientation: the non-linear impact of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking on SME performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 273-291, February.
    12. Boso, Nathaniel & Story, Vicky M. & Cadogan, John W., 2013. "Entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, network ties, and performance: Study of entrepreneurial firms in a developing economy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 708-727.
    13. Brandon H. Lee & Shon R. Hiatt & Michael Lounsbury, 2017. "Market Mediators and the Trade-offs of Legitimacy-Seeking Behaviors in a Nascent Category," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 447-470, June.
    14. Jansen, J.J.P. & van den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W., 2005. "Managing Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity: How do Organizational Antecedents matter?," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2005-025-STR, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    15. Delmar, Frederic & Shane, Scott, 2004. "Legitimating first: organizing activities and the survival of new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 385-410, May.
    16. Boso, Nathaniel & Adeleye, Ifedapo & Donbesuur, Francis & Gyensare, Michael, 2019. "Do entrepreneurs always benefit from business failure experience?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 370-379.
    17. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Sabine Brunswicker & Wim Vanhaverbeke, 2015. "Open Innovation in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises (SMEs): External Knowledge Sourcing Strategies and Internal Organizational Facilitators," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 1241-1263, October.
    19. Ronaldo Parente & Ke Rong & José-Mauricio G. Geleilate & Everlyne Misati, 2019. "Adapting and sustaining operations in weak institutional environments: A business ecosystem assessment of a Chinese MNE in Central Africa," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 275-291, March.
    20. Ozgen, Eren & Baron, Robert A., 2007. "Social sources of information in opportunity recognition: Effects of mentors, industry networks, and professional forums," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 174-192, March.
    21. M. Tina Dacin & Christine Oliver & Jean‐Paul Roy, 2007. "The legitimacy of strategic alliances: an institutional perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 169-187, February.
    22. Pankaj C. Patel & James O. Fiet, 2011. "Knowledge Combination and the Potential Advantages of Family Firms in Searching for Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1179-1197, November.
    23. Larrañeta, Bárbara & Zahra, Shaker A. & González, José Luis Galán, 2012. "Enriching strategic variety in new ventures through external knowledge," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 401-413.
    24. Arthurs, Jonathan D. & Busenitz, Lowell W., 2006. "Dynamic capabilities and venture performance: The effects of venture capitalists," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 195-215, March.
    25. Gaglio, Connie Marie & Katz, Jerome A, 2001. "The Psychological Basis of Opportunity Identification: Entrepreneurial Alertness," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 95-111, March.
    26. Ari Jantunen & Kaisu Puumalainen & Sami Saarenketo & Kalevi Kyläheiko, 2005. "Entrepreneurial Orientation, Dynamic Capabilities and International Performance," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 223-243, September.
    27. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll, Francisca & Boronat-Moll, Carles, 2021. "Technological innovation typologies and open innovation in SMEs: Beyond internal and external sources of knowledge," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    28. William B. Gartner & Barbara J. Bird & Jennifer A. Starr, 1992. "Acting as If: Differentiating Entrepreneurial from Organizational Behavior," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 16(3), pages 13-32, April.
    29. Tornikoski, Erno T. & Newbert, Scott L., 2007. "Exploring the determinants of organizational emergence: A legitimacy perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 311-335, March.
    30. David Smallbone & Friederike Welter, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and institutional change in transition economies: The Commonwealth of Independent States, Central and Eastern Europe and China compared," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3-4), pages 215-233, April.
    31. Zhou, Dan & Kautonen, Mika & Dai, Weiqi & Zhang, Hui, 2021. "Exploring how digitalization influences incumbents in financial services: The role of entrepreneurial orientation, firm assets, and organizational legitimacy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    32. Micheline Goedhuys & Leo Sleuwaegen, 2010. "High-growth entrepreneurial firms in Africa: a quantile regression approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 31-51, January.
    33. Alexander McKelvie & Johan Wiklund & Anna Brattström, 2018. "Externally Acquired or Internally Generated? Knowledge Development and Perceived Environmental Dynamism in New Venture Innovation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 24-46, January.
    34. John C. Dencker & Marc Gruber, 2015. "The effects of opportunities and founder experience on new firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(7), pages 1035-1052, July.
    35. Johan Maes & Luc Sels, 2014. "SMEs' Radical Product Innovation: The Role of Internally and Externally Oriented Knowledge Capabilities," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 141-163, January.
    36. Deniz Ucbasaran & Paul Westhead & Mike Wright, 2008. "Opportunity Identification and Pursuit: Does an Entrepreneur’s Human Capital Matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 153-173, February.
    37. Robert V. Randolph & Zonghui Li & Joshua J. Daspit, 2017. "Toward a Typology of Family Firm Corporate Entrepreneurship," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 530-546, October.
    38. Linus Dahlander & Siobhan O'Mahony & David M. Gann, 2016. "One foot in, one foot out: how does individuals' external search breadth affect innovation outcomes?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 280-302, February.
    39. Mayer-Haug, Katrin & Read, Stuart & Brinckmann, Jan & Dew, Nicholas & Grichnik, Dietmar, 2013. "Entrepreneurial talent and venture performance: A meta-analytic investigation of SMEs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1251-1273.
    40. Foss,Nicolai J. & Klein,Peter G., 2012. "Organizing Entrepreneurial Judgment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521697262.
    41. Hilson, Gavin & Hilson, Abigail & Maconachie, Roy, 2018. "Opportunity or necessity? Conceptualizing entrepreneurship at African small-scale mines," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 286-302.
    42. Ruebottom, Trish, 2013. "The microstructures of rhetorical strategy in social entrepreneurship: Building legitimacy through heroes and villains," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 98-116.
    43. Johan Wiklund & DEAN Shepherd, 2003. "Knowledge‐based resources, entrepreneurial orientation, and the performance of small and medium‐sized businesses," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(13), pages 1307-1314, December.
    44. Zouaghi, Ferdaous & Sánchez, Mercedes & Martínez, Marian García, 2018. "Did the global financial crisis impact firms' innovation performance? The role of internal and external knowledge capabilities in high and low tech industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 92-104.
    45. Kistruck, Geoffrey M. & Webb, Justin W. & Sutter, Christopher J. & Bailey, Anastasia V.G., 2015. "The double-edged sword of legitimacy in base-of-the-pyramid markets," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 436-451.
    46. Christoph Grimpe & Ulrich Kaiser, 2010. "Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 1483-1509, December.
    47. Berchicci, Luca, 2013. "Towards an open R&D system: Internal R&D investment, external knowledge acquisition and innovative performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 117-127.
    48. Ben Arfi, Wissal & Hikkerova, Lubica & Sahut, Jean-Michel, 2018. "External knowledge sources, green innovation and performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 210-220.
    49. Hultman, Magnus & Iveson, Abbie & Oghazi, Pejvak, 2021. "The Information Paradox in Internationalization: Can ignorance ever be bliss? Evidence from emerging market SME managers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 268-277.
    50. José L. González-Pernía & Andrés Jung & Iñaki Peña, 2015. "Innovation-driven entrepreneurship in developing economies," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(9-10), pages 555-573, October.
    51. Hai Guo & Jintong Tang & Zhongfeng Su, 2014. "To be different, or to be the same? The interactive effect of organizational regulatory legitimacy and entrepreneurial orientation on new venture performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 665-685, September.
    52. Moses Acquaah, 2007. "Managerial social capital, strategic orientation, and organizational performance in an emerging economy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(12), pages 1235-1255, December.
    53. Dean A. Shepherd & Dawn R. DeTienne, 2005. "Prior Knowledge, Potential Financial Reward, and Opportunity Identification," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 91-112, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samuel Adomako, 2018. "The Moderating Effects Of Adaptive And Intellectual Resource Capabilities On The Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation And Financial Performance," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(03), pages 1-35, April.
    2. Alexander McKelvie & Johan Wiklund & Anna Brattström, 2018. "Externally Acquired or Internally Generated? Knowledge Development and Perceived Environmental Dynamism in New Venture Innovation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 24-46, January.
    3. Donbesuur, Francis & Boso, Nathaniel & Hultman, Magnus, 2020. "The effect of entrepreneurial orientation on new venture performance: Contingency roles of entrepreneurial actions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 150-161.
    4. Fisher, Greg & Kuratko, Donald F. & Bloodgood, James M. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S., 2017. "Legitimate to whom? The challenge of audience diversity and new venture legitimacy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 52-71.
    5. Francesco Aiello & Paola Cardamone & Lidia Mannarino & Valeria Pupo, 2021. "Does external R&D matter for family firm innovation? Evidence from the Italian manufacturing industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1915-1930, December.
    6. Francisco Díez-Martín & Alicia Blanco-González & Camilo Prado-Román, 2016. "Explaining nation-wide differences in entrepreneurial activity: a legitimacy perspective," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 1079-1102, December.
    7. Ko, Eun-Jeong & McKelvie, Alexander, 2018. "Signaling for more money: The roles of founders' human capital and investor prominence in resource acquisition across different stages of firm development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 438-454.
    8. Donbesuur, Francis & Zahoor, Nadia & Boso, Nathaniel, 2022. "International network formation, home market institutional support and post-entry performance of international new ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3).
    9. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Donbesuur, Francis & Ahsan, Mujtaba & Danso, Albert & Uddin, Moshfique, 2022. "Strategic agility of SMEs in emerging economies: Antecedents, consequences and boundary conditions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    10. Jean-Marie Nkongolo-Bakenda & Elie V. Chrysostome, 2020. "Exploring the organizing and strategic factors of diasporic transnational entrepreneurs in Canada: An empirical study," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 336-372, September.
    11. Shahid, Pirzada Syed Rizwan, 2023. "Founder's Human Capital and the Entrepreneurial Process Duration," OSF Preprints yf6mg, Center for Open Science.
    12. Paul Robson & Charles Akuetteh & Paul Westhead & Mike Wright, 2012. "Innovative opportunity pursuit, human capital and business ownership experience in an emerging region: evidence from Ghana," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 603-625, October.
    13. Rubén Martínez-Alonso & María J. Martínez-Romero & Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez, 2019. "Examining the Impact of Innovation Forms on Sustainable Economic Performance: The Influence of Family Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, November.
    14. Buccieri, Dominic & Javalgi, Raj G. & Cavusgil, Erin, 2023. "Role of opportunity creation between reconfiguration and innovation: Insights from emerging market international new ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    15. Wafa N. Almobaireek & Ahmed A. Alshumaimeri & Tatiana S. Manolova, 2016. "Building entrepreneurial inter-firm networks in an emerging economy: the role of cognitive legitimacy," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 87-114, March.
    16. Santos-Álvarez, Valle & García-Merino, Teresa, 2010. "The role of the entrepreneur in identifying international expansion as a strategic opportunity," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 512-520.
    17. Jörg Freiling & Christoph Lütke Schelhowe, 2014. "The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on the Performance and Speed of Internationalization," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 10(4), pages 169-199.
    18. Marshall S. Jiang & Jie Jiao & Zhouyu Lin & Jun Xia, 2021. "Learning through observation or through acquisition? Innovation performance as an outcome of internal and external knowledge combination," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 35-63, March.
    19. Pindado, Emilio & Sánchez, Mercedes & Verstegen, Jos A.A.M. & Lans, Thomas, 2018. "Searching for the entrepreneurs among new entrants in European Agriculture: the role of human and social capital," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 19-30.
    20. Barbara Bird & Leon Schjoedt & J. Robert Baum, 2012. "Editor's Introduction. Entrepreneurs’ Behavior: Elucidation and Measurement," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(5), pages 889-913, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:185:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522005558. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.