IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v49y2025i3p817-845.html

A Real Options Perspective on Entrepreneurial Orientation and Government Ties

Author

Listed:
  • Izuchukwu Mbaraonye
  • Varkey Titus Jr.
  • Jeffrey Cavanaugh

Abstract

Firms’ strategic orientation toward entrepreneurship exposes them to regulatory uncertainties. Prior research suggests that addressing these uncertainties through corporate political activities (CPA) may require costly trade-offs, such as the loss of strategic flexibility. We argue that some of these trade-offs can be mitigated by the way firms structure their CPA. We extend the insights from real options reasoning (ROR) to offer a framework for how firms may circumvent some of these trade-offs through greater CPA breadth, which allows firms to retain their strategic flexibility while reaping some of the benefits of CPA.

Suggested Citation

  • Izuchukwu Mbaraonye & Varkey Titus Jr. & Jeffrey Cavanaugh, 2025. "A Real Options Perspective on Entrepreneurial Orientation and Government Ties," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 49(3), pages 817-845, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:49:y:2025:i:3:p:817-845
    DOI: 10.1177/10422587241292074
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10422587241292074
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10422587241292074?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, 2022. "Fostering regional innovation, entrepreneurship and growth through public procurement," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 1205-1222, February.
    2. Roberto S. Vassolo & Jaideep Anand & Timothy B. Folta, 2004. "Non‐additivity in portfolios of exploration activities: a real options‐based analysis of equity alliances in biotechnology," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(11), pages 1045-1061, November.
    3. Wincent, Joakim & Thorgren, Sara & Anokhin, Sergey, 2014. "Entrepreneurial orientation and network board diversity in network organizations," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 327-344.
    4. Matilde Bombardini & Francesco Trebbi, 2020. "Empirical Models of Lobbying," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 391-413, August.
    5. Mirzokhidjon Abdurakhmonov & Dinesh Hasija & Jason W. Ridge & Aaron D. Hill, 2023. "Maintaining or Altering the Status Quo in the Nonmarket Arena: Theory and Evidence from Government Contract Disputes," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(3), pages 1004-1026, May.
    6. Jeffrey G. Covin & G.T. Lumpkin, 2011. "Entrepreneurial Orientation Theory and Research: Reflections on a Needed Construct," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(5), pages 855-872, September.
    7. Pankaj C. Patel & Marko Kohtamäki & Vinit Parida & Joakim Wincent, 2015. "Entrepreneurial orientation-as-experimentation and firm performance: The enabling role of absorptive capacity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(11), pages 1739-1749, November.
    8. Rita Gunther McGrath & Atul Nerkar, 2004. "Real options reasoning and a new look at the R&D investment strategies of pharmaceutical firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 1-21, January.
    9. DiVito, Lori & Bohnsack, René, 2017. "Entrepreneurial orientation and its effect on sustainability decision tradeoffs: The case of sustainable fashion firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 569-587.
    10. Jeffrey G. Covin & Kimberly M. Green & Dennis P. Slevin, 2006. "Strategic Process Effects on the Entrepreneurial Orientation–Sales Growth Rate Relationship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(1), pages 57-81, January.
    11. Brenda Bos & Dries Faems & Florian Noseleit, 2017. "Alliance Concentration in Multinational Companies: Examining Alliance Portfolios, Firm Structure, and Firm Performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2298-2309, November.
    12. Jeffrey G. Covin & William J. Wales, 2012. "The Measurement of Entrepreneurial Orientation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(4), pages 677-702, July.
    13. Terza, Joseph V. & Basu, Anirban & Rathouz, Paul J., 2008. "Two-stage residual inclusion estimation: Addressing endogeneity in health econometric modeling," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 531-543, May.
    14. Sayan Chatterjee & Jagdip Singh, 1999. "Are Tradeoffs Inherent in Diversification Moves? A Simultaneous Model for Type of Diversification and Mode of Expansion Decisions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(1), pages 25-41, January.
    15. Lenos Trigeorgis, 1993. "Real Options and Interactions With Financial Flexibility," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 22(3), Fall.
    16. Joon Mahn Lee & Jung Chul Park & Guoli Chen, 2023. "A cognitive perspective on real options investment: CEO overconfidence," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 1084-1110, April.
    17. Bonaime, Alice & Gulen, Huseyin & Ion, Mihai, 2018. "Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 531-558.
    18. Timothy Werner, 2017. "Investor Reaction to Covert Corporate Political Activity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(12), pages 2424-2443, December.
    19. Keith D. Brouthers & Lance Eliot Brouthers & Steve Werner, 2008. "Real Options, International Entry Mode Choice and Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 936-960, July.
    20. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips, 2016. "Text-Based Network Industries and Endogenous Product Differentiation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(5), pages 1423-1465.
    21. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton–Miller, 2011. "Governance, Social Identity, and Entrepreneurial Orientation in Closely Held Public Companies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(5), pages 1051-1076, September.
    22. Danny Miller, 2011. "Miller (1983) Revisited: A Reflection on EO Research and Some Suggestions for the Future," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(5), pages 873-894, September.
    23. Varkey Titus Jr. & Owen Parker & Jeffrey Covin, 2020. "Organizational Aspirations and External Venturing: The Contingency of Entrepreneurial Orientation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(4), pages 645-670, July.
    24. Bastian Kindermann & Corinna Vera Hedwig Schmidt & Jeldrik Pulm & Steffen Strese, 2023. "The Double-Edged Sword of Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Configurational Perspective on Failure in Newly Public Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(5), pages 1816-1842, September.
    25. Elien Vandenbroucke & Mirjam Knockaert & Deniz Ucbasaran, 2016. "Outside Board Human Capital and Early Stage High–Tech Firm Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(4), pages 759-779, July.
    26. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    27. Rodolphe Durand & Robert M. Grant & Tammy L. Madsen & Lenos Trigeorgis & Jeffrey J. Reuer, 2017. "Real options theory in strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 42-63, January.
    28. Peter Demerjian & Baruch Lev & Sarah McVay, 2012. "Quantifying Managerial Ability: A New Measure and Validity Tests," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1229-1248, July.
    29. William Wales & Erik Monsen & Alexander McKelvie, 2011. "The Organizational Pervasiveness of Entrepreneurial Orientation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(5), pages 895-923, September.
    30. Changhyun Kim & Richard A. Bettis, 2014. "Cash is surprisingly valuable as a strategic asset," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(13), pages 2053-2063, December.
    31. Han Jiang & Nan Jia & Tao Bai & Garry D. Bruton, 2021. "Cleaning house before hosting new guests: A political path dependence model of political connection adaptation in the aftermath of anticorruption shocks," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(10), pages 1793-1821, October.
    32. Amy J. Hillman & Asghar Zardkoohi & Leonard Bierman, 1999. "Corporate political strategies and firm performance: indications of firm‐specific benefits from personal service in the U.S. government," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 67-81, January.
    33. Heli Wang & Sonya Seongyeon Lim, 2008. "Real options and real value: the role of employee incentives to make specific knowledge investments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 701-721, July.
    34. Brian L. Connelly & Laszlo Tihanyi & David J. Ketchen Jr & Christina Matz Carnes & Walter J. Ferrier, 2017. "Competitive repertoire complexity: Governance antecedents and performance outcomes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1151-1173, May.
    35. Daniel Z. Levin & Jorge Walter & J. Keith Murnighan, 2011. "Dormant Ties: The Value Of Reconnecting," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 923-939, August.
    36. William J. Wales & Jeffrey G. Covin & Jens Schüler & Matthias Baum, 2023. "Entrepreneurial orientation as a theory of new value creation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 1752-1772, October.
    37. Keith D. Brouthers & Desislava Dikova, 2010. "Acquisitions and Real Options: The Greenfield Alternative," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1048-1071, September.
    38. Hensellek, Simon & Kleine-Stegemann, Lucas & Kollmann, Tobias, 2023. "Entrepreneurial leadership, strategic flexibility, and venture performance: Does founders' span of control matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    39. Benjamin Barber & Luis Diestre, 2019. "Pushing for speed or scope? Pharmaceutical lobbying and Food and Drug Administration drug review," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(8), pages 1194-1218, August.
    40. Bylund, Per L. & McCaffrey, Matthew, 2017. "A theory of entrepreneurship and institutional uncertainty," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 461-475.
    41. J. Ruben Boling & Torsten M. Pieper & Jeffrey G. Covin, 2016. "CEO Tenure and Entrepreneurial Orientation within Family and Nonfamily Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(4), pages 891-913, July.
    42. Wales, William J. & Kraus, Sascha & Filser, Matthias & Stöckmann, Christoph & Covin, Jeffrey G., 2021. "The status quo of research on entrepreneurial orientation: Conversational landmarks and theoretical scaffolding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 564-577.
    43. S. Trevis Certo & Michael C. Withers & Matthew Semadeni, 2017. "A tale of two effects: Using longitudinal data to compare within- and between-firm effects," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(7), pages 1536-1556, July.
    44. Daniel Z. Levin & Rob Cross, 2004. "The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(11), pages 1477-1490, November.
    45. Krishna Palepu, 1985. "Diversification strategy, profit performance and the entropy measure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 239-255, July.
    46. Kaufmann, Carsten & Kock, Alexander & Gemünden, Hans Georg, 2021. "Strategic and cultural contexts of real options reasoning in innovation portfolios," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 130793, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marion Neukam & Emmanuel Muller & Thierry Burger-Helmchen, 2025. "Mapping Theoretical Perspectives for Requisite Resilience," Post-Print hal-05296104, HAL.

    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. Gorupec Natalia & Brehmer Nataliia & Tiberius Victor & Kraus Sascha, 2022. "Tackling uncertain future scenarios with real options: A review and research framework," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 41(1), pages 69-88, July.
    2. Brian S. Anderson & Jens Schueler & Matthias Baum & William J. Wales & Vishal K. Gupta, 2022. "The Chicken or the Egg? Causal Inference in Entrepreneurial Orientation–Performance Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(6), pages 1569-1596, November.
    3. Vishal K. Gupta & William J. Wales, 2017. "Assessing Organisational Performance Within Entrepreneurial Orientation Research: Where Have We Been and Where Can We Go from Here?," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 26(1), pages 51-76, March.
    4. Hunt, Richard A., 2021. "Entrepreneurial orientation and the fate of corporate acquisitions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 241-255.
    5. Bhuyan, Md Nazmul Hasan & García-Feijóo, Luis & Rajkovic, Tijana, 2025. "Real options and CEO social connections: The role of financial flexibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Zhang, Jing A. & O'Kane, Conor & Bai, Tao, 2024. "How do university-firm interactions affect firm innovation speed? The case of Chinese science-intensive SMEs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(7).
    7. Jeffrey G. Covin & William J. Wales, 2019. "Crafting High-Impact Entrepreneurial Orientation Research: Some Suggested Guidelines," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 3-18, January.
    8. Dessì, Cinzia & Dettori, Angela & Floris, Michela, 2023. "Exploring different configurations of entrepreneurial orientation in small artisan family firms: A multi-case study," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3).
    9. Katharina Fellnhofer, 2019. "The Complementary Effects Of Firms’ And Team Leaders’ Entrepreneurial Orientation On Innovation Success And Performance," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(05), pages 1-32, June.
    10. Wales, William J. & Kraus, Sascha & Filser, Matthias & Stöckmann, Christoph & Covin, Jeffrey G., 2021. "The status quo of research on entrepreneurial orientation: Conversational landmarks and theoretical scaffolding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 564-577.
    11. Jiaju Yan & David W. Williams & Richard A. Hunt, 2026. "A Real Options Reasoning Perspective on Entrepreneurs’ Decision-Making Over Time," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 50(2), pages 398-429, March.
    12. Huang, Yuanyuan & Xie, En & Wu, Zhan, 2021. "Portfolio characteristics of outward foreign direct investment and dynamic performance of emerging economy firms: An option portfolio perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4).
    13. Bonnie Wylie Pratt & Jon D. Erickson & Jane Kolodinsky & Erik Monsen & William J. Wales, 2022. "Shades of Green: Modelling Differences in Thought and Action among Electric Utility Regime Actors in the Energy System Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.
    14. Carina Lomberg & Diemo Urbig & Christoph Stöckmann & Louis D. Marino & Pat H. Dickson, 2017. "Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Dimensions’ Shared Effects in Explaining Firm Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 973-998, November.
    15. Carla D. Jones & Phillip M. Jolly & Connor J. Lubojacky & Geoffrey P. Martin & Luis R. Gomez-Mejia, 2019. "Behavioral agency and corporate entrepreneurship: CEO equity incentives & competitive behavior," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 1017-1039, September.
    16. J. Ruben Boling & Torsten M. Pieper & Jeffrey G. Covin, 2016. "CEO Tenure and Entrepreneurial Orientation within Family and Nonfamily Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(4), pages 891-913, July.
    17. Anna Watson & Olufunmilola (Lola) Dada & Owen Wright & Rozenn Perrigot, 2019. "Entrepreneurial Orientation Rhetoric in Franchise Organizations: The Impact of National Culture," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(4), pages 751-772, July.
    18. Arz, Christopher, 2019. "Bridging the micro-macro gap: A multi-layer culture framework for understanding entrepreneurial orientation in family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 1-1.
    19. Santos, Gina & Marques, Carla Susana & Ferreira, João J.M., 2020. "Passion and perseverance as two new dimensions of an Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation scale," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 190-199.
    20. Katharina Fellnhofer & Kaisu Puumalainen & Helena Sjögrén, 0. "Entrepreneurial orientation in work groups – effects of individuals and group characteristics," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-37.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:entthe:v:49:y:2025:i:3:p:817-845. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.