What about the employees in entrepreneurial firms? A multi-level analysis of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, role ambiguity, and social support

Abstract

Research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has mainly addressed outcomes of EO at the level of the firm. However, few studies have examined how EO affects employees. Using a multi-level analysis of 343 employees nested in 25 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the analysis presented shows that EO will increase the degree of role ambiguity among employees. Social support from management was not found to have any effect on the relationship between EO and role ambiguity. However, social support from co-workers weakens the EO-ambiguity relationship and can counteract the negative effects of EO to some degree. The study contributes to the EO literature by being one of a few studies that have considered the possible negative consequences of EO. The article also highlights how to reduce role ambiguity in entrepreneurial SMEs.