Strategic Entrepreneurship and Venture Sustainability: The Moderating Role of Adaptive Culture in Large and Multi-Venturing Firms of Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose: The world of business is constantly changing and unpredictable and organizations are in constant danger from technological disruptions, fierce competition, globalization, and ever-evolving customer demands. All of this has made long-term sustainability more important than ever, with the need for organizational skills that encourage long-term sustainability. The purpose of this study is to study the relationship between strategic entrepreneurship and venture sustainability and to investigate the moderating effect of adaptive culture in the Resource Based View (RBV) framework. In particular, it investigates if the positive effect of strategic entrepreneurship on sustainable venture outcome is reinforced by adaptive organizational culture in large and multi-venturing firms in the context of Pakistan.

Study Design/Methodology/Approach: Quantitative research design and positivist research paradigm were used in the study. To minimize common method bias and to increase the causal inferences, a three-wave time-lagged survey design was used, with each wave being spaced four weeks apart. The respondents comprised 180 entrepreneurs, executive managers, departmental heads and senior professionals of large and multi-venturing firms in Pakistan. The measures of strategic entrepreneurship were taken at Time 1, adaptive culture at Time 2 and venture sustainability at Time 3. The proposed hypotheses were tested by using IBM SPSS Statistics and Hayes PROCESS Macro Model 1.

The results indicate that strategic entrepreneurship has a positive impact on venture sustainability. Moreover, adaptive culture significantly moderates such relationship to make the positive relationship between strategic entrepreneurship and venture sustainability much stronger when the level of adaptive culture high. The conditional effect analysis also shows that the culture of an organization that is both flexible and learning and supports innovation is more effective in converting entrepreneurial capabilities into long-term sustainable performance.

Practical Implications: Results can be useful for entrepreneurs, managers and policy makers to gain insights into the sustainability of organizations. Strategic entrepreneurial capabilities (innovation, opportunity recognition, strategic flexibility, and resource orchestration) must be invested in, and adaptive organizational cultures with a growth mindset for continuous learning, experimentation, and responsiveness to environmental change must be fostered. They can bolster long-term competitiveness and the sustainability of the ventures, especially in emerging economies, if the complementary organizational skills are developed.

Originality/Value: The present study also extends the Resource-Based View literature to understand the role of strategic entrepreneurship as a “valuable organizational capability” in order to make a venture sustainable. It also acknowledges that adaptive culture is an important organizational asset that enhances the effectiveness of entrepreneurial capabilities. The present study goes beyond financial performance and gives empirical evidence from an emerging economy, whereas previous studies mainly focused on financial performance. It thus provides a complete explanation as to how strategic capabilities and organizational culture combine to create the basis for sustainable organizational success.

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