Examining the Link between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Learning Processes in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The present study unravels how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) learn and determines the role that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) plays in how they learn. Adopting a multilevel perspective on learning and the unique role of the management team in SMEs, the study empirically examines the "feed-forward" learning process initiated by the intuition and interpretation of individual managers, advanced by integration on the management team level, and brought to the organizational level by institutionalization. It also identifies firm-level EO as an antecedent to this process on all three organizational levels, highlighting the relevance of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking with respect to learning in SMEs.