Dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial performance of Chinese start-ups: the mediating roles of managerial attitude towards risk and entrepreneurial behaviour

This paper analyses the sequential mediation effects of managerial attitude towards risk and entrepreneurial behaviour on the relationship between dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial performance in the Chinese context. Our proposed model explains the key micro-level mechanisms through which dynamic capabilities drive entrepreneurial performance and the varying effects of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions on performance, thus, enabling decision-makers to understand how to utilize dynamic capabilities to achieve desirable performance. Drawing on survey data of 250 new ventures across different industries in China, we find that dynamic capabilities have both a direct positive effect and an indirect effect on entrepreneurial performance through the chain mediation effects of managerial attitude towards risk and entrepreneurial behaviour.