Abstract:
In spite of the recognition that entrepreneurship and innovation are interlinked,
very few studies have attempted to articulate this relationship.
The aim of this article is to explain the nature of the relationship between
entrepreneurship and innovation in large firms, arguing that entrepreneurship
is an antecedent to innovation. The study employs a multidimensional
entrepreneurial architecture (EA) framework for the first time and tests
the effect of a battery of entrepreneurship measures on innovation output,
which is reflected as degree and frequency of incremental and radical
innovations. Adopting a quantitative approach, data were collected
from 400 corporate firms in Oman representing various sectors of the
economy. The EA dimensions reflected through entrepreneurial culture,
entrepreneurial structure, entrepreneurial strategies and entrepreneurial
leadership were tested through measurement and structural modelling.
The results confirmed that entrepreneurship is a precursor to innovation.
The EA framework, through its four dimensions, creates a collaborative
and complimentary intensity that promotes innovation outputs,
which may not be possible from the isolated effects of individual factors.
