Driving Corporate Growth Through Strategic Entrepreneurial Orientation : A survey of the professional hair cosmetic industry in Russia

Abstract: Today’s competitive environment as well as after-recession period requires that companies become adept at finding and exploiting opportunities to create value if they are to remain competitive and grow. Consistent with the linear process of entrepreneurship, in this study we conceptualize performance orientation as a variable that is influenced by certain key antecedents. We therefore seek to find out as to how creativity, risk-taking, responsiveness and strategic market orientation influence corporate growth. Key empirical conclusions and validation of our hypotheses are made on the basis of the survey of professional hair cosmetic industry in Russia. The industry represents particular interest as it recovers after 2008-2009 recession and tends to grow, being the flagman of products and services innovation as well as having very competitive environment. Basing on the model of the study with four hypotheses – risk-taking, creativity, responsiveness, and strategic market orientation - we consider them having a positive effect on the performance orientation, though only creativity was confirmed by data analysis. Therefore, we get the empirical evidence of the fact that the companies participating in the survey aspire for performance and creativity plays the important role in their growth.