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Research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) seeks to understand the EO–performance relationship. However, at a strategic level, performance relates to a competitive advantage and comprises both value-added and efficiency measures. Following arguments that performance is context and strategy dependent, the paper argues that EO research needs to clarify and specify the type of performance relationship measured.

To explore the EO–performance relationship, the research considers the agricultural sector where policy has traditionally encouraged the maximisation of efficiency in production and has only recently promoted entrepreneurship, providing fertile ground to explore different approaches to measuring performance. A survey collected detailed accounting records and context specific EO for 282 commercial farms. The authors estimate two models (Heckman selection regression and stochastic production frontier) that examine the relationships between EO and value-added/efficiency performance outcomes.

The analysis confirms the EO–value-added performance relationship, with significant positive relationships for the EO components proactiveness and innovativeness and a negative relationship for risk. No EO–efficiency performance relationship was found, despite a robust analysis of technical efficiency using detailed accounting data.

The paper contributes to EO theory by problematizing performance and highlighting the importance of the type of performance measured. This paper contributes empirically with findings relating to a mature industry contributes to entrepreneurship methodology by outlining how EO–performance relationships can be measured in terms of productivity and technical efficiency.

Sponsorships involving foreign brands are ubiquitous, but those involving a company from an animosity-evoking country can adversely affect rather than enhance domestic consumers' attitude towards the brand. This paper explains the mechanisms by which brand denigration occurs, introducing and validating a model of the animosity transfer process as well as considering if various framing and timing strategies attenuate or lead to adverse consumer responses.

Study 1 tests the animosity transfer model, utilizing a scenario in which English consumers respond to a German brand sponsoring the England soccer team. Study 2 assesses the generalizability of the model in the context of Indian consumers' responses to sponsorship of their cricket team by a Chinese company, and the extent to which an honest framing of the sponsorship choice through the announcement affects outcomes. Study 3 returns to an England–Germany country dyad, testing whether priming consumers with information about the sponsorship prior to a full announcement, attenuates or intensifies the impact of animosity on the studied outcomes.

The three studies demonstrate that when consumers learn of a sponsorship, it triggers an evaluation process in which the agonistic emotion (anger) they feel plays a pivotal role. More intense emotional appraisals weaken perceptions of sponsor-sponsee congruence, which together act as consecutive process variables mediating the relationship between animosity and sponsorship outcomes. Framing the sponsorship announcement with an honest justification for the partnership can improve outcomes but not amongst those with the highest animosity. Providing consumers with an advanced warning (preannouncement) of the sponsorship also amplifies consumers' unfavorable evaluations showcasing how difficult animosity is to manage in this context.

The animosity transfer model aids understanding of the mechanisms by which animosity affects brand attitude for foreign (out-group) sponsors. It identifies how animosity generates agonistic emotions and in turn weakens perceived fit between the sponsor and sponsee, leading to adverse consumer responses.

An intention-behavior gap often occurs for socially responsible consumption, where despite positive consumer attitudes, sales remain disappointing. This paper aims to test the ability of in-store priming to increase sales of local foods vis-à-vis imported, cheaper equivalents.

Laboratory and field experiments in three countries (Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia), working with an international grocery retailer, assess the ability of textual and pictorial-based point of sale (PoS) materials to increase the purchase of local foods. Field sales data, for the purchase of local apples and cherries and their imported equivalents, are complemented by an analysis of loyalty card transactions.

Field data indicate that both pictorial and textual PoS materials, significantly increase the likelihood of purchasing local foods, against cheaper imported equivalents. Pictorial PoS materials appear more effective than textual equivalents. Laboratory study data indicate that PoS materials increase the salience of goal consistent mechanisms in decision-making at the expense of mechanisms to achieve non-primed goals.

The field experiment lasted for only two weeks and focused on seasonal produce.

PoS materials offer a low cost intervention for modifying consumer behavior in stores.

The paper develops a theory regarding how priming works and its application in a supermarket setting. This is investigated and validated in the context of local foods. The study offers encouragement for the usefulness of other in-store primes, such as relating to diet, to improve socially desirable outcomes without economic incentives or coercion and in a cost-effective manner.

The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of increasing the intensity of sexual or violent content on consumer responses to online video advertisements, with a particular emphasis on sharing intentions.

The paper uses a between-subjects experimental design across two studies using new to the world online video advertisements as stimuli.

Study 1 finds that increasing the intensity of sexual and violent humor improves advertisement effectiveness amongst men but leads to significantly more negative attitudes toward the advertisement and brand amongst women. Study 2 identifies gender and humor type as moderators for sharing intentions in the presence of audience diversity. While men are more likely to publicly share sexual and violent humor advertisements, social anxiety mediates intentions to share sexual humor advertisements in the presence of greater audience diversity.

The paper offers insights to practitioners regarding the use of risqué forms of humor as part of a digital marketing strategy.

Drawing on and extending benign violation theory, the paper introduces and verifies a theoretical model for understanding consumer responses to the use of risqué forms of humor in online advertisements. It identifies how audience diversity affects sharing intentions for sexual and violent humor-based advertisements on social media.

Newsjacking (real-time deployment of news stories in communications) is now ubiquitous for brands using social media. Despite its pervasiveness, little analysis of its effectiveness exists. The purpose of this paper is to test if newsjacking positively influences various consumer responses (attitude toward content, brand attitude and purchase intent). Taking an audience perspective supported by the elaboration likelihood model, the research also establishes if a higher level of news involvement, as well as an ability to recognize the story behind the content, enhances the effectiveness of newsjacking content.

An experimental design using taglines (newsjacking vs non-topical content) from a real BMW campaign was tested on a sample of 252 consumers. Three research questions pertaining to the effectiveness of newsjacking were specified and analyzed within a structural equation modeling framework.

The findings support the conclusion that newsjacking is an effective communication tool. More favorable consumer responses were elicited in the newsjacking condition, as compared to content deploying a non-topical tagline. In addition, recipients reporting a higher level of news involvement rated the content more favorably in the newsjacking (vs the non-topical) condition. Deploying news stories that are more recognizable increases the chances of successful newsjacking. Messages received by those with higher product involvement (category level: cars) were more effective regardless of the type of the appeal.

The authors contribute to the communications and social media literatures by investigating the effectiveness of an emerging but popular tactic leveraged by content creators. The work builds upon the limited research that has tested consumer responses to newsjacking. From a practical perspective, the research provides insight into the type of audience and situations most likely to yield a favorable outcome from newsjacking.

The growing importance of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in high‐technology innovation and the importance of innovation in maintaining competitive advantage has been acknowledged. The possibilities of co‐operation between high‐technology SMEs as a mechanism for enhancing individual firm growth is considered. The current stock of empirical evidence on high‐technology SMEs is outlined and the fact that few small firms achieve substantial growth highlighted. The major barriers to growth which lie behind this outcome are considered. The possibilities of networking, in its various forms, are considered as a facilitating medium for aiding business growth, with particular attention paid to high intensity co‐operative arrangements. The need for heterogeneous skill possession is emphasized, and how environments comprising homogeneous core competencies make networking an inappropriate solution for business growth. The existing empirical data on SME networking is considered and the relative costs and benefits of membership tabulated on the basis of network type. This leads on to an analysis of how beneficial, long‐term arrangements between actors may not occur in the market because of short‐term risks associated with other party(ies) defecting, as can be modelled within a prisoner's dilemma game theory structure. The final section discusses the possible role for network brokers in lessening these risks and aiding the development of mutually beneficial, growth‐oriented relationships between high‐technology SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the determinants of supply chain relationships, the provision of supplier support measures and the role that support measures play in stimulating investment by suppliers in emerging economies.

The paper draws on survey evidence for 300 commercial dairy farms in Armenia. The identification of potential determinants of supply chain relationships and support programmes is based on literature on supply chain management and transaction cost economics.

Positive determinants of supplier support programmes are the degree of exclusivity of the buyer-supplier relationship, initial capital of the supplier, co-operation between suppliers, and foreign ownership of the buyer. Support programmes are less likely to be offered in very competitive environments. Support measures such as loans, physical inputs and guaranteed prices facilitate supplier investments.

Research is limited to cross-sectional data for a single country and further testing would help assess the generalizability of the findings.

The findings highlight the gains that can be made from openness to international firms. The negative competition effect suggests that buyers are constrained in their ability to monitor use of the provided services in an environment where a lot of buyers are competing for the same supply. Improving the enforcement capability of companies under these circumstances is an important challenge for the industry and policy makers.

The novelty of the study lies in the investigation of the relationships between the nature of supply chain linkages and suppliers' investments.

Drawing on a representative survey, this paper aims to identify the determinants of functional food consumption in Croatia. The objective is to introduce and test a conceptual model that four sets of factors (food choice motivations, demographic and socio-economic characteristics, knowledge of functional food and health status) underpin variations in functional food consumption.

Data were collected via face-to-face interviews conducted in respondents' homes. Consumption of functional foods is modelled as a bootstrapped ordered probit model.

Results confirm the significant influence of all four sets of factors for explaining variations in functional food consumption. Heavier users of functional food are those that place a greater weighting on health and convenience in food choice. In contrast, the salience of familiarity in food choice is negatively related with functional food consumption. Females and those with higher levels of educational attainment are heavier consumers of functional food. While perceived health status appears not to have any significant relationship with functional food consumption, there is a link with body mass index. Functional foods appeal most to those concerned about their health and desire convenient, “quick fixes”. Such “quick fixes” may however be employed at the expense of more fundamental adjustments to diet and fitness, which may provide the basis for superior overall disease prevention/health promotion.

The study represents one of the first assessments of functional food consumption in Central and Eastern Europe, introducing and testing a comprehensive conceptual model.

Considers the growth performance of team‐starts (businesses founded by more than one individual) against the performance of enterprises founded by single individuals. Previous research, mainly conducted in the USA has found a significant link between team‐starts and superior growth performance. However, this study finds no such link. It is concluded that future research should concentrate on in‐depth case studies of team dynamics rather than trying to draw generalisations about the growth potential of team‐starts en masse.

The purpose of this paper is to utilise projective techniques as a method to capture and understand consumer reactions to celebrity‐endorsed perfumes. The paper illustrates how projective techniques can aid practitioners in their selection of celebrity endorsers.

The paper is part of a wider tradition of returning to qualitative methods when research based on existing theories offers only partial or little support for them. In total, 16 females participated in the study, which utilised a range of projective techniques, including picture association. For the latter, participants were exposed first to advertisements for two leading perfumes alone and then these advertisements incorporating four contrasting celebrity endorsers. Associations and reactions to the advertisements with and without celebrity endorsers were compared.

The analysis identifies that celebrity endorsers may have a significant impact on the perceived target market for a product, highlighting their potential role in repositioning a brand. However, the celebrity may crowd out the endorsed product. The role of personal liking is critical, although this is ignored in existing source models of celebrity endorsement.

The application of projective techniques demonstrates their usefulness in capturing responses to celebrity endorsements. The paper uncovers some of the reasons why previous research has generated results that only partially support the existing main theoretical frameworks.