Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) has received substantial conceptual and empirical attention, representing one of the few areas in entrepreneurship research in which a cumulative body of knowledge is developing. Nonetheless, an important message from past research is that simply examining the direct effect of EO on firm performance provides an incomplete picture, especially in the case of new ventures. This study examined the influence of Dominant Logic (DL) on the relationship between EO and firm performance. Results based on a sample of 149 new manufacturing ventures indicated that DL mediates the EO-performance relationship, and risk taking, aggressiveness and innovativeness had the highest correlations with the internal and external conceptualization of DL. The empirical evidence suggests that new ventures must foster DL implementing appropriate strategic processes in order to maximize the effect of EO on performance.

RESUMO O surgimento da disciplina sobre empreendedorismo em ciências de gestão gera um contínuo debate em seu âmbito. Consequentemente, para ter uma compreensão melhor do desenvolvimento dessa área de pesquisa, é útil conhecer sua estrutura científica. Esta pesquisa usa técnicas de bibliometria e análise de grupos para apresentar um panorama da pesquisa nessa disciplina. São analisados os 1.112 artigos publicados nas atas do FER, entre 1981 e 2009, bem como os 378 artigos publicados no Journal of Business Venturing, entre 2000 e 2010. Ambos os fóruns são considerados representativos no intercâmbio do pensamento sobre empreendedorismo. Os resultados mostram que a pesquisa sobre empreendedorismo publicada nesses fóruns é caracterizada por diversos temas que não estão necessariamente conectados. Similarmente, os resultados mostram a mudança dos temas ao longo do tempo.

ABSTRACT Along with entrepreneurship´s continuing emergence among the management sciences, there is an ongoing debate about what the field is - or should be. In this regard, to have a better understanding of the development of this research field, it is useful to understand the scientific structure. This study uses bibliometric techniques and cluster analyses to present an empirically grounded picture of the entrepreneurship research. This research analyzes the 1,112 full-length papers published in the FER Proceedings between 1981 and 2009, and the 378 articles published in the Journal of Business Venturing between 2000 and 2010. Both forums are considered representative in the exchange of entrepreneurial thought. The results indicate that entrepreneurship research published in these forums is characterized by varied themes that are not necessarily connected. Rather, they reflect the disciplinary training and lens of their authors; and considerable dynamism and change in key research themes over time. Hopefully, the results presented here provide abundant opportunities for identifying insightful, influential, and creative research topics in the entrepreneurship field.

RESUMEN El surgimiento de la disciplina sobre emprendimiento en las ciencias administrativas, trae consigo un continuo debate sobre su ámbito. En este sentido, para tener una mejor comprensión del desarrollo de este campo de investigación, es útil conocer su estructura científica. Esta investigación usa técnicas bibliométricas y análisis de grupos para presentar un panorama de la investigación en esta disciplina. Se analizan los 1,112 artículos publicados entre 1981 y 2009 en las actas del FER, así como los 378 artículos publicados por el Journal of Business Venturing entre 2000 y 2010. Ambos foros se consideran representativos en el intercambio del pensamiento sobre emprendimiento. Los resultados muestran que la investigación sobre emprendimiento publicada en estos foros se caracteriza por varios temas que no necesariamente están conectados; sin embargo, esto refleja la experiencia y postura de los autores. De igual forma, los resultados muestran el cambio de temas a través del tiempo.

A study of the competitive advantage in successful New Technology Based Firms found that their technology strategy played a key role for making these companies improve their competitive advantage. We appealed to the grounded theory as a qualitative strategy to build theory, and to the exploratory case-study methodology to effectively understand this phenomenon in specific contexts as the one represented by small entrepreneurial firms in comparison with large established firms. A suitable comprehension of the different contexts required of a view of technology strategy that is more dynamic than those typically available. We build an explanatory model which integrates and groups the propositions previously developed. We view the study as exploratory to a class of studies aimed at understanding the technology strategy process in new ventures.