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- P-ISSN1738-3110
- E-ISSN2093-7717
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1738-3110
The Effects of Management Consulting Quality and Consultant Capability on Entrepreneurial Firms' Performance
Abstract
Purpose - Prior researches have empirically focused on the effect of management consulting quality and consultant capability on entrepreneurial firms' performance. This study, however, focused on investigating the moderating role of absorptive capacity and resource capability between management consulting and entrepreneurial firms' performance. So, this study investigated the relationship among consulting quality, consultant capability, absorptive capacity, resource capability, and entrepreneurial firms' performance from the resource based view (RBV). Especially, this study focused on the mediating role of absorptive and resource capability in relational structure of entrepreneurial firms' dimensions. Research design, data, and methodology - In this study, research hypotheses and model are established by the prior researches from the fields of strategic management and entrepreneurial behavior. Concretely, H1~H4 are the relationship between consulting (consulting quality, consultant capability) and innovation (absorptive capacity, resource capability); H5 is the relationship between absorptive capacity and resource capability; and H6~H7 are the relationship between innovation (absorptive capacity, resource capability) and management performance. The data was collected 207 copies from entrepreneurial firms in South Korea. These firms were established in January 2014 and maintained by November 2015 in high-tech industry. The questionnaire was consisted of five dimensions; consulting quality, consultant capability, absorptive capacity, resource capability, and management performance. Each dimension measured multi items on a 5-point Likert scale. The hypotheses and research model are analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS 22. Results - The results of this study are as follows. 1) Consulting quality significantly influenced on the absorptive capacity of entrepreneurial firms. 2) But, consultant capability did not influence on the absorptive capacity of entrepreneurial firms. 3) Consulting quality and consultant capability significantly influenced on the resource capability of entrepreneurial firms. 4) Absorptive capacity significantly influenced on the resource capability of entrepreneurial firms; 5) Absorptive capacity did not significantly influence on the management performance of entrepreneurial firms. 6) Resource capability, however, significantly influenced on the management performance of entrepreneurial firms. By these results, absorptive capacity of entrepreneurial firms had a mediating role partly among consulting quality, consultant capability, and management capability. The resource capability of entrepreneurial firms had a mediating role among consulting quality, consultant capability, and management capability, perfectly. Conclusions - According to this study, the high level of consulting quality and consultant capability may enforce the resource capability of entrepreneurial firms. It means, practically, that external knowledge is a driver for innovation, and then the innovation effects on the management performance of entrepreneurial firms. So, at the initial stage, the management consulting programs are very important to entrepreneurial firms and should be conceived as an essential element. This study may contribute to the advancement of academic in field of new start business, small business, or venture business based on resources, especially the role of absorptive capacity and resource capability between consulting programs and management performance. However, this study has some limitations. They are the measurement of consulting quality's items, cross-sectional research, and the limitation of concept and industry.
- keywords
- Management Consulting Quality, Consultant Capability, Entrepreneurial Firms, Management Performance, Absorptive Capacity, Resource Capability
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