The Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance: An Analysis of Differences by Stages of the Firm Life Cycle

This study empirically analyzes the impact of the managerial environment, CEO's vision and strategy, and organizational management system on entrepreneurial orientation in domestic companies, as well as the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business performance. Additionally, it examines how these relationships differ across various stages of the corporate life cycle. The analysis utilizes data from the 2022 Entrepreneurial Activity Survey (Company Edition) conducted by the Korea Youth Entrepreneurship Foundation, designated as official statistics by Statistics Korea, which surveyed 3,120 companies. The results of the empirical analysis are as follows First, business environment, vision and strategy are significantly positively related to entrepreneurial orientation. In terms of firm life cycle, we find that firms in the start-up phase are slightly more sensitive to the business environment, while vision and strategy are important regardless of firm life cycle. Second, the operating system of the firm does not have a statistically significant effect on entrepreneurial orientation, and the hypothesis is rejected. It seems that it is important to have an operating system in place from the start-up stage in terms of the business life cycle. Third, a significant positive relationship was found between entrepreneurial orientation and managerial performance, and entrepreneurial orientation had a positive impact on managerial performance regardless of the firm's life cycle. The results of this study expand the factors influencing entrepreneurial orientation and provide theoretical and policy insights by analyzing the corporate life cycle, which is rarely addressed in the field of entrepreneurship, by distinguishing between the startup phase and other phases.