The items used in this study to measure EO and performance were adapted from previously established scales shown to be reliable measures in the entrepreneurship literature (
Covin and Slevin 1989; Wiklund and Shepherd 2003).
Mais voltada para o contexto privado, visando principalmente auxiliar as empresas na tomada de decisao e na obtencao de vantagem competitiva (
COVIN; SLEVIN, 1991; LUMPKIN; DESS, 1996), a OE deve ser entendida a partir das estrategias adotadas por estas organizacoes (MILLER, 1983).
Motivated by this fact as well as by
Covin and Slevin (1989) and Gruber-Muecke and Hofer (2015) who argued that a firm's internal capabilities have more influence on performance over its external capabilities.
Knowledge of CE is to some extent fragmented, and despite our expanding awareness of CE (Ireland,
Covin & Kuratko, 2009), holistic studies with a focus on the connection between the divided parts may provide ways to assemble the fragments; for this reason, researchers have lately attempted studies of entrepreneurship using a process approach, (e.g., De Lurdes Calisto & Sarkar, 2017; Mavi, Mavi & Goh, 2017).
The questions asked in the survey are two research tools approved in literature purposes: the EO contains the questions brought by Miller (1983), which was improved by
Covin and Slevin (1989) who added the dimensions of proactive approach, innovation and risk taking, and also 9 affirmations measured by a Likert-type semantic differential scale of 7 points.
Building on the Austrian view of competition (Schumpeter 1934, 1950), competitive dynamics scholars have defined 'competitive aggressiveness' as the extent to which a firm forcefully takes a large number and a complex repertoire of actions to outperform its competitors in the marketplace (
Covin and
Covin 1990; Chen and Hambrick 1995; Chen et al.