Open AccessExploring the effect of professionalization, risk-taking and technological innovation on business performance
Author(s) -
Francisca García-Lopera,
José Manuel Santos Jaén,
Mercedes Palacios Manzano,
Daniel RuizPalomo
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0263694
Subject(s) - professionalization , order (exchange) , competitive advantage , path analysis (statistics) , industrial organization , business , technological change , marketing , economics , sociology , computer science , social science , finance , machine learning , macroeconomics
The aim of this paper is to analize the influence of professionalization over firm’s performance and the effect of two mediating variables, risk-taking and technological innovation. A total of 310 Spanish SMEs were surveyed, and the study was conducted using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings showed that firm’s performance is influenced by professionalization, risk-taking and technological innovation. These effects are not only direct and positive, but there are also important indirect effects that reinforce the positive effects of professionalization on firm’s performance. This research contributes to the literature on professionalization considering mediating effects of risk-taking and technological innovation in the relationship between professionalization and firm’s performance. The results provide interesting implications for theory and practice, indicating how companies can orient their strategies with the aim of gaining competitive advantage in order to increase their performance.