Exploring Entrepreneurial Orientation and Strategic Awareness among Small Business Owner-Entrepreneurs

Since not many studies using the strategic entrepreneurship “framework” are concerned with established small firms, we analyse whether or not Italian small sized firms do already converge opportunity-seeking behaviours with strategic perspectives or if the concept of strategic entrepreneurship should be more diffuse to help them develop sustainable competitive advantages and perform better. Data for our research are collected from a semi-structured questionnaire used to interview small business entrepreneurs. Thus, results will indicate if small business owners are aware that the adoption of a strategic management perspective may provide a more suitable context for entrepreneurial ideas and actions, leading to better economic performances. To this end, after presenting the theoretical bases and the study methodology, we discuss the results of empirical research conducted on a sample of 55 firms and try to draw some conclusions.