New Trends for Technology Driven Start-ups: Experiences from Berlin Metropolitan Area: An Empirical Study

Abstract

The technology driven start up firms operate in a competitive environment. The proper development of skills and capabilities not only enhances the survival rate but also helps these entrepreneurial firms achieve a competitive advantage. The following research proposes an integrative framework built on previous research and tests the various antecedents and outcomes of firm performance capabilities in entrepreneurial firms. Environmental turbulence, entrepreneurial and market orientation of the firm are tested as an antecedent to marketing capabilities of the firm. Firm performance is tested as an outcome of the marketing capabilities construct. A survey was conducted during the period of August 2008 to January 2009 from the CEOs of technology driven start up firms in Germany. A structural equation model using PLS was developed to test the model. Environmental turbulence was found to be having significant impact on the entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation of the firm which in turn were found to be having significant impact on the marketing capabilities. Moreover the marketing capability of the firm was found to be significantly related to firm performance.