Entrepreneurial orientation and the job demands-resources model

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) within the framework of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample of N=597 white-collars in the German media and IT industry is drawn via the professional network XING. Cross-sectional mediator models are used to test the hypothesis.

Findings

The processes proposed by the JD-R model find empirical support. Job demands primarily cause exhaustion while job resources increase job satisfaction. Besides, job demands reduce job satisfaction and job resources lead to less exhaustion. An exception is found for cognitive workload which rather acts like a job resource. EO mediates these effects in a favorable way. High job resources foster EO, which in turn reduces exhaustion and enhances job satisfaction. For job demands, EO shows a negative mediation reducing the health-impairment process and increasing job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should broach the issue of adverse effects related to extreme employee entrepreneurship and potential negative effects.

Practical implications

Supporting and supervising an EO may help employees to cope with modern job profiles in agile organizations.

Originality/value

The findings provide support for a favorable mediating role of an entrepreneurial personal resource within the JD-R model. This knowledge may be used to consider individual work orientations and to organize work in a “healthy” way.

Citation

Kattenbach, R. and Fietze, S. (2018), "Entrepreneurial orientation and the job demands-resources model", Personnel Review, Vol. 47 No. 3, pp. 745-764. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2016-0194