Does Corporate Entrepreneurship Moderate the Relationship Between Top Management Team Heterogeneity and Company Performance?

Purpose

The importance of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity is increasingly recognized in strategic management. Despite numerous research studies, the results remain inconsistent. This research aims to address this gap by examining the moderating effect of the internal context in which TMT operates, specifically corporate entrepreneurship (CE). CE is an opportunity for modern companies to achieve a competitive advantage and has gained significant attention in both literature and practice over the past decade.

Methodology

The study seeks to determine whether CE moderates the relationship between TMT heterogeneity and company performance. The research was conducted using secondary and primary data with samples of 62 companies and 444 respondents. Moderated regression analysis was employed for hypothesis testing.

Findings

The results confirm CE’s moderating effect and its positive, significant impact on company performance, as measured by return on assets and return on sales.

Implications for theory and practice: The paper contributes to the literature by addressing the identified research gap. The inclusion of moderating variables in research models is necessary, as existing research in upper-echelon theory requires improved methodology to achieve greater consistency in results. Furthermore, research results identified recommendations for improving CE implementation in companies.

Originality and value

Due to the limited prior research on this topic, this paper makes a meaningful contribution to the upper echelons’ theory. The findings indicate that corporate entrepreneurship exerts a moderating effect on the relationship between TMT heterogeneity and company performance.