A Strategic Orientation toward Entrepreneurship: Implications for Pallet Manufacturer Performance

Leaders in the wood pallet industry have faced numerous trends over the past few decades that have challenged their ability to maintain success without adopting new business models and innovations. Past literature would predict that industry managers who instill entrepreneurial processes such as innovation, risk-taking, and proactiveness into their operations should be better equipped to identify, positively react to, and take advantage of changing environmental conditions. Firms that emphasize such processes are described as being strategically orientated toward entrepreneurship. The objective of this study was to determine whether pallet manufacturing firms that exhibit entrepreneurial processes are more successful than those that do not. As an example of how an entrepreneurial orientation might influence business operations, this study also analyzed revenue-generating methods of managing wood waste. Data for the study were collected from executives of North American pallet manufacturers. Findings suggest pallet firms that continually work to improve their products and services, frequently make decisions that involve risk, and proactively seek out new opportunities have higher performance than firms that do not. Furthermore, manufacturing firms that monetize waste products exhibit greater proclivity for entrepreneurial processes than firms that pay to dispose of or give away wood waste. Results are discussed and potential implications for managers in the industry are provided.