Speeding up new product development through entrepreneurial orientation in SMEs: The moderating role of ambidexterity

This paper analyzes the influence of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on its capacity to quickly introduce new products to the market (namely, speed to market). Specifically, we suggest that firms will exhibit greater speed to market when displaying either low or high levels of EO. We also suggest that the EO – speed to market relationship will be contingent on firms' ambidexterity, or its capacity to simultaneously embrace exploratory and exploitative strategies. To test our hypotheses, we collected survey data from 384 SMEs belonging to four sectors in Spain: biotechnology, ceramic tiles, toys and footwear. Our findings confirm the existence of a U-shaped connection between EO and speed to market, and evidence that this curvilinear relationship is accentuated when SMEs exhibit greater ambidexterity.