Examining the Antecedents and Outcomes of Romanian Entrepreneurial Orientation

The purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of Romanian entrepreneurs’ thinking styles on their entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and emotional intelligence (EI). More specifically, we examine how thinking style and risk preference – both separately and interactively – contribute to an individual’s EO and EI. In addition, we examine the ways in which EO and EI impact affective organizational commitment. Consistent with expectations, Romanian entrepreneurs with high risk preference demonstrated greater EI than those with low risk preference. Furthermore, Romanian entrepreneurs with a nonlinear thinking style and high risk preference exhibited greater EO than those with a linear thinking style and low risk preference. Finally, Romanian entrepreneurs with high EI and high EO demonstrated greater affective organizational commitment than entrepreneurs with low EI and low EO. We conclude with a discussion of the study’s findings, research limitations, and implications for future research.