The impact of entrepreneurial orientation on the Australian wine industry

This study examined the entrepreneurial environment of the Australian wine industry using Lumpkin and Dess' (1996) Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) dimensions: innovation, risk taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness. A review of existing literature and previous studies which used Lumpkin and Dess' (1996) EO dimensions was conducted. A questionnaire was then developed and sent to selected companies in the Australian wine industry. Follow-up, using semi-structured interviews, was undertaken with some respondents from the first stage. This multi-method approach assisted in making the results more robust. This study demonstrated that a strong entrepreneurial orientation within a firm in the Australian wine industry could lead to improved business performance. Though the findings were related to this industry, the EO dimensions approach appears to be a worthwhile tool in entrepreneurship research. However, further studies will be required in other industries to validate this conclusion.