Founder’s Mentality and Business Innovation Capabilities: Evidence from 100 Companies in the Colombian Caribbean Region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15665/00s0aj46Keywords:
business innovation, entrepreneurial leadership, founder mentality, innovation capabilities, organizational transformationAbstract
This study analyzes founder mentality and the evolution of innovation capabilities in 100 Colombian Caribbean firms participating in a public business-strengthening program. A quantitative, longitudinal, non-experimental design integrated firm characterization, founder mentality, and an innovation assessment administered at two points in time. Founder mentality showed high scores and overall innovation capabilities increased from 3.9 to 4.5. Technology, Processes, and Resources recorded the largest changes. Direct associations between founder mentality and innovation capabilities were weak. The study concludes that founder orientation becomes sustainable when institutionalized through organizational processes, resources, technologies, routines, and responsibilities.
References
Adner, R., & Helfat, C. E. (2003). Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24(10), 1011–1025. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.331
Bennat, T., & Sternberg, R. (2022). CEO characteristics and the Doing-Using-Interacting mode of innovation: A new upper echelons perspective. Industry and Innovation, 29(10), 1202–1230. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2022.2090319
Cirera, X., Frias, J., Hill, J., & Li, Y. (2020). A practitioner’s guide to innovation policy: Instruments to build firm capabilities and accelerate technological catch-up in developing countries. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/33269
Cirera, X., & Maloney, W. F. (2017). The innovation paradox: Developing-country capabilities and the unrealized promise of technological catch-up. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1160-9
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128–152. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393553
Daspit, J. J., Fox, C. J., & Findley, S. K. (2023). Entrepreneurial mindset: An integrated definition, a review of current insights, and directions for future research. Journal of Small Business Management, 61(1), 12–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1907583
de Carvalho, G. D. G., de Carvalho, H. G., Cardoso, H. H. R., & Gonçalves, A. D. (2018). Assessing a micro and small businesses innovation support programme in Brazil: The Local Innovation Agents Programme. Journal of International Development, 30(6), 1064–1068. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3387
Escobar-Castillo, A., Velandia-Pacheco, G., Navarro-Manotas, E., Otalora-Beltrán, J., García-Tamayo, D., Archibold-Barrios, W., & Ramírez-Juvinao, L. (2023). Factors that impact the innovation capability in MSMEs: Case of Colombia’s Atlántico Department. Procedia Computer Science, 224, 490–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2023.09.070
Feldman, M. S., & Pentland, B. T. (2003). Reconceptualizing organizational routines as a source of flexibility and change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(1), 94–118. https://doi.org/10.2307/3556620
Hambrick, D. C. (2007). Upper echelons theory: An update. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 334–343. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.24345254
Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1984.4277628
Haynie, J. M., Shepherd, D., Mosakowski, E., & Earley, P. C. (2010). A situated metacognitive model of the entrepreneurial mindset. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(2), 217–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.10.001
Helfat, C. E., & Martin, J. A. (2015). Dynamic managerial capabilities: Review and assessment of managerial impact on strategic change. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1281–1312. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314561301
Helfat, C. E., & Peteraf, M. A. (2003). The dynamic resource-based view: Capability lifecycles. Strategic Management Journal, 24(10), 997–1010. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.332
Helfat, C. E., & Peteraf, M. A. (2015). Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 36(6), 831–850. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2247
Lawson, B., & Samson, D. (2001). Developing innovation capability in organisations: A dynamic capabilities approach. International Journal of Innovation Management, 5(3), 377–400. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1363919601000427
Lee, J. M., Kim, J., & Bae, J. (2020). Founder CEOs and innovation: Evidence from CEO sudden deaths in public firms. Research Policy, 49(1), Article 103862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.103862
Liu, G., Zhang, S. X., Ko, W. W., Jahanshahi, A. A., Chen, Y., & John, J. (2025). Causation processes and innovation strategy in small- and medium-sized firms in emerging countries: The moderating role of founder-CEOs’ human capital. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 212, Article 123954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123954
Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 135–172. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1996.9602161568
Mendoza-Silva, A. (2021). Innovation capability: A systematic literature review. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(3), 707–734. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-09-2019-0263
Miller, D. (1983). The correlates of entrepreneurship in three types of firms. Management Science, 29(7), 770–791. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.29.7.770
Moreira, A., Navaia, E., & Ribau, C. (2024). Innovation capabilities and their dimensions: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Innovation Studies, 8(3), 313–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijis.2024.07.001
OECD, CAF, & SELA. (2024). SME Policy Index: Latin America and the Caribbean 2024: Towards an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ba028c1d-en
OECD, & Eurostat. (2018). Oslo manual 2018: Guidelines for collecting, reporting and using data on innovation (4th ed.). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304604-en
Pozzo, D. N., Gutierrez Roa, I., Gonzalez Beleño, C. A., Jaafar Orfale, H., Rueda Gomez, A. J., & Cudris Guerrero, V. (2023). The impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation performance: A study on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Colombian Caribbean. Procedia Computer Science, 224, 502–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2023.09.072
Rauch, A., Wiklund, J., Lumpkin, G. T., & Frese, M. (2009). Entrepreneurial orientation and business performance: An assessment of past research and suggestions for the future. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(3), 761–787. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00308.x
Saunila, M. (2020). Innovation capability in SMEs: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 5(4), 260–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2019.11.002
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of sustainable enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7%3C509::AID-SMJ882%3E3.0.CO;2-Z
Tsakalerou, M., Abil, A., Ribiere, V., Lukhmanov, Y., & Tynybayeva, N. (2025). The innovation capability equation: A systematic review of global determinants of SME’s success. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 10(4), Article 100757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2025.100757
Winter, S. G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24(10), 991–995. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.318
Zahra, S. A., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185–203. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2002.6587995
Zollo, M., & Winter, S. G. (2002). Deliberate learning and the evolution of dynamic capabilities. Organization Science, 13(3), 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.3.339.2780
Zook, C., & Allen, J. (2016). The founder’s mentality: How to overcome the predictable crises of growth. Harvard Business Review Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 José Luis Martínez Campo, Neleysis Bolaño, Kemmer Santiago, Silvana Jiménez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Proposed Policy for Open Access Journals
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work registered under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows others to use the published work as long as the authorship and first publication in this journal are acknowledged.
- Authors can enter into additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the article (e.g., include it in an institutional repository or publish it in a book) as long as the first publication in this journal is acknowledged.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., on institutional or personal websites) before and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and a greater and faster dissemination of the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
