Abstract: (7 Views)
Background: In today’s era, knowledge-based companies serve as the driving engines of the knowledge-based economy, playing a decisive role in fostering innovation and sustainable development. Recent studies indicate that these companies, by leveraging intellectual capital, emerging technologies, and dynamic business models, have made a significant contribution to employment growth and national productivity (Zarkua et al., 2025). Among the key factors contributing to their success is the enhancement of intra-organizational entrepreneurial capacities—particularly through the development of innovative attitudes and behaviors (Qasim et al., 2025). Knowledge-based environments require a dynamic and supportive culture that enables creativity, risk-taking, and continuous learning among members (Faiz et al., 2024). Therefore, investigating the factors influencing entrepreneurial behavior in knowledge-based agricultural companies is both a scientific and strategic necessity. Entrepreneurial behavior is one of the key drivers of business growth and sustainability in today’s competitive environment. A focus on creativity, innovation, and adaptability enables entrepreneurs to generate fundamental transformations and achieve sustainable, inimitable competitive advantages. By utilizing innovative ideas, entrepreneurs not only improve their products and services but also create enduring competitive advantages through the design of dynamic strategies, ensuring their businesses’ adaptability and survival in changing environmental conditions. Accordingly, knowledge-based agricultural companies must foster entrepreneurial behaviors among their employees to sustain and develop their organizations. This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment on entrepreneurial behavior, with the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy.
Methods: This study is applied in purpose and descriptive-survey in method. The statistical population consists of 210 employees of knowledge-based agricultural companies in Khorasan Razavi Province, from which 132 individuals were selected as the sample using the Morgan Table and the convenience sampling method. Data were collected through a standardized questionnaire adapted from Dong and Colleagues (Dong et al., 2022), based on a five-point Likert scale. To assess validity, face validity was confirmed by experts, and construct validity was examined using convergent and discriminant validity through the Fornell–Larcker criterion, HTMT ratio, and factor analysis. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27 and SmartPLS 4 software.
Results: The results of the study indicated that, at a 95% confidence level, both entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment have a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial behavior of knowledge-based agricultural companies. Specifically, the significance value for entrepreneurial attitude was 4.001, and for entrepreneurial environment, it was 2.737, with corresponding path coefficients of 0.385 and 0.350, respectively. Furthermore, entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment exerted a direct positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, with significance values of 2.703 and 3.231 and path coefficients of 0.239 and 0.249, respectively. In addition, entrepreneurial self-efficacy also had a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial behavior, with a significance value of 3.086 and a path coefficient of 0.222. The examination of indirect effects showed that the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in the relationship between entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment with entrepreneurial behavior was not supported.
Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, managers of knowledge-based agricultural companies can enhance employees’ entrepreneurial attitudes by organizing specialized training courses, innovation workshops, and mentoring programs, thereby creating an environment that fosters motivation and entrepreneurial capabilities. Additionally, improving the entrepreneurial environment—through the establishment of internal innovation centers, support for high-risk projects, reduction of administrative barriers, and promotion of cross-functional collaboration—can facilitate the growth and development of entrepreneurial activities. Strengthening employees’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy via individual coaching, training in decision-making and problem-solving skills, and the implementation of a continuous feedback system can have a direct impact on organizational performance. At the policy level, developing support packages, including tax incentives, low-interest loans, and the creation of interactive clusters among companies, can exert a more sustainable and extensive effect on the development of these firms. It is recommended that future research expand the geographical scope, utilize field data, examine the bidirectional role of the study variables, and analyze the impact of other factors such as organizational culture, organizational learning, and emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data) on entrepreneurial behavior.
Methods: This study is applied in purpose and descriptive-survey in method. The statistical population consists of 210 employees of knowledge-based agricultural companies in Khorasan Razavi Province, from which 132 individuals were selected as the sample using the Morgan Table and the convenience sampling method. Data were collected through a standardized questionnaire adapted from Dong and Colleagues (Dong et al., 2022), based on a five-point Likert scale. To assess validity, face validity was confirmed by experts, and construct validity was examined using convergent and discriminant validity through the Fornell–Larcker criterion, HTMT ratio, and factor analysis. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27 and SmartPLS 4 software.
Results: The results of the study indicated that, at a 95% confidence level, both entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment have a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial behavior of knowledge-based agricultural companies. Specifically, the significance value for entrepreneurial attitude was 4.001, and for entrepreneurial environment, it was 2.737, with corresponding path coefficients of 0.385 and 0.350, respectively. Furthermore, entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment exerted a direct positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, with significance values of 2.703 and 3.231 and path coefficients of 0.239 and 0.249, respectively. In addition, entrepreneurial self-efficacy also had a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial behavior, with a significance value of 3.086 and a path coefficient of 0.222. The examination of indirect effects showed that the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in the relationship between entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial environment with entrepreneurial behavior was not supported.
Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, managers of knowledge-based agricultural companies can enhance employees’ entrepreneurial attitudes by organizing specialized training courses, innovation workshops, and mentoring programs, thereby creating an environment that fosters motivation and entrepreneurial capabilities. Additionally, improving the entrepreneurial environment—through the establishment of internal innovation centers, support for high-risk projects, reduction of administrative barriers, and promotion of cross-functional collaboration—can facilitate the growth and development of entrepreneurial activities. Strengthening employees’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy via individual coaching, training in decision-making and problem-solving skills, and the implementation of a continuous feedback system can have a direct impact on organizational performance. At the policy level, developing support packages, including tax incentives, low-interest loans, and the creation of interactive clusters among companies, can exert a more sustainable and extensive effect on the development of these firms. It is recommended that future research expand the geographical scope, utilize field data, examine the bidirectional role of the study variables, and analyze the impact of other factors such as organizational culture, organizational learning, and emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data) on entrepreneurial behavior.
Keywords: Organizational innovation, intellectual capital, sustainable development, dynamic organizational culture, employee empowerment, dynamic business models
Type of Study: Applicable |
Subject:
کارآفرینی در کشاورزی
Received: 2025/11/11 | Accepted: 2026/08/19
Received: 2025/11/11 | Accepted: 2026/08/19
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