Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Performance of Government-Linked Companies (GLCs)

Quite often, people have negative views on government-linked companies (GLCs) due to the unsatisfactory performance of some key players. In order to improve the performance of GLCs in the country, Malaysian government implemented GLC Transformation Program (GLCT) in 2004. As the program is approaching its ending phase, some efforts are needed to assess the performance of GLCs. This study aimed to examine the influence of EO dimensions on the performance of GLCs. The sample of this study consisted of 153 subsidiaries and branches of G20. Based on the multiple regression analysis performed, this study found that all the five dimensions in EO, namely innovativeness (INNO), pro-activeness (PROA), risk-taking (RISK), competitive aggressiveness (COMP) and autonomy (AUTO) recorded significant positive effects on performance of GLCs. Competitive aggressiveness was identified as the most important factor that influences the performance of GLCs. As such, all the hypotheses developed for this study were supported. The results suggested that EO is not only suitable to be applied in privately owned companies, but also in GLCs. Hence, GLCs should not be perceived as public entities and they should be more entrepreneurial in managing their organizations to achieve high performance. Furthermore, this study also verified that EO is a good determinant of GLCs’ performance. At the end of this paper, recommendations for future research have been put forth.