Abstract
Research identifying how firms can implement and foster their entrepreneurial orientation (EO) through specific structures and processes in order to improve performance is still limited. Drawing from, and, in turn, advancing the theorizing of the categorization-elaboration model (CEM), we investigate data from 56 multidisciplinary management teams of an internationally leading logistics firm, this study unveils multi-level team processes comprising team learning behavior, team decision making participation, and team identification as mediating mechanisms between the transactive memory system (TMS) of management teams and the pervasive formation of EO among a firm’s branches. Thus, we contribute to two yet rarely discovered fields of research. First, we unveil TMS as an antecedent of EO and clarify how it manifests itself through complex team processes. Second, we explore outcomes-other than team performance-of TMS in contemporary management team settings in the field. In so doing, this paper reports theoretical and practical implications underlining the importance of well-designed multidisciplinary team structures and processes in supporting firms’ overall strategic orientation. Avenues for future TMS and EO research are presented.