Does Size Matter? Employee Happiness at Entrepreneurial Firms

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Employee Happiness (EH) in large public companies, including the abruptness of change in the level of EO and the role of firm size. The central research question investigates how the level and abruptness of changes in EO, affect EH and whether firm size moderates these effects. To address this, a longitudinal dataset from the S&P 500 companies (2016-2020) was analyzed using fixed effects regression models with robust standard errors. The main finding reveals a positive relationship between EO and EH, indicating that EO’s emphasis on innovation, risk-taking, and employee autonomy enhances EH. While initial findings suggested that abrupt changes in EO negatively impact EH, further analysis indicated that this effect might be influenced by other factors. The study concludes that while EO can improve EH, abrupt changes in EO could risk the overexploitation of human resources.