Strategic focus, strategic blur, and environmental turbulence in nascent entrepreneurial ventures

This study examines how strategic focus, strategic blur, and environmental turbulence affect performance in nascent entrepreneurial ventures. We build on the idea of Porter's (1980) generic strategies to develop the constructs of strategic focus and strategic blur. Strategic focus is conceptualised as an emphasis on a single strategic performance dimension. In contrast, strategic blur, a construct originated in this study, is the opposite of strategic focus. We define strategic blur as the simultaneous emphasis on all strategic dimensions. In addition, we consider how environmental turbulence moderates the effects of focus and blur on venture performance, which is measured by the attainment of initial profitability. We employ data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED II), and we find that focus does not have a significant effect, either directly or in combination with turbulence. However, the interaction between strategic blur and environmental turbulence is statistically significant. We conclude with implications for research and practice.