Business model novelty and small firm innovativeness: the relationship with need for closure and creative self-efficacy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the need for closure and creative self-efficacy, two dynamic cognitive mechanisms, in conjunction with the impact of business model novelty on the ability of small firms to innovate. The driving premise is that both need for closure and creative self-efficacy enable entrepreneurs to effectively operate in the myriad complex opportunities and challenges that are encountered through the development of novel business models that may enhance firm innovativeness. Utilizing hierarchical regression on a sample of 212 respondents, we find that the adoption of a novelty-centered business model, creative self-efficacy, and a need for cognitive closure are all associated with firm innovativeness. The results further show that a novelty-centered business model fully mediates the relationship between need for closure and small firm innovativeness and partially the relationship between creative self-efficacy and small firm innovativeness. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.