Entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the interaction effect of customer capital

Author(s):  
Alireza Jalali ◽  
Mastura Jaafar ◽  
Thurasamy Ramayah

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to advance research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO), resource-based view (RBV), customer (relational) capital, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by examining how the interaction effect of customer capital shapes the relationship between EO and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – This research is considered as a correlational rather than a casual study with 150 questionnaire returned from manufacturing SMEs. This cross-sectional study tested all hypotheses that are related to the research questions and use statistical software SPSS 17 to analyze data. Findings – The study found that a high customer capital strengthens the link between two dimensions of EO (innovativeness and risk taking) and weakens the link between another dimension of EO (proactiveness) and firm performance. Research limitations/implications – First, future studies would benefit from an enhanced development in the measurement of EO dimensions, which relies on richer and more refined conceptualizations. Second, a single informant who was asked to evaluate EO may potentially increase the degree of subjectivity and bias in the responses. Obtaining more than one respondent for the survey from each organization is always highly desirable. Practical implications – The results of the current study cover the limitation of the previous study by independently examining the moderating effect of customer capital as an intangible resource in the relationship between innovativeness and risk taking on firm performance. The paper expands this line of work by adding the idea that the intangible resources of a firm are more likely to contribute to sustaining superior firm performance when they are used with other factors simultaneously. Social implications – Environmental factors, such as government financial aid and protection of organizations outside the industry, may affect the relationship between SMEs and the agents. Establishing extra ties between Iranian firms and agents may be expensive for Iranian manufacturing firms, and they may not be able to create these ties without government support. Originality/value – A research gap exists in understanding how customer capital operates and endows benefits to firms that are beyond their start-up phase and are embarking on international activities. The current study tries to overcome a number of limitations of the previous framework by combining RBV and customer capital. Particularly, “the RBV's lack of specificity have raised questions as to its status as a legitimate theory, and make it difficult to design and test empirically.”

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 878-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jafar Rezaei ◽  
Roland Ortt

Purpose Earlier studies have generally shown a positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the overall performance of the firm. The purpose of this paper is to understand in more detail how EO influences firm performance. It adds to the literature by distinguishing performances of different functions in a firm and by exploring how the dimensions of EO influence these functional performances and, in turn, overall firm performance. Design/methodology/approach This study examined the relationship between three dimensions of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking), three types of functional performances of firms (R&D performance, production performance, marketing and sales performance) and the overall performance of firms. The data are collected from 279 high-tech small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using a postal survey. The proposed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings The results indicate that the dimensions of (EO) are related in different ways to the performance of functions in a firm. A positive relationship is observed between innovativeness and R&D performance and between proactiveness and marketing and sales performance. A negative relationship exists between risk-taking and production performance. The results also show a sequential positive relationship from R&D via production and marketing and sales to overall performance of firms. Therefore, it is concluded that the R&D, production and marketing and sales functions reinforce each other in a logic order and are complementary in their effect on overall firm performance. Practical implications The results imply that the three functions, R&D, production and marketing and sales, in a firm play different roles, both in the firm’s EO and in their contribution to overall performance. Managers can use the findings to monitor and influence the performance of different functions in a firm to increase overall firm performance. Originality/value The first contribution of this study is that it unravels (i) which dimensions of EO have an effect on the performance of separate functions in a firm, indicating that functions contribute in different ways to entrepreneurial orientation of the firm. A second contribution is assessing how the performance of these functions influence the firm’s overall performance. This paper fills a gap in the literature by exploring internal firm variables mediating the relationship between EO and overall firm performance and contributes to the discussion on the contradictory results regarding the relationship between risk-taking and firm performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel-Alejandro Ibarra-Cisneros ◽  
María del Rosario Demuner-Flores ◽  
Felipe Hernández-Perlines

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to study the moderating effect of absorptive capacity, defined as the set of organizational routines and processes through which companies acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge to produce a dynamic organizational capacity (Zahra and George, 2002), in three strategic orientations: market orientation; technology orientation and entrepreneurial orientation and their positive relationship in the performance of the medium and large Mexican manufacturing firms. Likewise, it is determined whether these three combined SOs influence firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected from 171 medium and large-sized Mexican manufacturing firms. The proposed hypotheses are tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsDespite the importance of knowledge for the development of firms, the results indicate that the moderating effect of absorptive capacity is only present in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. That is, firms cannot take advantage of knowledge simultaneously between the three strategic orientations. For their part, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation exert a positive influence on firm performance.Practical implicationsThe main practical implication for the manufacturing industry is that they must develop mechanisms to detect what kind of knowledge affects each strategic orientation, in this way it can make the absorptive capacity influence the relationships between SO and FP.Originality/valueThe main contribution consists of studying the moderating effect of the absorptive capacity on the relationship between three strategic orientations and firm performance, and not concentrating solely on the simultaneous use of these strategies as is commonly done.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Dharma Tuah Putra Nasution ◽  
Ahmad Rafiki ◽  
Adelina Lubis ◽  
Yossie Rossanty

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), knowledge management process (KMP) and dynamic capability (DC) toward the adoption of electronic commerce (e-commerce) of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Sumatera. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative methodology using Smart PLS of structural equation model. A survey is done by distributing the questionnaires to the respondents (owner-managers) of SMEs across sectors. Using a convenient sampling technique, 131 respondents were selected. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 11 hypotheses were tested. Findings It is found that both innovativeness and proactiveness of EO have a significant relationship with e-commerce adoption (EA), while the risk-taking of EO is found as insignificant. Both risk-taking and proactiveness of EO are significantly related to KMP, but innovation of EO is found to be insignificant. Moreover, KMP significantly mediates the relationship between risk-taking and proactiveness of EO and EA, while KMP insignificantly mediates the relationship between innovativeness of EO and EA. Finally, it is found that DC has a significant relationship in EA. Originality/value By using the resource based-theory, the study on the decision of EA by SMEs is conducted which focuses on a number of internal and external factors influencing the adoption decision. This differs from other studies using theories of the technological, organizational and environmental, theory of acceptance and use of technology, theory of planned behavior, theory of reasoned action and others which emphasized on the implementation and usage of EA.


Author(s):  
Fredric William Swierczek ◽  
Thai Thanh Ha

This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance in a sample of 306 Vietnamese SMEs and 172 Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation including risk-taking, proactivity and innovativeness are explored. The results indicate that Thai SMEs are more innovative and proactive than their Vietnamese counterparts, while Vietnamese SMEs are inclined to be more risk-taking. Thai SMEs have higher perceived business growth, job creation and net profit than Vietnamese SMEs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengli Shu ◽  
Dirk De Clercq ◽  
Yunyue Zhou ◽  
Cuijuan Liu

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and strategic renewal (as a critical dimension of corporate entrepreneurship) might transmit government institutional support and thereby enhance firm performance in a transition economy.Design/methodology/approachMulti-respondent data were collected from 230 Chinese-based firms. The hypotheses were tested with structural equation modeling, in combination with a bias-corrected bootstrap method, to assess the significance of the theorized direct and indirect relationships.FindingsGovernment institutional support enhances EO and strategic renewal individually, yet EO also fully mediates the relationship between government institutional support and strategic renewal. Moreover, strategic renewal fully mediates the relationship between EO and firm financial performance, and it partially mediates the relationship between EO and firm reputation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by testing an organization-level model of entrepreneurial phenomena in established firms that identifies EO and strategic renewal as two distinct mechanisms through which government institutional support in a transition economy can enhance organizational effectiveness, which entails the firm’s financial performance and reputation. In doing so, this study provides an extended understanding of how EO and strategic renewal might influence a firm’s financial and nonfinancial outcomes in different ways.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaynab Dadzie ◽  
Ahmed Agyapong ◽  
Abdulai Suglo

Purpose This study aims to examine the mediating role of internationalization in the relationship between the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance, empirical study of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in a developing nation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 158 exporting SMEs based in the sub-Saharan developing economy, Ghana. The use of hierarchical regression (ordinary least square analysis) was used by the researcher to assess the suggested model of the study. Findings Largely supporting the conjectural predictions, the study indicates that EO positively and significantly influences performance; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between innovativeness and performance of export firms; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between risk-taking and performance of export firms; and finally, internationalization partially mediates the relationship between competitive aggressiveness and performance of export firms. Managers are, therefore, encouraged to strategically develop both their EO and internationalization, as the study has confirmed that EO has both a direct and indirect relationship with performance. Originality/value This study integrated a resource-based view of the firm and international entrepreneurship theory as a theoretical foundation. Theoretically, internationalization’s mediating role reveals the relevance of this construct in the linkage between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Furthermore, the study extends the entrepreneurial orientation concept to the international business literature by estimating and testing models of the mediating link between entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Moreover, the study seeks to broaden the knowledge of entrepreneurial orientation and its relationship with performance in small and medium businesses. The study further extends the limited studies on performance, driven by entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization in a developing nation (Ghanaian) context. This paper besides seeks to highlight the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on performance when channeled through internationalization. The study also reveals the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to be important antecedents of internationalization, in attempts at unearthing the critical predictors of firm performance, especially those of international characteristics.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Korutaro Nkundabanyanga ◽  
Julius Opiso ◽  
Waswa Balunywa ◽  
Isaac Nabeeta Nkote

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between managerial competence, managerial risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Design/methodology/approach – In this cross-sectional and correlational study, the authors surveyed 52 branches of MFIs from a population of 60 branches of 20 MFIs in eastern Uganda. Two respondents, a branch manager and a senior loan officer, were the units of enquiry for each branch. The authors put forward and tested four hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between perceived managerial competence, risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach using SPSS version 20. The authors established the hypothesized relationships using Pearson correlation coefficients and obtain a mediating effect of risk-taking behaviour using partial corrections and regression analysis. Findings – The results suggest positive and significant relationships between perceived managerial competence, risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach. However, while the direct relationship between managerial competence and financial service outreach without the mediation effect of risk-taking behaviour of managers was found to be significant, its magnitude reduces when mediation of risk-taking behaviour is allowed. Thus the entire effect does not only go through managerial competence but majorly also, through risk-taking behaviour of managers. Research limitations/implications – This study did not control for environmental factors such as laws and regulations. As such the model may have been under fitted. Nevertheless, the study has introduced a clearer understanding that outreach performance in MFIs rests with competent managers in strategic positions operating in synergy with their risk-taking behaviour. The study informs policy makers that outreach performance of the MFIs depends on the quality of the competence managers have in addition to their risk-taking propensities. Practical implications – Efforts by the stakeholders to improve financial service outreach must be matched with appropriate competences and risk-taking behaviour of managers. Originality/value – The results contribute to extant literature by investigating two explanatory variables for financial service outreach and provide initial evidence of the mediating effect of intrinsic high risk-taking behaviour of managers. Results add to the conceptual improvement in risk-taking behaviour and lend considerable support for the behavioural perspective in the study of financial service outreach of MFIs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 13-30
Author(s):  
Marcus EKURE ◽  
EDWARD OGBONNIA ELEJE

The study investigated the relevance of entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Delta State. Other specific objectives are to determine the relationship between proactiveness and SMEs performance; to assess the connection between competitive aggressiveness and SMEs performance; to ascertain the connection between risk-taking and SMEs performance. A cross sectional research design was adopted for the study. A structured questionnaire was developed to elicit data from respondents for the study. This study specifically focused on relationship between proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, innovativeness and the relationship between risk-taking and SMEs performance. All the staff of selected SMEs were sampled. The analytical technique used for hypotheses testing was the chi-square, using Stata version 13. Findings revealed that, all variables used in this study had a significant and positive relationship with performance of SMEs. Thus, the study concludes that entrepreneurial orientation has a significant relationship with performance of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs). This study therefore recommends amongst others that more intensive entrepreneurial training and practice be done by students in tertiary institutions as there seems to be no job waiting for graduates among the teeming youths we have in Nigeria today.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahfuzur Rahman ◽  
Dieu Hack-Polay ◽  
Sujana Shafique ◽  
Paul Agu Igwe

PurposeInternationalisation is considered as a key strategy for the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between dynamic capability, SMEs internationalisation and firm performance in the context of emerging economies and to evaluate the impact of financial, asset and market expansion on internationalisation of SMEs.Design/methodology/approachUsing primary data from 212 SMEs from Bangladesh, structural equation modelling and mathematical (hierarchical reflective) model, the analysis enabled the measurement of the casual relationship on the impacts of internationalisation.FindingsThe results revealed that internationalisation of SMEs has significant impact on both financial and non-financial performance of SMEs in an emerging economy- Bangladesh. The paper found internationalisation impacts on two dimensions (financial and non-financial) with eight defined indicators – higher sales, higher profit, assets maximisation, market expansion, competitive advantage, better reputation, better customer service and added knowledge.Originality/valueDespite several studies that examine the relationship between SME internationalisation and firm performance, limited research exists on emerging economies. This is contrary to the fact that SMEs are one of the main vehicles for growth in those economies such as Bangladesh. In this research, the authors use the theories of dynamic capabilities to conceptualise how internationalisation becomes a core SME capability for SMEs in an emerging economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Imtiaz Mostafiz ◽  
Mathew Hughes ◽  
Murali Sambasivan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to test the thesis that the family firm’s success hinges on effective strategic knowledge management (SKM) capability coupled with an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Contingency theory holds that entrepreneurial success is contingent on strategic capabilities and resource orchestration theory explains how well family firms nurture capabilities to structure, bundle and leverage resources that define competitive advantage (CA). This study combines these two theoretical viewpoints to propose the effects of EO and SKM capability on CA to achieve successful performance in family firms. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a hybrid approach applying structural equation modelling (SEM) and deep-learning artificial intelligence (DL-AI) analysis to survey data on 268 Malaysian family firms. Findings SEM results confirm that CA mediates the relationship between innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking dimensions of EO and firm performance. Autonomy and competitive aggressiveness have no bearing, however. The relationships among innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking with CA and performance are positively moderated by SKM capability, becoming more potent at higher levels. Moreover, four additional DL-AI models reveal the necessity of specific EO dimensions and the interacting effects of EO–SKM capability to influence CA and to attain performance success subsequently. Originality/value This study theorizes and presents two new boundary conditions to a knowledge-based theory of the family firm and its firm performance. First, CA mediates the relationship between EO and performance; and second, SKM capability moderates the relationships between EO and CA and between EO and family firm performance. Methodologically, this study uses DL-AI to embrace non-linearity and prioritize predictor variables based on normalized importance to produce greater accuracy over regression analysis. Hence, DL-AI adds methodological novelty to the knowledge management and family firm literature.


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