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Strategic orientation and innovation are vital determinants for accelerating the performance of small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, there is a lack of empirical evidence confirming the innovation at the product and process levels that instigated the SMEs' performance. Moreover, the mediating effect of process and product innovation can play a significant role in strategic orientation and manufacturing SMEs' performance. In this respect, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of product and process innovation between strategic orientation (i.e., market, entrepreneurial, and customer orientation) and the performance of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. The questionnaire survey gathered data from 360 manufacturing SMEs and was analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to achieve these research objectives. The study analysis established that customer and entrepreneurial orientation significantly influence product and service innovation. However, the market orientation is significant for process innovation but insignificant for product-level innovation among SMEs. The study's consequences exposed that process innovation has significantly mediated between the strategic (market, customer, and entrepreneurial) orientation and SMEs performance. It implies that market, entrepreneurial, and customer-related strategies would substantially improve SMEs' performance by harnessing innovation at product and process levels. The core insights provided by the current work are to strengthen the strategic orientation that can promote product and process innovation, thereby harnessing the SMEs' performance. Additionally, the study's significance and limitations were reported at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether human capital readiness affects business performance, and if so, whether the effect is mediated by global market orientation. Design/methodology/approach: This is a quantitative study employing partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses. Using a survey method, the data were collected using both online and offline questionnaires. As many as 433 owners/managers of micro-, small- and-medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the East Java Province of Indonesia participated in this study. A mediating research framework was developed to investigate the mediating role of global marketing orientation on the human capital readiness–business performance relationship. Findings: The results show that human capital readiness has a direct and positive effect on business performance. Further analysis reveals that global market orientation partially mediates the effect of human capital readiness on business performance. Research limitations/implications: First, this study focuses on the MSMEs in the East Java Province of Indonesia. Caution needs to be taken if the results are generalized to other regions. Second, it employed a survey method that is commonly criticized as having the potential to be biased. Practical implications: The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of owners/managers of human capital readiness and how it should be improved to better execute global market orientation strategies to achieve the desired business performance. Social implications: Because MSMEs play a crucial role in society, this study provides a general model to improve the welfare of society by enhancing the MSMEs' business performance. By understanding its antecedents, namely, human capital readiness and the global market orientation, improvements can be made. Originality/value: Human capital readiness has been rarely examined in previous studies. This is the only study applying the constructs of human capital readiness, global market orientation and business performance to the Indonesian MSME research setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]