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Rapid economic growth, intense competition, and rising environmental concerns are compelling businesses to attain sustainable performance and preserve long‐run interests. Considering the lack of EO in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the emerging context of Pakistan, the present study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on sustainable business performance (economic, environmental, and social) by drawing perspective from dynamic capabilities and resource‐based views. The mediating role of innovation capabilities between EO‐sustainable performance and the moderating effect of technology dynamism on the EO‐innovation capabilities link is also examined. Data from 408 Pakistani SMEs was analyzed using the structural equation modeling. The findings reveal a direct positive influence of EO on sustainable performance. Furthermore, innovation capabilities are found to mediate the EO‐sustainable performance relationship, while technology dynamism positively moderates the EO‐innovation capabilities link. These results emphasize the importance of aligning EO with innovation capabilities to adapt to technological changes in the industrial regime. The theoretical contributions emphasize the importance of promoting EO‐innovation capabilities. Practical contributions imply that entrepreneurs should create an enabling environment that fosters innovation capabilities within SMEs to enhance sustainable performance, especially in resource‐constrained emerging settings. The study also offers researchers a foundation for further investigations in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on the intellectual capital (IC) theory and the resource-based view (RBV), the paper seeks to elucidate the direct and indirect relationships between IC and competitive advantage in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therewithal, besides examining the mediating role of innovation capabilities in the IC-competitiveness link, it scrutinizes the moderating effect of entrepreneurial orientation in causing IC to boost competitiveness in SMEs through flourishing innovation capabilities. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 206 participants working in SMEs operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the help of a structured questionnaire distributed through LinkedIn. Partial least square (PLS)-based structural equation modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS 4.0 has been performed to calibrate the auxiliary and structural models. Findings: Based on the empirical analysis, IC significantly and directly enhances the competitive advantages of SMEs. Additionally, innovative capability has been found to be a complementary partial mediating condition in enabling IC to foster competitiveness in SMEs. Furthermore, the moderated mediation analysis reveals that innovation capabilities strongly mediate the association between IC and competitiveness in SMEs, characterizing higher entrepreneurial orientation. Research limitations/implications: The study provides significant insights to academicians and practitioners seeking to comprehend or configure interactions among IC, innovation capabilities, and entrepreneurial orientation in maturing competitiveness among SMEs, especially in emerging economies. Furthermore, the study provides a valuable integrative perspective on SMEs' competitiveness by involving three voguish constituents of contemporary scholarly discourse grounded into the leading underpinning theoretical perspectives, such as IC theory, RBV, and entrepreneurship theory. Originality/value: The uniqueness of this model lies in its rich theory-laden conceptualization and explanation that could extend theoretical debate and managerial action to the next levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the growing scholarly interest in examining entrepreneurial orientation (EO)-performance link, the results have been inconsistent. However, studies have not explored firm-level and external factors that may serve as mechanisms or boundary conditions to explain this relationship. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine how and when EO influences performance by incorporating sustainability practices as a mechanism and competitive intensity as an important contingent factor. Design/methodology/approach: Using primary data obtained from 323 chief executive officers/entrepreneurs, the authors analyzed the data using structural equation modeling in LISREL and Hayes PROCESS in SPSS. Findings: The authors found that sustainability practices serve as a mechanism through which EO influences small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) performance. The study further revealed that the relationship between EO and sustainability practices is weakened at high levels of competitive intensity. Still, the relationship between EO and performance through sustainability practices remains strengthened when competitive intensity is present at high levels. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by examining how SMEs who are less endowed with resources can engage in sustainability practices that can match large firms with stronger EO to achieve increased performance. Additionally, the study contributes to the literature by examining the mediating effect of sustainability practices in the EO-performance relationship. Finally, the study contributes to the body of literature by testing how competitive intensity presents as a boundary condition to leverage the relationship between EO and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies strive to achieve and sustain their financial and competitive positions in a dynamic resource‐constrained environment. The concept of resource bricolage has received little attention in the literature on emerging economies. To fill this gap, we draw perspectives from the resource‐based view to examine the impact of resource bricolage on the competitive advantage and financial performance of SMEs in Pakistan. We argue that organizational innovativeness functions as a mediator in the relationship between resource bricolage, financial performance, and competitive advantage, while entrepreneurial orientation simultaneously moderates the relationship between resource bricolage and organizational innovativeness. We collected data from 398 SMEs in Pakistan and analyzed these relationships using the partial least squares method. Our results suggest that resource bricolage effectively promotes the financial performance of SMEs and helps them gain a competitive advantage. The relationship is mediated by organizational innovativeness, which accelerates financial performance and competitive advantage. Entrepreneurial orientation moderates the resource bricolage–organizational innovativeness relationship, but it is only effective when a high level of resource bricolage is in place. Our study suggests that SMEs operating under similar socioeconomic environments must efficiently focus on resources embedded in the firm and utilize them to achieve competitive advantage and enhance financial performance. Our study highlights the critical need for research on organizational innovativeness in emerging contexts and proposes significant theoretical and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being acknowledged as the primary catalyst for economic development, entrepreneurship in emerging markets contends with multiple constraints. The availability of unexploited business opportunities certainly raises the entrepreneurial potential of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Entrepreneurial orientation strategy strongly supports SMEs to improve their position in the market by instilling the courage to explore new prospects and take risks, promote innovation, act proactively on the market, and establish autonomy and competitive aggressiveness as norms in their operations. This research focuses on the entrepreneurial orientation approach as a key firm-level phenomenon and its influence on business performance in emerging markets. More specifically, the study elaborates on SMEs' risk-taking, innovativeness, pro-activeness, autonomy, and competitive aggressiveness under the moderating influence of unexploited opportunities. A multiple-case study technique was used to develop the five propositions generated from the conceptual framework of the study. Six companies operating in the private healthcare sector in North Macedonia actively participated in the research, contributing a substantial body of data. According to the study findings, the unexploited opportunities have a reasonably large effect on SMEs' entrepreneurial orientation activities and corresponding performance. Nonetheless, despite the hostile entrepreneurial environment, SMEs have demonstrated boldness in taking risks, initiating innovation, and continuity in taking proactive actions in the private healthcare industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to investigate the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), strategic flexibility (SF), and business model innovation (BMI) in the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the mediating variable of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The study was applied in terms of objective and descriptive-survey in terms of nature. A number of SMEs in Tehran province were selected as the statistical population. The sample size was calculated using G-Power software as 244 people. In this regard, 185 responses were collected from participants through an online survey and a simple random sampling method. Data analysis was carried out through Smart PLS 3. The findings revealed that EO, BMI, and SF enhanced the performance of SMEs. The present research extends the management literature by filling research gaps. Nowadays, companies need to change their obsolete strategies to be capable of understanding and meeting customer preferences faster and more competitively than other competitors in a highly competitive arena. Adopting EO, SF, and BMI improves the performance of SMEs and at the same time assists managers in improving the performance of their businesses in dynamic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores effect of business group affiliation on entrepreneurial orientation of the affiliated firms. Building on the argument that organizational and governance structure influence entrepreneurship, we argue that despite some potential advantage that business group affiliation has on a firm through intermediate market filling roles, the entrenchment behavior of business groups discourages entrepreneurial orientation of affiliated firms. Taking a firm-specific contingent perspective we also posit that the level of internationalization of a firm and its performance helps to alleviate- even counter–the negative influence of business group affiliation on the firm's entrepreneurial orientation. We find support for our predictions in a longitudinal data set of 419 Indian firms for the period from 2006 to 2019. The implications and directions for future research are discussed in the context of business group affiliation in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Adopting insights from the upper echelons theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance under the contingent influence of chief executive officer (CEO) power. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from a sample of large publicly-traded Indian software firms using the Prowess Database of Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Panel data regression analysis was used to test the study's hypotheses. Findings: The results indicate that EO has an inverted U-shaped relation with firm performance. Strong support is also found for a negative moderating influence of CEO power on the inverted U-shaped relationship between EO and firm financial performance, suggesting that powerful CEOs eventually harm entrepreneurial firms. Practical implications: The study encourages firms to have entrepreneurship orientation, but at a moderate level, to get the maximum benefit of EO. The study also explains to managers to what extent CEO power drives EO. Originality/value: The study contributes to the intersection of corporate entrepreneurship and upper echelons theory. The study shows that CEO power negatively affects the EO and firm's performance relationship. This study holds important insights for managers of entrepreneurial firms, especially in international contexts and emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, innovation system literature favors studies of well-functioning economies and innovation in high-technology sectors. In emerging economies, such as Latin America, a significant number of gaps is still found, especially in terms of understanding behaviors towards innovation and how these attitudes might impact the innovation outputs. Based on this scenario, the present study aims to measure how entrepreneurial innovation - a multidimensional construct formed by innovativeness, proactiveness and risk taking - impacts on innovation performance. This study adapts the model of Sheppard (2023), originally applied to a Canadian multi-sectoral sample, to an also multi-sector group located in the Caribbean region of Colombia. A translated questionnaire was applied to 154 companies. A total of 123 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) valid cases was considered for analysis. Results show significant impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation performance, confirming initial hypothesis. The impact of environmental dynamism presents diverse data that needs to be further analyzed and 'slack resources' were found as a statistically significant antecedent to innovation performance. The limitation to measure growth due to restrictions in data access is an important future opportunity to expand the analysis, allowing full comparison to the original model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beneficial relationship of entrepreneurial orientation with performance has been extensively acknowledged in the literature. However, empirical evidence is not straightforward and requires consideration of the interplay of different variables, context, and rationales through which this causal complexity of the performance-enhancing mechanism of entrepreneurial orientation influences firm performance. In this paper we examine the way the entrepreneurial behavior of the organization unfolds and affects performance through specific configurations resulting from the simultaneous interaction of strategic networking and dynamic environment in the setting of Southeast European SMEs. We apply hierarchical regression to a sample of 963 small and medium-sized enterprises. Empirical findings provide support for applying the configurational approach and show that companies of high entrepreneurial orientation and high strategic networking operating in a dynamic environment achieve the highest effect on a business performance. Research results further indicate that strategic networking is a mechanism that achieves the greatest efficiency in a dynamic environment and with the presence of a firm's entrepreneurial orientation. According to the research results, implications for research and practice are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to identify and verify the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and innovation of internationalised firms from Poland as a former emerging market. The article assesses this relationship in terms of the internationalisation scope. We adopted a quantitative research design and conducted a CATI survey on a sample of 355 firms operating in Poland. To verify the various assumed relationships, we used statistical instruments, including descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. Entrepreneurial orientation influences the innovations of internationalized firms. The impact depends on the scope of internationalization and is U-shaped. The impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation is greater for firms with large and small scope of internationalization. A relatively lower impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation is visible for firms with a moderate scope of internationalization. The study is an original contribution to the literature. Firstly, we perceive entrepreneurial orientation as a variable that can determine corporate innovation. Secondly, most of the empirical research to date focuses on highly developed markets. Firms that go beyond the borders of emerging markets see internationalization as a way of gaining experience, learning, and an opportunity to improve their innovative capacity. Thirdly, the study contributes to the development of theories combining entrepreneurial orientation with innovation by applying a new concept of a U-shaped curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tried to shed light on the relationship between strategic orientations and sustainable competitive performance with the mediating effect of strategic flexibility of family-owned SMEs in an emerging economy. This study is significant because family firms need a more flexible and quick organizational structure to respond effectively to external market demands. For achieving fruitful insights, data was collected from family-owned manufacturing firms operating in Islamabad and Rawalpindi verified from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA). In addition, structured questionnaires were used to collect the data from top management through an online source; for testing the hypotheses, Smart PLS-SEM was deployed. The finding suggests that strategic flexibility firmly explains the mechanism to support the relationship between both strategic orientations (entrepreneurial and market) and sustainable competitive performance. Thus, our study suggests several recommendations to the policymaker and governmental bodies to support the family-owned firms in modifying existing resources according to the market demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a crisis like Covid-19, SME/firms' ability to execute business activities via internal and external social capital networks would undoubtedly boost their entrepreneurial orientation (EO), access to support, and enhance performance. This study bridges the gap on how social capital activates SMEs entrepreneurial orientation, access to government support policies (GSPs), and performance in emerging markets amidst Covid-19. We received questionnaires from 369 firm-owners via a simple sampling technique, and the data was analyzed using PLS-SEM software. The findings show that social capital, access to government assistance policies, and proactiveness influence SME performance, but not innovation or risk-taking. Similarly, social capital significantly impacts access to GSPs, innovativeness, proactiveness, and risktaking. The study resonates with the need for firms to focus more on their social capital and utilize it to devise strategies to enhance their chances of attaining support from the government, friends, relations, and other institutions to augment their EO and performance during and after this Covid-19 pandemic. Our study's novelty is also that it expanded the use of the social capital and resource base view theories of SMEs in developing countries, particularly in pandemics. Finally, we provided suggestions for SMEowners, policymakers, and further researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study strives to explore the nexus between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), total quality management (TQM), competitive intensity (CI) and firm performance in the context of an emerging laggard economy in the South-Eastern European region. Moreover, the present study aims to examine the effect of each dimension of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) on the TQM and firm performance. The proposed conceptual model and research hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling (SEM). Our results show that TQM partially mediates the relationship between EO and firm performance and that as the intensity of competition increases, the direct effect of EO on firm performance becomes stronger. Thus, this study contributes to the EO and TQM literature by arguing that EO as a strategic orientation is positively related to firm performance outcomes through the mechanism of TQM practices. Moreover, this study adds to the current literature by revealing that the effectiveness of the synergetic effect of EO and TQM of firm performance outcomes is contingent on the market environment conditions (i.e. competitive intensity). Regarding the relative importance of EO dimensions, findings indicate that innovativeness and proactiveness are vital pillars of organisational processes aimed at developing TQM practices to enhance firm performance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper investigates if and how entrepreneurs' social capital influences their individual entrepreneurial orientation attributes (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking). Design/methodology/approach: The research method adopted is an exploratory multiple case study. The case chosen is that of an emerging and under-examined entrepreneur, the religious entrepreneur. The study investigates 20 pastors responsible for small enterprise-churches in Brazil. Findings: Social capital influences individual entrepreneurial orientation, being characterized by a relative paradox. The networks must be dense enough to stimulate entrepreneurs' individual entrepreneurial orientation but not be so dense as to harm innovativeness, proactivity and risk-taking. Further, data show that individual entrepreneurial orientation influences social capital. Research limitations/implications: One limitation relates to the semi-structured interviews' restricted use. A second limitation is associated with the recognition of churches only as productive enterprises. Practical implications: This article suggests the significance of incorporating both themes in entrepreneurial education and training programs. It also stresses the appropriateness of religious entrepreneurship as an empirical research field for business scholars. Originality/value: The contributions are fivefold. First, the authors build exploratory theoretical propositions on the influence of social capital on individual entrepreneurial orientation. Second, they highlight the significance of dense networks for individual entrepreneurial orientation, expanding the literature that supports the relevance of cohesive networks solely to the construct's organizational dimension. Third, the authors suggest that a relative paradox may characterize individual entrepreneurial orientation. Fourth, the authors suggest the existence of recursion between both constructs. Finally, this study is one of the first to examine social capital and individual entrepreneurial orientation, considering innovativeness, proactivity, and risk-taking, which represents a neglected field in benchmarking studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Pharmaceutical industry, the current study investigates the moderation role of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on the influence of innovation on Pharmaceutical SMEs performance in Jordan. The current research was conducted on Jordanian pharmaceutical SMEs including manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies with employee numbers of less than 100. The research design was quantitative, descriptive, causal, and cross-sectional held by an online questionnaire tool targeted all employees, managers, and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in pharmaceutical SMEs. Using the AMOS software, the Structural Equation Model (SEM) was adopted to analyze a sample of 162 surveys and examine the hypotheses. The outcome of this study indicated that the research model variables can explain 69.4 % of the variance of SMEs' performance. Additionally, it confirmed that innovation has a significant positive impact on pharmaceutical SMEs, and Entrepreneurial Orientation moderates the influence of innovation on pharmaceutical SMEs' Performance. Furthermore, current research findings contribute to extending existing relevant knowledge about the innovation impact and moderating role of Entrepreneurial Orientation on pharmaceutical SMEs' performance in Jordan and understanding the relationship between these variables to be of significant guidance to managing entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Further, the results show SMEs' methods and directions to follow during crises, such as COVID-19, to maintain business performance and sustainability. The current research paper contributes to the present literature since very limited studies investigated the innovation impact on SMEs' performance. Moreover, previous studies did not sufficiently analyze the impact of management, product, and process dimensions of innovation on SMEs' performance with the contribution of EO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the relationship between strategic orientations (market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation), organizational ambidexterity, and sustained competitive advantage under the mediation of Industry 4.0 readiness. Based on data from a sample of 144 SMEs belonging to different economic sectors, we employed partial least squares–structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Empirical research suggests that market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation have a favorable relationship with Industry 4.0 readiness and sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, our findings reveal that entrepreneurial orientation has a greater effect on SCA than market orientation in emerging markets. Furthermore, Industry 4.0 readiness acts as a full intermediary between strategic orientations and sustainable competitive advantage. This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the relationship between strategic orientation and sustainable competitive advantage through Industry 4.0 as the mediator. SMEs' managers can use these findings to rethink their technology adoption strategies and exploitative and explorative approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While considerable scholarly attention has been paid to firm performance and prosperity, the performance implications of network and entrepreneurial orientations of startups in emerging economies are admittedly under-explained. Based on the resource-based view (RBV) and strategic fit theory, this study develops a research model to examine the impact of network orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on startup performance in emerging economies. The model also examines how this relationship is mediated through exploratory and exploitative innovation and moderated by strategic flexibility. Using data from a survey of 273 startups, the findings suggest that, at the initial and growth stages, entrepreneurial orientation has a greater impact on startup performance than network orientation. Exploratory innovation has a mediating effect on network orientation and startup performance. Exploitative innovation has a mediating effect on entrepreneurial orientation, network orientation, and startup performance. In the initial stage, exploitative innovation has a greater impact on startup performance, while in the growth stage, exploratory innovation has a greater impact on startup performance. Strategic flexibility plays a positive moderating role in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, and startup performance. These findings provide significant contributions to understanding the growth and performance of startups in emerging economies from a strategic and innovation-oriented perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical research investigates the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation in the relationships between organizational ambidexterity and sustainable development engagement and firm performance. The data were collected from 339 small and medium enterprises using a time-lagged approach and further analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results confirm the mediation of entrepreneurial orientation in the relationships between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance and sustainable development engagement. Institutional support also strengthens the entrepreneurial orientation relationship with firm performance and sustainable development practices. This study provides detailed theoretical and managerial implications by effectively using institutional support to increase firm performance and sustainable development engagement. • The study explored the mediating role of EO in the relationships of OA with SDE and firm performance. • We also examined the moderation of institution support in EO linked with SDE and firm performance. • The time-lagged primary data was collected from the SME sector of the emerging economy of Pakistan. • Institutional support is crucial for the relationship between EO with firm performance and SDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International markets and digital technologies are considered among the factors affecting business innovation. The emergence and deployment of digital technologies in emerging markets increase the innovation potential in businesses. Companies with an entrepreneurial orientation also strengthen their innovation capabilities. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of international markets and new digital technologies on business innovation in emerging markets, and to estimate the mediating effect of entrepreneurial orientation on this relationship. The present research was applied research in terms of aim and descriptive survey in terms of data collection method and quantitative in terms of the type of collected data. A standard questionnaire was to collect data. The study's statistical population consisted of all companies providing business services in Tehran, Iran. To analyse the data, the structural equation modelling method with partial least squares method and Smart PLS-3 Software was used. The results revealed that international markets and digital technologies are positively associated with innovation. They also revealed that when a company's entrepreneurial orientation increases, the digital technologies and international markets will be more involved in mutual relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By combining major tenets developed in the entrepreneurial orientation literature and institutional theory, we investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and green management in the context of emerging markets and the moderating effects of social legitimacy and ownership type. Using survey data from 239 firms in China, we find that entrepreneurial orientation is positively associated with emerging market firms' green management. This positive relationship is strengthened by social legitimacy and is stronger for state-owned enterprises than for non-state-owned enterprises. Furthermore, our empirical results partly support the idea that the configuration of high entrepreneurial orientation, high social legitimacy and state ownership is more effective in facilitating emerging market firms' green management than other configurations. This study explores a new perspective (i.e., the integration of an entrepreneurial approach and institutional theory) to explain why firms make differentiated green decisions in emerging markets. Additionally, the three-way configuration effects provide a more complete picture and thereby facilitate a deeper understanding of emerging market firms' entrepreneurial spirit with regard to environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]