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Entrepreneurial orientation can be an effective response by sports clubs to manage a recession, such as the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, its study can be fundamental to understand different ways of managing a recession. This study analyzes the entrepreneurial orientation of Spanish non-profit sports clubs to identify different groups and their profiles. The sample is composed of 145 Spanish non-profit sports clubs. Different validated scales have been used to analyze entrepreneurial orientation, business model adaptation, service quality, and economic and social performance (performance in social impact and performance in social causes). Entrepreneurial orientation is the variable used to differentiate the groups. This is made up of three dimensions: innovation, risk-taking, and proactivity. According to the results obtained, there are three groups of sports clubs according to their entrepreneurial orientation: non-entrepreneurs ( n = 11), moderate entrepreneurs ( n = 85), and strong entrepreneurs ( n = 45). There are substantial differences between the three groups according to the adaptation of the business model, the perceived impact of COVID-19, and the returns analyzed. Strong entrepreneurs have considerably higher levels of business model adaptation, economic performance, social performance, and perceived service quality than non-entrepreneurs. Theoretical and practical implications have been drawn that can bring new information to the sports and organizational sector. For example, the diagnosis of the different profiles according to the level of entrepreneurship can be useful to propose strategies to improve performance. In this way, it can help to evaluate the return on the investment made by sponsors or governments in the organization.

Objective: This study analyzes the main dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) - propensity inseridofor innovation, risk propensity, and proactivity - that contributed to the growth of Micro, Small and Mediumsized Enterprises (MSMEs) during the crisis caused by Covid-19. Method: A quantitative analysis was carried out using the t test paired with 102 MSMEs managers to understand which main aspects of EO contributed to the performance of their companies. Results: The results show that the presence of a proactive element in MSMEs influences the increase in their revenues in a crisis period. Nevertheless, the significance of characteristics prone to innovation and risks in MSMEs for their growth in a period of crisis is not confirmed. Limitations: the sample used in this research could be larger and the concept of EO is based only on its three main dimensions. As there is no consensus in the literature on the dimensionality of the EO construct, other applications using different concepts are suggested. Theoretical and practical implications: The research shows how the EO drives MSMEs in a crisis context, notably through its proactivity dimension. In a practical way, the paper reveals that EO in MSMEs is strongly present in the leader's figure, as well as it is related to its personality, playing an important role to boost the business in a period of crisis. Originality: This study allows to know which aspects of EO are more decisive in the growth of MSMEs in periods of widespread recession. Thus, entrepreneurs will be able to assess how much they consider EO dominant perspectives for the growth of their businesses. It also contributes both to the discussion on the recovery of the economy and the literature on EO, which does not yet show how this construct operates in the context of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]