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EO literature suggests that the effects of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on performance is affected by studying context. There is a lack of study executed in transitional economies. In addition, the mediating role of differentiation advantages (DA) and innovation capability (IC) on the relationship between EO and performance remains underexplored. Thus, drawing upon resource-based view and contingency theory, this study examines the mediating effects of DA and IC on this relationship in the contexts of manufacturing SMEs located in Vietnam. A sample of 176 manufacturing SMEs currently operating in Vietnam was analyzed. Partial least square structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that DA and IC fully mediate the relationship between EO and performance. These findings permit four theoretical contributions to the literature. First, this study contributes to the EO literature by examining the effects of EO in a transitional economy as Vietnam. Second, this study also overcomes prior EO studies in term of the operationalization of the performance. Third, this study introduces to EO literature two novel mediators such as DA and IC. Last but not least, this study it also contributes to contingency theory in EO study by addressing mediating rather moderating effects. Regarding to practical implications, managers of manufacturing SMEs should aware that adopting EO is only beneficial to the performance when EO can be used to develop DA and IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The MSMEs sector as a form of people's economy, has become an industrial sector that is relatively able to survive amid the global economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the MSME sector on the other hand also has problems in the growth rate of performance and increasing the scale of its business. The author identified this because of his ability to map the orientation of strategic policy formulation which is still low. In this study, the author tries to dissect with the concept of entrepreneurial marketing to examine the extent of the ability of the MSMEs sector to transform from traditional marketing concepts to entrepreneurial marketing. Associative quantitative research methods are used to find out how the conditions of the research variables and the relationship between exogenous variables and their endogenous. The sampling technique is carried out by proportional-clustered-random-sampling. Research data sources include primary and secondary data sources with data collection through observation, literature studies, interviews and questionnaires. The analysis technique uses SEM analysis with the LISREL 8.0 program. The results showed that descriptively the conditions of market orientation and competitive advantage are in the criteria of not being good towards good, while entrepreneurial orientation is in the criteria of not being good towards excellent. The results also showed a significant influence of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on competitive advantage. The importance of the MSMEs sector to apply the concept of learning orientation in orderto improve their entrepreneurial ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement in social media (SM) platforms and their ability to enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach a large audience has led to changes in how entrepreneurial firms carry out their regular activities. Studies on entrepreneurship and SM adoption are relatively new and fragmented; however, there is scant interest from managers, scholars, and governments for future research work in this area in emerging countries. This study aims to investigate the role of SM adoption and innovation capabilities (IC) in improving SME performance. We employ the resource-based view (RBV) as a basis for the conceptual model and infer relationships between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), SM adoption, IC, and SME performance. A closed-ended questionnaire was administered to collect data through a web-based survey and quantitative analysis was employed to generalise the results. The proposed relationships are tested on a sample of 431 randomly selected SMEs, applying the PLS algorithm, bootstrapping, and blindfolding techniques using SmartPLS 3.0. The findings reveal that SME performance could be improved by EO, SM adoption, and IC. Additionally, SM adoption significantly mediates the EO–SME-performance relationship, and IC moderates the SM-adoption–SME-performance association. This paper also makes several theoretical and practical contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Manufacturing sectors are identified to be of the foremost importance expected to increase Malaysia's GDP contribution to the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11th MP). The present study aims to examine the effects of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on knowledge sharing in manufacturing SMEs. The impact of intellectual capital and EO on firms' innovation performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is accordingly investigated by considering knowledge sharing as the mediator. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected via a questionnaire consisting of the owners or top managers of 121 manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. Partial least square (PLS) was used to analyze the obtained data. Findings: Results indicated that human capital, as well as external relational capital, has a positive correlation with both knowledge sharing and innovation performance mediated by knowledge sharing. It was also shown that knowledge sharing has a significant impact on firm innovation performance. Interestingly, structural capital, internal relational capital and (EO) did not significantly impact knowledge sharing and innovation performance. However, all of these elements are important to influence the firm's innovation performance. Practical implications: The study contributes to the literature on intellectual capital, entrepreneurial orientation, knowledge sharing and innovation through developing and testing the possible connections among them. The finding of this study will provide owners and top managers in manufacturing SMEs insight into the variables improving firm innovation performance. Originality/value: This study provides a basis for researchers to reach more mounting evidence about the practice of knowledge sharing and innovation performance among manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature has indicated ambiguity remains as to the firms' capabilities that enhance the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firms' performance, especially in developing nations' SMEs. Thus, this study investigates the marketing capabilities (planning (MPC) and implementation (MIC)) as two-capabilities that mediate the EO-performance relationship in Oman SMEs. A survey of SMEs' managers/owners was undertaken in Oman and a total of 353 useable questionnaires were received for empirical research for the suggested model, utilizing a structural-equation model (Smart-PLS). The results demonstrated EO, MPC, and MIC favorably improve SMEs' performance, and EO affects positively and significantly MPC and MIC. MPC and MIC partially mediate EO-SMEs' performance relationship. The findings contribute to the literature by illustrating the relevance of EO as (a strategic-resource), with MPC and MIC (as dynamic-capabilities) in improving SMEs' performance. By understanding the model's components, SMEs' managers/owners can maximise internal resources and capabilities to boost performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SMEs play a vital role in the development of national economies. But these businesses encounter with several barriers when performing this role. To cope with these impediments, some entrepreneurial attitudes that are dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), namely, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy enable SMEs to achieve better performance levels by increasing their revenues and income. However, depending on the characteristics of SMEs these behaviors might differ. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to determine and examine whether competitive aggressiveness and autonomy of SMEs differ depending on their age and size or not. To fulfil this aim, the researcher has collected data from 479 SMEs in Turkey by employing a questionnaire survey. To find differences between characteristics of firms regarding selected entrepreneurial attitudes, Independent sample T-test is applied. According to the results, competitive aggressiveness of SMEs does not differ depending on their age and size. But while autonomy of smaller and larger SMEs does not differ, older SMEs have more autonomy comparing to their younger counterparts. The reasons of those result might stem from firmentrepreneurial level characteristics of SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government in Nigeria has of recent years raised the awareness of Entrepreneurship practices through the introduction of different entrepreneurship programmes among all forms of corporations including the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and conglomerates in the country; especially those manufacturing Corporations in the densely populated areas of the South western Nigeria. The Government has also raised entrepreneurship awareness among the citizenry by improving the accessibility to bank loans and also by including entrepreneurship courses in the curriculum of all postsecondary tertiary institutions in order to improve employability status of young graduates before they are recruited by the conglomerates. Unfortunately, mere observation of the Nigerian economy has not shown any improvement. Hence the need to assess the level of Entrepreneurial variables and Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) in Conglomerates in South-western and Lagos industrial axes of Nigeria. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The variables/elements of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) were categorized into innovation/invention, risk-taking, and proactiveness. Corporate entrepreneurship in this paper is measured by behaviour and characteristics of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the coalition group. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample population. Subsequently, the data generated were analysed with appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that: Nigerian manufacturing industries were not highly entrepreneurial oriented. Though traces of innovations were observed, none for invention, Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) practices among the top management team were dominated by men. This gender imbalance calls for further research in future; The paper discovered that poor infrastructural development repelled most industries away from industrial estates as most CEOs prefer outright purchase of private sites. This made advantages of economies of scale to elude them, especially in the areas of research resulting in poor CE activities. Also, not many of these industries were listed on Nigerian Securities Exchange (NSE), thereby limiting amount of public funds available for research activities in these companies, and lastly, the three key variables/elements/Dimensions (Invention/Innovation, Proactiveness and Risk-taking) of Corporate Entrepreneurship were identified as channels through which Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) can be promoted in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship is playing a mediating role in ensuring that the impact of climate and technological changes are regulated and made adaptable and adoptable for humanity through entrepreneurial innovations. In this article, a critical discourse analysis is conducted to establish the facts regarding the influential relationships affecting entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and business productivity for small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in the information and communications industry in Zimbabwe. An exploratory quantitative methodology using a positivist approach was applied to reinforce the independence of the researcher and to eliminate bias in the exploration of the orientations. Data were collected from 308 entrepreneurial entities located in different parts of the Harare urban zones, which were randomly sampled. One of the major findings of this research points conspicuously to the inevitability of EOs. Accordingly, it is recommended that enterprise regulators, legislators and the state should emphasise the inclusion of EO in the existing body of knowledge, and support telecommunications business practitioners to make significant decisions on strategic risk management when conducting strategic formulation and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental Sustainability (ES) is a growing concern for society’s development while identifying companies’ need to define sustainability-based strategies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have an essential role; generating more than 60% of employment in Europe and Latin America. Numerous research exists regarding large companies’ situation on environmental topics, yet little exists on SMEs at the practical and theoretical levels. Thus, determining the variables that affect the application of ES is very relevant. This study analyzes in-depth ES factors and drivers from the SMEs’ perspective, exploring the variables influencing their implementation in these companies. The methodology employed is in-depth interviews, applied to a sample of 17 SMEs in Spain and 25 SMEs in Chile. The main findings suggest that Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), Customer Orientation (CO), and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) influence ES adoption in both countries, showing similarities in the driving reasons behind them, but with certain differences in their implementation (affected by institutional context influences). Furthermore, the level of knowledge affects decision-making related to the development of high-level environmental practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the effects of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with mediating role of differentiation strategy in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical framework has been developed to base the hypotheses, as also to determine the exact approach in this study. To establish the influence of EO on the performance of SME, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire has been used to collect data from middle and senior managers who operate in SMEs in the manufacturing sectors. The sample illustrates 166 incumbents, comprising 68.07 per cent from middle management and 31.93 per cent from senior management operating in manufacturing sector of SMEs, by means of a stratified random sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and Amos graphics software. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Findings: EO, as a whole, presents a significant positive effect on the performance of SMEs. Moreover, differentiation strategy partially mediated the relationship between EO and performance of SMEs. Two dimensions of EO, proactiveness and risk-taking propensity, strongly increased firm performance while innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, autonomy and competitive energy did not cause any significant change. The findings differ from the current view of western enterprises that innovativeness (INO) played a major role by increasing performance of SMEs. The results transpired that innovativeness (INO) tends to reduce performance of SMEs, but the p-value did not reach a high significance value. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this empirical study is comparatively a small size of the sample. The analysis of power suggests that a larger sample could have provided more reliable and extensive results. Regardless of that, the analysis of reliability, using the Cronbach's alpha, exhibited the consistency of outcomes in providing an accurate portrait of the EO influences on the performance of SME. Practical implications: The study verifies that two dimensions of EO have considerable effects on the performance of SMEs, while the others have not, whereas, the EO, as whole, has significant positive effect on performance of SMEs. These findings should be helpful for researchers looking for appropriate performance measures, and for entrepreneurs aiming at getting support for their decisions and evaluating their performance. Originality/value: The current study appears to be first of its kind focusing on the link between EOs, as whole, and its dimensions, to performance of SMEs and differentiation strategies within the specific context of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance is a serious concern for manufacturing SMEs, especially for pharmaceutical SMEs in Thailand. Specifically, pharmaceutical SMEs face challenges regarding the enhancing performance by application of total quality management and entrepreneurial orientation. This study envisioned to assess the entrepreneurial orientation and total quality management on organizational performance of pharmaceutical organizations in Thailand. This study also aimed to test the moderating role of organizational learning. To study the proposed association of variables, the data was gathered from the owners and managers of Thai pharmaceutical small and medium firms. This study concluded that entrepreneurial orientation and total quality management are the factors that significantly enhance the performance of pharmaceutical organizations in Thailand. Findings of the study demonstrate that organizational learning significantly moderate the relationship of TQM with performance of pharmaceutical organizations but it does not moderate the link of entrepreneurial orientation. The theoretical contribution of the present study lies in its use of organizational learning as a moderator of the relationships of entrepreneurial orientation, total quality management, and pharmaceutical SMEs' performance..From the practical perspective, the key contribution of this study is that pharmaceutical SMEs in Thailand may clearly appreciate the benefits of devoting greater attention to the implementation of entrepreneurial orientation, total quality management, and organisational learning to attain a sustained competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the firm performance predictors of Thai SMEs, examining the relationships among market orientation (MO), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and firm performance (FP) through a sample of 405 SMEs operating in the service and retail industries. Specifically, we test the mediation effects on the relationships between MO, EO, and FP by marketing capabilities. Results indicate that MO has both direct and indirect impacts on FP, whereas EO has only a significant indirect impact on FP through the mediation of marketing capabilities. EO can predict MO, while marketing capabilities can predict marketing performance through financial outcomes. This study does provide evidence for best practice for SMEs in that MO and EO as constructs may not contribute to superior performance, organizations may require organizational capability resources, such as marketing capabilities, to attain superior business results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines how human capital combines with and influences organizational orientations to determine performance. Specifically, this study investigates small restaurant businesses’ ability to effectively exploit intangible resources and capabilities, rather than tangible resources, in order to produce sustainable competitive advantage. A structured questionnaire was used to survey owners/managers of small independent restaurants in the United States. The results demonstrate that human capital, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation serve as intangible resources and capabilities that can augment the competitive position of independent restaurants, and thereby improve performance. Human capital also combines with and influences the adoption of market orientation and subsequent performance. [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]

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to verify the mediating effect of a proactive market orientation capability in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and service innovation in micro and small companies in the food-away from home sector. We analyzed the mediating effect of a marketing capability (proactive market capability) because, according to Morgan et al. (2009), a capability is an ability developed from a strategic orientation, and capabilities and orientations together contribute to organizational performance. Originality/Value: The article verifies the mediating effect of a specific marketing capability, the proactive market orientation (PMO) in the proposed relationship. Most studies on market orientation (OM) treat the construct as a business strategic orientation, but few studies investigate market orientation based on the perspective of dynamic capabilities (Hou, 2008). Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey was carried out using a non-probabilistic sampling technique for convenience with 168 establishments. The research was carried out in micro and small companies of the food-way from home sector of Curitiba PR, and the respondents were the managers and owners of the establishments. Findings: The results indicate the existence of the mediating effect of PMO in the relationship between EO and service innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm growth and the moderating role of business environment for Russian and Finnish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For hypothesis testing, structural equation modeling is applied to the data set of 104 Russian and 117 Finnish privately owned SMEs. Results show that while in the Finnish market context EO dimensions are directly associated with firm growth, in the emerging Russian market the relationship is moderated by the dynamic and hostile environment. The results also provide evidence of the nature of EO for SMEs operating in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds on the dynamic capability view of the firm in order to examine the role of marketing innovation in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and competitive marketing advantage. The mixed-methodology approach was used and data were collected from 70 SMEs that are owned or managed by a female in Egypt. Structural equation modelling was used to test the research framework. The results reveal that both pricing and promotional innovation have a strong and positive association with competitive marketing advantage. The study is cross-sectional in nature. The results may have been different if the study had focused on specific industries. Therefore, extrapolations without proper caution are discouraged. The study provides female entrepreneurs with useful information on how to create and sustain marketing competitive advantage when resources are limited. In particular, it helps them to identify situations in which marketing innovation practices are potentially more useful.The results contribute to the understanding of the drivers of competitive marketing advantage of SMEs owned by female entrepreneurs in the context of an emerging market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the South African government’s strategic policy interventions and huge investments into small business development over the past two decades, solid evidence of the transition of informal businesses to the formal sector is hard to encounter. Furthermore, the high rates of unemployment in the country point to the growing incapacity of small-scale, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) to address the chronic social ills of poverty, inequality and social deprivation ravaging the country. Building on mainstream literature on the government interventions designed to promote growth without equity among SMMEs and Sen’s capabilities approach, this theoretical study advances a poverty-reduction approach to entrepreneurship underpinned by a systematic integration of multiple-level conversion factors, sustainable resourcing (especially seed funding and managerial capacity development), commercialization of business activities, a strong entrepreneurial orientation and solid managerial capabilities. Such an integrated approach was deemed to strengthen the capacity of SMMEs to survive the competition from established commercialised enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study's main objective was to assess value co-creation and new product success among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia by incorporating cultural orientations and relationship marketing perspectives. The samples were purposely selected in two sectors: handcraft and food and drink. They were approached through a door-to-door distribution of the questionnaires. The findings indicated that relationship quality can enhance value co-creation and new product success when SMEs have a favorable combination of learning, market, and entrepreneurial orientations. However, this study suggests that SMEs do not utilize their relationships as arenas for learning and learning orientation can affect relationship quality only when it is supported by the other orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this comparative study is to explore the differences in the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) between micro versus small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We have selected three dimensions of EO (proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy) for our analysis. We have analyzed the data collected from 1141 respondents during the period of 2015 from 14 regions of the Czech Republic, which consists of 740 micro firms and 401 small and medium firms. Empirical results of our paper show significant differences between micro versus small and medium enterprises in terms of proactiveness and autonomy. However, we can only partially confirm that micro firms are statistically different from the SMEs in terms of competitive aggressiveness. Thus, our paper enables better understanding of the EO from the firm size perspective, when they have different levels of resources. [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]

Among micro, small, and medium-sized firms located in Hungary, I conducted a survey examining the effects of entrepreneurial and learning orientations, and that of perceived environment on firm performance. I studied the perceptions of environmental turbulence and environmental hostility. Three dimensions were examined both in the case of entrepreneurial orientation (i.e., innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking) and in the case of learning orientation (i.e., commitment to learning, shared visions, and open-mindedness). The effects of such dimensions on firm performance were analyzed with the path analysis (PLS-SEM) method. In the course of the research, firm performance was divided into three dimensions: efficiency, growth, and profit. The possible effect of available financial resources was also taken into consideration. Results show that the availability of financial resources is relatively important, although it is connected only to the growth dimension of performance. Strategic orientations should be interpreted as multi-dimensional, and they have an effect on different performance dimensions. The research was cross-sectional and has implications for long-term strategic decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about innovativeness in the context of entrepreneurial orientation. The aim is to present the results of an exploratory and qualitative research that sought to characterize innovativeness in food industries. A conceptual review on entrepreneurial orientation and innovativeness is presented as a base for the study. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews with professionals of nine medium and large food industries from the central region of Rio Grande do Sul state. The analysis concludes with an over-view about innovative behavior, which is evidenced differently in industries surveyed. Innovation in products and services is featured in four industries, while process innovation is a priority in eight of the nine industries. There is constant investment in innovation, for a department of P&D in four industries and active participation of the supplier in innovations of the both industries. There are people dedicated to innovative activities in five industries and people involved in the other part. Creativity is especially important, although lacks systematic procedures for its development. The differentiation is especially in cases where it is possible to have innovative activities of difficult for competitors to duplicate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on SME financial performance. The essay also proposes a contingency model to explore the moderating effects of environmental hostility on the relationship between EO and profitability. The study was conducted using a sample of 121 manufacturing SMEs in Spain. Results confirm the positive influence of EO on a firm's profitability. More importantly, the impact of EO on SME profitability is higher when there is a fit between EO and the external environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An explanatory survey was carried out in 2008 to investigate the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), environmental factors, human capital and organizational characteristics vs. entrepreneurial performance among entrepreneurial firms in Iranian agricultural sector. Data were obtained from a sample of 120 Iranian agricultural establishments, using an interview-oriented questionnaire. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed that: although there is a positive direct relationship between EO and entrepreneurial performance in an agricultural business setting, applying main-effect or contingency models only, provides a distracting picture of entrepreneurial performance in agricultural settings. It was also found that configurational approach may better explain the relationship between EO, environmental factors, human capital and organizational characteristics vs. entrepreneurial performance over and above contingency and above main- effect models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the effects of informal institutions and entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of microenterprises at the subnational level within a developing country context. Using structural equation modeling based on a large-scale survey of 735 microenterprises in the Philippines, it is found that informal institutional factors and entrepreneurial orientation are associated with firm performance. However, further analysis reveals a strong mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the informal institutions-firm performance relationships. This finding is novel and adds to our understanding of the mechanism through which informal institutions affect firm performance, particularly for microenterprises in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research takes a relational approach on the entrepreneurial behavior of a firm and analyzes the influence of knowledge acquisition through inter-firm relationships on the entrepreneurial orientation. It introduces a new variable, second order social capital, to explain how knowledge acquisition leads to higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation. The results of the empirical study on a sample of small and medium enterprises from the Information and Communications Technology sector in Spain confirm the hypothesized indirect influence of knowledge acquisition on the entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of second order social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]