Entrepreneurial Orientation, Access to Financial Resources and SMEs’ Business Performance: The Case of the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

This study investigates how financial resources and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) may influence the performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Twenty-seven interviews were conducted and evaluated using the method of GABEK® (A GAnzheitliche BEwältigung von Komplexität - holistic processing of complexity). The research demonstrated that access to financial resources has significantly mediated EO's effect on the SMEs' performance. The study found that financial autonomy, enhanced through both personal financing and availability of external finance sources, plays a central role in supporting the EO dimension of autonomy and enhancing the SMEs' performance. In particular, the other EO dimension of risk-taking is stymied by lack of funds with which to take commercial and market opportunities. However, when an innovation strategy is pursued and adopted, access to finance can be facilitated, either through financial institutions or through other governmental funding programs attracting high potential innovators. Furthermore, financial barriers, difficulties accessing bank financing, and legal issues have a detrimental impact on SMEs' growth. The study has implications for policy-makers in the UAE, specifically in terms of sending a signal for lending institutions to consider strategies that provide access to affordable financial services to satisfy SMEs' needs.