Growing Young SMEs in Hard Economic Times: The Impact of Entrepreneurial and Customer Orientations — A Qualitative Study from Silicon Valley

Abstract

Entrepreneurial orientation and customer orientation are seen as stimulating the performance and growth of companies. This paper argues that a combination of both concepts is especially valuable in hard economic times since turbulent market environments and a limited availability of financial resources favor lean and flexible marketing efforts. A qualitative study on 13 Silicon Valley-based enterprises was conducted, which identified factors impacting the growth of young SMEs. It was found that the interplay of customer and entrepreneurial orientation constitutes the discipline of entrepreneurial marketing. However, entrepreneurial marketing orientation requires at least a certain amount of resourcesa challenge in hard economic times