Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation in SMEs Global Performance: Testing Marketing Strategies and Technological Orientation as Mediators

Abstract

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) plays a key role in a firm’s success, particularly in the context of globalization. Thus, EO has gained prompt attention because of an increasing trend of globalized markets and economies. This article expands the understanding of Entrepreneurial Orientation as it studies EO to assess Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) global performance. The study extends the knowledge of SMEs entering global markets by considering firms’ marketing strategy and technological orientation as mediators. Through these mechanisms, corporate EO leads to cross-border excellence. The findings of this study, through a sample of 155 international SMEs in Pakistan, support the impact of EO on global performance whereas the marketing strategy and technological orientation serve as the mediators in this core relationship. The data were analyzed using a variance-based structural equation model (SEM) in Smart PLS software. The findings validate that SMEs, more concentrating on EO, are more able to explore new opportunities in global markets, but their small size, inadequate access to different resources and limited experience in operating in international markets prevents them from taking full advantage of arising opportunities. Hence the findings confirm the significance of EO in the globalization of SMEs however, it was also observed that although the marketing strategy and technological orientation may reduce the direct impact of EO on international performance, these mechanisms accelerate the indirect impact of EO as a tangible and intangible resource.