Role of Innovation Competitive Advantage on Strategic Orientation Dimensions and Sustainable Growth of SMEs in Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of innovation competitive advantage on strategic orientation dimensions of (entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and resource orientation) on the sustainable growth of SMEs. This study used a total of 217 responses adopting the cross-sectional survey research design from manufacturing SMEs owners/founders. The results were analysed using PLS-SEM via SmartPLS version 3.3.3. The major findings established that entrepreneurial orientation did not directly link with the sustainable growth of SMEs. The study confirmed that market orientation and resource orientation revealed a direct and significant positive link with the sustainable growth of SMEs. Similarly, innovation competitive advantage has a direct significant positive association with the sustainable growth of SMEs. Likewise, entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation have a direct and significant positive relationship with innovation competitive advantage. However, resource orientation did not significantly relate to innovation competitive advantage. The findings validated that innovation competitive advantage mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and the sustainable growth of SMEs. Finally, innovation competitive advantage did not mediate between resource orientation and sustainable growth of SMEs, which have not previously been proven in empirical studies. This study was designed to address the existing gaps and provide reasons to prove them. This study is indeed one of the remarkable studies in the context of SMEs, which integrates these selected variables into a single model. The originality focused on the role of innovation competitive advantage on strategic orientation dimensions and sustainable growth of SMEs that are relevant to Society 5.0.