Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance: The Moderating Effect of Market Orientation

Abstract

Organization has been defined by many researchers as a combination of many resources that work in coordination to achieve the desired results. Some sources are tangible while some are intangible. The latter ones include Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Market Orientation (MO). Like others, their effective deployment results in improved performance. This study aims at empirically investigating the influence of EO on the performance of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). At the same time, this study will also look at the role of MO as moderator between the relationship of EO and organizational performance. The questionnaire survey for the study was conducted among 213 manufacturing SMEs. The findings of the study reveal that organizational performance and EO are positively related to one another. These results also indicate the moderating role of MO in the subject relationship. Majority of the prior studies on MO and EO have been investigated in direct relationship with organizational performance in developed countries. This study thus fills the gap in the literature by examining the moderating role of MO in the EO-performance relationship. The study has also indicated directions for future research.