ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND SME PERFORMANCE: A SEQUENTIAL MEDIATION ANALYSIS OF MARKET AND LEARNING ORIENTATION

Abstract

Drawing on the Resource-Based View and the Dynamic Capabilities Theory, this study aims to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) performance. Additionally, it examines the mediating role of market orientation and learning orientation in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance. Finally, the study explores the sequential mediation effect of market orientation and learning orientation between entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance to understand how the joint mobilization of these strategic resources transforms entrepreneurial actions into superior organizational performance. This study adopts a quantitative approach, using convenience-based non-probability sampling to collect data from 113 managers of Moroccan SMEs operating across various sectors. The collected data are analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation has a positive and significant direct effect on the performance of Moroccan SMEs. Furthermore, market orientation partially mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance. However, the mediating effect of learning orientation was found to be non-significant in the link between entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance. Finally, the study found the existence of a sequential mediation effect exerted by market orientation and learning orientation in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance. This study is the first to explore the sequential mediating role exercised jointly and successively by market orientation and learning orientation in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance. Notably, the entrepreneurial orientation of SME in Morocco has not been previously studied, offering a valuable contribution to the literature on emerging economies, which remains underexplored in entrepreneurial orientation research. Lastly, a surprising result emerges compared to previous studies: learning orientation does not play a mediating role between entrepreneurial orientation and performance, thus challenging the universality of this mechanism and opening new avenues for research into contextual factors, particularly in SMEs of developing countries.