Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Organisational Learning And SMEs’ Performance

Abstract

The cornerstone of entrepreneurship is Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and it is one of the significant predictors of SMEs performance. The concept of EO has been widely discussed through previous studies in entrepreneurship, so it can be considered as one of the main topics in this field, and the most commonly used measure of entrepreneurial behaviour or inclination in strategies and entrepreneurship studies. EO has emerged as an area of research, and EO impact studies have become a sub-field in Entrepreneurship Education research. The objectives of the study were to determine the effect of organisational learning (OL) on SMEs performance and also to examine the effect of innovative performance on EO. The study population refers to the managers of SMEs registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation efficiency, and regression analysis was employed. The research found that EO affects organisational learning in an SME context. EO has a strong effect on learning and expands learning scope by encouraging companies to challenge the status quo and to make it more flexible and alter the way they work. There is a significant and positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational learning within firms because it was revealed that entrepreneurial orientation has different impacts on the individual components of strategic learning. Moreover, the results of the study indicated that EO affects innovative performance. Entrepreneurialism significantly affects innovation and performance. Innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking have a  strong impact on creating innovation, and entrepreneurial activity which enhances innovative behaviour. The  study recommends that SMEs in Nigeria should be more proactive in developing strategies, improving operations, and paying attention to entrepreneurial orientation and organisational learning. Entrepreneurial orientation behaviours should be strengthened within SMEs, and should take advantage of the  outputs in order to develop organisational learning processes, creative performance, corporate performance, improved decision-making processes, and adaptation to a  rapidly changing work environment. Additionally, managers of these enterprises should encourage risk-taking in new initiatives and project planning processes.