Contributions of Entrepreneurial Orientation to Competitive Advantage

The main objective of this chapter is to analyze the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and competitive advantage on Portuguese exporting textiles small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, a quantitative methodological approach was used, conducting a descriptive, exploratory, and transversal empirical study, having applied a questionnaire to a sample of Portuguese SMEs, associated of the Portuguese textile association (ATP). The structural equations model was used for this purpose, using the partial least squares (PLS). Based on survey data from 247 firms, the empirical results indicate that 1) innovation have a positive and significant impact on differentiation, 2) proactivity and risk-taking does not have a positive and significant impact on differentiation, and 3) innovation, proactivity, and risk-taking does not have a positive and significant impact on cost leadership. This study shows that Portuguese textile SMEs seek to support and stimulate new ideas, experimentation, and creativity that surely result in new products, services, and processes.