Entrepreneurial and Market Orientation Relationship to Performance: The Role of Business Environment

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the moderating effects of business environment on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), market orientation (MO) and business performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. This study seeks to resolve the inconsistencies found in the contemporary literature concerning the relationship between EO, MO and business performance. A planned questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was adopted from previous works to determine the respondents’ response. A survey research design was adopted and self - administered questionnaires were used to collect the data from 640 owner/managers of SMEs. The analysis was carried using SPSS version 20, the results of the study indicated that entrepreneurial orientation has a significant and positive relationship with business performance; a negative relationship is reported between market orientation and business performance. The study also found that business environment does not moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and business performance of SMEs. Owner/ managers, regulatory agencies, government, and other stakeholders will benefit from the study findings, and future research direction provided.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, Market orientation, Business Environment, Business Performance, SMEs.