Entrepreneurial orientation, absorptive capacity, market orientation and technological innovation capabalities of SMEs in Kurdistan, Iraq

Innovation capabilities have become an important component for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the industrial sector to cope with intense competition and to meet customers’ needs. Due to inconsistency in the findings of previous studies on the antecedent factors that may influence these capabilities, this study intended to empirically examine the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation, absorptive capacity, market orientation, and technological innovation capabilities among the industrial SMEs in an unstable environment, and also to determine whether market orientation has a mediating role in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, absorptive capacity, and technological innovation capabilities . This study adopted the Resource-Based Theory as an underpinning theory for its assumptions and to develop its model. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the industrial SMEs owners in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. A total of 432 innovative enterprises were involved in this study, making an overall 63.9% response rate. This study utilized the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to establish the validity and reliability of the measurement model and to test the relationships. The outcomes of this study show that both absorptive capacity and entrepreneurial orientation have significant influences on technological innovation capabilities. Furthermore, the results indicate that market orientation has a partial mediating role in the nexus between absorptive capacity and technological innovation capabilities, but it has not been found to mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and technological innovation capabilities. This study offers theoretical and practical contributions for academics and professionals. The limitations of the study have been addressed and some valuable suggestions for future research work are offered

TMT diversity and innovation ambidexterity in family firms

Purpose – Family firms that simultaneously engage in multiple levels of innovation – incremental andradical – are likely to enjoy performance advantages across generations. The purpose of this paper is to research under which management conditions (i.e. top management team (TMT) diversity in terms of generational or non-family involvement) family firms are more likely to achieve innovation ambidexterity. Also, the paper addresses the mediating role of open innovation (OI) breadth in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – A large cross-sectional sample of 335 small- and medium-sized family firms is used. The hypotheses were tested in a mediation model. The relationship between TMT diversity andambidexterity is measured using a binominal regression analysis, the one between TMT diversity and OIbreadth using a Tobit model. Findings – Drawing on the family firm upper echelon perspective, the results indicate that TMT diversity induced through external managers and multiple generations is positively related to innovation ambidexterity. As the mediation analysis reveals, the relationship can be explained by the higherpropensity of diverse TMTs to get involved in OI breadth. The findings add to the discussion on family firm heterogeneity and its influence on different kinds of innovation. Originality/value–So far, few studies have been concerned with ambidextrous family firms. Contrary totheir reputation, this study identifies family firms as radical as well as open innovators. As such, this research takes account not only of the heterogeneity of family firms, but also of the heterogeneity of family firm innovation

Sustainable competitive advantage in entrepreneurial software firms in Pakistan: Establishing a conceptual research framework

Software firms are expanding within increasingly-competitive domestic and global marketplaces. Registered software firms in Pakistan seek new ways to better compete and remain as sustainable competitive entities. Such firms operate entrepreneurially, and remain subject to dynamic digital and globally-emerging changes. A literature review establishes constructs, conceptual relational hypothesis pathways, and an overall (testable) research framework for software firms in Pakistan. The framework is likely useful when modelling for improvements contributing towards sustainable competitive advantage shifts

Exploring the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation, Innovation and Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Absorptive Capacity and Technological Innovation Capability

The purpose of this research was to study the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, innovation and financial performance, through the mediating role of absorptive capacity and technological innovation capability. The study used a quantitative research method to collect data via questionnaire from the executive officers of 156 startup organizations in Thailand. Respondents were selected using a simple random sampling method and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results demonstrate that entrepreneurship orientation is a variable directly and significantly correlated with innovation and financial performance. However, it was found that entrepreneurship orientation does not correlate indirectly with innovation or financial performance via the mediation of absorptive capacity and technological innovation capacity. The results of the study can enable startup businesses in Thailand to create and pay attention to the behavior of entrepreneurship orientation to improve the organization’s innovation and financial performance

Mediating and moderating effects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and absorptive capacity on the relationship among cognitive factors, strategic orientation and firm performance of small and medium scale hotel and restaurant industry in Sri Lanka

The low performance of small and medium scale enterprises deprives their multiple contributions to the economies in their mobility towards the development. Though the issue has attracted the attention of many researchers, even today it is compelling due to the emerging global competition in the context of developing countries. The previous findings on the understanding of the complex relationships among factors influencing firm performance remain fragmented and unexplained. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test a research model for investigating the effect of cognitive factors and strategic orientation on firm performance. The research model incorporated achievement motivation, personal goal setting, and mastery experience as cognitive variables while entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and learning orientation were configured as strategic orientation. The mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating effect of absorptive capacity were also examined. The survey questionnaire translated into the native language was administered to a sample of 800 owner managers in the small and medium scale hotel and restaurant industry in Sri Lanka resulting in 350 usable responses. The stratified random sampling was the method used for the selection of the respondents to the sample. Data analysis was carried out by applying the structural equation modeling method. The findings widened the knowledge of the complex relationships among variables concerned indicating that the synergetic effect of cognitive variables and strategic orientation on firm performance is indispensable. Self-efficacy was found to be a significant mediating mechanism in the relationship between cognitive dispositions and firm performance. Strategic orientation of the organizations with higher level of absorptive capacity was found to be strongly related to firm performance. The results also extended the contextual validation of the research model in the developing countries

Corporate entrepreneurial orientation and absorptive capacity as determinant of firm performance

This study examines the complicated relationship between company performance, absorptive ability, and corporate entrepreneurial orientation, taking institutional age into account. This research employs data analysis approaches utilizing variance-based structural equation modeling techniques (PLS-SEM). When absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurial orientation are high, firms under 10 years of age are anticipated to outperform older ones. Effective information absorption and entrepreneurial orientation help emerging institutions capitalize on external knowledge and sustain their entrepreneurial spirit. This study underlines the need for empirical research to support theoretical ideas by addressing industry dynamics, organizational culture, and leadership styles. Such a study would inform strategic decision making and organizational practices, helping institutions operate better in dynamic commercial situations

Export-Related Dynamic Capabilities and Export Success: Absorptive Capacity Moderated Mediating Effect of Ambidexterity

The success of exporting SMEs depends on their distinctive export-related dynamic capabilities that enable them to survive and grow in international environment. Since these capabilities are knowledge-based, they provide a great advantage for resource-constrained SMEs even with very small investments. This study investigates these specific export-related dynamic capabilities and their effect on export performance in SMEs of an emerging economy. A survey was conducted to 427 exporting SMEs in all over Turkey to test the hypothesis concerning the relations between international orientation, export market orientation, ambidexterity, absorptive capacity and export performance. The results showed that ambidexterity is a mediator between orientations (international orientation, export market orientation) and export performance. Besides, absorptive capacity has a moderating effect on the relationship between ambidexterity and export performance

Driving Innovation by Managing Entrepreneurial Orientation, Cooperation and Learning for the Sustainability of Companies in the Energy Sector

Nowadays, the attitude of companies seems to play a relevant role in detecting and exploiting opportunities to create value, especially in terms of knowledge and cooperation. Thereon, the concept of entrepreneurial orientation has become relevant over the last years. Firms are entrepreneurially oriented when their decision-making, techniques, and procedures allow them to identify opportunities, develop a proactive mindset, and use creative ways to achieve their objectives. The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and companies’ innovation capacity, in addition to the mediating effect of entrepreneurial networks and firms’ learning capacity in this relationship. A sample of 197 Spanish companies in the energy sector is analyzed using the variance-based structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM), using the software “SmartPLS” in its version 3.9. The results show a direct positive and significant influence of entrepreneurial orientation on companies’ innovation capacity, as well as the existence of an indirect effect through the mediation of entrepreneurial networks and the learning capacity of firms. It is concluded that businesses must dedicate time and resources to develop a strong entrepreneurial orientation which, in addition to allowing them to exploit external entrepreneurial networks, boosts their learning and innovation capabilities, favoring the development of new sustainable possibilities for value creation

Knowledge Management as a Strategic Tool to Foster Innovativeness of SMEs

This study examines the relationship between knowledge management (KM) (in terms of external acquisition and internal sharing) and innovation behavior. The concept of absorptive capacity and assumptions from the dynamic capabilities view underlie the proposed framework and hypotheses. The framework is empirically tested using a random sample of 649 Dutch small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Our empricial results indicate that external acquisition practices play a key role in fostering SMEs’ innovativeness while internal sharing practices do not appear to have a significant influence. External acquisition activity enhances a firm’s awareness of available knowledge opportunities. Firms which actively acquire external knowledge (regardless of the type of knowledge) may build a greater competitive dynamic capability to sense and seize business opportunities which in turn may lead to new or improved products or processes. We suggest that owners/entrepreneurs of SMEs and their firms will benefit in the long term if they strategically manage knowledge, especially using external acquisition practices