Entrepreneurial orientation, dynamic capabilities and SMEs performance in Saudi Arabia
type: CreativeWork
description: The study aims to explore the role of entrepreneurial orientation coupled with three dynamic capabilities in enhancing the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. In order to achieve this aim, three main objectives have been set, firstly, to examine separately the relationship between innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on dynamic capabilities. Secondly, to investigate the direct influence of Dynamic Capability (DC) dimensions on firm performance. Finally, to examine the mediating role of explorative, exploitative, reconfiguration capabilities on the relationship between EO and firm performance. The study adopts a positivist philosophy, a deductive approach with a quantitative method, and uses a questionnaire to gather data from Saudi SMEs. This study has conducted an extensive literature review to evaluate the taxonomy of EO and firm performance and identify relevant measurements items of EO dimensions, explorative capabilities, exploitive capabilities, reconfiguration capabilities, and firm performance. Before proceeding to examine the hypotheses, the study followed several data examination processes. These are reliability and validity tests of the constructs, and measurement model tests by confirmatory factor analysis. Once confirmed the reliability and validity issues of the measurement model, the study addressed structural equation model test to analyse the proposed hypotheses with an actual sample size 392 of SMEs with a response rate of 50%. To examine the conceptual model, the study used SEM with Warp PLS 6 statistical package for eliciting the causal relationships among the constructs. The findings indicate that the entrepreneurial orientation, exploring, exploiting, and reconfiguration capabilities jointly have a positive effect on performance. However, the ﬁndings show that dynamic capability only partially mediates the respective eﬀects of entrepreneurial orientation on performance. These results provide convi…
abstract: The study aims to explore the role of entrepreneurial orientation coupled with three dynamic capabilities in enhancing the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. In order to achieve this aim, three main objectives have been set, firstly, to examine separately the relationship between innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on dynamic capabilities. Secondly, to investigate the direct influence of Dynamic Capability (DC) dimensions on firm performance. Finally, to examine the mediating role of explorative, exploitative, reconfiguration capabilities on the relationship between EO and firm performance. The study adopts a positivist philosophy, a deductive approach with a quantitative method, and uses a questionnaire to gather data from Saudi SMEs. This study has conducted an extensive literature review to evaluate the taxonomy of EO and firm performance and identify relevant measurements items of EO dimensions, explorative capabilities, exploitive capabilities, reconfiguration capabilities, and firm performance. Before proceeding to examine the hypotheses, the study followed several data examination processes. These are reliability and validity tests of the constructs, and measurement model tests by confirmatory factor analysis. Once confirmed the reliability and validity issues of the measurement model, the study addressed structural equation model test to analyse the proposed hypotheses with an actual sample size 392 of SMEs with a response rate of 50%. To examine the conceptual model, the study used SEM with Warp PLS 6 statistical package for eliciting the causal relationships among the constructs. The findings indicate that the entrepreneurial orientation, exploring, exploiting, and reconfiguration capabilities jointly have a positive effect on performance. However, the ﬁndings show that dynamic capability only partially mediates the respective eﬀects of entrepreneurial orientation on performance. These results provide convi…
author: Albasri, Mohammed
language: eng
keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, Dynamic capabilities, SMEs performance
date published: 2020-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:49:55Z
provider: University of Plymouth
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Plymouth