Entrepreneurial orientation,intellectual capital,IT capability,and performance

Abstract

Multiple tangible and intangible determinants affect the survival and success of a small and medium enterprise (SME). In turbulent markets, however, compared to exogenous effects, a firm’s internal capabilities are seen as major sources of economic value creation and sustainable competitive advantage. This study empirically examines the effects of pivotal internal capabilities, namely entrepreneurial orientation, information technology (IT) capability, and intellectual capital (IC), on the financial and non-financial performance of SMEs that operate in the emerging market of Pakistan. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires, from a sample size of 307 SMEs. The study hypotheses were tested through the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique of AMOS 21. The statistical results show entrepreneurial orientation, IT capability and intellectual capital as significant contributors to both financial and non-financial performance. Despite its limitations, the study offers both future-research directions and policymaking recommendations for practice. Namely each SME ought to focus on self-developing those internal capabilities that render sustainable its competitive posture.

Keywords

Entrepreneurial orientation IT capabilities intellectual capital firm performance

Najib Ullah Khan is a PhD candidate at College of Economics & Management, Beijing University of Technology, China. He has obtained his master degree from Gomal University D.I.Khan Pakistan. His research interests include: Intellectual capital, refugees entrepreneurship, Econometrics, Micro and Macroeconomics and One Belt One Road project.

Li Shuangjie received his B.S. and M.S. from Hebei University and Ph.D. degrees from Chinese academy of social science, China. Li shuangjie is a professor in the College of Economics & Management at Beijing University of technology. He is an executive member of Chinese Association of Quantitative Economics. He also worked as a post-doctor in Chinese academy of social science during 2004–2008. His research involves efficiency and productivity, innovation and the economics modeling. He has more than 50 articles published in refereed journals such as SCI(Q1), top Chinese economics journals and so on.

Sher Zaman Khan, is a PhD candidate at School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing China. He has been working as a Lecturer in Institute of Business Administration, Gomal University D.I.Khan, Pakistan since 2007. His research papers are under review in Asia Pacific Journal of Management and CSREM, His research interests include: Transnational Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility, Intellectual Capital, New Venture Performance, and China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Muhammad Anwar is Research Associate at Faculty of Management Sciences, International Islamic University Islamabad Pakistan. He is interested in the research fields; entrepreneurship, business model innovation, competitive strategy and new ventures success. He has published many articles in reputed business and management journals.

1 Introduction

The challenging question “how to intensify a firm’s financial and non-financial performance?” is debated for many decades in the business literature, yet no universal answer has yet been recommended by researchers. In the era of globalization, human skills and modern technology are deemed to be the central factors of a firm success [1]. Traditionally, firms were using tangible assets like machinery, equipment, raw materials and factories as a prime source to improve their performance but a competitive atmosphere compelled them to search out new ways of gaining competitive advantage and superior performance [2, 3]. The occurrence of unexpected variations in markets structure [4] and ever-increasing customers’ demands particularly in emerging economies [5] inculcated the managers to formulate innovative strategies and to adopt latest technology [6, 7] in order to gain a sustainable competitive position. In other words, relying only on external capabilities is not sufficient because internal capabilities and strategies are observed as more fruitful for firm’s performance [8, 9] such as entrepreneurial orientation (EO) [5], information technology (IT) capabilities [10] and intellectual capital (IC) [11]. To ensure successful operation and survival in these turbulent markets, firms need to have unique strategies and entrepreneurial posture, that lead the firm toward superior performance and a competitive position [12]. Similarly, IT capabilities bolster firm’s performance and ensure them to make profit and future growth [13]. In this study, IT capability is envisaged as an interconnected societal human system, with multiple causal and mutual interdependencies among its hardware, software, brainware and support network or net components [14]. Furthermore, IC is also considered as a core factor which contributes significantly to firm’s performance. It is argued that the aforementioned factors contribute active part in firms operation in emerging markets, due to lack of institutional support and lack of resources to invest in tangible resources. As documented, the traditional methods of operations for achievement of superior performance and competitive advantage are currently replaced by humane skills and competencies in the modern business world [15].

Extensive number of studies of this nature is conducted in developed economies, but majority of Asian countries including Pakistan are relatively underemphasized in such studies. Hence, there is not only lack of literature on IC [16] but also very rare studies can be found on corporate entrepreneurship and firm’s performance in Pakistan [17]. EO has become a hot topic since last two decades and researchers show keen interest in such studies. Although, there is no single common definition of EO, different authors have defined it in different words and concepts [18]. Table 1 defines EO in the context of present. SMEs are now following IT advancement because of diversified nature of markets and abroad transactions and they are trying to gain competitive advantage and superior performance through IT capabilities [19, 20].

Table 1
Operationalization of the study variables

Variables Operationalization

Entrepreneurial Orientation Innovativeness means when firm participates, engages and supports new ideas through ingenious methods that lead to the development of new product, service and technology etc. Innovation incorporates “creating new values” and satiating customers [27].

Risk taking means the degree to which managers/executives are willing to make risky commitments. Definitely, those commitments which have a reasonable chance of failures” [28].

Proactiveness refers to forward looking feature of a marketplace leader that has the sagacity to seize new opportunities in expectancy of future demand [29].

IT Capabilities Firm’s capabilities to use Internet technologies for the purpose to share information, online transactions with customer and supplier and to coordinate IT activities [30].

Intellectual capital [31] suggested three elements of IC. Human capital means the capabilities of employees that are prominent to provide backing and resolution to customers. Customer capital denotes the gravity, girth, attachment and profitability of customers. Structural capital designates the capabilities of a firm to encounter market’s needs.

Variables	Operationalization
Entrepreneurial Orientation	Innovativeness means when firm participates, engages and supports new ideas through ingenious methods that lead to the development of new product, service and technology etc. Innovation incorporates “creating new values” and satiating customers [27].
	Risk taking means the degree to which managers/executives are willing to make risky commitments. Definitely, those commitments which have a reasonable chance of failures” [28].
	Proactiveness refers to forward looking feature of a marketplace leader that has the sagacity to seize new opportunities in expectancy of future demand [29].
IT Capabilities	Firm’s capabilities to use Internet technologies for the purpose to share information, online transactions with customer and supplier and to coordinate IT activities [30].
Intellectual capital	[31] suggested three elements of IC. Human capital means the capabilities of employees that are prominent to provide backing and resolution to customers. Customer capital denotes the gravity, girth, attachment and profitability of customers. Structural capital designates the capabilities of a firm to encounter market’s needs.

Table 1 shows the IT capabilities concepts used in the study. Similarly, IC has recently grabbed attention of researchers but studies on the relation between IC and SMEs are rare, whereas, studies of this nature are needed to be conducted on Pakistani SMEs [16]. The dimensions of IC are elaborated in Table 1. As aforementioned that existing studies have discussed the contribution of the internal capabilities namely EO, IT and IC but majority of those studies have targeted the financial performance of firms while non-financial performance is remained scared. This study contributes new insights to the existence literature by collecting empirical evidence from an emerging market Pakistan and assesses the influence of the internal capabilities on financial and non-financial performance of SMEs. Ergo, Pakistan hosts massive population in relation to its limited physical and tangible resources and job opportunities Pakistan is one the most developing region of South Asia, comprising of more than 16 million of population and covers total area nearly 800,000 square kilometres [16].

The aspiration of the study is to highlight the importance of EO, IT capabilities and IC in SMEs performance i.e. to explore the contribution of these internal factors towards firm’s financial performance (FP) and non-financial performance (NFP). To gain high profitability and a competitive position, many firms invest huge amount of money in risky projects that may cause a big loss. This study helps the owners and managers to give substantial attention to internal capabilities that may be less risky and convenient. In addition, this research answers to the question “which internal capability EO, IT or IC has a greater influence on firm’s financial and non-financial performance” that can be beneficial for owners, managers and scholars engaged in such studies. This research tests the resource based theory (RBT) in the context of firm’s internal capabilities (hereby deemed as EO, IT capabilities and IC) through which a firm can gain superior performance. This research is based on empirical evidence collected from SMEs. The first section of the study is about introduction, second part has discussed about prior studies and the third section is about data collection and analysis.

2 Theoretical background

According to RBT, a firm can get superior performance through tangible and intangible resources that cannot be imitated by industry rivals and competitors [21]. Scholars in this context have argued different resources and capabilities that significantly positively contribute to firm performance. However, in the context of SMEs, researchers have given more value to EO, IT capabilities and IC because SMEs have small size and limited resources. For instance, [22] suggested that innovative activates are deemed most important drivers for small size firms. In addition, SMEs provide more adequate environment to entrepreneurial activities. [23] argued that in today dynamic market, firms from every sectors are in the race to seize IT capabilities to boost their performance. It is scrutinized, that SMEs are more concerned with IT advancement because they are deemed to be more sensitive to competitive environment. Thus, they seek competitiveness through IT based innovation [24]. In addition, it is also observed that in today’s dynamic business model, the value of a firm can be incremented through intangible sources such IC as compared to tangible sources [25]. Similarly, it is also pointed out that IC as a critical driver for firm value creation and competitive advantage [26].

Since, observing the significant importance of EO, IT capabilities and IC toward firm’s performance, this study examines to generate clearer picture of internal capabilities toward SMEs performance.

RBT suggests that firms have resources either tangible or intangible and capabilities that may not be imitated by rivals and competitors through which firms build unique kind of strategies to gain superior performance [21]. Scholars in this milieu argued that RBV theory works on the basis of two capabilities i.e. dynamic capabilities and adoptive capabilities through which a firm can gain superior performance and advantage. Dynamic capabilities help firms to gain competitive advantage by using internal skills (e.g. human skills, knowledge and information) to modify their resources in order to respond the market changes [32]. Adoptive capabilities help firms to gain competitive advantage and enhance superior performance while respond (e.g. to market change, exploit opportunity and seize demands etc.) proactively. When firms have alertness for new market and act as a first mover in different aspects, they enjoy higher performance. The alertness about external market conditions can be feasible when firms have innovative orientation. Similarly, it is argued that IT resources generate IT capabilities which in turn help firms to make competitive position in the market and gain superior performance [33]. Firm’s resources such as human knowledge and skills, organizational capital, and technological resources work as strategic assets of firms in the achievement of competitive advantage and superior performance [34]. IC contributes to business performance and especially SMEs can get more benefits from IC resources [35]. Hence, in today’s dynamic market, firm’s internal capabilities are considered more valuable for superior performance and market positioning as compare to external sources [21, 26].

3 Hypothesis development

3.1 Entrepreneurial orientation and firm’s performance

EO is considered as a root of strategic planning because it provides basic policies and practices for entrepreneurial decision-making process. Hence firms are benefited from EO when they enact with vision and configure to sustain competitive advantage [36]. When firms have limited sources and persistently seek for new opportunities, EO is one of the unique ability on which a firm can rely in turbulent atmosphere [37]. EO provides greater advantage in hostile and competitive markets as compare to low competitive markets and it significantly positively contributes to SMEs performance [38]. Business’s owners must be innovative, risk takers and proactive to utilize information in usable ways which have direct impact on firm’s performance [39, 40]. Every kind of business either small medium or large is benefited by the dimensions of EO and all firms have different pros and cons associated with innovation. However, SMEs are more closely linked to the characteristics of entrepreneurship and they provide the most suitable environment for entrepreneurship activities and innovation in comparison to large firms [22].

Meta-analysis has argued that the dimensions of EO affect firm’s performance [41]. Similarly, other studies have concluded significant positive relation between EO and firm’s performance [37 , 42–46]. The dimensions of EO have not only significant impact on FP of a firm but also have significant impact on NFP [11]. Based on the above discussion, the present study hypothesizes:

H1. There is a significant positive relation between entrepreneurial orientation and firm’s financial performance

H2. There is a significant positive relation between entrepreneurial orientation and firm’s non-financial performance

3.2 IT capabilities and firm’s performance

Top management of the firms, particularly operating in emerging markets should be alert to drastic changes in markets and must give attention to technological orientation because it results innovation which in turn lead to superior firm’s performance [47]. SMEs, who adopt E-Commerce technology, perform better over those who have no fellowship with technological capabilities. SMEs are severely influenced by competitive environment hence, they are more concerned with technology to gain superior performance [24]. IT capabilities are the core dimensions of big data that are closely related to organization’s resources and impact firm’s performance [48].

Firms that invest in technological portfolio not only gain FP but also attain innovation performance. Indeed, numerous managers have given attention to technological diversification, because it contributes active part in firm’s growth [49]. IT capabilities improve internal management process and external supply chain process which in turn results in greater performance [50] and the IT capabilities not only impact firm’s competitive performance but also mediate the relation between ERP and firm’s competitive performance [51]. Since, IT capabilities and internet-based supply chain process contribute positively to firm performance [52]. However, merely huge investment in IT based supply chain management do not give fruitful results and superior performance if firms lack sufficient IT capabilities [53]. E-commerce strategies of SMEs are associated with customer-based performance, services and expansion and these strategies are also consistent with competitive strategy. Similarly, e-commerce strategies also positively contribute to SMEs profitability and sales growth [54]. Hence, the present study proposes the hypotheses:

H3. There is a significant positive relation between IT capabilities and firm’s financial performance

H4. There is a significant positive relation between IT capabilities and firm’s non-financial performance

3.3 Intellectual capital and firm performance

IC works as a strategic source for every kinds of business either small, medium or large that struggle for competitive advantage and even is considered as a fundamental element for firm’s value creation [55]. IC does not only work for firms to gain FP but also helps firms to formulate business strategy and process design to gain competitive advantage [15] i.e. IC does not only improve FP but also equally important for firm’s competitiveness [56]. IC helps firms to improve internal characteristics that influence competitive advantage [57 –59] and is considered as the core element for firm’s performance because as the firm’s IC skill is increasing, its performance will also improve [60]. Each of the dimensions of IC has significant positive impact on different types of firm’s performance include profitability, productivity and market performance [15]. Prior studies indicated that there is significant positive relation between IC and firm’s performance [1 , 61]. IC also positively contributes to SMEs market performance [62, 63]. The study posits the hypotheses:

H5. There is a significant positive relation between intellectual capital and firm’s financial performance

H6. There is a significant positive relation between intellectual capital and firm’s non-financial performance

Figure 1 depicts the research model of the study.

Fig.1

Research model.

4 Methodology

4.1 Sample and data collection

For the purpose of the study, SMEs operating in three big cities of Pakistan include Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore were surveyed. Registered firms’ lists were taken on the request from Rawalpindi chamber of commerce & industry (RCCI), Islamabad chamber of commerce & industry (ICCI) and Lahore chamber of commerce & industry respectively. Total 600 questionnaires were distributed among SMEs of which 200 among SMEs operating in Rawalpindi, 200 among SMEs operating in Islamabad and 200 among Lahore’s SMEs. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed among owners and top managers of the firms because they are more aware about their firms activities and are more responsible for strategic decisions [64]. The study received back 107 questionnaires from Rawalpindi, 121 questionnaires from Islamabad, 89 questionnaires from firms operating in Lahore. There were 10 questionnaires which could not fulfil the study requirements (i.e. a significant portion missed or filled incorrectly) hence these questionnaires were excluded from analysis. Four respondents from Rawalpindi, two from Islamabad and four from Lahore were excluded, thus the response rates were 51.5%, 59.5% and 42.5% respectively. So, average total usable questionnaires were 307 with effective response rate of 51.17%.

Since, the target population of the study was SMEs. However, SMEs have no single definition, every country has own definition for SMEs. Basically, SMEs can be defined on the basis of three basic categories that are number of employees, annual sales turnover and total assets. In Pakistan, firms with maximum 250 employees, paid up capital up to Rs.25 million and annual sales up-to Rs.250 million are considered SMEs [65]. Thus, this study surveyed firms, lie in the scope of Pakistani SMEs having employees up to 250.

4.2 Data analysis and results

The Table 2 shows descriptive statistics, where, 97 of 309 participants were owners. In Pakistan, majority of owners don’t perform the entire business affair actively, they surrogate managers to work on their behalf. Thus 151 senior managers include strategic officers, operational officers and quality assurance officers etc. who were responsible for strategic planning and performance of firms participated in the survey. Where owners and managers were not so familiar about financial performance, we asked financial managers and other responsible managers to participate in the survey. Hence, in the study, 59 other top managers (surrogated for firm responsibility) with 19.21% of total sample participated in the survey. 37 participants with 12% of the total sample were having education qualification undergraduate, 224 participants were having graduation qualification while there were 46 post graduate participants.

Table 2
Descriptive statistics

Description No. of firms Percentage of total

Designation

Owners 97 31.60

Senior mangers 210 68.40

Education

Bachelor and below 37 12.05

Master 224 72.96

Postdoctoral 46 14.98

Age of firm

Less than10 years 27 8.80

11–20 years 138 44.95

21 and above years 142 46.25

Nature of industry

Manufacturing 154 50.20

Trading 39 12.70

Services 114 37.10

Size of firms

20–50 employees 149 48.50

51–100 employees 86 28.00

101–250 employees 72 23.50

Description	No. of firms	Percentage of total
Designation
Owners	97	31.60
Senior mangers	210	68.40
Education
Bachelor and below	37	12.05
Master	224	72.96
Postdoctoral	46	14.98
Age of firm
Less than10 years	27	8.80
11–20 years	138	44.95
21 and above years	142	46.25
Nature of industry
Manufacturing	154	50.20
Trading	39	12.70
Services	114	37.10
Size of firms
20–50 employees	149	48.50
51–100 employees	86	28.00
101–250 employees	72	23.50

Note: N = 307.

In addition, the table indicates that 27 firms were less than 10 old with 8.8% of the sample respondents, 138 firms were in the age between 11–20 years while 142 firms were older than 21 years with 46.3%. 154 firms from manufacturing sector, 39 from trading and 114 from services sector with 50.2%, 12.7% and 37.1% respectively participated in the study. 149 firms have employees from 20–50, 86 firms have employees from 51–100 while 72 firms have employees from 101 to 250.

4.3 Measures

4.3.1 Independent variables

Entrepreneurial Orientation was measured with nine items of which three items for innovativeness, three items for risk taking and three items for proactiveness, that were adopted from prior studies [8, 38]. To measure innovativeness, firms were asked about their innovative activities such as “the top managers of my firm favour a strong emphasis on R&D, technology leadership, and innovations” and “Changes in product or service lines have usually been quite dramatic” etc. To measure risk taking activates, a sample item where firms were asked “top managers have a strong proclivity for high-risk projects (with chances of very high returns) etc. and the sample items for proactiveness measure is “In dealing with its competitors, my firm typically initiates actions which competitors then respond to” etc. All these three activities are covered in EO.

IT capabilities can be measured through different dimensions. However, in SMEs, it can be specified because of small size and typically domestic market engagement. This study measured IT capabilities as IT operational capabilities and IT transformational capabilities. This study relied on the eight items used by [52] of which four items for IT operational and four items for IT transformational capacities because they used broader dimensions which may provide fruitful results instead of using only a few items to measure IT capabilities.

Intellectual Capital is measured with several dimensions in prior studies. The present study tried to include the three well-known dimensions of IC that are economic values (brought by employees’ skills), relational capital and structural capital. To avoid biases in self-reported questionnaire, the study relied on [57] and used eight items (slightly modified as per the study requirement) to include all the possible dimensions of IC.

4.3.2 Dependent variables

This research used self-reported measure for FP and NFP as suggested by prior studies [38, 64]. 10 items were used of which six for FP and four for NFP. [37] argued that self-reported measures provide better results over archived data-based measure in emerging markets such as China and India etc. So, the present study relied on self-reported measures of firm’s performance used in prior studies [11, 66]. Moreover, the study targeted SMEs that don’t disclose their financial information to public, so it’s difficult to obtain financial statement-based information from these firms [67]. Hence, to measure firm’s performance, respondents were asked to rate their firm’s performance in comparison to their close competitors and industry rivals since last 3 years based on return on assets, return on equity and sales growth etc. (financial measures) and customer satisfaction, employees satisfaction and product quality (non-financial performance).

Scales: All the variables were measured with five point likert scale ranging from strongly agree = 1 to strongly disagree = 5 for EO, IT capabilities and IC and extremely improved = 1 to extremely declined = 5 for FP and NFP of SMEs in the study.

4.3.3 Control variables

The present study used three control variables; age of the firms, nature of industry and size of the firms (no. of employees). Prior studies have suggested that these three variables have significant impact on firm’s performance and it is better to control these variables while meaning SME’s performance [18, 68]. Hence, the firm’s size and firm’s age might be correlated (with passage of time, firm hires more people since its size is increasing), so the present study draws covariance between these control variables. However, industry is a categorical variable; so, this study executed a group difference analysis in AMOS. After analysis, all cases were matched against only manufacturing industry (test 1), all cases against trading industry (test2), and, finally all the cases against services industry. Although generating some differences in relation, no statistically significant differences were appeared in critical ratios between all the models. So, it can be interpreted that the industry as a control variable has no influence on our model. Hence, nature of industry was dropped from further analysis.

4.4 Measurement model

The present study performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in AMOS.21 to confirm validity and reliability of the items and constructs in the measurement model (see Fig. 2). However, there are certain assumptions of AMOS-based CFA such as minimum sample size and data normality. This study used skewness and kurtosis to test the normality and found the results in accepted range±2 based on suggestion of [69] that were shown in Table 3.

Fig.2

Measurement model.

Table 3

Reliability, mean, SD, skewness and kurtosis

Constructs	No. of items	CR*	Mean	S.D	Skewness	Kurtosis
Entrepreneurial orientation	8	0.938	3.5107	0.37208	–0.835	0.400
IT capabilities	9	0.950	3.1772	0.32797	–0.202	1.156
Intellectual capital	7	0.910	2.6732	0.27765	–0.306	1.402
Financial performance	6	0.906	4.0644	0.40741	–0.222	1.130
Non-financial performance	4	0.810	3.1877	0.23348	–0.498	1.740

*CR = Composite reliability.

In the first attempt, the results of CFA did not generate good model fit and factor loadings of a few items were not found in the accepted range (i.e. accepted range >0.70). Items with low factor loadings create problems in the calculation of AVE and discriminant validity. So, this study dropped these items (problematic) and ensured Modification Indices (MI). The study run CFA again because scholars have suggested to ensure convergent and discriminant validity before moving to structural model [70] and thus generated good model fit that are shown in Table 6 and the factor loadings (see Table 5) of almost all the items were above (0.70) except a few items. Although, factor loadings close to (0.70) are also accepted if others items have higher factor loadings on the respective constructs that contribute to AVE [11, 71]. Measurement model and structural model were good fitted (see Table 6) such as the values of GFI, CFI, NFI are suggested to be close to 1 [71, 72] and the value of RMR and RMSEA are suggested to be close to 0 [71, 72]. Chi-square/df value is recommended to be less than 3 (Hair et al., 2010). The present study results indicated good model fitness i.e. measurement model and structural model endorsed by [71, 72].

AVE (see Table 5) for each of the construct was found above (0.50) and square root of AVE found greater than (0.70) and also above the correlation’s values of the concerned constructs which ensured good convergent validity and discriminant validity respectively [71]. Thus, MI values found in the accepted range as suggested by scholars that the value of MI between 4 and 15 acceptable [73].

The Table 4 shows composite reliability of each of the construct as higher than.80 which indicates good reliability. Mean values (see Table 3) of each of the construct ranging from (2.67 to 4.06), S.D ranging from (0.233 to 0.40). Skewness values for the constructs ranging from (–0.202 to –0.835) and Kurtosis values range from (0.40 to 1.74) which is in the accepted range±2 as per recommendation of [69].

Table 4

Correlation

Constructs	EO	IT	IC	FP	NP
EO	–
IT	0.203	–
IC	0.212	0.316	–
FP	0.296	0.365	0.647	–
NP	0.294	0.381	0.339	0.526	–

Note: EO = entrepreneurial orientation, IT = IT capabilities, IC = Intellectual capital, FP = financial performance, NP = non-financial performance.

Table 5

Factor loadings and validity

Constructs	items	Descriptions	Estimate	AVE	√AVE
Entrepreneurial orientation	eo1	In general, the top managers of my firm favour a strong emphasis on R&D, tech. leadership, and innovations.	0.951***	0.659	0.812
	eo2	My firm has marketed many new lines of products or services in the past 5 years	Dropped
	eo3	Changes in product or service lines have usually been quite dramatic	0.769***
	eo4	In dealing with its competitors, my firm typically initiates actions which competitors then respond to.	0.969***
	eo5	In dealing with its competitors, my firm is very often the first business to introduce new products/services, administrative techniques, operating technologies, etc.	0.678***
	eo6	In dealing with its competitors, my firm typically adopts a very competitive, undo-the-competitors’ posture	0.816***
	eo7	In general, the top managers have a strong proclivity for high-risk projects (with chances of very high returns).	0.550***
	eo8	In general, the top managers of my firm believe that owning to the nature of the environment, bold, wide-ranging acts are necessary to achieve the firm’s targets	0.839***
	eo9	When confronted with decision-making situations involving uncertainty, my firm typically adopts a bold, aggressive posture in order to maximize the probability of exploiting potential opportunities	0.838***
IT capabilities	it1	The manner in which the components of our information systems are organized and integrated allows for rapid changes	0.857***	0.686	0.828
	it2	Our information system is designed to support new business relation easily	0.857***
	it3	Our information systems are highly compatible	0.893***
	it4	Our information systems are highly scalable	0.872***
	it5	We continuously examine the innovative opportunities IT can provide for competitive advantage	0.747***
	it6	We continuously explore new IT applications for future products/services	0.873***
	it7	We continuously explore new IT applications for future business processes	0.711***
	it8	We use IT applications in our management at a high degree	0.798***
Intellectual capital	ic1	Our firm has a clear view of our current core knowledge	0.609***	0.602	0.776
	ic2	Our firm has a clear view of what knowledge and competences are the most relevant for the purpose	0.608***
	ic3	Our firm knowledge and competences are evaluated systematically	0.933***
	ic4	Our firm benchmarks our strategic knowledge against that of our competitors	0.680***
	ic5	Our firm explicitly recognizes knowledge as a crucial element in the strategic planning exercises	0.951***
	ic6	Our firm has a clear strategy for developing knowledge and competences	0.911***
	ic7	Our employees are the best in the industry	Dropped
	ic8	Our employees are bright, skilful and innovative	0.635***
Financial performance	fp1	Return on investment	0.881***	0.597	0.773
	fp2	Profitability	0.655***
	fp3	Return on assets	0.716***
	fp4	Return on equity	0.863***
	fp5	Cash flow	0.576***
	fp6	Sale growth	0.888***
Non-financial performance	np1	Customer satisfaction	0.626***	0.520	0.721
	np2	Employees satisfaction	0.858***
	np3	Employee loyalty	0.707***
	np4	Product/service quality	0.672***

Note: items shown in Italic were dropped due to low factor loadings and problem in model fitness.

4.5 Common method biases (CMB)

CMB is occurred with self-reported questionnaires that are filled by same respondent on the same time. In the present study, Harman’s one factor test was used in exploratory factor analysis that is recommended by prior studies [74, 75] to examine the possibility of CMB. The results showed 6 distinct factors with eigenvalue above 1 and total variance 69.46% of which first factor explained only 29.49% variance. Hence, no possibly of CMB is found as no general factor is apparent.

Correlation provides initial support for the proposed hypothesis in the study. Table 4 shows that all the constructs are positively correlated. EO is positively related to FP (r= 0.296), and also positively related to EO NFP (r= 0.294), IT capabilities positively relate to FP (r= 0.365), and also positively relate to NFP (r= 0.381), IC shows positive link to FP (r= 0.647), and NFP (r= 0.339). The values are less than 0.80 which indicate there is no multicollinearity issues in this study [76].

4.6 Structural model

This study tested the hypotheses using structural model (see Fig. 3) and fitness of model were shown in the Table 6 that indicate good model fit.

Fig.3

Structural model.

Table 6

Models fitness

Models	Chi sq/df	Chisq	df	GFI	AGFI	CFI	TLI	NFI	RMR	RMSEA
Measurement	2.081	992.619	477	0.83	0.80	0.94	0.93	0.89	0.014	0.059
Structural	2.119	1150.46	543	0.82	0.80	0.93	0.92	0.87	0.035	0.060

Table 7 depicts the results about hypotheses testing where EO has a significant positive relation with FP (β= 0.135, p < 0.01). Similarly, significant positive relation was found between EO and NFP (β= 0.113, p < 0.01) that supported H1 and H2 respectively. The results for IT capabilities and FP shows (β= 0.202, p < 0.001) and for IT capabilities and NFP (β= 0.246, p < 0.001) that gave strong support for H3 and H4 respectively. This study found significant positive relation between IC and FP (β= 0.784, p < 0.001) and IC and NFP (β= 0.174, p < 0.01) that favoured the proposed hypotheses H5 and H6. The findings of the study give good support to the entire proposed hypotheses. R² values for FP is 0.45 and for NFP is 0.39 which indicate that the internal capabilities bring 45% variation in FP and 39% variation in NFP. Thus, it is argued that internal capabilities bring greater change in financial performance as compare to non-financial performance. In addition, IC has greater influence on FP followed by IT capabilities and EO while IT capabilities make greater contribution to NFP followed by IC and EO.

Table 7

Hypothesis testing

Dependent variables		Independent variables	Estimate	S.E.	C.R.	P
Financial perform	< –––	Entrepreneurial orientation	0.135	0.049	2.759	0.006
Non fin perform	< –––	Entrepreneurial orientation	0.113	0.039	2.876	0.004
Financial perform	< –––	IT capabilities	0.202	0.055	3.658	0.000
Non fin perform	< –––	IT capabilities	0.246	0.047	5.194	0.000
Financial perform	< –––	Intellectual capital	0.784	0.088	8.945	0.000
Non fin perform	< –––	Intellectual capital	0.174	0.053	3.272	0.001

The present study also used 2 control variables where age of firms has a significant impact on FP (β= –0.126, p < 0.001) and significant influence on NFP (β= –0.140, p < 0.001). Size of firms has no significant impact on both FP (β= –0.012, p > 0.05) and NFP (β= 0.024, p < 0.05).

5 Discussion

The present study focused on the firm’s core internal capabilities such as EO, IT and IC that contribute significant part in performance and success of ventures. This study contributes to RBV background by collecting empirical evidence from an emerging market. For instance, RBV gives more significance to firm’s internal resources that can be considered as core drivers for firm’s superior performance. Hence, this study argued the same insights and strongly favours RBV. In addition, this study investigated the discrete importance of each internal capability toward FP and NFP of SMEs in emerging markets. For instance, the significant contribution to FP can be achieved through IC followed by IT capabilities and then EO. Similarly, the highest contribution to NFP can be made through IT capabilities followed by IC and then EO. Thus, the results of the study argue that EO has the lowest contribution toward FP and NFP among SMEs operating in the emerging market Pakistan.

Firms are in the race to gain superior performance in market, for the purpose, some firms try to invest into different risky projects that may cause a big loss. However, there are some internal capabilities that provide greater advantage over external sources [8] and particularly in emerging markets, firms are now migrating from traditional ways of operation into modern and technological based ways to gain competitive advantage and superior performance [5]. In dynamic markets, the traditional methods of operation are now replaced by IC (Tandon et al., 2016). Motivated by the fact, this study checked the impact of firm’s core internal capabilities (i.e. EO, IT & IC) on FP and NFP in SMEs.

The findings of the study indicate that EO has significant positive relation with firm’s FP and NFP and thus supported H1 and H2. In the line with prior studies, where it is suggested that adaptation of EO provides greater advantage and superior performance in competitive markets to SMEs. Every kind of firms can get benefits from EO but SMEs can get greater advantage because they provide more suitable environment of entrepreneurial activities [38]. The present study’s results strongly supported the findings of [11] who suggested that the dimensions of EO have not only significant impact on FP but significant positive impact on NP.

IT capabilities are found to be significantly positively related to FP and NFP of SMEs and hence supported H3 and H4. It is also argued that top management of firms must be aware about rapid technological changes because it upshots innovation in firms and have significant impact on performance [47]. Consistent with prior studies where [24] stated that SMEs with E-Business technological usage over perform in emerging markets. Similarly, it is scrutinized that IT capabilities strengthen firm’s internal management capabilities that contribute positively to firm’s performance [50] and have a significant positive impact on SMEs profitability and sale growth [54] as well as a significant positive impact on firm’s innovative performance [49].

The present study strongly supported the prior studies results and scrutinized that IC has a significant positive relation with firm performance [15 , 76]. Prior studies have found that IC not only contributes to financial performance but also makes a significant positive contribution to market performance [62, 63].

This study proved and favoured the prior studies that firm’s internal capabilities such EO, IT and IC have significant positive relation with FP and NFP of firms. SMEs operating in emerging markets like Pakistan get advantage from their internal capabilities that might be less risky.

5.1 Contribution and managerial implications

The study theoretically contributes to the literature of EO, IT and IC and helps scholars and practitioners who are engaged in the research to explore new factors that contribute to SMEs FP and NFP. This study strongly favours RBV which suggests that firm’s internal capabilities have stronger influence on firm performance as compared to external sources. Though, prior studies have given much attention to FP of SMEs, while this study claims that certain internal capabilities also equally contributes to NFP of SMEs operating in emerging economies. The findings of the study argued that modern technology, innovative ideas and human skills and capabilities are important pertinent for firms’ success in developing markets [77] that have been often under discussed. The implications are not only limited to business organizations, but social organizations and non-business organizations are also recommended to literally practice and adopt the modern technology, innovative ideas and should hire skilled employees in order to sustain their performance.

The present study gives significant implications for owners and managers of SMEs to give considerable attention to their internal capabilities in order to enhance FP and NFP. Mere FP is not sufficient in the current context; firms are also required to enhance their social performance. Investment in risky projects can cause a big loss that may be harmful for SMEs because of limited resources; hence, certain internal capabilities must be considered that work as alternative source for gaining FP and NFP. This study claims, that EO, IT and IC are not only beneficial for the enhancement of FP and NFP of SMEs operating in emerging markets but also can be equally important for firms operating in developed economies. Normally, SMEs face big pressure from external environment and large firms, they have small size and face different challenges in competitive markets, so owners and managers are required to build unique strategy and internal capabilities to respond to the external pressure and adjust themselves against the changing environment.

Specifically, owners and managers of Pakistani firms who are looking for FP are recommended to give greater attention to IC followed by IT capabilities and EO. In addition, non-financial performance can be improved through IT capabilities followed by IC and EO respectively. In addition, the only business enterprises are not busy to improve the aforementioned capabilities, but other social organizations are also required to enhance their performance by improving their internal capabilities. Notwithstanding, all business enterprises and other societal organizations can do is facilitate their capability, employee, customer and partner self-development, just as educational institutions can only facilitate their faculty and student self-development.

5.2 Limitations and future research directions

Despite its strengths, the study has several limitations. For example, the sample size is rather small and is focused only on Pakistan‘s emerging markets. The second limitation of the study is that it has only assessed the contribution of the pivotal internal capabilities and has excluded the contribution of external sources such as managerial connection with political bodies, with business firms and with financial institutions which can enhance a firm performance. We targeted SMEs only, though large firms are also in the race to gain superior performance, hereby recommended to examine the aforementioned capabilities in large firms. The study checked the impact of EO, IT capabilities and IC on FP and NFP of SMEs instead of checking the impact of each of the dimension of EO such innovativeness, risk taking and proactiveness on FP and NFP. The same case for IT capabilities and IC which have sub-dimensions such as IT operational capabilities or IT internal capabilities and external capabilities can contribute a significant part in success of ventures.

It is recommended for future researchers to check the impact of each of the dimension of the respective factors on FP and NFP of SMEs. Similarly, a comparative study between developed and emerging economies may provide more fruitful results in the respective field. Researchers can also extend the study in other emerging markets to compare the results and findings. Possible moderators and mediators can be added between each dimension of the respective factors and FP and NFP of firms as prior studies have suggested that EO does not directly influence firm’s performance always but some internal factors mediate this relation [11, 36]. Similarly, Kianto, Andreeva and Pavlov [57] and Kamukama et al., [58] suggested that competitive advantage fully mediates the relation between IC and firm’s performance as well as [50] and [30] reported that IT capabilities have no apparent direct impact on firm’s performance but internal capabilities affect the relation.

6 Conclusion

The present study has addressed some unexplored findings about EO, IT capabilities and IC towards FP and NFP of SMEs and tested the impact of EO, IT capabilities and IC on FP and NFP of SMEs in an emerging market Pakistan. Though, prior studies have checked the impact of the respective factors on firm’s performance particularly in developed economies. But studies have failed to check the impact of the respective factors on SMEs FP and NFP particularly in emerging markets like Pakistan. Although report suggested that more than 95% of the world businesses are covered by SMEs as well as Pakistan has 99% of its businesses run by SMEs. This study used self-reported questionnaire with sample size of 307 firms to explore the subjective outcome of the respective factors. CFA and SEM in AMOS.21 were used to test the model fitness and hypotheses respectively. The findings of the study provide good support for the entire proposed hypothesis. EO, IT capabilities and IC are significantly positively related to firm’s FP and NFP in emerging market Pakistan. This study highlights the greater importance of IC followed by IT capabilities on firm performance and recommends that owners and managers might always give special attention to the factors to gain superior performance either financial or non-financial.

References

Muhammad

NMN

, Ismail

MKA

. Intellectual capital efficiency and firm’s performance: Study on Malaysian financial sectors. International Journal of Economics and Finance. 2009;1(2):206.

Anwar

, Khan

. Intellectual Capital, Entrepreneurial Strategy and New Ventures Performance: Mediating Role of Competitive Advantage. Business & Economic Review. 2018;10(1):63–94.

Dženopoljac

, Janoševic

, Bontis

. Intellectual capital and financial performance in the Serbian ICT industry. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 2016;17(2):373–96.

Brizek

. Explaining corporate entrepreneurship: A contemporary literature Investigation. Journal of Management and Marketing Research. 2014;14:1.

Sun

, Yao

, Zhang

, Chen

, Liu

. Entrepreneurial environment, market-oriented strategy, and entrepreneurial performance: A study of Chinese automobile firms. Internet Research. 2016;26(2):546–62.

Anwar

. Business Model Innovation And SMEs Performance—Does Competitive Advantage Mediate? International Journal of Innovation Management. International Journal of Innovation Management. 2018: https://doi.org/10.1142/S1363919618500573.

Bilgen

, Varoglu

. Methodology research of competitiveness and sample application for Turkey’s defense industry. Competitiveness Review. 2016;26(5):537–58.

Covin

, Slevin

. Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments. Strategic Management Journal. 1989;10(1):75–87.

Gruber-Muecke

, Hofer

. Market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and performance in emerging markets. International Journal of Emerging Markets. 2015;10(3):560–71.

10.

Batra

, Sharma

, Dixit

, Vohra

, Gupta

. Performance implications of industry appropriability for manufacturing SMEs: The role of technology orientation. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. 2015;26(5):660–77.

11.

Kantur

. Strategic entrepreneurship: Mediating the entrepreneurial orientation-performance link. Management Decision. 2016;54(1):24–43.

12.

Zehir

, Köle

, Yildiz

. The mediating role of innovation capability on market orientation and export performance: An implementation on SMEs in Turkey. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2015;207:700–8.

13.

Behera

, Nayak

, Das

. Performance measurement due to IT adoption. Business Process Management Journal. 2015;21(4):888–907.

14.

Georgantzas

. Humanizing HSM to benefit human systems. Human Systems Management. 2018;37(1):1–5.

15.

Tandon

, Purohit

, Tandon

. Measuring Intellectual Capital and Its Impact on Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from CNX Nifty Companies. Global Business Review. 2016;17(4):980–97.

16.

Khalique

, Bontis

, Abdul Nassir bin Shaari

, Hassan

. Isa A. Intellectual capital in small and medium enterprises in Pakistan. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 2015;16(1):224–38.

17.

Bhutta

, Ali Shah

. Do Behavioural Biases Impact Corporate Entrepreneurship, Agency Cost and Firm Performance: Evidence from Developed and Developing Economies?. Pakistan Journal of Commerce & Social Sciences. 2015;9(3).

18.

Lechner

, Gudmundsson

. Entrepreneurial orientation, firm strategy and small firm performance. International Small Business Journal. 2014;32(1):36–60.

19.

Raymond

, Bergeron

, Croteau

, St-Pierre

. Developing Absorptive Capacity through e-Business: The Case of International SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management. 2015;53:75–94.

20.

Latif

, Jianqiu

, Salam

, Pathan

, Jan

, Tunio

. FDI and ‘political’violence in Pakistan’s telecommunications. Human Systems Management. 2017;36(4):341–52.

21.

Barney

. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management. 1991;17(1):99–120.

22.

Sahut

J-M

, Peris-Ortiz

. Small business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics. 2014;42(4):663–8.

23.

Verhoef

, Kooge

, Walk

. Creating value with big data analytics: Making smarter marketing decisions: Routledge; 2016.

24.

Abebe

. Electronic commerce adoption, entrepreneurial orientation and small-and medium-sized enterprise (SME) performance. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2014;21(1):100–16.

25.

Cohen

, Kaimenakis

. Intellectual capital and corporate performance in knowledge-intensive SMEs. The Learning Organization. 2007;14(3):241–62.

26.

Verbano

, Crema

. Linking technology innovation strategy, intellectual capital and technology innovation performance in manufacturing SMEs. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. 2016;28(5):524–40.

27.

Drucker

, Noel

. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practices and principles. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education. 1986;34(1):22–3.

28.

Miller

, Friesen

. Archetypes of strategy formulation. Management Science. 1978;24(9):921–33.

29.

Dess

, Lumpkin

. The role of entrepreneurial orientation in stimulating effective corporate entrepreneurshiAcademy of Management Perspectives (2005;19(1):147–56.

30.

Devaraj

, Kohli

. Performance impacts of information technology: Is actual usage the missing link? Management Science. 2003;49(3):273–89.

31.

Saint-Onge

. Tacit knowledge the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Planning Review. 1996;24(2):10–6.

32.

Day

. An outside-in approach to resource-based theories. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 2014;42(1):27–8.

33.

Malaquias

, Malaquias

, Hwang

. Effects of information technology on corporate social responsibility: Empirical evidence from an emerging economy. Computers in Human Behavior. 2016;59:195–201.

34.

Mathur

, Jugdev

, Shing Fung

. Project management assets and project management performance outcomes: Exploratory factor analysis. Management Research Review. 2013;36(2):112–35.

35.

Cleary

, Quinn

. Intellectual capital and business performance: An exploratory study of the impact of cloud-based accounting and finance infrastructure. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 2016;17(2):255–78.

36.

Rauch

, Wiklund

, Lumpkin

, Frese

. Entrepreneurial orientation and business performance: An assessment of past research and suggestions for the future. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 2009;33(3):761–87.

37.

Semrau

, Ambos

, Kraus

. Entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance across societal cultures: An international study. Journal of Business Research. 2016;69(5):1928–32.

38.

Shirokova

, Bogatyreva

, Beliaeva

, Puffer

. Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in different environmental settings: Contingency and configurational approaches. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2016;23(3):703–27.

39.

Keh

, Nguyen

TTM

, Ng

. The effects of entrepreneurial orientation and marketing information on the performance of SMEs. Journal of Business Venturing. 2007;22(4):592–611.

40.

Engelen

, Gupta

, Strenger

, Brettel

. Entrepreneurial orientation, firm performance, and the moderating role of transformational leadership behaviors. Journal of Management. 2015;41(4):1069–97.

41.

Bierwerth

, Schwens

, Isidor

, Kabst

. Corporate entrepreneurship and performance: A meta-analysis. Small Business Economics. 2015;45(2):255–78.

42.

Y-H

, Huang

J-W

, Tsai

M-T

. Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: The role of knowledge creation process. Industrial Marketing Management. 2009;38(4):440–9.

43.

Gupta

, Batra

. Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Indian SMEs: Universal and contingency perspectives. International Small Business Journal. 2016;34(5):660–82.

44.

Soininen

, Martikainen

, Puumalainen

, Kyläheiko

. Entrepreneurial orientation: Growth and profitability of Finnish small-and medium-sized enterprises. International Journal of Production Economics. 2012;140(2):614–21.

45.

Lee

, Lim

. Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of service business. Service Business. 2009;3(1):1.

46.

Wiklund

, Shepherd

. Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: A configurational approach. Journal of Business Venturing. 2005;20(1):71–91.

47.

Kocak

, Carsrud

, Oflazoglu

. Market, entrepreneurial, and technology orientations: Impact on innovation and firm performance. Management Decision. 2017;55(2):248–70.

48.

Akter

, Wamba

, Gunasekaran

, Dubey

, Childe

. How to improve firm performance using big data analytics capability and business strategy alignment? International Journal of Production Economics. 2016;182:113–31.

49.

Lin

, Chang

C-C

. The effect of technological diversification on organizational performance: An empirical study of S&P 500 manufacturing firms. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2015;90:575–86.

50.

Peng

, Quan

, Zhang

, Dubinsky

. Mediation effect of business process and supply chain management capabilities on the impact of IT on firm performance: Evidence from Chinese firms. International Journal of Information Management. 2016;36(1):89–96.

51.

Hwang

, Yang

MGM

, Hong

. Mediating effect of IT-enabled capabilities on competitive performance outcomes: An empirical investigation of ERP implementation. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. 2015;36:1–23.

52.

Liu

, Huang

, Wei

, Huang

. The impacts of IT capability on internet-enabled supply and demand process integration, and firm performance in manufacturing and services. The International Journal of Logistics Management. 2015;26(1):172–94.

53.

Liu

, Ke

, Wei

, Hua

. The impact of IT capabilities on firm performance: The mediating roles of absorptive capacity and supply chain agility. Decision Support Systems. 2013;54(3):1452–62.

54.

Karagozoglu

, Lindell

. Electronic commerce strategy, operations, and performance in small and medium-sized enterprises. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2004;11(3):290–301.

55.

Rossi

, Cricelli

, Grimaldi

, Greco

. The strategic assessment of intellectual capital assets: An application within Terradue Srl. Journal of Business Research. 2016;69(5):1598–603.

56.

Nupap

, Chakpitak

, Neubert

, Tra-ngarn

. Stakeholder involvement in intellectual capital system implementation for long-term competitiveness development of SMEs in Thailand. International Journal of Innovation and Learning. 2016;20(3):328–46.

57.

Kianto

, Andreeva

, Pavlov

. The impact of intellectual capital management on company competitiveness and financial performance. Knowledge Management Research & Practice. 2013;11(2):112–22.

58.

Kamukama

, Ahiauzu

, Ntayi

. Competitive advantage: Mediator of intellectual capital and performance. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 2011;12(1):152–64.

59.

Jardon

. The use of intellectual capital to obtain competitive advantages in regional small and medium enterprises. Knowledge Management Research & Practice. 2015;13(4):486–96.

60.

Harris

, Moffat

. Intangible assets, absorbing knowledge and its impact on firm performance: Theory, measurement and policy implications. Contemporary Social Science. 2013;8(3):346–61.

61.

Crema

, Verbano

. Managing Intellectual Capital in I talian Manufacturing SMEs. Creativity and Innovation Management. 2016;25(3):408–21.

62.

Molodchik

, Jardon

. Intellectual capital as enhancer of product novelty: An empirical study of Russian manufacturing SMEs. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 2017;18(2):419–36.

63.

Agostini

, Nosella

, Filippini

. Does intellectual capital allow improving innovation performance? A quantitative analysis in the SME context. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 2017;18(2):400–18.

64.

Tajeddini

, Mueller

. Corporate entrepreneurship in Switzerland: Evidence from a case study of Swiss watch manufacturers. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. 2012;8(3):355–72.

65.

Kureshi

, Mann

, Khan

, Qureshi

. Quality management practices of SME in developing countries: A survey of manufacturing SME in Pakistan. Journal of Quality and Technology Management. 2009;5(2):63–89.

66.

Danso

, Adomako

, Damoah

, Uddin

. Risk-taking propensity, managerial network ties and firm performance in an emerging economy. The Journal of Entrepreneurshi. 2016;25(2):155–83.

67.

Dibrell

, Craig

, Neubaum

. Linking the formal strategic planning process, planning flexibility, and innovativeness to firm performance. Journal of Business Research. 2014;67(9):2000–7.

68.

Blackburn

, Hart

, Wainwright

. Small business performance: Business, strategy and owner-manager characteristics. Journal of small business and enterprise development. 2013;20(1):8–27.

69.

George

. SPSS for windows step by step: A simple study guide and reference, 17.0 update, 10/e: Pearson Education India; 2011.

70.

Barclay

, Higgins

, Thompson

. The Partial Least Squares (pls) Approach to Casual Modeling: Personal Computer Adoption Ans Use as an Illustration 1995.

71.

Hair

, Anderson

, Tatham

, Black

. Multivariate data analysis. 1998.

72.

, Bentler

. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural equation modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 1999;6(1):1–55.

73.

Zainudin

. A handbook on structural equation modeling. Selangor: MPWS Rich Resources. 2014.

74.

Kraus

, Rigtering

, Hughes

, Hosman

. Entrepreneurial orientation and the business performance of SMEs: A quantitative study from the Netherlands. Review of Managerial Science. 2012;6(2):161–82.

75.

Podsakoff

, Organ

. Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management. 1986;12(4):531–44.

76.

Jalali

, Jaafar

, Ramayah

. Entrepreneurial orientation and performance: The interaction effect of customer capital. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development. 2014;10(1):48–68.

77.

Shahriari

, Abzari

, Nasr Isfahani

, Kianpour

. Learning, innovation and high performance in knowledge-based firms. Human Systems Management. 2017;36(4):285–95.