Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the multiple mediation role of both market orientation (MO) and marketing capabilities (MC) in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance (OP), given that the results of previous studies are not conclusive. Consequently, this relationship can be more complex than a direct relationship. Design/methodology/approach Using structural equation models, the proposed conceptual model is tested with data from 154 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the low-tech manufacturing sector of an emerging Latin American country. Data analysis was performed using structural equations. Findings The results confirm that the relationship between EO and OP is not significant. Likewise, the roles of individual and sequential mediation of MO and MC in the relationship between EO and OP are confirmed. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional nature of the study. A longitudinal study could provide additional insights regarding the relationships among these variables and their effect on performance. Practical implications Guidelines help businesses in emerging markets to consider the importance of developing entrepreneurs’ MC and MO to optimize the impact of EO on OP. Social implications Guidelines help public policymakers in emerging markets to consider the importance of developing entrepreneurs’ MC and MO to optimize the impact of EO on OP. Originality/value This paper contributes to understanding the complex relationship between EO and OP, which remains relatively underexplored in SMEs in developing countries (Buli, 2017), by analyzing the key role of OM and MC in a multiple mediation model not considered in previous empirical evidence.

Si bien muchas empresas aplican prácticas de innovación abierta en la búsqueda de fuentes externas de conocimiento, esto no necesariamente se traduce en el rendimiento mejorado. Este tema es especialmente importante para las empresas medianas y pequeñas (PYMEs), que necesitan expandir sus fronteras de conocimiento para sobrevivir y lograr un desempeño superior. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar el papel de las capacidades de marketing y la innovación en la relación entre innovación abierta y desempeño organizacional. Utilizando ecuaciones estructurales, esta investigación presenta evidencia empírica de 154 PYMEs manufactureras. Los resultados de la investigación revelan que la innovación abierta por sí sola no influye en el desempeño organizacional, lo que confirma que las capacidades de marketing y la innovación juegan papeles de mediación individual y secuencial en la relación entre la innovación abierta y el desempeño. Con base en esto, se recomienda a los gerentes de las PYMEs, que además de buscar conocimiento externo, desarrollen capacidades de marketing e innovación para capitalizar este conocimiento externo y convertirlo en estrategias efectivas, que impacten significativamente en el desempeño.

his study explores the characteristics of open innovation within the foodstuffs industry in Colombia, contrasting the importance recognized by its actors of this way of generating innovations with the spontaneous and incipient nature of the process, in a sector of vital importance for the economy and a valuable growth potential in line with the new dynamics and trends of the globalized world with highly demanding consumers in terms of health, well-being and improvement of quality of life and in a highly competitive environment (Traill and Meulenberg, 2002; Costa and Jongen, 2006; Trienekens and Zuurbier, 2008; Schiefer and Deiters, 2016). As a paradigm, open innovation is determined by the complex interaction of actors whose synergy projects the innovation system onto a given region. This context makes it essential to identify the main actors involved in the process and their form of interaction. By developing the proposed qualitative analysis exercise, the characteristics of the actors and their relationships in four production lines of the foodstuffs sector in Colombia (the meat sector, the dairy sector, the milling sector and the confectionery sector) are investigated. These sub-sectors were selected according to their degree of participation in domestic production. Through in-depth interviews, some companies in the Colombian food sector fall under the initial stage of open innovation. Additionally, the results suggest that companies acknowledge the importance of developing strategies with external actors, oriented according to public policy guidelines on innovation in Colombia.