Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, learning orientation and innovation; and second, assesses the role of innovation, market orientation and learning orientation on firms’ business performance using a developing country (i.e. the Ghanaian banking domain) as a study context. Design/methodology/approach – Following a nation-wide survey among senior managers of 28 banks in Ghana, five research propositions were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Findings – Results demonstrate that market orientation has significant association with innovation while learning orientation has significant impact on innovation. Moreover, innovation mediates the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Research limitations/implications – This study adopt the cross-sectional research design and as such acknowledge the same limitations as other cross-sectional studies. Practical implications – The research will help bank executives especially in Ghana and other developing countries to appreciate these marketing variables. Social implications – Banks innovation efforts, concurrently with the development of market orientation culture and improvement in organizational learning processes must benefit bank customers and stakeholders as a whole. Originality/value – The research will help banks in Ghana and other developing countries to appreciate that their innovation efforts should concurrently be in sync with the development of market orientation culture and improvement in organizational learning processes.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a general characterisation of entrepreneurial orientations of Black Africans in the UK.Design/methodology/approachMethodological appropriateness rather than orthodoxy was fundamental in the design of this research. A combination of idiosyncratic and multiplicative sampling strategy was applied in a discovery‐oriented context. Research questions were adapted from the attribution questions frequently used in related studies. In consideration of the exploratory nature of this work, a connected narrative approach was used in presenting the results. Data collection was undertaken in London.FindingsObserves that many Black Africans embarked on entrepreneurship more to escape ethnic penalties than a strategic response to the structure of environmental opportunities. Thus, this “escapist mindset” has meant that inadequate initial preparations have tended to characterise the small businesses they operate. Recognises that whilst a pattern of market concentration is discernible at the co‐ethnic level (i.e. first entry market), there is little evidence of strategic evolution towards mainstreaming or the attainment of sectoral aggregation either at national or regional level.Research limitations/implicationsData collection was limited to London‐non‐Black African entrepreneurs were excluded. Therefore, care should be taken in making generalisations from the sample.Practical implicationsMany African‐owned businesses are failure‐prone and in need of strategic interventions in order to secure their growth and sustainability.Originality/valueHighly valuable with very little research completed to date on this topic.