Many scholars have investigated the direct impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on performance, but this direct association seems both spurious and ambiguous because many parameters may have an indirect influence on this relationship. The present study thus considers sustainable practices-environmental practices, social practices in the workplace (SPW), and social practices in the community (SPC)-as three probable mediators in the relationship between EO and performance, which is considered in terms of its financial and non-financial dimensions. We seek to show to what extent small-and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) sustainable practices are useful assets, which are supported by EO, to improve performance. Using a structural equation modeling approach, data collected from 406 French SMEs were tested against the model. Our findings reveal that EO has a positive impact on the implementation of sustainable practices and that SPW partially mediate the link between EO and performance. Taken together, these findings suggest that EO plays a role in indirectly promoting performance by enhancing certain human resource management practices.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between innovative behavior and firm performance to determine empirically whether managers’ innovative behavior impacts directly or indirectly on firm performance through innovative output. A proposed conceptual model is tested with the moderating effects of environmental dynamism. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study tests the conceptual model of a multi-industry sample of Tunisian small and medium-sized enterprises. For this analysis the author applies the partial least squares (PLS) technique using the software package SmartPLS, version 2.0. Findings – Empirical findings reveal that innovative behavior acts on innovation output thus having a positive and significant effect on business performance. Direct effect on business performance is found to be positive but weakly significant. These positive relationships tend to decrease when market conditions are highly dynamic. Practical implications – Managers should be aware of the strategic potential of their innovative skills which can reinforce a firm’s innovativeness in order to improve business performance. Originality/value – This paper proposes a model showing how a manager’s innovative behavior affects innovation output thus enhancing firm performance. The proposed conceptual model gives a more specific vision with the introduction of environmental dynamism as a moderating factor.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to expand understanding of the determinants of adoption innovation in SME context by empirically examining the effect of corporate governance structure on manager's innovative behavior. This was done through exploring whether ownership structure affects managers’ innovative behavior and if so, whether the effect is mediated by board composition. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 197 managers within Tunisian SMEs, hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling and especially using covariance structure analysis (or LISREL method) with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 18.0 software and maximum likelihood estimation method. Findings – The paper found that ownership structure is significantly associated with manager's innovative behavior. Further analysis arising from introducing outsiders’ representation on the board as a mediating variable reveals that the relationship is fully mediated by this variable. Practical implications – This study gives insights to policy makers who are interested in improving board efficacy in emerging economies such as Tunisia. Indeed, the study results should encourage nominating committees and seniors to reflect warily on an effective structuring of board composition by ensuring a certain priority for innovation activities in the firm. Originality/value – This paper extends the understanding of how ownership structure shapes strategic decisions such as innovation in emerging markets. In addition, it fills the literature void by introducing the board composition as a mediating concept between ownership structure and innovative behavior, which was neglected by previous researchers.

Microfinance, Outreach, Financial performance, Mediterranean MFI, Panel data, G21, G23, I30, R13,