Competitive Advantages of the Relationship between Entrepreneurial Competencies and Economic Sustainability Performance

Abstract

This study investigated the mediating and moderating effects of competitive advantage and access to working capital, respectively, on the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and informal microenterprise economic performance in Senegal from the lens of resource-based view theory (RBV). Data were randomly gathered using the cross-sectional research design from 356 informal micro-entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector. The study outcomes revealed that entrepreneurial competencies and competitive advantage emerged as significant predictors of economic performance for informal microenterprises in Senegal. On the contrary, access to working capital displayed an adverse moderating effect, while competitive advantage exhibited a partial and positive mediating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and economic performance of informal microenterprises. The Important and Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) results signify that the most significant considerations for the economic performance of informal microenterprises in Senegal were competitive advantage, access to working capital, commitment competency, and relationship competency. Simultaneously, this study expanded the reach of RBV by enhancing our understanding pertaining to the mediating and moderating roles in the relationships among entrepreneurial competencies, competitive advantage, and access to working capital towards improving the economic performance of informal microenterprises across developing countries. Since many have lost their jobs due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Government of Senegal and its policymakers should place more emphasis on the importance of informal entrepreneurship, such as provision of low-interest credit facilities for their working capital, as well as thorough training in the strategic advantage and competencies domains. This is because informal entrepreneurs have the ability, via jobs creation and income generating activities, to contribute to the economic growth of the country.

Managerial conceptual competencies and the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in Zimbabwe

“…http://www.sajesbm.co.za Open Access Interestingly, Aidara et al (2021) revealed that entrepreneurial competencies showed a significant and positive influence on the performance of informal entrepreneurs in Senegal.…”

“…The Finscope MSME survey (2013) reveals that 46% of SME owners in Zimbabwe have limited exposure to any managerial skills or knowledge. Consequently, the paucity of requisite competencies among owners and/or managers has an impact on the performance of SMEs (Aidara et al 2021). Yet, the higher the level of competency possessed by SME owners, the greater are their chances of survival (Tola & Chimucheka 2018).…”

The impact of Risk Willingness and Opportunity Recognition on Business Owners’ Performance in Sabah, Malaysia

“…In entrepreneurship, one requires commitment and courage to calculate opportunities and take risks (Djatmika & Rahayu, 2021). Thus, both dimensions of risk willingness and opportunity recognition are the best predictor tools for predicting future business performance achievement (Aidara et al, 2021;Mojikon et al, 2017). They are essential to every entrepreneur (Rajagopal, 2021).…”

“…Microenterprises are small businesses that generate income profits (Prijadi et al, 2020) and address socioeconomic issues related to poverty (Aidara et al, 2021;Mohiuddin et al, 2020). Many researchers describe small businesses as drivers of economic growth (Ndubisi et al, 2020), contributing to low-cost employment (Akter, 2020), income distribution (Sumiati, 2020), and wealth creation in a country's economic system (Sadeh et al,2021).…”

“…As micro-businesses use and add value to national resources, they are ideally placed in local and regional markets to meet local needs (Ahmad et al, 2018). Furthermore, investing in a small business contributes to employment development (Kumar, 2021), besides increasing trade from the socioeconomic context for both the micro-business owners and the whole community (Aidara et al, 2021). The majority of small businesses are operating in the informal sector (Struwig et al, 2019).…”