Contextuality of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance: The Case of Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study intends to contribute to the debate on whether and how the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) theory explains business performance by exploring its efficacy when applied to a constrained context such as a developing country. This debate revolves around the understanding of the nature of EO within a specific context and the degree to which EO, as compared to environmental characteristics, contributes to business performance. In particular, it analyses the influence of EO on the business performance of women entrepreneurs engaged in the handicraft business in Bangladesh, focussing on the effect the business and social environments exert on this relation. The results obtained from hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggest that the EO construct requires flexibility in its conceptualisation and that the implications EO has on performance need to be understood in the light of the context in which the theory is adopted. Concerning the nature of EO, we find that, first, a combination of EO dimensions (rather than them individually taken as per the original theory) explains business performance in a constrained context. In particular, women who show characteristics of innovativeness and pro-activeness (as one construct) seem to report high performances, as well as those showing behaviours more prone to taking risks. However, while barriers posed by the social environment (e.g., socio-cultural norms and customs) tend to impact performance negatively, barriers in the business environment positively relate to business performance. This suggests that further research is needed to investigate how the local constrained context mediates EO’s impact on performance. Our findings contribute to the research efforts directed to understanding the dimensionality of the EO construct when applied to a constrained context and pave the way to the quest for what role the external factors (namely, the social and business environment) play in explaining performance in such a context.

Literature Study on Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firms Performance: An Assessment and Suggestions for Future Research

“…This is likely to attract various stakeholders in entrepreneurship development and activities. Manzano-García & Ayala-Calvo (2020) included strategic context in the EO dimensions, which provided a broader range of organizational configurations and elements (Ranasinghe et al, 2018;Mozumdar et al 2022). The three dimensionsinnovativeness, pro-activeness and risk-taking aspects from a strategic perspective were considered for further analysis so as to examine the impact of these EO dimensions on firms' performance.…”

A Systematic Review on Women Entrepreneurship in Food Processing Sector

“…In India, there were 8.05 million female entrepreneurs out of a total of 58.5 million entrepreneurs, accounting for 14% of all entrepreneurs. Women's engagement in business is expanding due to increased literacy, equality of opportunity and non-discrimination provided by the Constitution (Mozumdar, 2022) [21].…”

Entrepreneurial leadership effect on SME’s performance in Malaysia

“…In this definition, TIC encompasses product and process innovation. As a first step, product innovation skills must focus on the interrelated processes that are employed to produce distinctive goods (Chirico and Nordqvist, 2010;Cho and Lee, 2018a;Mozumdar et al, 2022). A company's ability to use manufacturing technology to choose and apply new production techniques to improve its inventive capacity.…”

“…In today's dynamic and competitive economic context, traditional leadership tactics have been demonstrated to be ineffective, as we've seen. Mediators were used in previous studies to show how these relationships and the influence they had on business performance were highlighted (Patel, Messersmith and Lepak, 2013;Al Mamun and Fazal, 2018;Mirza, Mahmood and Waqar, 2022;Mozumdar et al, 2022). With no cooperation, an independent investigation has been undertaken of entrepreneurialism, leadership, firm success, and the mediating factors.…”