Purpose: Entrepreneurship can offer a competitive advantage to an enterprise through risky decisions that pay off in the development of innovative products, services and markets in a difficult managerial environment and by moving proactively to dominate a competitive market. This study aims to examine the relationship between entrepreneurship and managerial innovation capacity by considering subfactors, such as innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking, as well as to explore the relationship between managerial innovation capacity and management performance. The study determines the extent to which policy finance and management support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play the role of moderating variables.Design/methodology/approach: Data collection was carried out in 820 SMEs. To verify the hypotheses, Covariance Structure Analysis was conducted using EQS6b.Findings/results: The findings indicate that entrepreneurship has a significant influence on strategic planning, research and development, and technology commercialisation. This study found that managerial innovation capacities have positive effects on management performance. In addition, this study confirmed that when entrepreneurship affects managerial innovation activities, policy financial support and management support serve as moderators.Practical implications: Small and medium-sized enterprises should enhance their innovation capacity and expand innovative entrepreneurship and policy finance to achieve competitiveness, survive and show continuous development and growth in a changing environment.Originality/value: The study provides SMEs with information they can use to increase their awareness of internal managerial innovation activities, which are the original sources of competitive advantage, and help promote research and development (RD) and organizational management for continuous reinforcement of innovation capacity. the study provides SMEs with information they can use to increase their awareness of internal managerial innovation activities, which are the original sources of competitive advantage, and help promote RD and organizational management for continuous reinforcement of innovation capacity.