Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance (FP) through the mediating role of absorptive capacity (AC) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as an emerging economy.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used a quantitative research design. Data was collected using a self-administered online questionnaire. The study was based on 366 samples from Saudi Arabian workers at SMEs. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS/AMOS 26.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights. It suggests the positively mediating role of AC in the relationship between EO and FP. The authors found a full positive mediating role of AC in the relationship between EO and FP in SMEs in the KSA.

Research limitations/implications

The study empirically confirms the role of EO through AC in enhancing a firm’s performance. Additionally, the research findings support SME owners and managers in increasing their firms’ performance by implementing AC dimensions (assimilation and acquisition) with existing entrepreneurial characteristics to boost and increase business and performance. Regardless of the implications, this paper has some limitations. For instance, this study was conducted only on SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, future researchers are encouraged to extend the study to other organization sizes or to extend the study to other industries.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the importance of AC’s mediating role in EO’s impact on FP, extending the previous studies in the area. Moreover, this research investigates the study themes in a relatively new context, specifically SMEs in the KSA.

中文翻译：

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新兴经济体中的创业导向与中小企业绩效：吸收能力的中介作用

目的

本文的目的是通过沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）中小企业（SME）吸收能力（AC）的中介作用来研究创业导向（EO）与企业绩效（FP）之间的关系：一个新兴经济体。

设计/方法论/途径

本文采用了定量研究设计。使用自我管理的在线问卷收集数据。该研究基于沙特阿拉伯中小企业工人的 366 个样本。使用SPSS/AMOS 26进行统计分析。

发现

该论文提供了实证见解。这表明 AC 在 EO 和 FP 关系中发挥正向中介作用。作者发现 AC 在沙特阿拉伯中小企业的 EO 和 FP 关系中发挥完全积极的中介作用。

研究局限性/影响

该研究通过实证证实了 EO 通过 AC 在提高公司绩效方面的作用。此外，研究结果支持中小企业所有者和管理者通过实施具有现有创业特征的 AC 维度（同化和收购）来提高企业绩效，从而促进和提高业务和绩效。无论其含义如何，本文都有一些局限性。例如，这项研究仅针对沙特阿拉伯的中小企业进行。因此，鼓励未来的研究人员将研究扩展到其他组织规模或将研究扩展到其他行业。

原创性/价值

这项研究通过证明 AC 在 EO 对 FP 影响中的中介作用的重要性来为文献做出贡献，扩展了该领域的先前研究。此外，本研究在相对较新的背景下调查研究主题，特别是沙特阿拉伯的中小企业。