Entrepreneurial Orientation and Export Performance among Malaysian Small and Medium-Sized Exporters: The Mediating Role of International Opportunity Recognition

Abstract

This study affirms that the export performance of firms in emerging economies is related on their firm-specific capabilities. Specifically, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia are more likely to increase export activities when their entrepreneurial characteristics and efforts are prominent. When the SMEs’ strategic features and efforts are accompanied by the skills of recognizing opportunities in international markets, started to produce a positive result on export performance. This study investigate SMEs as they currently form the majority of total business entities in Malaysia. The hypotheses are tested using SmartPLS 3.2 to achieve the objectives for this study. The results confirm that entrepreneurial orientation have a strong effect on export performance through international opportunity recognition as a mediator. This study also contributes to the individual influences of dimensions in entrepreneurial orientation on mediating variables as well as export performance.