title: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Performance in EMDEs: A Configurational Perspective
Creators: name: Aidoo, Suzzie Owiredua
Publisher: name: The Open University
Year: 2024

description: Entrepreneurship is increasingly crucial for addressing wicked problems, especially in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), where complex environments require entrepreneurial or strategic fit. This requires an integrative view of entrepreneurship; however, fragmented knowledge hinders significant improvement in entrepreneurship theory and practice. To address this gap, this PhD thesis systematically integrates theoretical perspectives from a dynamic capability view, network and configurational theories to uncover the pathways through which enhanced performance is achieved. This is done by examining the role of idiosyncratic resources and capabilities and exploring how they are configured to develop high-order dynamic capabilities needed to sense, seize and transform opportunities to their advantage. The thesis achieves this objective from a critical realist perspective by examining the underlying entrepreneurial orientation (EO) -performance relationships by testing four developed hypotheses, uncovering the configurations that create the higher-order dynamic capabilities, and finally assessing the perceived value of firm resources and outcomes by Ghanaian SMEs.

Methodologically, it adopts a mixed-method approach, collecting data from 460 SMEs in Ghana. A pilot study using Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to uncover the value of the linear relationship between EO and performance. Next, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is used to uncover the configurations that enhance performance while understanding the nuances of the values of resources and performance outcomes among Ghanaian SMEs using content analysis. SEM shows that while valuable sources of performance, network ties, and resource acquisition and utilisation capabilities are unable to significantly improve the EO-performance relationship among SMEs in EMDEs. fsQCA identifies eleven configurations needed to enhance performance. It also highlights role of innovativeness, proactiveness, political networks and resource utilisation capabilities as core conditions needed to enhance performance. Content analysis provides insights into valuable resources and firm outcomes. Overall, the findings provide an understanding of the role of resources and capabilities as facilitators and enablers and valuable configuration components for developing higher-order dynamic capabilities needed to enhance performance. 

The thesis extends the theoretical understanding of entrepreneurship under the configurational approach by showing the relevance of adopting multiple macro, meso and micro-level perspectives to gain a fuller, finer-grained view of the combination of resources that support improved SME performance. This provides a way of fully understanding the entrepreneurship phenomenon beyond the valuable but divergent and fragmented perspective typically adopted in entrepreneurship studies. It also offers methodological contributions by providing evidence that diverse, seemingly divergent methodological perspectives and techniques can be effectively used in unison to provide a holistic view of entrepreneurship needed to understand the role of resources and capabilities, how they are configured to achieve enhanced performance and how a misalignment of a firm’s resources and capabilities with its environment can create underperformance. Moreover, the thesis offers practical contributions and policy implications by offering insights into the resource and capability combinations for enhancing SME performance. Finally, the study's limitations and directions for future research are discussed.