IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v5y2021i5p120-127.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Performance of Youth Owned Funded Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Chuka Town (Tharaka-Nithi County) Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Dr. Gilbert Mugambi Miriti, Ph.D.

    (Department of Business Administration, Chuka University)

Abstract

Youth owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important social and economic role among the Kenyan Youth who are unable to find salaried employment in the formal sector. The performance of the sector is therefore a great concern. While there are other factors that contribute to business performance Entrepreneurial Orientation(EO) is recognized among the important factors in business performance and profitability yet it has not been given consideration among the youth owned SMEs interventions. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Performance of Youth owned funded small and medium sized enterprises in Chuka Town of Tharaka-Nithi County. The study used descriptive survey design. The target population was 146 businesses funded and registered by Chuka Youth Office. Respondents were sampled from 48Youth owned SMEs which were funded in food processing with 41 who responded in Chuka Town. Data was collected using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire to gather perception from the respondents. EO was measured using a scale based on previous studies with innovation, risk taking and pro-active as part of EO dimensions. The study generated both qualitative and quantitative data. The collected data analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that owner/ managers of good performing businesses were supportive and encouraged new ways of doing business and that in the past severalyears businesses had pioneered the development of innovations in the business with respondents’ having introduced new products / services over the past three years implying that the businesses have not only been innovative but also risk taking. On the basis of these findings the following recommendations were made: business should embrace entrepreneurial mindset, CEOs and founders to create necessary environment that would encourage and reward those working in the business to be more innovative, creative, risk taking and persistent in their business pursuit for improved performance and become more competitive. The findings therefore suggest that innovation which is the driving force in entrepreneurship is key to good business performance and development and that funding alone without innovation will not guarantee business growth. The study therefore concludes that entrepreneurship and business training is necessary before funding for the youth to acquire necessary skills and embrace innovation in their business practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Dr. Gilbert Mugambi Miriti, Ph.D., 2021. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Performance of Youth Owned Funded Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Chuka Town (Tharaka-Nithi County) Kenya," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(5), pages 120-127, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:5:y:2021:i:5:p:120-127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-5-issue-5/120-127.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/virtual-library/papers/entrepreneurial-orientation-and-the-performance-of-youth-owned-funded-small-and-medium-enterprises-smes-in-chuka-town-tharaka-nithi-county-kenya/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeffrey G. Covin & G.T. Lumpkin, 2011. "Entrepreneurial Orientation Theory and Research: Reflections on a Needed Construct," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(5), pages 855-872, September.
    2. Danny Miller & Peter H. Friesen, 1982. "Innovation in conservative and entrepreneurial firms: Two models of strategic momentum," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(1), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Semrau, Thorsten & Ambos, Tina & Sascha Kraus,, 2016. "Entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance across societal cultures: An international study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1928-1932.
    4. Morgan, Robert E. & Strong, Carolyn A., 2003. "Business performance and dimensions of strategic orientation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 163-176, March.
    5. Frank Hermann & Alexander Kessler & Matthias Fink, 2010. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance – A Replication Study," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 62(2), pages 175-198, April.
    6. Lumpkin, G. T. & Dess, Gregory G., 2001. "Linking two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to firm performance: The moderating role of environment and industry life cycle," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 429-451, September.
    7. Danny Miller, 2011. "Miller (1983) Revisited: A Reflection on EO Research and Some Suggestions for the Future," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(5), pages 873-894, September.
    8. Valentina Diana Rusu & Angela Roman, 2017. "Economic Performance of the SME sector in CEE Countries: an Empirical Investigation," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 13(3), pages 102-114, JUNE.
    9. Danny Miller, 1983. "The Correlates of Entrepreneurship in Three Types of Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(7), pages 770-791, July.
    10. Ana M. Moreno & José C. Casillas, 2008. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and Growth of SMEs: A Causal Model," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(3), pages 507-528, May.
    11. Wei-Loon Koe, 2013. "Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Performance of Government-Linked Companies (GLCs)," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 9(3), pages 21-41.
    12. Jeffrey G. Covin & Dennis P. Slevin, 1989. "Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 75-87, January.
    13. repec:eme:mrn000:01409170910944281 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Johan Wiklund & Holger Patzelt & Dean Shepherd, 2009. "Building an integrative model of small business growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 351-374, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katharina Fellnhofer, 2019. "The Complementary Effects Of Firms’ And Team Leaders’ Entrepreneurial Orientation On Innovation Success And Performance," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(05), pages 1-32, June.
    2. Jelle Schepers & Wim Voordeckers & Tensie Steijvers & Eddy Laveren, 2014. "The entrepreneurial orientation–performance relationship in private family firms: the moderating role of socioemotional wealth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 39-55, June.
    3. Tobias Kollmann & Christoph Stöckmann, 2014. "Filling the Entrepreneurial Orientation–Performance Gap: The Mediating Effects of Exploratory and Exploitative Innovations," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(5), pages 1001-1026, September.
    4. Wales, William J. & Kraus, Sascha & Filser, Matthias & Stöckmann, Christoph & Covin, Jeffrey G., 2021. "The status quo of research on entrepreneurial orientation: Conversational landmarks and theoretical scaffolding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 564-577.
    5. Lim Euncheon & Kim Dohyeon, 2020. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance in South Korea: The Mediating Roles of Dynamic Capabilities and Corporate Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, July.
    6. Shirokova, G. & Puffer, S.M. & Bogatyreva, K. & Beliaeva, T., 2015. "Entrepreneurial orientation in different environmental settings: A comparative cross-country study," Working Papers 6416, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.
    7. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Presutti, Manuela, 2019. "SMEs international growth: The moderating role of experience on entrepreneurial and learning orientations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 613-624.
    8. Michael Sheppard, 2020. "The relationship between discretionary slack and growth in small firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 195-219, March.
    9. Engelen, Andreas & Kube, Harald & Schmidt, Susanne & Flatten, Tessa Christina, 2014. "Entrepreneurial orientation in turbulent environments: The moderating role of absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1353-1369.
    10. Semrau, Thorsten & Biemann, Torsten, 2022. "When sergeants can outrank generals: Person-organization fit and the performance of franchisees as agents of their franchisor," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    11. Vishal Gupta & Alka Gupta, 2015. "Relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in large organizations over time," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 7-27, March.
    12. Patrick Kreiser & Louis Marino & Donald Kuratko & K. Weaver, 2013. "Disaggregating entrepreneurial orientation: the non-linear impact of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking on SME performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 273-291, February.
    13. Maryono & Imam Ghozali & Amie Kusumawardhani & R. Mahelan Prabantarikso & Firdaus Basbeth, 2020. "Entrepreneurial Orientation in Government-Owned Bank: Do They Improve Competitive Advantage?," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(2), pages 262-270, April.
    14. Gabriel Linton, 2019. "Innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness in startups: a case study and conceptual development," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    15. Palmer, Carolin & Niemand, Thomas & Stöckmann, Christoph & Kraus, Sascha & Kailer, Norbert, 2019. "The interplay of entrepreneurial orientation and psychological traits in explaining firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 183-194.
    16. Rodney C. Runyan & Baoshan Ge & Baobao Dong & Jane L. Swinney, 2012. "Entrepreneurial Orientation in Cross–Cultural Research: Assessing Measurement Invariance in the Construct," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(4), pages 819-836, July.
    17. Galina Shirokova & Karina Bogatyreva & Tatiana Beliaeva, 2015. "Entrepreneurial Orientation of Russian Firms: The Role of External Environment," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 9(3), pages 6-25.
    18. Martin, Silvia L. & Javalgi, Rajshekhar (Raj) G., 2016. "Entrepreneurial orientation, marketing capabilities and performance: The Moderating role of Competitive Intensity on Latin American International New Ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2040-2051.
    19. Patrick M. Kreiser & Donald F. Kuratko & Jeffrey G. Covin & R. Duane Ireland & Jeffrey S. Hornsby, 2021. "Corporate entrepreneurship strategy: extending our knowledge boundaries through configuration theory," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 739-758, February.
    20. Daniel R. Clark & Robert J. Pidduck & G. T. Lumpkin & Jeffrey G. Covin, 2024. "Is It Okay to Study Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) at the Individual Level? Yes!," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(1), pages 349-391, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:5:y:2021:i:5:p:120-127. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.