Marketing team excellence as a function entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation and knowledge sharing: an empirical research in SMEs

This study aims to propose and test an integrated model focusing on the drivers and consequences of learning orientation in the context of marketing and business excellence. A quantitative study was conducted, including 62 marketing teams and a total of 383 employees in 49 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in Iran. Structural equation modelling examines the validity of constructs and path relationships. The results of the structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis provided three findings as follows: 1) entrepreneurial orientation had positive effects on the three dimensions of learning orientation, namely commitment to learning, shared vision and open-mindedness; 2) three components of learning orientation had positive effects on knowledge sharing; 3) knowledge sharing, which in turn, lead to marketing team performance. The combination of a developing country context and the significance of entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation, knowledge sharing and marketing team performance in SMEs enhance the contextual contribution of the paper.