Title: SMEs' performance by adopting strategic orientation and mediating role of marketing capabilities: a study among small businesses in the Ampara District of Sri Lanka

Authors: Mohamed Ismail Mujahid Hilal

Addresses: Faculty of Management and Commerce, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil, Sri Lanka

Abstract: Small businesses are vital for people in the Ampara District in terms of employment generation and this, in turn, contributes to the gross domestic production to the development of the country. It is, therefore, paramount to study the small business sectors in the region and to figure out the problems faced by these small businesses. The major objective of the study is to find the association between strategic orientation of small businesses in Ampara District and its performance through mediating marketing capabilities. This study helps to understand the mediating effect of marketing capabilities by adopting the strategic orientation. Data were collected by utilising questionnaires. Analysis was done using multivariate techniques. Small businesses in the Ampara District have to achieve its profitability with lucrative performance. Hence, there should be proper guidance by way of formulating strategies so that they will be devising strategies by adopting marketing orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and technological orientation with an effect of marketing capabilities as mediator.

Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; SME performance; strategic orientation; small firms; Sri Lanka; market orientation; entrepreneurial orientation; technological orientation; marketing capabilities; firm performance; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCG.2016.082203

International Journal of Business Competition and Growth, 2016 Vol.5 No.4, pp.209 - 221

Received: 27 Sep 2016
Accepted: 14 Nov 2016
Published online: 12 Feb 2017 *

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