How to improve market performance through competitive strategy and innovation in entrepreneurial SMEs

Despite the limited resources of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they can still manage to be competitive and survive in the current environment by implementing competitive strategies that lead to innovation and improve their market performance. The aim of this study is to examine and anal...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rubio Andrés, María De Las Mercedes, Gutiérrez Broncano, Santiago, Linuesa Langreo, Jorge, Sastre Castillo, Miguel Ángel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/101974
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/101974
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:M1
Competitive strategies
Innovation
Market performance
Perceived risk from COVID-19
Marketing capability
Entrepreneurial SMEs
Empresas
Administración de empresas
5311 Organización y Dirección de Empresas
Descripción
Sumario:Despite the limited resources of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they can still manage to be competitive and survive in the current environment by implementing competitive strategies that lead to innovation and improve their market performance. The aim of this study is to examine and analyse the effect of business strategy on market performance in Spanish small and medium-sized entrepreneurial enterprises, and the mediating effect of innovation is explored as a solution to business crises. In addition, we analyse the moderating effect that the perceived risk of COVID-19 may have on this relationship, as well as whether the commercialisation capacity of SMEs exerts an impact and improves performance based on innovation. Taking 1,842 Spanish entrepreneurial firms with fewer than 250 employees as a reference and using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), our study shows that entrepreneurial SMEs that apply a competitive strategy can achieve enhanced innovation. Moreover, this innovation has a direct and positive effect on the market performance of SMEs, and this effect is greater under higher marketing capability. Our findings suggest a heterogeneous effect on the impact of the perceived risk of COVID-19 on the strategy-innovation relationship. In entrepreneurial SMEs that adopt a differentiation strategy, the perceived risk has an enhancing impact, while in entrepreneurial SMEs that follow cost strategies, the effect is negative.