Article
The International Journal of
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs 1–13
© The Author(s) 2023
export performance: The role of social Article reuse guidelines:
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media capital and business network ties DOI: 10.1177/14657503231193996journals.sagepub.com/home/iei
Mahmoud Abdulai Mahmoud
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School,
College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Ghana; Department of Marketing
Management, School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems, College of
Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Deli Dotse Gli
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School,
College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Ghana
Dorothy Amoah
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School,
College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Ghana
Ernest Yaw Tweneboah-Koduah
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School,
College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Ghana
Abstract
Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, the purpose of this research is to examine the influence of entrepreneurial
orientation (EO) on small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) export performance with the moderating effect of social media
capital and business network ties. A quantitative survey design was employed for this study. Empirical data for this paper were
drawn from 369 Ghanaian SME exporting firms, using the purposive sampling technique, and the hypothesized relationships
were analyzed using AMOS v.23 in structural equation modeling. The study reveals that export performance of SMEs is principally
determined by their EO. In addition, this effect is reinforced by the social media capital and business network ties, exerting a positive
moderating role. The paper provides practical implications for SMEs and policymakers on the need to leverage social media capital
and business network ties, given their importance to improving export performance, rather than focusing solely on EO.
Keywords
SMEs, entrepreneurial orientation, social media capital, business network ties, export performance resource-based view
and emerging economies
Introduction export performance, because they promote fundamental
change in processes, leading to new ideas, creativity, and com-
Exporting is one of the international market entry strategies mitment in the entire organizational setup. Entrepreneurial
that is regarded as an uphill task due to competition, vola-
tility and globalization of markets and thus requires com-
panies to fashion out definitive strategies that advance the
interest of the organization to achieve exceptional export Corresponding author:
Mahmoud Abdulai Mahmoud, Department of Marketing and
performance (Buli, 2017). Micro-level strategies have Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School, College of
thus been argued by scholars such as Boso et al. (2013) Humanities, University of Ghana, Ghana.
and Karami and Tang (2019) as the way to attain superior Email: mamahmoud@ug.edu.gh
2 The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 0(0)
orientation (EO) is one of such micro-level strategies that can performance, future studies have been directed to examine
help to produce a new inner drive relevant for the advance- external resources like business network ties (see Boso
ment of organizational structure and ensures the continued et al., 2013) and social media resources (see Freixanet
existence of the organization (Bruton et al., 2013; Covin and et al., 2021; Mahmoud et al., 2020). Therefore, to fill this
Miller, 2014). With EO, firms are prepared for new and con- important gap, this current study unveils the interactive
stant turmoil in the global market and can thus operate and effect of the business network ties and social media
thrive in a more sustainable and competitive way (Zighan resources with EO on SME export performance.
et al., 2022). Traditionally, EO is regarded as a strategic SMEs are important drivers of the economies of most
imperative that revolutionizes a firm’s decision-making activ- countries. This is true for Ghana, where SMEs account
ities and the processes that lead to newmarket entry and, plays for more than 85% of all businesses and contribute about
an important role because entry into an international market 30% of total exports (Thompson Agyapong et al., 2018).
warrants a radically different mindset and a business model At the forefront of export development and promotion in
that improves the firm’s capability to adapt to new terrains Ghana are institutions like Ghana Export Promotion Authority
(Karami and Tang, 2019). (GEPA), the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), the
However, some key gaps remain in the management Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Federation of
research literature and practice, warranting scholarly attention Associations of Ghanaian Exporters. Notwithstanding the
and intervention. Firstly, while there is a plethora of studies support they receive from these institutions, SMEs in Ghana
that examine the impact of EO on international market entry are struggling to remain afloat, making this study theoretically
of large established firms, limited studies have explored the and empirically relevant. First, in international marketing
role of EO on foreign market performance of small- and theory building, the study contributes to the literature by
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Martin and Javalgi, 2016; drawing on the RBV to extend knowledge on the relationship
Monteiro et al., 2019). Secondly, the literature review process between EO, social media capital, business network ties and
gave the authors insights into some related and fairly recent SME export performance. Second, the findings offer export
publications which examined EO and SME export performance managers, international marketers, and institutions responsible
(Choi and Williams, 2016; Monteiro et al., 2017; Rekarti et al., for export promotion development a better understanding of
2018). It is noteworthy that a preponderant number of these the strategies or the bouquet of activities required to achieve sus-
studies were conducted in developed countries (South Korea, tainable competitive advantage in their export endeavors, and
Portugal, and Malaysia), and as such many of the findings of ultimately help them improve their firms’ export performance.
these studies may not be relevant to developing markets, osten- The rest of the paper is structured in the following order:
sibly due to cultural and structural dissimilarities and more first, the study provides a review of theory underpinning the
importantly differences in their respective economic circum- study which leads to model and hypotheses development.
stances. Moreover, what might be workable for one country Next, the context of the study merged with the research meth-
might not be workable for another. odology is presented, followed by the findings. Finally, discus-
Furthermore, there are conflicting findings on the EO and sion, conclusions as well as the implications, contributions,
export performance nexus; while some have found a positive limitations, and future research directions are presented.
relationship (Hernández-Perlines and Cisneros, 2017; Sakhdari
and Farsi, 2016; Zahra and Garvis, 2000), others have found
a weak relationship, and in some cases negative outcomes Literature review
(Kaya and Seyrek, 2005; Lwamba et al., 2014; Shirokova
et al., 2015). This necessitates a re-examination of the EO and Theoretical background
export performance relationship, particularly of SMEs in devel- The RBV is the foundational theory used in this study to explain
oping country contexts, because of their tremendous contribu- how and why SMEs leverage certain strategic resources such as
tions to the gross domestic products (GDPs) of these economies. EO, business network ties and social media capital to gain com-
Lastly, the resource-based view (RBV) stresses that petitive advantage in rapidly changing foreign markets. The
firms cannot achieve improved performance or competitive modern-day RBV is ascribed to the work of Barney (1991)
advantage if they lack internal and external (tangible and which established that sustained firm performance, continued
intangible) resources (Ahmed et al., 2018). True as it is, existence, and competitive advantage are attributed to the
recent studies have argued from the strategic viewpoint resources and capabilities a firm controls, which are rare, valu-
that intangible resources are more vital to firm performance able, imperfectly imitable, and non-substitutable. These
than tangible resources (see Monteiro et al., 2017; Rua resources are generally pigeon-holed as a unique bundle of tan-
et al., 2018). This suggests that SMEs must rely more on gible and intangible assets (Barney, 2001), and can include
external resources for business success. Consequently, technological, financial, management skill, organizational pro-
scholars have proposed various external resources such as cesses, information, and knowledge (Bakar and Ahmad,
government support (Songling et al., 2018). But then 2010). Scholars such as Odoom et al. (2017) have emphasized
again, in the specific case of EO and SME export that it is the effective utilization of firm resources that guarantees
Mahmoud et al. 3
sustained performance. Without having to worry about the tur- (Miller, 1983) but has in recent times been broadened to
bulence in the international market, RBV is critically relevant, include a firm’s ability to be competitively aggressive and
as it underscores the fact that harnessing resources towards iden- autonomous (Pearce et al., 2010). So, we define EO as a set
tifying innovative ideas, being proactive, autonomous, aggres- of distinct firm or entrepreneurial behaviors consisting of
sive relative to competition and taking risk, and most innovation capability, proactivity, competitive aggressiveness,
importantly, being able to convert social media and business risk assumption, and autonomy.
network ties into resources (i.e. informational, relational, and
transactional), could invariably lead to exceptional SME
export performance. Hence, this study applies the RBV Export performance
theory to understand EO, business network ties, social media SME export performance is defined by Casey and Hamilton
capital and SME export performance relationship. (2014) as the success or failure of locally produced goods
and services traded in foreign markets. At both macrolevels
Entrepreneurial orientation and microlevels, exporting is important. Macro level indica-
tors suggest that exporting aids in the economic and social
EO represents the policies and practices that provide the development of countries, as well as the growth of industries,
foundation for entrepreneurial decisions and behavior increased productivity, and the creation of jobs (Rua et al.,
(Verbano et al., 2020). EO is regarded as the entrepreneurial 2018). At the microlevel, exporting enables firms to be less
strategy-making processes used by key decision makers to reliant on the domestic market by diversifying their markets,
carry out their company’s corporate mission, maintain its attracting new buyers, taking advantage of economies of
vision, and gain a competitive edge (Rauch et al., 2009). scale, and lowering manufacturing costs while operating
Hence, Anderson et al. (2015) posit that EO is an indication more effectively (Falahat et al., 2020). In line with scholars
of what it means for a firm to be entrepreneurial, and these like Monteiro et al. (2017), we conceptualize export perform-
are influenced by inward and outward activities. As explained ance in this study as the share of exports in total sales, growth
by Isichei et al. (2020), inward activities include structures and of export sales, export profits, export market share, and firm
managerial developments at various stages of the organization, satisfaction with export performance.
while outward activities include mergers, joint ventures, and
acquisitions. Largely however, the success of EO is contingent
on decisive managerial decisions of power decentralization, Conceptual framework and hypothesis
staff involvement in decision-making, partnership, minimized development
bureaucracy, and a welcoming mindset toward risk-taking and
creative tendencies (Alayo et al., 2019). From its initial con- Conceptual framework
ceptualization, EO is defined as a firm’s ability to innovate, The conceptual framework of the study is shown in Figure 1
take risks, and proactively pursue market opportunities below.
Figure 1. Hypothesized model.
4 The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 0(0)
EO and export performance visibility, increased traffic and revenue, and improved search
engine ranking (Charoensukmongkol and Sasatanun, 2017).
Considering its strategic importance to economic growth and Also, Dong and Wu (2015) found that firms that leverage
development, the performance effect of EO has been studied social media resources ensure transfer of knowledge across
widely (Boso et al., 2013; Wiklund and Shepherd, 2005). A
firms, which enhances productivity. Besides, Mahmoud et al.
foundational study by Lumpkin and Dess (1996) shows varia- (2020) found that social media is marketing capabilities and
tions in the relationship between EO and business perform- thus have a direct influence on export performance.
ance due to contextual underpinnings. Also, Naldi et al.
’ Furthermore, some other studies have found a direct relation-(2007) revealed that EO has no clear influence on firm s non- ship between EO and social media adoption (Sahaym et al.,
financial goals. On the contrary, some other studies suggest 2021), social media adoption and SME performance (Qalati
that EO, either as a first order or second order construct, has et al., 2021). However, there is a dearth of literature regarding
a positive relationship with firm performance. For instance, the role of social media capital as a moderator in EO and
SMEs with risk-taking mindset are more innovative and pro- export performance studies. Thus, this study is positioned to
active and thus, perform better (Arshad et al., 2014; Gunawan address this gap in the literature and theorizes that:
et al., 2016). Then again, SMEs that are autonomous have
better performance indicators than those who are not (Buli, H2: Social media capital moderates the effect of EO on
2017). Moreover, SMEs with a higher drive to learn and pre- SME export performance.
paredness to compete are more successful (Fatima and Bilal,
2019). From these studies, the dimensions of EO are valuable The role of business network ties in enhancing the per-
predictors of business success. formance benefits of strategic orientations has been docu-
More precisely, the concept of exporting has been exam- mented (Boso et al., 2013). Firms use business
ined from different perspectives, with the entrepreneurial networking to connect with their competitors to improve
approach emerging strongly in recent years. The entrepreneur- their performance (Li and Zhou, 2010). Business network
ial approach is argued to have a stronger explanatory power of ties are either weak or strong. Strong-tie relationships are
the process of creating value by firms engaging in exporting defined as regular communication between parties which
(Felzensztein et al., 2015; Genc et al., 2019). This is how ensures the development of new ideas and market insights,
the concept of EO arises as a different dynamic way of while weak-ties are characterized by infrequent encounters
explaining why firms go international through exporting (Jin between parties (Presutti and Odorici, 2019). For improved
et al., 2018). Many scholars have used this approach to
firm performance, strong-tie relationships are vital to foster
examine the effect of EO on export performance, and most collaboration, teamwork, regular information sharing, and
of the findings revealed that the former has a positive greater knowledge diffusion in the firm.
impact on the latter (Buli, 2017; Ibeabuchi et al., 2020; Rua Several prior studies found that network ties have a statistic-
et al., 2018). These findings show that for an SME to be suc- ally significant effect on EO (Mozumdar and Islam, 2022;
cessful in exporting, there is the need to have an EO mindset. Twum et al., 2021). Similarly, scholars such as Nguyen et al.
Taking the literature discussion into account, the following (2022) have confirmed a positive significant relationship
hypothesis remains to be explored: between network ties and firm performance. Considering that
the structural environment of SMEs often limits their ability
H1: EO has a positive effect on SME export performance. to access vital markets, Gunawan et al. (2016) opine that with
the benefit of business network ties, SMEs can overcome the
structural hurdle and get connected to banks, suppliers, distribu-
Social media social capital and business network ties tors, buyers and customers. Again, Gunawan et al. (2016) found
Arguably, social capital is one of themost important concepts in that SMEs in the Indonesia footwear sector with strong business
the business management and social science literature in recent network ties abroad perform better than those with no ties.
times. Social media is a type of social capital which includes Equally, Acheampong et al. (2017) established that SMEs regis-
networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, tered with GEPA (export promotion entity) perform better than
WhatsApp, LinkedIn and YouTube, which allow users to comparable firms not registered with them. In effect, business
create public or semi-public accounts, express their social con- network ties enable SMEs to be more surrounded in the
nections with other profiles, and traverse these relationships network of players competing in its markets, providing them
over virtual space (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Social media access to advice, expertise, and problem-solving capabilities
offers firms great avenues for direct interactivity, two-way that enable market- and entrepreneurial-oriented activities to
exchange of information, network connectivity, and the creation be executed more quickly with less time and other resources
of awareness and exchange of user-generated content and build invested. Thus, we propose that:
a direct relationship with their customers (Debreceny, 2015).
Specifically, firms’ social media usage gives them a sustainable H3: Business network ties moderate the effect of EO on
competitive advantage by means of increased firm and product SME export performance.
Mahmoud et al. 5
Methodology results of the analyses indicated that there were no issues of
Questionnaire and measurement items common method bias in our data given that the eigenvaluesof all the variables were greater than one.
The study followed a quantitative methodological approach
to examine the proposed research model by using a ques-
tionnaire to gather data (Monteiro et al., 2019). The ques- Control variables
tionnaire has two sections. Section A covered the
background information of the sampled exporting SME Existing empirical evidence abound that certain variable
rms, while Section B covered the constructs in the like environment turbulence, complexity, firm size, industryfi
model. The scale used was a seven-point Likert scale type and firm experience have the potential to influence per-
ranging from 1= strongly disagree to 7= strongly agree, formance of entrepreneurial firms (e.g. Boso et al., 2013;
with 4= neutral. Based on Lumpkin and Dess (1996), we Odoom and Mensah, 2019). Based on this, the current
used the ve-dimensional constructs of EO. A summary study followed past research and controlled for firm sizefi
of the measurement items is presented in Table 1. (number of employees), age (number of years since estab-
lishment) and the main activity sector of the business
(Hernandez-Perlines, 2018). These control variables are
meant to guarantee that the findings are not unduly affected
Data and sample (Figure 1).
The sampling frame for this study comprised SME exporting
firms in Ghana. From the database of GEPA (2019), there are
approximately 900 SMEs registered with the GEPAwhich are Results and analyses
actively undertaking exporting activities over the last five
years. Out of this number, we contacted 650 via phone to Profile of the SMEs
solicit their participation in our study. Five hundred and ten Table 2 captures the profile of the sampled exporting
(510) (72.2%) accepted to participate in the study. SME firms. The results from the distribution of the SMEs
Subsequently, questionnaires were sent by email through the show that the sampled enterprises were fairly represented.
Limesurvey v.2.5. tool to the highest-ranking executive The ownership structure of the sampled SMEs shows as
(CEO) of the sample of companies. Prior to the questionnaire follow: sole proprietorship (24.66%), partnership (55.01%)
administration, a thorough assessment of the psychometric and limited liability company (20.33%). Majority of the
properties of the measurement items was carried out by sampled exporting SMEs representing (66.67%) are into manu-
testing for face and content validity using academic faculty facturing or production, those in the agriculture space constitute
involving marketing lecturers and PhD students. Suffice it to (23.03%) and 10.30% are into retailing or wholesaling.
state that about 100 of the emails were returned due to Regarding the number of years in business, majority of the
invalid email addresses. However, through constant calls exporting SMEs constituting 42.55% have been in existence
and email reminders, we were able to receive 369 usable ques- for over 8 years, 25.20% have been exporting for 4 to 6
tionnaires. This impressive participation by the respondents years, those between 6 and 8 years represent 19.51%, and
was due to the promise of making available a summary of 12.74% of SMEs have been in the exporting business for less
the findings to inform their future entrepreneurial decisions. 4 years. On the size of firm, majority of them (36.59%) have
After data collection, we examined the data for issues of staff strengths ranging between 21 and 40 employees, while
common method bias given the single-source, self-report, the least being exporting SMEs with staff strength of 61
and cross-sectional nature of the data. This was done using employees and above, representing 18.70% of the sampled
Harman’s one-factor test (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The enterprises.
Table 1. Questionnaire and measurement items.
Variables Constructs Items Source
Independent EO Adapted from Lumpkin and Dess (1996)
Innovativeness 4
Risk-taking 3
Proactiveness 3
Competitive aggressiveness 3
Autonomy 3
Moderating variables Social media capital 4 Adapted from Molyneux et al. (2015)
Business network ties 3 Adapted from Odoom and Mensah (2019)
Dependent variable SME export performance 3 Adapted from Monteiro et al. (2019)
6 The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 0(0)
Table 2. Profile of the sampled SMEs. 0.40, confirming the construct’s convergent validity
(Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994), and the square of the correl-
SME
characteristics Measures Frequency Percentage ation is less than the AVE for each factor, indicating discrim-
inant validity of the construct (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).
Firm ownership Sole proprietorship 91 24.66 Likewise, the square root value of the AVE was greater
Partnership 203 55.01 than the correlation of that variable with other variables
Limited liability 75 20.33 with each variable (see Table 4).
company After ensuring the reliability and validity of the measure-
Sectors Agriculture 85 23.03 ment model, the structural model was examined. The fit
Manufacturing/ 246 66.67
production indices of the structural model fit the data well: normed chi-
Retail/wholesale 38 10.30 square index (x2/df= 1.54), the comparative fit index (CFI
Years in business Below 4 years 47 12.74 = 0.98), the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR
4–6 years 93 25.20 = 0.04) and the root mean square error of approximation
6–8 years 72 19.51 index (RMSEA= 0.03). The results of direct hypothesized
8 years and above 157 42.55 relationships, containing the standardized path coefficients
Size of firm 20 or less 84 22.76 and the percentage of variance (R2 value) are explained
21–40 135 36.59 by the exogenous constructs. As indicated in Table 5, the
41–60 81 21.95 relationship between EO and SME performance was the
61 employees and 69 18.70 most significant (β = 0.41, t-value= 10.44, p < 0.001).
above The next significant relationships were between social
Note: n= 369. media capital and SME performance (β = 0.15, t-value=
3.99, p < 0.001) as well as Business network ties and
SME performance (β = 0.31, t-value= 8.94, p < 0.001).
Thus, the H1 was supported in this study. However, with
Reliability and validity of the measurement model respect to the control variables, the study found no signifi-
To examine the proposed framework of the study, cant relationships between the age of the firm, the sector in
AMOS-SEM v.23 was employed to estimate the which the firm operates as well as the size of the firm and
hypothesized model, which includes complex relation- export performance. We can use this result to motivate
ships among latent variables, and measures of different exporting SME firms that they can easily improve their per-
items that are presented simultaneously as independent formance and there are no limitations for them according to
and dependent variables (Bentler et al., 2001). The two- the size, age of the businesses and the sector within which
stage approach advocated by Anderson and Gerbing the business operates.
(1988) was followed in the analysis. We began by esti- As evident in Table 5, Figures 2 and 3, this study also
mating the measurement model fit (confirmatory factor tested the moderating role of social media capital on EO
analysis [CFA]) using the maximum likelihood and SME export performance relationship and the role of
approach, whereas in the second stage, the structural business network ties on EO and SME export performance
model was examined. To be precise, CFA was carried relationship. The theoretical argument is that when con-
out in the initial phase to examine reliability, validity ducting a moderation test, the interaction term should not
and unidimensionality (convergent and discriminant) of only change the direction or the strength of the relationship
the constructs and the scales used (Byrne, 2016); the between the constructs but should also be a statistically sig-
results are shown in Table 3. nificant predictor (Sarstedt et al., 2011). To do this, we fol-
The results indicate that all items relate strongly to lowed the suggestion by Ping (1996) by creating product
factor, in terms of loadings and statistically in the first terms for the latent variables through the multiplication
order models, confirming the single factor’s unidimensional- approach. Also, to avoid multicollinearity issues associated
ity, and all loadings of the observed variables have values with interactive terms, all the items involved in creating the
more than 0.70, confirming the constructs’ convergent valid- interaction terms were standardized (Ping, 1996). The mod-
ity (Garver and Mentzer, 1999). With values greater than eration outcome found support for H2 and H3.
0.60, all latent variables have a satisfactory level of compos- Accordingly, social media capital significantly moderated
ite reliability (CR), which shows the reliability of the scales the relationship between EO and SME export performance
(Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). The average variance extracted relationship (EO × social media capital→ SME export per-
(AVE) is greater than 0.50, indicating the existence of dis- formance) (β = 0.09, t-value= 2.35, p < 0.05). Business
criminant validity of the constructs (Fornell and Larcker, network ties also significantly moderated the relationship
1981). The statistical significance of associations between between EO and SME export performance relationship
first and second order factors is confirmed in second order (EO × Business network ties → SME export performance)
models; the coefficients exceed the minimum threshold of (β= 0.08, t-value= 2.31, p< 0.05).
Mahmoud et al. 7
Table 3. Confirmatory factor analysis.
Entrepreneurial orientation Loadings
Innovativeness
Our company is known as an innovator among businesses in our industry 0.78
We promote new, innovative products/services in our company 0.80
Our company provides leadership in developing new products/services 0.85
Our company is constantly experimenting with new products/services 0.77
Risk-taking
Top managers of our company, in general, tend to invest in high-risk projects 0.77
This company shows a great deal of tolerance for high-risk projects 0.92
Our business strategy is characterized by a strong tendency to take risks 0.71
Proactiveness
We seek to exploit anticipated changes in our target market ahead of our rivals 0.94
We seize initiatives whenever possible in our target market operations 0.93
We act opportunistically to shape the business environment in which we operate 0.94
Competitive aggressiveness
We typically adopt an “undo-the-competitor” posture in our export markets 0.83
We take hostile steps to achieve competitive goals in our export markets 0.90
Our actions toward competitors can be termed as aggressive 0.72
Autonomy
Personnel behave autonomously in our business operations 0.83
Personnel act independently to carry out their business ideas through to completion 0.72
Personnel are self-directed in pursuit of export market opportunities
Business network ties
Customers 0.83
Suppliers 0.90
Competitors 0.91
Social media capital
We use social media to become aware of new opportunities or threat possibilities quickly in export markets 0.92
The firm can gather customer knowledge through social media 0.86
Employees in the firm use social media to support export activities 0.89
The enterprise owns future competitive flexibility in social media 0.79
Export performance
We have achieved rapid growth in our export activities in the last three years 0.77
We have expanded our operations in the last three years 0.81
Overall, the performance of our firm has been very satisfactory 0.62
Table 4. Correlation.
CR AVE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Autonomy 0.88 0.64 0.78
2 Risk-taking 0.84 0.64 0.65*** 0.80
3 Proactiveness 0.95 0.87 0.57*** 0.53*** 0.93
4 Competitive aggressiveness 0.86 0.67 0.44*** 0.48*** 0.52*** 0.82
5 Innovativeness 0.75 0.61 0.44*** 0.55*** 0.64*** 0.79*** 0.80
6 Social media capital 0.92 0.75 0.58*** 0.52*** 0.54*** 0.54*** 0.60*** 0.88
7 Business network ties 0.91 0.77 0.26*** 0.35*** 0.38*** 0.32*** 0.44*** 0.29*** 0.87
8 Business performance 0.78 0.54 0.19* 0.22** 0.29*** 0.27*** 0.33*** 0.23** 0.34*** 0.74
Notes: *Correlation significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed); **Correlation significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed), ***Correlation significant at the 0.001 level (2-tailed).
Discussion and conclusion export performance. In the authors’ attempt to fill gaps
identified in the EO literature, data was gathered from
The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating SMEs in a developing country context. In this study,
role of social media capital and business network ties on social media capital is conceptualized as external relational
the relationship between EO (innovation, risk-taking, resources, which when leveraged can create strong rela-
proactiveness, competitive aggression, and autonomy) and tional and informational capabilities for exporting firms
8 The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 0(0)
Table 5. Hypotheses testing.
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
SME export performance
Independent variables Estimate (t-value) Estimate (t-value) Estimate (t-value)
Control variables
Age 0.03 (0.63)ns 0.08 (1.73)ns 0.09 (0.05)ns
Sector −0.03 (0.57)ns −0.047 (1.16)ns −0.03 (0.32)ns
Size −0.05 (1.04)ns −0.03 (0.72)ns −0.03 (0.37)ns
Independent variables
Entrepreneurial orientation 0.40 (10.28)*** 0.41 (10.44)***
Social media capital 0.14 (3.67)*** 0.15 (3.99)***
Business network ties 0.31 (8.86)*** 0.31 (8.94)***
Interactive effect (moderation)
Entrepreneurial orientation × Social media capital 0.09 (2.35)*
Entrepreneurial orientation × Business network ties 0.08 (2.31)*
R2 0.004 0.41 0.42
Chi-square/DF 12.67/12= 1.06 30.82/20= 1.54
CFI 1 0.99 0.98
SRME 0.04 0.04
RMSEA 0.27 0.01 0.03
PClose 0.91 0.88
t-Value (critical t-values) for hypothesized paths= 1.96 (5%, two-tail tests).
DF= degrees of freedom.
nsNot significant.
*p< 0.05.
***p< 0.001.
Figure 2. Social media capital strengthens the positive relationship between EO and SME export performance.
which will, in turn, influence export performance. On the hypothesized relationships to be significant. This means
other hand, business network ties are regarded as those stra- that there exists a significant positive relationship between
tegic links and associations whose existence instantan- EO and SME export performance. The results further
eously guarantees export performance. The analysis of the show that the introduction of social media capital and busi-
electronic survey instruments retrieved found a fair ness network ties significantly moderates the relationship
balance in a section of SME firms that took part in the between EO and SME export performance.
study. The reflective model measurement showed that all Specifically, the results of the study show a significant posi-
the criteria were satisfied. The study found all three tive relationship between EO and export performance (H1).
Mahmoud et al. 9
Figure 3. Business network ties strengthens the positive relationship between EO and SME export performance.
This finding is consistent with many existing studies (e.g. tales have more clout in brand advocacy, it becomes
Boso et al., 2013; Ibeabuchi et al. 2020; Rauch et al., 2009). imperative that businesses seek to connect end-users on a
The outcome of this study suggests that if exporting SME variety of levels and using unusual methods. Web 2.0 plat-
firms experiment with alternative offers, are more creative, forms (social media platforms) have given firms new ways
autonomous in decision making, take risks, are not afraid of to create and grow connections, as well as improve interac-
competition, and are amenable to exploring novel products tions with consumers and business partners. Social media is
and new customers, they are more likely to succeed. To a viable avenue for connecting with customers on more per-
improve export performance and for the sustainability of the sonal levels, given their ability to offer direct mentions and
international business, SMEs in the exporting sector should replies in real time.
display higher levels of EO. Suffice it to state that the Business network ties (customers, suppliers and compe-
impact of EO on firm performance has been well-established titors) moderate the relationship between EO and SME
in the literature however, this nexus had not been examined export performance, owing to the fact that they help firms
much in the context of internationalization, particularly per- to understand intra-firm and inter-firm partnership, the insti-
taining to SMEs in emerging economies. tutional settings and the provision of timely and precise
Finally, results for H2 and H3 also indicate a positive business information (Boso et al., 2013).These networks
significant relationship regarding the interaction of social can improve their firm performance by enabling exporting
media capital and business network ties in the relationship SMEs to compete more effectively (Rotondo and Fadda,
between EO and SME export performance. In other 2019), as networking ties along with information sharing,
words, the findings of this study revealed that the effect and communication is key avenue for gaining competitive
of EO on SME export performance is further enhanced by advantage (Strobl and Kronenberg, 2016). Availability of
leveraging social media resources and when operating in network ties is also critical by affording SMEs to learn
a situation with strong business network ties. The confirm- and develop new knowledge, and facilities lowering risk
ation of these hypotheses is novel as there are limited prior of dealing with change and pursuing new opportunities.
studies on the moderating effect of social media capital and Thus, exclusive dependence on EO may not be enough
business network ties on the relationship between EO and for SME export performance. In effect, the current study
SME export performance. However, the need for the con- demonstrates that SMEs in Ghana can accelerate their per-
figuration of various strategies at the firm level (Farooq formance benefits through EO by building strong ties with
and Vij, 2018) to achieve superior firm performance has customers, suppliers, and competitors in the export market.
been emphasized in the findings of this study. Based on
the moderating approval, we conclude that bearing its ubi-
quitous nature, social media capital is a strategic resource in Theoretical implications
maximizing SME export performance within an emerging Our study responds to the calls of Martin and Javalgi (2016)
market setting. In a context where firms are believed to and Monteiro et al. (2019), who argue that, in the inter-
be slow adopters of technology relating to electronic com- national market context, SMEs’ survival and growth, as
merce (Saxton and Guo, 2020), the study results demon- well as economic growth of many countries, is heavily
strate that social media is being used to augment EO reliant on a better understanding of the strategic determi-
activities of SMEs. In an era where customer-generated nants that drive export performance. Accordingly, this
10 The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 0(0)
study offers modest contributions to management research, in other contexts. Another major limitation of our study is
particularly from the purview of EO, social media capital, that data was collected from one source and so, future
business network ties and SME export performance. The studies should look beyond SMEs and gather data from
findings have significant implications for both managers multiple sources to get more holistic insights into the
and researchers. First, the study’s key contribution to the subject under study. Also, the study was based on a cross-
strategic management or EO literature is the empirical val- sectional design which provides a brief snapshot of EO,
idation of the theoretical argument that an SME’s social media capital, business network ties and SME
EO-export performance relationship is moderated by export performance. Consequently, a longitudinal study
social media capital and business network ties. Thus, this examining these variables would offer a richer understand-
study adds to the extant literature by contributing to the ing of the phenomena. Moreover, although email is a com-
general EO-export performance research stream through monly used avenue in gathering data, the genuineness of the
integrating capabilities and network resources that allow results relative to the total population may be doubtful.
the conditions for positive EO to take effect, particularly Accordingly, future studies should consider gathering
among exporting SME firms in developing country data using the in-person approach to confidently trace the
context like Ghana. We drew on RBV theory to explain results to the sampled population. Generally, however, we
arguments for our hypothesized relationships. suggest that other researchers can adopt this study in
other emerging and developed economies, as it will help
to enrich the EO and SME export performance relationship
Practical implications debate. Finally, a comparative analysis between industries
The study has practical implications, key among which is its can also be carried out with a larger sample size.
advocacy for entrepreneurs within the SME sectors of the
economy to remain vigilant on the roles that social media Declaration of conflicting interests
capital and business network ties play in increasing The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
export performance. For export firms (particularly SMEs) to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
in an emerging economy like Ghana that are seeking to
achieve sustained competitive advantage and superior per- Funding
formance, the apparent effect of integrating these multiple The authors received no financial support for the research, author-
variables is the key as it provides enhanced performance ship, and/or publication of this article.
benefits. This implies that SMEs that are into exporting
should promote social media usage and develop business ORCID iD
network ties for successful export performance. With Mahmoud Abdulai Mahmoud https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
strong business network ties, SME managers can leverage 4866-0898
intangible knowledge in the international market and
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