ENTREPRENEUR ORIENTATION AND FIRMS PERFORMANCE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMISM

ABSTRACT
Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) is frequently mentioned as an antecedent of performance and
superior growth, and previous research findings has repeatedly shown a positive relationship
between EO and firm performance appears to exist. However, the question that remains
unanswered is what effect EO might have on performance of firm owned by women, and the
severe environmental dynamics that their firms faces which modifies their entrepreneurship
capability. This research is a first investigation towards the effects of EO on the performance of
small and medium sized firms owned by women entrepreneurs in Somalia.
In this study we employed the multidimensional model of EO and test its relationship with firm
performance using survey data gathered from 315 Small and Micro enterprises owned by Somali
women in Mogadishu.
The current research shows that entrepreneurial orientation positively contributes to firm
performance owned by women entrepreneurs. We further show that environmental dynamics
moderate the relationship between Entrepreneurial orientation and performance of the micro and
small enterprises owned by Somali women.