The effect of strategic orientations on business performance: The mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial capabilities interaction

The concept of entrepreneurship is an increasingly important concept and research field due to its positive impact on employment, welfare and sustainable development of countries. One of the important topics discussed in many different disciplines such as entrepreneurship, management and marketing is the orientations and capabilities of businesses. The orientations of the businesses are the tendencies that the businesses carry out in line with the strategic management philosophy in order to maintain their sustainability and achieve superior performance. Based on the resource-based view, orientations are among the resources that businesses have, but as a result of the increase in environmental dynamism, businesses need certain capabilities or resource-capability interaction for superior performance and competitive advantage. Starting from the dynamic capabilities theory, which expresses the capabilities that businesses should have in order to adapt to the increasing environmental dynamism, one of the dynamic capabilities that businesses have is entrepreneurial capabilities. Businesses may have certain orientations and capabilities, but when they can ensure their integrity and interaction, these resources and capabilities will provide businesses with superior performance and competitive advantage. From this point of view, in our study, the mediating role of the interaction of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial abilities in the effect of the strategic orientations of the businesses, consisting of market orientation and technology orientation, on the financial and non-financial performance of the businesses is investigated. As a result of the analysis of 348 questionnaires obtained from entrepreneurs or senior managers of businesses in Marmara region, it has been found that the interaction between entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial capabilities has a positive effect on the financial and non-financial performances of businesses. It has also been observed that the interaction of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial capabilities mediates the relationship between strategic orientations and business performance.