Evaluating the relevance of Entrepreneurial Orientation to the Performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

This study sought to evaluate the relevance of the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to the performance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. To achieve this, the researchers randomly distributed 400 copies of questionnaire to a sample of MSMEs in the State, and 246 copies were retrieved, representing 61.5 per cent return rate. Data generated were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The study found that three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation namely; innovativeness, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness were relevant to, at least, one measure MSMEs performance in Ebonyi State. Innovativeness and proactiveness have significant correlation with customer performance, while competitive aggressiveness has significant relationship with both product and customer performance. Risk-taking and autonomy had no significant correlation with any of the performance measures, suggesting they are not relevant to MSMEs in the State. An important implication of these findings is that strategic policy decisions of MSMEs should, given the present status of Ebonyi State, focus on enhancing their positions in respect of innovativeness, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness; towards improving their overall performance. The study also provided evidence for the non-universality of the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and support for the five-dimensional model of studying entrepreneurial orientation.