Abstract

The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) performance in the context of subcontracting buyer-supplier relation. Specifically, we seek to examine whether the power dynamics between buyer and supplier either support or hamper subcontracting SMEs' ability to effectively pursue EO for enhancing their performance. Research design, data, and methodology: We collected survey questionnaires from Korean SMEs that are certified with Inno-biz by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS 26 and AMOS to create an integrated model. Result: Based on the analysis, our findings indicate that the proactiveness and innovativeness dimensions of EO have a positive effect on the SMEs' performance. However, the risk-taking dimension of EO has a negative effect on performance. Additionally, buyer dependency exhibit both positive and negative moderating effects on different dimensions of EO. Conclusion: For SMEs that rely heavily on a particular buyer in terms of sale, pursuing innovativeness dimension of EO could lead to positive performance, while pursuing proactiveness dimension of EO had a negative moderating effect on performance.