Market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and performance in emerging markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how market-oriented and entrepreneurial-oriented behaviour drives firm performance in an emerging markets context. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from 170 Austrian exporters to Central and Eastern Europe, the authors test a conceptual model including market-oriented and entrepreneurial-oriented practices as predictors of performance. Findings – Results indicate that both market-orientated and entrepreneurial-oriented strategies have positive performance effects in emerging markets. Research limitations/implications – A limitation is that firms were not examined longitudinally, as this is a cross-sectional study. Future research may include longitudinal studies or focus on other markets/regions. Practical implications – Firms are encouraged to adopt a market-oriented and entrepreneurialoriented strategy to achieve better results in international, emerging market operations. Originality/value – The authors add to the emerging economy research literature by studying the relevance of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation in determining firm performance in emerging markets. Furthermore, this study supports the generalizability of findings from an advanced to an emerging economies research setting.