Moderating effect of access to finance on entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, learning orientation, and SMEs performance in Thailand

• Main Author: Ahmad, Nifaosan Raden
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: HG Finance
• Online Access: http://etd.uum.edu.my/8054/

The purpose of the study was to examine the moderating effect of access to finance on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), market orientation (MO), learning orientation (LO), and SMEs performance in the gem and jewellery industry in Thailand. A quantitative method was adopted in which data were collected from 116 SMEs operating in the gem and jewellery business in Thailand using a cross-sectional design. The study adopted a systematic sampling technique, and questionnaires were distributed and collected through a personally-administered method. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The results supported the two direct hypotheses. Market orientation (MO) and learning orientation (LO) were found to have a significant and positive relationship with SMEs performance. However, there was no evidence to support the significant relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and SMEs performance, as well as the moderating effect of access to finance on the paths between EO, MO, LO, and SMEs performance. These results imply that the SMEs’ owner-managers should focus on MO and LO as the crucial organisational strategic resources to enhance firm performance. The study also provides important insights for researchers and educators to further understand the effect of these strategic orientations on Thailand’s SMEs performance. Particularly, policymakers and the government should encourage SMEs to have access to external financial resources by reducing the obstacles. This study also contributes to the current literature as it extends the resource-based theory as well as the pecking order theory by integrating two distinct literature streams on EO, MO, LO, and access to finance. Lastly, the study concludes with some limitations that open up avenues for future research.