The Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Market Orientation and Gender on Business Performance

An Empirical Study of SMEs in Bangladesh

The implications of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) have been very critical in grasping business performance in terms of SMEs. Still, the research application of EO and MO on performance is not very abundant in a developing country perspective. Also, past studies did not take into account gender difference in understanding the performance of SME business in light of EO and MO. The research has been undertaken in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, as there is a number of SME businesses currently developing, which are expected to contribute to the economic progress by generating new employment and more opportunities. Hence, the ultimate objectives of the study are to examine the impact of EO and MO on performance of SMEs, along considering gender difference. 233 SME entrepreneurs responded to this study as survey respondents, followed non-probability sampling measure (n = 233). For analysis, SPSS software is used, through which correlation, regression, and ANOVA analysis were run. Results reveal that both EO and MO were strong predictors of SME performance, while no gender difference was noticed among EO and MO. Also, study findings suggest that enhancing and implementing EO and MO will heighten business performance of SMEs in Bangladesh context.