Entrepreneurial responsible orientation in small and medium businesses: the case of Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose

The identification of a successful mix of strategic orientations is a big challenge for corporate sustainability and management research. To this end, the purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze the interrelationships among multiple variants of strategic orientations (i.e. entrepreneurial orientation (EO), market orientation (MO), technology orientation (TO) and sustainability orientation (SO)) that lead to the superior performance of sustainability-oriented small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a developing country context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilized the case-study method to explore a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the interplay among multiple strategic orientations. The data were collected from the top management of SMEs working in Pakistan through semi-structured interviews, complemented with the data obtained through a structured survey and the firms’ documentary evidence. Interviews were content analyzed to reveal more rigorous and comprehensive results.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that the strategic framework of successful firms utilizes the aspects from multiple orientations (EO, MO and SO) to create an appropriate alignment that ensures superior performance in a highly dynamic environment.

Originality/value

The key finding of this study is the identification of a configurational framework, Entrepreneurial Responsible Orientation, if successfully implemented, it has the potential to drive sustainable performance of the small firms particularly, and sustainable development of the country, generally.

Citation

Khizar, H.M.U. and Iqbal, J. (2023), "Entrepreneurial responsible orientation in small and medium businesses: the case of Pakistan", Kybernetes, Vol. 52 No. 10, pp. 4340-4356. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-07-2021-0646