Moderating and mediating roles of human capital and competitive advantage on entrepreneurial orientation, social network and performance of SMEs in Nigeria

The main objective of this study is to examine the mediating role of competitive advantage (CA) and the moderating role of human capital (HC) on the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), social network (SN), and performance of
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. Data were collected from the SMEs operating in North Western Nigeria using a quantitative survey design. The study adopted a systematic random sampling, selected respondents from the population of 8,286 SMEs in Kano State Nigeria, and questionnaires distributed through the postal
method. A total of 283 usable questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 38.45%. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the study hypotheses. The findings revealed that EO, SN, HC and CA are
important strategic orientations for the performance of SMEs in Nigeria. The findings
also revealed that SME performance depends on the degree of EO, HC and SN of the firm. It further shows that EO, SN and HC positively influence performance, and human capital moderates the relationship between EO and firm performance, but the findings indicate that HC does not moderate the relationship between SN and SME performance. However, competitive advantage was found to mediate the relationships between EO, SN, and performance. The findings of this study provide important
insights to owner/managers of SMEs, policy makers and researchers to further understand the effects of EO, SN, HC and CA on SME performance. SMEs should also be encouraged to improve their EO, SN and HC which may increase their performances. Finally, the study implications, limitations as well suggestions for future research are discussed.