THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF FINANCIAL CAPABILITY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTRIBUTES AND SME PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA
Hamza Aliyu Galadanchi and Asiya Abdul Saulawa
Volume 5 Issue 1
Abstract
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often struggle to meet performance expectations due to limited entrepreneurial and marketing skills, weak competencies, and an unstable economic environment. Although SME sustainability has been widely studied, the mediating effects of key variables remain underexplored. This study investigates the mediating role of financial capability in the relationship between entrepreneurial attributes and SME performance in Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 550 SMEs through a structured questionnaire and analyzed with Smart PLS 3.2. Results show that entrepreneurial, learning, and market orientations, along with financial capability, have a significant positive effect on SME performance, while technological orientation negatively impacts performance. Notably, financial capability mediates the link between entrepreneurial attributes and performance. The study highlights the importance of strengthening financial capability alongside entrepreneurial attributes to enhance SME performance, contributing valuable insights for both theory and practice. Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, Learning orientation, Market orientation, Technological orientation, financial capability, SMEs performance.
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