| Small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)are the engines of economic growth for most countries,whether low-,middle-or high-income economies.In these countries,SMEs account for over 90%of the business population,and play a key role in driving sustainable economic growth and job creation.That is why many countries and regional organizations are implementing supports for SMEs in their various programs and policies by encouraging researches on the SMEs(either the importance of SMEs in the country's economy or factors affecting SMEs growth).The investigations into critical factors that have a major impact on SME growth are therefore highly encouragedSearching for factors that may affect the growth of SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire is not only a matter of improving their profits,but also a national development since SMEs create growth and jobs in the country.This topic is of topical interest since there are very few studies that have been carried out regarding SMEs in the contexts of developing economies like Cote d'Ivoire.This is particularly true since the business environment(in Cote d'Ivoire)is so unfavourable that,it is quite challenging to conduct such a research topic.Even though some studies have been done on factors leading to the failure or success of SMEs,none has been focused on the importance of entrepreneurial abilities in SMEs with the aim of estimating the extent to which entrepreneur's ability(EA)and entrepreneurial orientation(EO)affect the growth of SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire.It was,thus,necessary to fill this gap by studying the effect of EA on SME growth(SMEG);hence this study investigates the influence of EA on the growth of SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire.To meet the objective of the study(i.e.,investigating the EA that affect SMEG in Cote d'Ivoire),three specific works have been doneThe first work was to present the state of SMEs in a middle-income economy like Cote d'Ivoire.According to the 'human capital theory',investment in knowledge,skills and the abilities increase the productive capacity of the individual and organisation However,the EA will enhance the business growth under a number of business conditions(business environment).In order to aid the reader's understanding of the environment within which Ivorian SMEs are operating,this study has described the study context by presenting the state of the SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire:the political landscape,economic issues,and taxation system;the constraints to Ivorian SMEs development;the challenges faced by SMEs;and the initiatives the government of Cote d'Ivoire is undertaking to assist the sector.This description helps in enlightening on the condition within which Ivorian entrepreneurs are showing off their managerial abilitiesThe second work consisted in building in up a conceptual framework based on the hypothesis on a relationship between EA and SMEG,in which the entrepreneurial orientation(EO)plays a moderating role.Primarily,a theoretical framework was built on the basis that there could be a relationship between EA and SMEG.The theoretical framework is a synthesis from the analyses of the existing literature on factors affecting SMEG,and the overview of Cote d'Ivoire concerning SMEs development.By considering five dimensions of EA(i.e.,creativity,risk-control,relationship,learning,and opportunity detection ability)and two measures of growth(i.e.,financial growth and innovation growth),ten hypotheses have derived from the theoretical frame.These hypotheses were formulated based on literature justifications.Moreover,since literature has shown that the effect of EO on the relationship between EA and SMEG exists in numerous cases,three additional hypotheses were formulated as well.A conceptual framework,resulting from thirteen hypotheses(in regard to the relationship between EA and SMEG),was thus proposedThe third work was to test hypotheses of EO-SMEG linkage,by making empirical analyses in accordance with the requirements of social science research methodology The items in the questionnaire were initially developed from the review of the existing literature.The measurement scales of EA,EO and SMEG were mainly based on the literature review on the topics of 'entrepreneurial skills','EO dimensions' and 'factors affecting SMEs growth' respectively.The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 The first analysis of data consisted of Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)on the variables of EA,EO and SMEG.In EFA,after testing the suitability of the data for further analysis,factor analysis was performed.EFA has led to the simplification or reduction of the number of items required for each construct.In EFA,items that poorly contributed to the reliability of the construct were excluded.The cleaned dataset obtained from EFA was further subjected to Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)to confirm(or modify)the initial structure of the research instrument.In the CFA,we confirmed the composite reliability,convergent and discriminant validity of the factor structure that we extracted in the EFA.Since the factors had demonstrated adequate validity and reliability,we moved on to test a causal model through regression analysis At last,we statistically tested the advanced hypotheses in order to demonstrate the existence of a relationship between each dimension of EA and SMEG,and evaluated the moderating effect of EO on the linkage between EA and SMEG.The regression analysis is the statistical processes used for estimating the link between ability and growth.Results from regression analyses highlighted that(1)an Ivorian SME financial growth is positively related to entrepreneur's creativity ability;(2)there is no association between an Ivorian SME innovation growth and the creativity of its owner;(3)entrepreneurs' risk-control ability significantly and positively affects both financial and innovation growth of SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire;(4)there is no statistically significant relationship between the entrepreneur's learning ability and the business growth(either financial or innovation growth)of his/her SME operating in Cote d'Ivoire;(5)the relationship ability of Ivorian entrepreneurs is positively impacting on both financial and innovation growth of SMEs operating in Cote d'Ivoire;and(6)both financial and innovation growth of an Ivorian SME are related to the 'opportunity detection ability' of its owner-manager(entrepreneur)Furthermore,regression analyses were used to assess the moderating effects of EO in the relationship between EA and SMEG.Results from these analyses confirmed three facts.Firstly,the innovativeness(innovative orientation)in entrepreneurship positively regulates the relationship between entrepreneurs' ability and the growth of SMEs operating in Cote d'Ivoire.Secondly,the proactiveness(initiative orientation)in entrepreneurship positively regulates the relationship between entrepreneurs'relationship ability and SMEs growth;and between entrepreneurs' opportunity detection ability and SMEs growth.However,the proactiveness in entrepreneurship neither regulates the relationship between entrepreneurs' creativity ability and SMEs growth;nor between entrepreneurs' risk-control ability and SMEs growth.Lastly,the risk tendency(risk orientation)of entrepreneurs positively regulates the relationship between entrepreneurs' risk-control ability and SMEs growth;and between entrepreneurs'creativity ability and SMEs growth.However,the risk tendency of entrepreneurs does neither regulate the relationship between entrepreneurs' relationship ability and SMEs growth;nor does it regulate the relationship between entrepreneurs' opportunity detection ability and SMEs growthThis study is making a significant innovation that is described in four steps namely,(1)summarizing the main EAs that can influence the growth of SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire;(2)designing a measurement scale for measuring the key dimensions of EA;(3)establishing a new“growth analysis framework"(for Ivorian SMEs)based on EA and EO:a theoretical support and practical reference for assessing Ivorian SMEG;and(4)revealing the "impact of EA on SMEG" and proving the "moderating role of EO in EA-SMEG relationship" in Cote d'Ivoire. |
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