The impact of entrepreneurial leadership and learning orientation on organizational performance of SMEs: The mediating role of innovation capacity

Abstract

Kuwait’s SMEs contribute to the economic growth of the country by creating productive jobs for Kuwaiti youth and professionals and improving income diversification. SMEs in Kuwait are faced with numerous challenges and these problems must be addressed to achieve and ensure longer-term success and better performance. This paper seeks to examine the relationship between the determinants of organizational performance such as entrepreneurial leadership (EL), learning orientation (LO), and innovation capacity (IC) of Kuwaiti's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The study used a quantitative method. A survey questionnaire was administered to gather the data, where the useable data was obtained from 384 of the 500 SME owners and CEOs in Kuwait. The outcomes of this study indicate that entrepreneurial leadership and learning orientation had positive and significant implication on organizational performance. Moreover, the innovation capacity is also found to be a significant mediator in the relationships.