THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE OF CHINESE SMES IN THAILAND

Abstract

Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, countries have formed a state of isolation and economic decline. As a result, trade and investment activities between countries continue to decrease, so the unknown elements of trade and investment activities are a growing trend, leading to an unfavorable situation. It also hampers Chinese enterprises from expanding overseas. However, Chinese enterprises still invest in Thailand during the epidemic. It is because the social environment of people in Thailand is relatively stable, and preferential policies for foreign enterprises are clear and enforceable. At the same time, the open and inclusive business environment in trading and investment activities is preferred by entrepreneurs, and the cost of employees is relatively low compared to China. Based on the Resource-Based View Theory, this research collected data from 333 Chinese SMEs in Thailand through a questionnaire survey. It used AMOS 24.0, SPSS 23.0, Mplus v8.3, and other data analysis software to analyze the collected data and apply quantitative research methods and structural equation modeling (SEM).

This study aims to study the chain mediation between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance (FP) in Chinese SMEs in Thailand. The results show a positive correlation between EO and FP in Chinese SMEs in Thailand. Competitive strategy (CS) mediates between EO and FP, and the knowledge creation process (KCP) also plays a mediating role. CS and KCP simultaneously play multiple mediating roles between them. Competitive strategy can improve the competitive advantage of enterprises. At the same time, the implicit or explicit knowledge generated in the knowledge creation process, as valuable resources that can be continued in enterprises, can provide a reference for new employees and top management of SMEs, maintain competitive advantages, and continuously improve firm performance.

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