Sustaining superior international performance: strategic orientations and dynamic capability of environmentally concerned small- and medium-sized enterprises

This study examines the influence of strategic orientations and dynamic capability on the sustainable international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Building on the dynamic capability perspective, we propose that the interaction between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and alliance orientation (AO) facilitates dynamic capability and, in turn, the sustainable international performance of SMEs. Using survey data from 211 environmentally concerned SMEs in the United Arab Emirates, the study finds the significant effects of the interaction between EO and AO on dynamic capability. Further, the results support that dynamic capability mediates the interactive effect of EO and AO on international performance. The study shows that the SMEs benefit from balancing as well as pursuing two complementary strategic orientations (i.e. EO and AO) towards developing dynamic capability that contributes to making superior international performance.