This paper addresses the mediating effect of structural infrastructure capability on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and SMEs performance in emerging economies, focusing on Nigeria. It addresses the need to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are able to overcome the inherent challenges in their external environment actively and, thus, contribute to economic growth through internal management variables.,The study adopted a survey design, utilising a sample of 377 SMEs covering the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and data analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the aid of SmartPLSv3.,The study found that innovativeness and proactiveness, as dimensions of EO, have a significant effect on SMEs' performance. Risking-taking, however, showed no significant effect on performance. The study found that structural infrastructure capability significantly mediates the EO–performance relationship.,The paper provides practical implications for society, as managers and SMEs' support agencies in emerging markets can be encouraged to focus more on internal management activities to support knowledge sharing within the organisation, given its relevance to improving performance, rather than focusing only on EO.,The study further strengthens and validates the resource-based view (RBV) theory and contributes to expanding knowledge on the relevance of internal management variables (knowledge sharing) in managing small and medium-scale enterprises. The study further advances theories regarding knowledge management's role, as a function of internal management system in the EO–performance relationship, thus helping to close the research gap related to these relationships from an emerging-economy perspective.

中文翻译：

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中小企业的创业导向和绩效

本文以尼日利亚为重点，探讨了结构性基础设施能力对新兴经济体创业导向 (EO) 与中小企业绩效之间关系的中介作用。它解决了确保中小型企业 (SME) 能够积极克服外部环境的固有挑战，从而通过内部管理变量为经济增长做出贡献的需要。,本研究采用调查设计，利用涵盖尼日利亚六个地缘政治区的 377 家中小企业样本。使用问卷收集数据,并借助SmartPLSv3使用偏最小二乘结构方程模型(PLS-SEM)进行数据分析。研究发现,创新性和主动性作为EO的维度,对中小企业 表现。然而，冒险行为对绩效没有显着影响。研究发现，结构性基础设施能力显着调节 EO-绩效关系。本文为社会提供了实际意义，因为可以鼓励新兴市场的管理者和中小企业支持机构更多地关注内部管理活动，以支持内部的知识共享。鉴于其与提高绩效的相关性，而不是仅关注 EO。该研究进一步加强和验证了基于资源的观点 (RBV) 理论，并有助于扩展有关内部管理变量（知识共享）在管理中的相关性的知识中小企业。该研究进一步推进了有关知识管理作用的理论，