Entrepreneurial marketing and bank performance in Egypt: is environmental turbulence a missing link?

Current research argues that there is a positive relationship between entrepreneurial marketing (EM) and business performance. However, this relationship has only been discussed in a relatively stable environmental situation and it is not clear whether such a relationship remains positive during environmental turbulence (ET) and whether organizations adopting EM activities during such turbulence, will change their behavior to enhance their performance. Thus, this study aims to examine the relationship between EM and the performance of Egyptian banks. Furthermore, building upon environmental contingency theory, this study examined the moderating role of ET on the relationship between EM and the performance of banks in Egypt.

Data were collected during the period March–June 2020 using a sample of 358 employees working in 20 banks in Egypt. Online surveys and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the required data during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling using SPSS 25.

The main results of this study indicated that EM and bank performance are positively related. Results also showed that ET and technological turbulence positively moderates this relationship, i.e. this relationship is more robust in highly turbulent business environments than in more stable environments.

This study provides useful managerial and practical implications. Fruitful insights can be communicated to bank managers in Egypt on the importance of EM and its implications for performance. With an increased understanding of EM, bank managers will come to understand that EM is critical for the sustainability and development of their banks.

An extensive review of the existing research material indicates that this is the first study to examine the relationship between EM and Egyptian banking performance and the moderating role of ET, particularly in large organizations.