Market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and marketing capabilities: Their role in business sustainability and corporate reputation in SMEs

Abstract

Business sustainability and corporate reputation are crucial factors in facing today's business competition. This study aims to investigate the role of market orientation (MO), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and marketing capability (MC) in maintaining business sustainability (BS) and enhancing corporate reputation (CR) in small and medium enterprises. This study used a cross-sectional design and a survey method, involving 350 small and medium enterprises across various business sectors to represent the business population in Indonesia. The instruments used were scales to measure business sustainability, corporate reputation, market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and marketing capability. Data analysis used confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and path analysis. The results showed that market orientation (MO), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and marketing capability (MC) play a significant role in sustaining businesses and enhancing the reputation of small and medium enterprises in the long term. In addition, business sustainability is able to mediate the relationship between all these factors and the reputation of small and medium enterprises. Business sustainability is the most significant predictor of enhancing corporate reputation. Therefore, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) must have strong market orientation, entrepreneurial skills, and marketing capabilities to maintain business sustainability and enhance their reputation. This research contributes to the dynamic practices of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), namely, the use of market orientation, entrepreneurial skills, and marketing capabilities will be able to create competitive advantages that have an impact on business sustainability and the reputation of SMEs.