EFFECTS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND MARKET INFORMATION CAPABILITIES ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND FIRM GROWTH OF SMEs IN THAILAND

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and market information capability and their impact on competitive advantage and firm growth. Entrepreneurial orientation is regarded as a strategic dimension and it is assumed that entrepreneurial orientation will determine the extent of market information capability which will eventually affect firm growth. A survey was used as a research instrument and was given to the owner / managers of SMEs enterprises in Thailand. Data was collected from 303 independently owned and operated SMEs manufacturing firms that employ less than 150 employees in Thailand. Results confirmed also that in this study entrepreneurial orientation affected market information capability, competitive advantage and firm growth. However, market information capability is not a mediator of the competitive advantage and firm growth. Thus, contributions and suggestions are also provided for further research.