Entrepreneurial alertness and self-efficacy: A focus on social values and innovation performance

Orientation: It is widely accepted that the entrepreneurial process has attitudinal and behavioural components, with recent studies indicating that social values (SV) interact with entrepreneurial beliefs and competencies to significantly influence the innovation performance (INNP) of enterprises. Research purpose: By relying on the prescripts of social cognitive theory (SCT), this study empirically investigated to what extent SV moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness (EA) and self-efficacy to influence higher levels of INNP. Motivation for the study: Studies indicate there has been a marked decrease in entrepreneurs who believe they offer innovative products, which is of great concern given that the levels of innovation are important for African enterprises. Research approach, design and method: This cross-sectional study was based on primary survey data (n = 175 enterprises). Instruments were scrutinised for validity and reliability and hypotheses tested using regression analysis. Main findings: Results showed that EA and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) explained a significant amount of variance in INNP. In addition, SV positively moderated the relationship between these behavioural variables and INNP. Practical and managerial implications: It is important to have evidence-based policies that explain entrepreneurial behaviour and INNP of enterprises in African countries eager to move up the value chain to the next phase of economic development. Contribution or value-add: This article contributes to the understanding of how SV, in an under-researched emerging market context, interact with entrepreneurial behaviour regarding alertness and self-efficacy to increase the levels of INNP.