Does international entrepreneurial orientation foster innovation performance? The mediating role of social media and open innovation

This study investigates the relationship between international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and innovation performance. It analyzes IEO as a key antecedent of innovation performance by considering the underlying effects of open innovation and social media usage. We test the hypothesized relationships by performing partial least squares analysis for data collected from a survey sample of 128 small and medium-sized enterprises. The results indicate that open innovation mediates the relationship between IEO and innovation performance, while social media usage mediates the relationship between IEO and open innovation. This study contributes to literature on entrepreneurship and innovation by providing new evidence regarding the benefits of IEO in terms of innovation effectiveness and the underlying mechanisms in this relationship. It also contributes to the emerging literature on the antecedents of open innovation and social media usage, as well as their effects on innovation performance. The results additionally have relevant management implications.