Affiliations:
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, PR China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Juma Buhimila Mabula, School of Economy and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), 11 Siling Street, Harbin 150001, PR China. Tel.: +8613136654520; E-mail: buhimay@yahoo.co.uk.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The upsurge of the SME failure rate in developing economies has triggered the need to foster entrepreneurial skills, awareness, and appropriate knowledge. One of the ways of effective learning is through coming together in a cooperative. OBJECTIVE:This study focuses on analyzing the influence of members’ cooperative support, commitment, and trust on members’ firms’ entrepreneurship and learning orientation. The study also assesses the association of entrepreneurship and learning orientation on their firm innovation performance. The study further examines the mediating role of entrepreneurship and learning orientation on perceived cooperative support, commitment, and trust-innovation performance relationship. METHODS:SPSS was used to calculate descriptive statistics and the partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling employing Smart PLS software 23. RESULTS:The general results indicate that perceived cooperative support, commitment, and trust have a significant and positive association with entrepreneurship and learning orientation, except for trust versus entrepreneurship association with entrepreneurship orientation displayed insignificant results. Entrepreneurship and learning orientation confirmed to have a strong significant positive influence on firm innovation performance. The entrepreneurship and learning orientation significantly mediate perceived cooperative support, commitment, and trust-innovation performance relationship. CONCLUSIONS:Fostering saving and credits cooperatives societies should not just aim at providing financial support to its members but create associations that will orient entrepreneurial spirit to its members and attract members wise utilization of the funds accessed.
