Mediation Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation in the Relationship between Social Capital and Performance of Local Poultry Business in the Rural Areas of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran

Given the importance of performance as the main indicator of the success of businesses, it has always been of interest to researchers. In addition, social capital and entrepreneurial orientation are two important factors in predicting the performance of businesses. However, little is known about the mechanisms that benefit businesses from the interplay among these factors. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the mediating effect of entrepreneurial orientation in the relationship between social capital and business performance. The statistical population of the study included the owners of local poultry business units in the rural areas of Sistan and Baluchestan province in Iran with 360 active units in 2018, out of which 189 units were selected by simple random sampling as the statistical sample using Krejcie and Morgan table. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed as discriminant validity and convergent validity. Composite reliability measures showed satisfied reliability. The collected data was analyzed by structural equation modeling with partial least squares method (PLS-SEM). The study findings showed that the external network ties and social interaction had a positive and significant relationship with relationship quality; and also indicated that the proactiveness mediated the impact of relationship quality on the performance, innovativeness mediated the impact of relationship quality on financial performance, and risk-taking mediated the impact of relationship quality on non-financial performance of local poultry businesses.