Entrepreneurial Orientation of Agricultural Home-based Business Owners on their Network-oriented Behaviors in Selected Provinces

Nowadays, networking is recognized as an approach for marketing effectiveness and business success. Networks and networking activities are used by companies as an entrepreneurial approach. The main purpose of this study was investigating the role of entrepreneurial orientation of home business owners on their network-oriented behaviors in the field of agricultural products (citrus). Statistical population of this research was the home based business owners of agricultural citrus products in five first- ranked and selected provinces of the country in citrus agricultural production. A sample consisting of 384 subjects were selected by a multi- stage cluster sampling method and the research questionnaires were distributed among them and required data collected. Confirmatory factor analysis and convergent and divergent validities were used to determine the validity of research instrument and Cronbach's alpha method was used to examine the reliability. The results showed appropriate validity and reliability scores. Research hypotheses were tested by Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL software. The results show that entrepreneurial orientation and its components have significant impacts on the network- oriented behaviors. According to the results of research, collection, analysis and application of information related to environmental changes in the target market, utilization of new technologies in order to surpass competitors, use of social networks for marketing and sales of products are suggested.