PurposeConsidering that the social-cultural context is important as in which the entrepreneurs are embedded to conceptualise entrepreneurial orientation (EO), the purpose of the study is to explicate the influence of the key decision-makers’ internalised cultural values and perceptions of government regulations, to offer nuanced explanations of micro-level variations in EO of firms embedded in the same institutional context.Design/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative approach, relationships are explored in a sample of 201 Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used for the sample, and an additional test is conducted for a robustness check.FindingsThe study finds that three cultural values of the key decision-maker, namely individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance, exhibit a significant association with the EO of the firms. Further, the analysis reveals that the positive effects of individualism and masculinity are enhanced when moderated by favourable perceptions of government regulations to entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses a single key informant in data collection, therefore, the possibility of single-respondent bias. The results must be interpreted in light of these limitations.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature regarding the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship. Specifically, it articulates a microfoundations lens to explain the influence of institutions in terms of key decision-makers’ internalised cultural values (informal institutions) and their perceptions of government regulations (formal institutions) on the EO of the firm. It further elucidates the need to embrace informal and formal institutions as interdependent factors instead of treating them as standalone constructs in entrepreneurship research and policy design.

Previous studies have shown that institutional environments play an important role in explaining entrepreneurship in a given country. Yet, most of the extant studies focus on samples derived from developed-economies. While some attentions have been given to countries in developing economies, the focus was mainly on a few rapidly developing countries whereas others remain largely under-explored. Moreover, developing countries in the Asian region provides a compelling context to be studied as it espouses different institutional logics.To address these issues, we assess the perceptions of the regulatory, cognitive, and normative institutional dimensions that may promote entrepreneurship in a sample of 701 business students from three Asian's developing economies: Malaysia, Bangladesh, and China. In general, the overall institutional environments level for Malaysia and China are perceived as favorable for entrepreneurship whereas Bangladesh is perceived as relatively less favorable for entrepreneurship. Moreover, results suggest that there are significant differences in the country's institutional environments between Bangladesh and Malaysia, as well as between Bangladesh and China. These results revealed important cross-national differences and invariance between the three countries in the same Asian region. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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Building on the resource-based view (RBV), this paper articulates an integrative approach to explicate the interactive effects of two strategic orientations, i.e. entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and learning orientation (LO), to offer nuanced explanations of firms’ export performance from a developing country perspective. Adopting a quantitative approach, the proposed relationships are explored via partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in a sample of 69 exporters from the state of Sabah in Malaysia. The results indicate that EO has a significant positive effect on the firms’ export performance. Further, the results reveal that the positive association of EO on export performance is enhanced when moderated by a high level of LO. The data was collected using a single key informant, i.e. exporter from a single country, Malaysia; therefore, some limitations might present in terms of generalisability and response bias. The findings contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between strategic orientations and internationalisation. Notably, the study articulates an integrative approach to explain the EO’s interaction effects with LO, creating a synergistic and complementary effect on export performance. It further elucidates the need to embrace an integrative approach in understanding exporters from a developing economy context. Practical implications of this study to managers and policymakers are discussed.