Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of Governance in the relationship of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and the Performance of SMEs in the short term. The authors conducted a statistical meta-analysis of the effect size of Governance on a firm’s EO and short-term performance relationship in 45 articles, which together represent 9,657 companies. The results indicate that the correlation between EO and Performance in small and medium-sized companies is significant (r = 0.35), and the degree of Governance of each country influences this relationship. Thus, Governance plays a relevant role by favoring a favorable scenario, which allows the development of entrepreneurship and organizational innovation. In this way, it is also suggested that the articulation of institutions and programs that facilitate access to financial and training resources constitute effective methods to promote a good performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. This work constitutes the first study to consider the implications of Governance in the relationship of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance of small and medium-sized companies