Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Effect of entrepreneurial marketing on SMEs competitive performance in Lesotho

2025; AOSIS; Volume: 17; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4102/sajesbm.v17i1.889

2522-7343

Donald Edes Osakpamwan Amadasun, Ashley Teedzwi Mutezo,

Business Strategies and Innovation

Background: Entrepreneurial marketing (EM) is an important market strategic concept that small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners or managers adopt and practise to drive their enterprises to attain competitive financial performance. Records indicate that in the past 20 years limited studies have focussed on EM strategic challenges that the Basotho SMEs face in Lesotho.Aim: This study aimed to determine the effect of EM strategies (customer relationship, strategic networking and customer satisfaction) on the competitive financial performance of SMEs in selected districts of Lesotho.Setting: The data for this study were collected from the four districts of Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng and Maseru in Lesotho, where SME distribution is higher compared to other districts in Lesotho.Methods: The descriptive-correlation research design was adopted using the questionnaire as the primary research tool for the data collection in the four selected districts, and the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The three predictors (customer relationship, strategic networking and customer satisfaction) of the EM estimates identified that each predictor statistically contributes significantly to SMEs’ dynamic market operation and attaining competitive financial performance.Conclusion: The three factors of EM explain why SME owners or managers should consider the predictors as critical and synergic market factors that influence their enterprises to attain competitive financial performance.Contribution: The results of this study suggest (to SME owners, managers and policymakers) that the three predictors of EM are critically idiosyncratic and have a distinctive influence on the SMEs’ effective market operation and attaining competitive financial performance.