Entrepreneurial capabilities, entrepreneurial orientation and competitive advantage of event management ventures in selected counties in Kenya

Abstract

The events sector is one of the fastest-growing areas of the tourism industry. Despite its great potential and the positive impacts events have on a countries economy, it is faced with challenges like all other industries. With rising competition within the events management industry, competitive strategies help focus on assessing organizations' strengths, growth opportunities, and competitive threats. Traditional competitive advantage models may not completely be applicable for smaller firms because they assume the existence of economies of scale and yet small firms cannot compete with larger organizations in economies of scale. The study therefore sought to establish the influence of entrepreneurial capabilities on the competitive advantage of Event Management Ventures in selected counties in Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the influence of networking, managerial and dynamic capabilities on the competitive advantage of EMVs. The study also tested the moderating effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between entrepreneurial capabilities and the competitive advantage of Event Management Ventures. The study was anchored on the Resource-based view, Dynamic capability, and Network theories. Descriptive and sequential explanatory research designs were adapted. The target population comprised 310 managers and 20 entrepreneurs of Event Management Ventures from four purposively selected counties. The sample size comprised 230 managers selected through stratified and simple random sampling techniques respectively and, 15 entrepreneurs selected using purposive sampling. Nominal and ordinal scales were used to measure the variables. Data was collected using questionnaires for managers and interview schedules for entrepreneurs. Process macro was used to test the moderating effect of the intervening variable. Multiple regression analysis established that entrepreneurial capabilities explained 64.6% (R2=0.646) of the variance in the competitive advantage of Event Management Ventures. The regression analysis revealed that networking capabilities (β=0.197, p=0.001), managerial capabilities (β=0.334, p=0.000), and dynamic capabilities (β= 0.295, p=0.000) significantly influenced the competitive advantage of Event Management Ventures. However entrepreneurial orientation does not moderate the relationship between networking capabilities (β= -0.987, p=.1976), managerial capabilities (β= 1.1821, p=.0862), dynamic capabilities (β= -1.286, p=.1481), and competitive advantage of Event Management Ventures. Based on these results, the study concluded that entrepreneurial capabilities influence the competitive advantage of Event Management Ventures. The study recommends that managers network strategically with various stakeholders in Event Management Ventures; hospitality ventures continue investing in managerial knowledge and skills acquisition in order to attain superior managerial capabilities, and constantly respond to the changing environment to achieve competitive advantage. The new knowledge is that the calculated use of resources, capabilities, and networks enhances competitive advantage while controlling risk-taking, pro-activeness, and innovation.