CONNECTION BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION INTO ROMANIAN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship- innovation - performances in SMEs based on a research conducted into Romanian small businesses. A total of 800 SMEs supply the data for the study. The results indicate a direct relationship between these three concepts. Innovation is directly related to performance and mediates in the entrepreneurship-performance link. These connections don’t differ between SMEs, thus size is not a key factor in explaining the contributions of entrepreneurship to innovation and performance of SMEs. The study's sample is limited to IT&C SMEs in Romania. Whilst the objectives of the study were met, we consider that more studies are needed in order to compare SMEs in other sectors of economy and on different contexts. The study emphasize the importance of entrepreneurship to innovation and performance in SMEs.