Abstract
This study presents a systematic literature review examining the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) performance in emerging economies. Drawing on 48 peer-reviewed empirical studies, the review synthesises evidence on the mechanisms, capabilities, and contextual conditions that shape the EO performance relationship. The findings reveal that EO does not consistently exert a direct influence on SME performance. Instead, its performance effects are mediated and moderated by innovation capability, entrepreneurial learning, dynamic capabilities, digital integration, human capital depth, social capital mobilisation, and institutional conditions. Innovation emerges as the central pathway through which EO translates into measurable growth and competitiveness. Human capital, particularly education, prior entrepreneurial experience, and self-efficacy, strengthens the enactment of entrepreneurial behaviour, while social networks provide access to resources and legitimacy in constrained environments. Institutional adversity, including corruption and uneven policy support, shapes growth trajectories, but capability-based responses such as innovation and certification can mitigate these constraints. The review advances a capability-centred interpretation of entrepreneurial performance in emerging economies, demonstrating that EO becomes performance-relevant when embedded within complementary organisational, relational, and institutional configurations.