Moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between information security risk assessment and firm performance in Kenya

Information security risk assessments enable SMEs to identify their key information assets and risks in order to develop effective and economically-viable control strategies. In Kenya, SMEs employ about 85 percent of the workforce. The need to link ISRA with firm performance has become vital for firms striving to achieve superior performance. However, limited attention has been paid to the link and more so to the moderating role of EO on ISRA-firm performance relationship model. To better understand this relationship, this paper employed a mixed methods research guided by a cross-sectional research design. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed to analyze the collected data using SPSS, Ms-Excel, AMOS, SmartPLS, STATA, R-GUI and ATLAS.ti analytical softwares. Analyses were conducted using a two-phase process consisting of CFA and SEM. The theoretical models and hypotheses were tested based on empirical data gathered from 94 SMEs in the 2013 Top 100 Survey. The study found that ISRA was a significant predictor of firm performance. The results also revealed that entrepreneurial orientation significantly moderated the relationship between ISRA and firm performance in Kenya. This study will enhance the skill set in Kenyan SMEs and produce a more sustainable solution