Effect of farmers’ entrepreneurial behavior on dairy enterprise performance in Kenya

Abstract This study investigates the influence of entrepreneurial orientations, future orientation, market orientation, risk-taking orientation, and social orientation, on the performance of smallholder dairy enterprises in Murang’a County, Kenya, with entrepreneurial resilience as a mediating variable. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, targeting 682 dairy farmers selected through multistage sampling across four sub-counties. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings revealed that future orientation, market orientation, and risk-taking orientation positively influenced entrepreneurial resilience, which in turn had a significant effect on dairy enterprise performance. Social orientation, however, had a negative relationship with both resilience and performance, suggesting that excessive dependence on social networks may undermine individual agency and innovation in dairy enterprise management. The study contributes to agribusiness literature by affirming the role of behavioral traits and psychological resilience in enhancing enterprise success among rural farmers. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the Murang’a County Government embed entrepreneurial training and resilience-building in its dairy value chain support programs. Dairy cooperatives should balance collective engagement with individual responsibility to foster enterprise ownership among members. Furthermore, agricultural extension officers should incorporate behavioral coaching and business mentorship in their service delivery, targeting future planning, risk analysis, and market intelligence. These interventions are essential to strengthen the adaptive capacity and competitiveness of smallholder dairy farmers in Murang’a and similar settings.