The Role of Entrepreneurial Networks in Achieving Strategic Management Maturity
A Survey Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Academic and Administrative Leaders in a Number of Private Higher Education Institutions in Duhok Governorate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24086/cuejhss.v9n2y2025.pp41-54Keywords:
Entrepreneurial networks, strategic management maturity, Strategic management sustainability, Network Density, private higher education institutionsAbstract
This research aims to shed light on two modern concepts in the field of business administration in general and strategic management and entrepreneurship in particular in a number of private higher education institutions in Duhok Governorate, by identifying the role of entrepreneurial networks in achieving strategic management maturity. In light of the objective, the problem was summarized in a set of questions: Is the leadership of the educational institutions under study familiar with the concept of entrepreneurial networks and strategic management maturity? What is the nature of the relationship and influence between entrepreneurial networks and strategic management maturity in the educational institutions under study? As a mechanism for this research to achieve its objectives, two main hypotheses and a number of sub-hypotheses were developed. The research adopted the inductive (descriptive and analytical) approach, and data were obtained through an electronic questionnaire and through the (Google Form) application, as it was distributed to a random sample of (50) people representing the administrative leadership in the educational institutions under study, from which (45) questionnaires were retrieved, i.e. a response rate of (90%). The data were statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS: V. 26). The research results showed a significant correlation between entrepreneurial networks and strategic management maturity at the overall level of the responding sample, and a significant influence of entrepreneurial networks on strategic management maturity at the overall level of the responding sample. Finally, the research presented a number of proposals.
Downloads
References
Abbas, J., Raza, S., Nurunnabi, M., Minai, M. S., & Bano, S. (2019). The impact of entrepreneurial business networks on firms’ performance through a mediating role of dynamic capabilities. Sustainability, 11(11), 3006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113006
Abu-Rumman, A., Al Shraah, A., Al-Madi, F., & Alfalah, T. (2021). Entrepreneurial networks, entrepreneurial orientation, and performance of small and medium enterprises: are dynamic capabilities the missing link?. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 10(1), 29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00170-8
Blommerde, T., & Lynch, P. (2016). A maturity matrix for assessing service innovation capability.
Das, M., & Goswami, N. (2019). Effect of entrepreneurial networks on small firm performance in Kamrup, a district of Assam. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 9(1), 7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-018-0122-6
DeLosh, P., BeMent, T. J., Bleuenstein, C., Cornell, J. G., Dalton, M., Schetza, T., Tsunekawa, J., & Zastany, B. (2016). Court Administration: A Guide to the Profession. Williamsburg, VA: National Association for Court Management.
Demir, F. (2017). Measuring strategic management maturity: an empirical study in Turkish public and private sector organizations. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering, 11(11), 2433-2440.
Demir, F. (2018). A strategic management maturity model for innovation. Technology innovation management review, 8(11). DOI: https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1196
Felch, V., Asdecker, B., & Sucky, E. (2019). Maturity models in the age of Industry 4.0–Do the available models correspond to the needs of business practice? DOI: https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2019.620
Ghorbani, M. K., Hamidifar, H., Skoulikaris, C., & Nones, M. (2022). Concept-based integration of project management and strategic management of rubber dam projects using the SWOT–AHP method. Sustainability, 14(5), 2541. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052541
Hashim, N. A. B., Raza, S., & Minai, M. S. (2018). Relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and small firm performance: are dynamic capabilities the missing link? Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 17(2), 1-10.
Heljakka, A., Solin, A., & Kannala, J. (2019, May). Pioneer networks: Progressively growing generative autoencoder. In Computer Vision–ACCV 2018: 14th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, Perth, Australia, December 2–6, 2018, Revised Selected Papers, Part I (pp. 22-38). Cham: Springer International Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20887-5_2
Humphrey, J., Todeva, E., Armando, E., & Giglio, E. (2020). Global value chains, business networks, strategy, and international business: Convergences. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 21, 607-627. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v21i4.4014
Ivy, J., & Perényi, Á. (2020). Entrepreneurial networks as informal institutions in transitional economies. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 32(9-10), 706-736. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2020.1743770
Jiang, X., Liu, H., Fey, C., & Jiang, F. (2018). Entrepreneurial orientation, network resource acquisition, and firm performance: A network approach. Journal of Business Research, 87, 46-57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.02.021
Jost, P. J. (2021). Endogenous formation of entrepreneurial networks. Small Business Economics, 56(1), 39-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00199-w
Massoudi, A. (2025) Predicting the power of entrepreneurial orientation in improving the level of product innovation. Business education as a mediator. Journal of Management and Business Education, 8(1), 58-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2025.0004
Mayanja, S., Omeke, M., Tibamwenda, J. V., Mutebi, H., & Mufta, F. (2021). The mediating role of the novelty ecosystem between personality traits, entrepreneurial networks and entrepreneurial ambidexterity among small and medium enterprises. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 3(11), 379–395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40497-021-00299-6
Miller, J. E., & Brown, E. K. (2013). The Cambridge dictionary of linguistics. Cambridge University Press.
Perera, G. N. R. (2015). Impact of Entrepreneurial Networks on the Business Success of Small Enterprises. Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 1(2).
Raza, S. A., Minai, M. S., Ismail, A. I., & Zain, A. Y. M. (2018). Entrepreneurial network towards small firm performance through dynamic capabilities: the conceptual perspective. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal.
Robert J. Verborg (2016), strategic management maturity model, “smart Performance Management Program Continuous Improvement Plan, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois”.
Szumowski, W., & Cyfert, S. (2018). A Model for evaluating strategic maturity of the local government. Management, 22(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/manment-2018-0020
Witek-Crabb, A. (2016). Maturity of strategic management in organizations. Oeconomia Copernicana, 7(4), 669-682. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12775/OeC.2016.037
Yu, W., Choi, M., & Zheng, J. (2021). How do different types of entrepreneurial networks and decision-making influence the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities? Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 683285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.683285
Yu, W., Dai, S., Liu, F., & Yang, Y. (2023). Matching disruptive innovation paths with entrepreneurial networks: A new perspective on startups’ growth with Chinese evidence. Asian Business & Management, 22(3), 878-902. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-022-00177-3
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Adnan A. Mohammed

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).


