Effects of Trade Informality and Entrepreneurial Orientation on SMEs’ Performance in Adamawa and Cameroon Border Areas.

The aim of this study is to find out how small and medium enterprises performances are impacted by entrepreneurs’ ability to recognise business opportunities and prefer to trade informally around Adamawa state border communities with Cameroon Republic. Previous studies on cross border business were extensively reviewed for better understanding of this study. There was considerable interest on studies in border SMEs, however, few studies were conducted on Adamawa state and Cameroon. Mubi, Sahuda and Belel borders in Adamawa state were noted to be a gateway for livestock, cowpea, sesame and grains supplied to all parts of Nigeria. Notwithstanding, this performance was negatively impacted by trade informality, opportunity recognition, start-up motive, community norms and entrepreneurial orientation, among others. The study used conceptual review method, and a proposed model was developed to examine the relationship between the variables under study. Literature reviewed revealed a differing significance of trade informality: opportunity recognition, start-up motive, community norms and entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of border SMEs. This study suggests an empirical investigation on the effects of trade informality and entrepreneurial orientation using trust as a moderator.