Prior studies on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia have focused on performance with inconclusive results. This paper contributes to the literature by examining variation in performance resulting from the synergistic role of entrepreneurial orientation, government support and internalization. It primarily explores three main industries: manufacturing, service and agriculture, generating data from 218 self-administered questionnaires. Using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression in testing the proposed hypothesis, it was uncovered that the mediating effect of internationalization between entrepreneurship orientation and firm performance was insignificant. In contrast, Government support was seen as a stronger predictor of firm performance. Furthermore, internationalization was shown to only partially mediate government support and firm performance. This study emphasizes the importance of Government support and will aid stakeholders in developing a robust understanding of the role of key factors in shaping SME performance in the global market.
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