Does causal analysis improve the understanding of entrepreneurial support for SME performance?

Is entrepreneurial support a performance enhancer for SMEs? The question of the link between support and performance has been raised in the context of developed countries. What about developing countries where support is an emerging process? This research aims to analyze entrepreneurial support and learn about its contribution to the performance of Cameroonian SMEs through the fsQCA (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis) method. This would allow us to explore a notion such as equifinality in the field of support. Based on the Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange (SPX), we selected six variables that influence the performance of 120 Cameroonian SMEs in the industrial sector. We demonstrate how the fsQCA completes the correlational methods and offers a finer understanding of the performance of the entrepreneurial support. We postulate that various combinations impact performance and that the interaction between certain combinations is necessary, but not sufficient to achieve performance. This analysis yields three configurations, with the particularitý that the CSR program is an irrelevant condition contributing to poor SME performance. Furthermore, the study provides meaningful implications for entrepreneurs, managers, and entrepreneurial support indicating combinations of factors that lead to an increase in firm performance The recommendations made aim to focus on supports deemed more effective. On a theoretical level, the use of fsQCA complements the knowledge derived from traditional analytical methods.