Knowledge Management, Social Capital, Innovation and Business Performance of SME's in Uganda.
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Date
2023
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between knowledge management, social capital, innovation and SME business performance in Uganda. The study was based on three objectives; to examine the relationship between knowledge management and SME business performance in Kampala; to investigate the relationship between social capital and SME business performance in Kampala and lastly to examine the relationship between innovation and SME business performance in Kampala A cross-sectional survey design that applied a quantitative approach to the study was adopted to capture views, attitude and opinions of various respondents. Questionnaires were used to source quantitative information. The population of the study was 9969 registered SMEs in Kampala and the sample size was of 370 determined by applying Krejcie and Morgan (1970). Simple random sampling method was used for selection of respondents and data was analyzed using SPSS to establish the reliability, correlation and regression results. The correlation results showed an existence of a significant and positive association between knowledge management and SME business performance in Kampala (r=.120, p<0.05). There was a significant and positive association between social capital and SME business performance in Kampala (r=.347, p<0.01) and then, there also existed a significant and positive association between innovation and SME business performance in Kampala (r=.748, p<0.01). The regression results however revealed that revealed F=133.180, Sig<0.05 in relation to the independent variables of knowledge management, social capital and innovation which affirmed the statistical significant predictability of these variables to be associated with the dependent variable and results further indicated knowledge management (beta=.082, p<0.05); social capital (beta=.105, p<0.05) and innovation (beta=.709, p<0.05), all combined together are significant predictors of SME business performance. Therefore, combined together, independent variables explained 57.2% of variance in SMEs business performance in Kampala. However, innovation was found to be the most significant predictor of SME business performance in Kampala. Consequently, the researcher recommended SMEs with the desire to generate higher performance through sustainable competitive advantage start investing in research and development; Many managing directors, employees and managers do not necessarily classify social capital as a critical resource that can be utilized to enhance firm performance. To curtail this issue, it is imperative for individual firms, government and other key stakeholders in charge of the SME sector in Uganda to organize periodic workshops and training programs on social capital practices and utilization as a rare asset for reaping higher performance.
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A Dissertation Submitted to Makerere University Business School (Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research) in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Master of Degree of Human Resource Management of Makerere University. (PLAN A).
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Brendah, K (2023) Knowledge Management, Social Capital, Innovation and Business Performance of SME's in Uganda : A Case of SME's in Kampala Capital City. Unpublished Masters Dissertation Makerere University Business School. Kampala, Uganda.