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International Journal of Research in Management

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Part A (2020)

Knowledge management infrastructure capabilities and innovativeness of small and medium scale enterprises in Benue state, Nigeria

Author(s):

Tsetim James Tersoo, Adegbe Blessing Ochanya

Abstract:

The contemporary business environment in Benue state, Nigeria demands all Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) irrespective of which sector they operate in to innovate in order to secure a place in the market, and Knowledge Management (KM) infrastructure is said to be one of the strategies with which firm innovativeness can be promoted. It is in view of this that this study was conducted to examine the relationship between KM infrastructural capabilities and innovativeness of SMEs in Benue state, Nigeria. The study adopted the survey design. The population for this study consisted of 1370 employees from 14 SMEs in Benue State. The research focused only on SMEs with up to 50 employees. These SMEs were selected from the three business hubs in the state (Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo) which covers all the geo-political zones of the State. This number cut across business activities like manufacturing, food processing, bakery, table water, schools, hoteling and ICT. Through purposive sampling technique, Five hundred and eighteen (518) employees from the selected SMEs (i.e. 37 from each) made up the sample size for the study. A self-administered-adopted questionnaire was employed to collect quantitative data for hypothesis testing. The instrument was divided into two categories, with the first part measuring KM infrastructure capabilities (technological, structure, and cultural infrastructures), and the second part was for measuring SMEs innovativeness (the dependent variable). A pilot study was conducted to test the accuracy and the consistency of the research instrument. The result showed that all the constructs were greater than 0.70 indicating that the measures of the variables were reliable (consistent). Five hundred and eighteen (518) questionnaires were issued out to the respondents however, only four hundred and forty five (445) responses validly retrieved and included in analysis. Data were statistically analyzed after being collected from the field with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, v. 21). Pearson Correlation Analysis was employed in determining the relationship between the independent variables (technological, cultural and structural infrastructures) and the dependent variable (SMEs innovativeness). Multiple regression analysis on the other hand tested the extent of effect of independent variables on the dependent variable at 0.05 level of significance. The result of Pearson Correlation Analysis revealed that all the infrastructural dimensions (technology, culture and structure) significantly relate with SMEs Innovativeness. The result of Multiple regression analysis showed a higher effect of cultural infrastructural dimension followed by technology and structure with a low effect though positive. Therefore, it is recommended among others that SMEs need to double their support for the use of technological facilities and develop the desired trainings for the operation of technological facilities

Pages: 35-43  |  1735 Views  810 Downloads

How to cite this article:
Tsetim James Tersoo, Adegbe Blessing Ochanya. Knowledge management infrastructure capabilities and innovativeness of small and medium scale enterprises in Benue state, Nigeria. Int. J. Res. Manage. 2020;2(1):35-43. DOI: 10.33545/26648792.2020.v2.i1a.28
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