Browsing by Author "Byukusenge, Eugenie"

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    Does Knowledge Management Lead to Innovation? An Empirical Study on SMEs in Rwanda
    (International journal of management science and business administration, 2016) Byukusenge, Eugenie; Munene, John C.; Orobia, Laura
    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether knowledge management under its three dimensions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and responsiveness to knowledge lead to innovation in Rwandan SMEs. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to collect data used to examine that relationship. The results revealed that only knowledge sharing was found positive and significant predictor of innovation. This implies that effective knowledge management through knowledge sharing may lead to innovation.This study used a cross-sectional research design combined with a quantitative research approach. Future researchers could employ a longitudinal method to investigate any possibility of variations in the results. Qualitative studies could equally be used to supplement the quantitative findings. Lastly, this study focused on manufacturing SMEs only. Future research might focus on other types of businesses. Owners-managers of SMEs may sustain their competitive position and survive longer when knowledge is effectively and efficiently shared in order to increase their innovation capability. The study generated empirical evidence on less studied phenomena in the SMEs sector. The evidence highlighted the powerful influence of knowledge sharing in predicting innovation in SMEs.
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    Knowledge management and business performance: does innovation matter?
    (Cogent Business & Management, 2017) Byukusenge, Eugenie; Munene, John C.
    The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating effect of innovation in the relationship between knowledge management and business performance of SMEs in Rwanda. The study used a cross sectional survey design to collect the data on a sample of 250 SMEs and bootstrap method was used to carry out mediation analysis. The findings revealed that innovation fully mediates the relationship between knowledge management and business performance of SMEs. The paper contributes to scholarly debate on the mediating role of innovation on the relationship between knowledge management and business performance of SMEs by providing evidence from a developing country. The results may help business owners of SMEs to adopt innovation as a conduit for knowledge management to boost their business performance
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    Knowledge Management and Business Performance: Mediating Effect of Innovation
    (Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 2016) Byukusenge, Eugenie; Munene, John; Orobia, Laura
    The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of innovation in the relationship between knowledge management and business performance of SMEs in Rwanda. A cross-sectional survey and quantitative methodological approach were used to collect data used to carry out mediation test. The study results revealed that innovation had a positive effect on business performance. However, there was no direct effect of knowledge management on business performance, except through the full mediation of innovation. This implies that without innovation, Rwandan SMEs may not achieve an improved business performance. This study contributes to existing body of knowledge management on the improvement of business performance of SMEs through innovation. The results could help business owners to make use of the available knowledge resources by transforming them into new products, new processes and new markets to boost their business performance. This study used a cross sectional research design and was limited to investigate the effect of knowledge management and innovation on business performance. Future researchers could employ a longitudinal method to investigate any possibility for variations in the results. Qualitative studies could equally be used to supplement the quantitative findings. Lastly, this study focused on manufacturing SMEs only. Future research might focus on other types of businesses.