| SMEs’ development in developing economies is an essential foundation for government policy formulation.However,their contributions to the country’s economy are still comparatively low compared with the contributions of SMEs in many developed and emerging countries.In Ghana,for instance,SMEs play an essential role in quickening growth and development because they form a significant part of the economy.SMEs contribute about 85 percent of manufacturing employment and account for 92 percent of businesses in Ghana.Regardless of SME contributions to economic development and social interventions,the sectors face many challenges,such as finance,resource management,strategic planning,and the lack of appropriate platforms to enable innovation in products,process,organization,and marketing and performance management.For this reason,SMEs managers of these firms have little or no technical or managerial experience,hence,generally making them unstable and do not survive after three years.The survival of SMEs is subject to many constraints,particularly in Africa.These constraints include weak management capacity,marketing capabilities,lack of market information,inadequate resources such as human and financial resources,low levels of innovative capabilities,and an inability to improve innovation and performance.For SMEs to grow and increase their contribution to the country’s economy as planned,their leaders will have to be able to find the need for change,improve their sense of direction,to enforce necessary changes in their organization innovations,and,more importantly,to improve organizational performance.As a result,leadership style and knowledge management are seen as a vital tool to achieve this intended growth.Meanwhile,most research areas in management have been focusing on innovation and firm performance of SMEs without much emphasis on the direct relationship between innovation and marketing performance,i.e.the specific role of marketing in the firm performance.Therefore,the study arguments tend to focus on whether there is a connection between innovation and marketing performance,again to establish the specific role of knowledge sharing as a mediator and transformational leadership as a moderator within the relationship between innovation and marketing performance.Often very few studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between these variables simultaneously.In order to address the literature gap mentioned above,this study follows the suggestions of several scholars for future research on leadership style,knowledge management,innovation,and performance management.A theoretical model incorporating innovation,knowledge sharing,transformational leadership,and marketing performance is validated empirically in this study.Likewise,this thesis concentrates on the theoretical effects of the direct relationship between innovation and marketing performance,also to determine the critical role of knowledge sharing as a mediator and transformational leadership as a moderator on innovation and marketing performance of SMEs in developing economies.To accomplish this,the thesis begins by reviewing the literature and theoretical foundation of innovation,knowledge sharing,transformational leadership style,marketing performance,the resource-based view(RBV),knowledge-based view(KBV),mediation and moderation effects.More specifically,the study objectives are: Firstly,to explore the direct relationship between innovation and marketing performance;Secondly,to examine the mediating effect of knowledge sharing on innovation and marketing performance;Thirdly,to investigate the moderating effect of transformational leadership on innovation and marketing performance;fourthly,to analyze the moderating effect of transformational leadership on the relationship between innovation and knowledge sharing.Finally,to evaluate the critical role of knowledge sharing and transformational leadership on innovation and marketing performance simultaneously.Notwithstanding,innovation types are represented by product,process,marketing,and organizational innovations.Whiles representing transformational leadership style(idealized influence,inspirational motivation,intellectual stimulation,and individual consideration)was chosen as a moderator,as this type of leadership behavior is considered the newest paradigms of leadership in SMEs.Trust,knowledge technology,motivation,empowering leadership,and efficient reward have been chosen to reflect knowledge sharing as a mediator.Profitability,sales,and customer satisfaction were used as measures for marketing performance.To test the hypotheses,data were collected through a purposive and convenience sampling technique from 437 Ghanaian owned SMEs operating in the service industries(hospitality,beauty,transportation,and banking service).Whiles,the National Board for Small Scale Industries(NBSSI)database were used as a sample frame for the contacted SMEs managers.Additionally,exploratory factor analysis,confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling using Path Analysis(Smart-PLS)were used for the study due to its robustness in creating independent latent variables directly based on cross-products involving the response variable(s),resulting for stronger predictions.Thus,it was used to test the research framework and verify all hypotheses on the direct and indirect effects of the relationship between innovation,knowledge sharing,transformational leadership,and marketing performance.Consequently,twelve interviews were also conducted to provide qualitative findings through Thematic Analysis to support quantitative findings and to further explain the results of this study.The Main Contribution of this Study is that it presents clear-cut findings that are Contextual,Theoretical,and Practical for SMEs,like the following:On the contextual perspective,this study will contribute to the body of knowledge on innovation and marketing performance of SMEs in an emerging economy as compared to developed countries.The justification for undertaking this study in Ghana stems from the fact that SMEs play a vital role in the socio-economic development of the country,and it is one of the fasters growing economies in the developing world.Experiencing weak management capacity,marketing performance,knowledge management,low levels of innovative capabilities,and an inability to improve innovation and marketing performance of SMEs have drawn the attention of government and stakeholders in the business environment in ways to improve the development of SMEs.This study presents an opportunity to explore how innovation types,namely product,process,marketing,and organization,connect marketing performance in an emerging economy.In which the critical role of knowledge sharing as a mediator and transformational leadership as a moderator on innovation and SME’s marketing performance will be empirically tested to give a better understanding of these variables in a developing economy.The first theoretical contribution of this study comes from a framework based on the direct relationship between innovation and marketing performance.As measuring marketing performance has explicitly been of great interest to research scholars for decades,in which extant literature has given little prominence.Thus,the current study verifies the significant influences of innovation types(product,process,marketing,and organizational)on marketing performance(profitability,sales,and customer satisfaction).For this reason,this study contributes to the advancement of literature on innovation and marketing performance.Secondly,the study advances literature by introducing knowledge sharing as a mediator to verify the integrative theory of the relationship of innovation with marketing performance and to highlights the significant direct or indirect effects of the relationship which is rare in developing economies.The findings significantly contribute to putting innovation and marketing performance literature forward by introducing knowledge sharing as a mediating variable that interacts with innovation to positively influence marketing performance.Thirdly,the empirical findings of the study provide evidence that transformational leadership style(idealized influence,inspirational motivation,intellectual stimulation,and individualized consideration)as a resource capability positively moderates the relationship between innovation and marketing performance,which is rare in developing economies.The findings significantly contribute to putting innovation and marketing performance literature forward by introducing transformational leadership as a moderator that interacts with innovation to positively influence marketing performance.Finally,this study verifies the empirical evidence of the transformational leadership style as a moderator on innovation and knowledge sharing,thereby increasing the understanding between these relationships in this field of study.Practically,the findings indicate that innovations are a critical solution to stimulate marketing performance in SMEs.For this reason,it beholds on SME owners/managers a significant implication that is a practical guide and clear pathway leading to each aspect of innovation to marketing performance.More specifically,the findings disclosed that innovation types(product,process,marketing,and organizational)were more significantly associated with marketing performance of profitability,sales,and customer satisfaction.The main reason may be that owners/managers should encourage employees freely in discussing and trying out innovative ideas,processes,and procedures.Thus,increasing the innovation abilities of firms ensures an improvement in marketing performance.Moreover,knowledge sharing as a mediator(trust,motivation,effective reward system,empowering leadership and knowledge technology)within an organization can produce strategic resources and competencies which permit firms to perform better than others and to achieve higher favorable outcome such as innovation and marketing performance.The findings disclosed that knowledge sharing is a driving force of innovation and marketing performance.Hence,SMEs should concentrate on finding the active pathway and appropriate method to create a system that stimulates employees to positively and actively participate in the knowledge sharing process for innovation activities.For example,owners/managers can design a well-structured reward strategy to support employees to collect,share,and apply knowledge.The contents related to the employees’ involvement in the knowledge sharing process should be integrated into the marketing performance appraisal process.Consequently,once employees understand that the success in their goal and career is closely related to the involvement in knowledge sharing activities,they will actively share their crucial knowledge and expertise to turn personal knowledge into the organizational or collective knowledge and positively contribute firm’s innovation abilities.As shown,the study verifies that SME leader’s practice and exhibit transformational leadership style as a moderator on innovation and improvement of marketing performance.For this reason,this leadership style has been tested empirically and has shown significant positive effects on sales,customer satisfaction,and profitability.The results of the data confirmed the practice of each attribute(idealized influence,inspirational motivation,intellectual stimulation,and individual consideration)of transformational leadership by the managers of SMEs.As a result,SME managers need to demonstrate,practice,and sustain the qualities of transformational leadership style to improve the marketing performance of their organization.The attributes associated with transformational leadership raise the level of motivation for staff and encourage them to reach their full potential.Besides,SMEs owners who practice transformational leadership seem to generate and achieve better marketing performance associated with high sales,customer satisfaction,and high profitability.This study demonstrates that transformational leadership and the knowledge sharing of SMEs managers are vital resources that affect the innovation and the marketing performance of a firm.The useful display and practice of transformational leadership style and knowledge sharing are perceived to positively influence the company’s innovation activities and marketing performance outcomes.For this reason,owners of SME establishments in these sectors are encouraged to understand the complex interaction between their transformational leadership style and the level of knowledge sharing practiced in their organization,as these factors are acknowledged as critical for organizational success.Finally,the study has also implications for policymakers and for public and private organizations,which aims to foster entrepreneurship and marketing to support the development and growth of SMEs.For a policy-making point of view,the study’s finding suggests that there is a need for additional support structures for SMEs manager to complement existing ones in terms of leadership skills and knowledge management practices about innovation activities and marketing performance management.The research findings further indicate that the government agencies,private and not-for-profit organizations supporting SMEs to consider an important role of how transformational leadership style and knowledge sharing are relevance to a firm’s innovation activities on marketing performance.The following were identified as the Main Innovation of the Study:This study follows the suggestions of many authors for future research on leadership style,knowledge management,innovation,and performance management.A theoretical framework featuring innovation types,knowledge sharing,transformational leadership,and marketing performance is validated empirically in this study.From an academic perspective,innovation could be seen in Contextual,Theoretical,and Methodological.The study presents the following innovation points:(1)Contextually,the study primarily focuses on Ghana,because it is one of the fasters growing economies in the developing world in which SMEs play a vital role in the socio-economic development in the country.This dissertation begins from a simple observational research analysis of the effects of innovation types(product,process,marketing,and organizational)on the marketing performance of a developing economy such as Ghana.Also,examining intuitively in the context of the study domain,knowledge sharing,and transformational leadership has been seen as a growing phenomenon in the small business of developing economies.The observation led to the realization that literature has neglected the effect of innovation on the marketing performance of SMEs in developing economies.Thus,the study seeks to examine the effects of innovation and marketing performance via transformational leadership(idealized influence,inspiring motivation,intellectual stimulation,and individual consideration)as a moderator and knowledge sharing(trust,motivation,effective reward system,empowering leadership and knowledge technology)as a mediator of SMSs in a developing economy.(2)Theoretically,unlike most recent studies,the study addresses the literature gap of researchers only focusing on the relationship between innovation and firm performance without explicitly focusing on innovation and marketing performance.This study explored how innovation types,namely product,process,marketing,and organization,influence marketing performance(profitability,sales,and customer satisfaction).This study pioneers empirical research that determines the direct causal relationship between innovation and marketing performances which might be view as new.Consequently,the study extends innovatively to verify the integrative theory of the relationship of innovations with marketing performance via the mediating role of knowledge sharing(trust,motivation,effective reward system,empowering leadership and knowledge technology)and to highlights the significant direct or indirect effects of the relationships,especially marketing performance.Also,the study departs from the extant literature in the innovation and performance relationship as this current study innovatively connects the transformational leadership style of idealized influence,inspiring motivation,intellectual stimulation,and individual consideration as a moderator in the relationship between innovation types and marketing performance.Further,this present study innovatively connects transformational leadership as a moderator in the relationship between innovation and knowledge sharing as an essential theoretical innovation point.(3)Methodologically,this study contributes innovatively by empirically tested the direct or indirect effects of the relationship between innovation,knowledge sharing,transformational leadership,and marketing performance in utilizing an empirical approach,with a quantitative and qualitative method to a better understanding of the integrative relationship.Again,it integrates exploratory and descriptive research with various data collection by utilizing robust PLS-SEM to test the key hypotheses to determine the significant direct or indirect effects of the relationships.Additionally,thematic analysis was employed to support quantitative findings and to explain the results of this study further.Besides,the study also provides an insight as to how well knowledge and resource-based theories gives an insight into how mediation and moderation effects have on innovation and marketing performance relationships.It is important to emphasis that previous works on innovation fails to analyze the knowledge sharing as a mediator and transformational leadership as a moderator on SMEs marketing performance.Thus,this attempt represents a significant innovation as it provides different robust approaches in examining the effects of knowledge sharing,transformational leadership on the relationship between innovation and marketing performance,hence supporting further research into this important field of study. |
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