IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v11y2024i1d10.1057_s41599-023-02434-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Small and medium enterprise (SME) competitiveness and employment creation: the mediating role of SME growth

Author

Listed:
  • Henry Egbezien Inegbedion

    (Bowen University)

  • Perejite Roseline Thikan

    (Bowen University)

  • Joseph Olusegun David

    (Bowen University)

  • John Oluwasayo Ajani

    (Bowen University)

  • Fred Ojochide Peter

    (Landmark University)

Abstract

Owing to the growing inability of the state to provide employment for citizens globally, SME growth now appeals to many people as the solution to employment generation and by implication, economic growth and development. Flowing from the capabilities based view (CBV) theory, this study investigated SME competitiveness and employment creation to explain how SME competitiveness can contribute to national income through employment creation using SME growth as a mediator. The design was a cross-sectional survey of 93 respondents from SMEs in Nigeria. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect the research data and used structural equation modelling to analyse the data. The results indicate that product innovation and product differentiation have significant relationships with employment generation owing to their capacity to enhance SME growth. Secondly, SME growth mediates the relationship between SME competitiveness (product differentiation, innovation and imitation) and employment generation. This study differs from previous ones through its use of product line, innovation, differentiation, and imitation in a single framework to operationalise SME competitiveness as well as the mediation of the relationship between SME competitiveness and employment generation with the growth rate of SMEs. In addition, the study makes a theoretical contribution through the use of a firm’s activity based capabilities to demonstrate its competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Henry Egbezien Inegbedion & Perejite Roseline Thikan & Joseph Olusegun David & John Oluwasayo Ajani & Fred Ojochide Peter, 2024. "Small and medium enterprise (SME) competitiveness and employment creation: the mediating role of SME growth," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02434-y
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-02434-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-023-02434-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-023-02434-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Choonwoo Lee & Kyungmook Lee & Johannes M. Pennings, 2001. "Internal capabilities, external networks, and performance: a study on technology‐based ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 615-640, June.
    2. Robert M. Grant, 1996. "Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(4), pages 375-387, August.
    3. Olawale Fatoki, 2018. "The Impact of Entrepreneurial Resilience on the Success of Small and Medium Enterprises in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-12, July.
    4. Laura Južnik Rotar & Roberta Kontošić Pamić & Štefan Bojnec, 2019. "Contributions of small and medium enterprises to employment in the European Union countries," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 3302-3314, January.
    5. Daniel E. Ufua & Olusola J. Olujobi & Mercy E. Ogbari & Joseph A. Dada & Oluwatosin D. Edafe, 2020. "Operations of small and medium enterprises and the legal system in Nigeria," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, December.
    6. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    7. Martine R. Haas & Morten T. Hansen, 2005. "When using knowledge can hurt performance: the value of organizational capabilities in a management consulting company," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-24, January.
    8. Yilmaz BAYAR, 2016. "Financial Development And Unemployment In Emerging Market Economies," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business (continues Analele Stiintifice), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 63(2), pages 237-245, July.
    9. Jeroen Content & Niels Bosma & Jacob Jordaan & Mark Sanders, 2020. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems, entrepreneurial activity and economic growth: new evidence from European regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(8), pages 1007-1019, July.
    10. Andrew Phiri, 2017. "The Unemployment-Stock Market Relationship in South Africa: Evidence from Symmetric and Asymmetric Cointegration Models," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 15(3 (Fall)), pages 231-254.
    11. Heijs, Joost & Arenas Díaz, Guillermo & Vergara Reyes, Delia Margarita, 2019. "Impact of innovation on employment in quantitative terms: review of empirical literature based on microdata," MPRA Paper 95326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Ibrahim Mike Okumu & Edward Bbaale & Madina Mwagale Guloba, 2019. "Innovation and employment growth: evidence from manufacturing firms in Africa," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-27, December.
    13. Panagiotis Tsolakidis & Naoum Mylonas & Eugenia Petridou, 2020. "The Impact of Imitation Strategies, Managerial and Entrepreneurial Skills on Startups’ Entrepreneurial Innovation," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-17, October.
    14. Masoumeh Doshmanli & Yashar Salamzadeh & Aidin Salamzadeh, 2018. "Development of SMEs in an emerging economy: does corporate social responsibility matter?," International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 17(2), pages 168-191.
    15. Chikán, Attila & Czakó, Erzsébet & Kiss-Dobronyi, Bence & Losonci, Dávid, 2022. "Firm competitiveness: A general model and a manufacturing application," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    16. Lara Al-Haddad & Muhammad Safdar Sial & Imdad Ali & Rahmat Alam & Nguyen Vinh Khuong & Thai Hong Thuy Khanh, 2019. "The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Employment Generation and Economic Growth: A Study of Marble Industry in Emerging Economy," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(6), pages 174-187, October.
    17. Kristina Matuzeviciute & Mindaugas Butkus & Akvile Karaliute, 2017. "Do Technological Innovations Affect Unemployment? Some Empirical Evidence from European Countries," Economies, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-19, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shaofeng Wang & Mengjia Gao & Hao Zhang, 2024. "Strengthening SMEs competitiveness and performance via industrial internet: Technological, organizational, and environmental pathways," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Michaela Pöhlmann & Carlos de las Heras-Pedrosa & Jürgen Seitz & Carmen Jambrino-Maldonado, 2025. "Evaluating the potential of agile branding: opportunities and challenges in the start-up context," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Aziza Syzdykova & Gulmira Azretbergenova, 2025. "Analysis of the Impact of SMEs’ Production Output on Kazakhstan’s Economic Growth Using the ARDL Method," Economies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Côrte-Real, Nadine & Oliveira, Tiago & Ruivo, Pedro, 2017. "Assessing business value of Big Data Analytics in European firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 379-390.
    2. Sipos, Norbert & Lukovszki, Lívia & Rideg, András, 2022. "A kisvállalati termék- vagy szolgáltatásinnováció erőforrás-alapú megközelítése [A resource-based view of small business product/service innovation]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(7), pages 929-961.
    3. Seung Hyun Lee & Choon Seong Leem & Dae Jung Bae, 2018. "The impact of technology capability, human resources, internationalization, market resources, and customer satisfaction on annual sales growth rates of Korean software firms," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 171-184, September.
    4. Waleczek, Peter & von den Driesch, Till & Flatten, Tessa C. & Brettel, Malte, 2019. "On the dynamic bundles behind operations management and research and development," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 175-187.
    5. Martin, Silvia L. & Javalgi, Rajshekhar G. & Cavusgil, Erin, 2017. "Marketing capabilities, positional advantage, and performance of born global firms: Contingent effect of ambidextrous innovation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 527-543.
    6. Chin‐jung Luan & Chengli Tien & Pei‐hua Wu, 2013. "Strategizing Environmental Policy and Compliance for Firm Economic Sustainability: Evidence from Taiwanese Electronics Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(8), pages 517-546, December.
    7. Ludivine Ravat & Aurélie Hemonnet-Goujot & Sandrine Hollet-Haudebert, 2023. "Data-driven innovation capability of marketing: an exploratory study of its components and underlying processes," Post-Print hal-04151199, HAL.
    8. Dominik M. Wielgos & Christian Homburg & Christina Kuehnl, 2021. "Digital business capability: its impact on firm and customer performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 762-789, July.
    9. André de Abreu Saraiva Monteiro Alves & Fernando Manuel Pereira de Oliveira Carvalho, 2022. "How Dynamic Managerial Capabilities, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Operational Capabilities Impact Microenterprises’ Global Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    10. David G. Sirmon & Michael A. Hitt, 2003. "Managing Resources: Linking Unique Resources, Management, and Wealth Creation in Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 339-358, October.
    11. Nils Grashof, 2020. "Sinking or swimming in the cluster labour pool? A firm-specific analysis of the effect of specialized labour," Jena Economics Research Papers 2020-006, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    12. George A Shinkle & Jo-Ann Suchard, 2019. "Innovation in newly public firms: The influence of government grants, venture capital, and private equity," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 44(2), pages 248-281, May.
    13. Kazadi, Kande & Lievens, Annouk & Mahr, Dominik, 2016. "Stakeholder co-creation during the innovation process: Identifying capabilities for knowledge creation among multiple stakeholders," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 525-540.
    14. Pettus, Michael L. & Kor, Yasemin Y. & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2007. "A Theory of Change in Turbulent Environments: The Sequencing of Dynamic Capabilities Following Industry Deregulation," Working Papers 07-0100, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    15. repec:ehu:cuader:33232 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Dildar Hussain & Marijana Sreckovic & Josef Windsperger, 2018. "An organizational capability perspective on multi-unit franchising," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 717-727, April.
    17. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Donbesuur, Francis & Ahsan, Mujtaba & Danso, Albert & Uddin, Moshfique, 2022. "Strategic agility of SMEs in emerging economies: Antecedents, consequences and boundary conditions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    18. Peters, Matt D. & Wieder, Bernhard & Sutton, Steve G. & Wakefield, James, 2016. "Business intelligence systems use in performance measurement capabilities: Implications for enhanced competitive advantage," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 1-17.
    19. Frank T. Rothaermel & Maria Tereza Alexandre, 2009. "Ambidexterity in Technology Sourcing: The Moderating Role of Absorptive Capacity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 759-780, August.
    20. Milorad M. Novicevic & M. Ronald Buckley & Michael G. Harvey, 2000. "The Changing Role of Managers within the Supply Chain Networks: Theory and Practical Implications," American Journal of Business, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 15(2), pages 33-42.
    21. Brion, Sébastien & Mothe, Caroline & Sabatier, Mareva, 2007. "What impacts more on innovation : Organizational context or individual competences ?," MPRA Paper 10595, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02434-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.