Entrepreneurs’ competencies and sustainability of small and medium enterprises in Tanzania. A mediating effect of entrepreneurial innovations

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not often survive beyond five years. The major challenge is the transition from the maturity stage to a sustainable stage. However, apart from a few studies done on SME sustainability with the majority engaged in SME performance, a gap has been identified in the body of literature, especially the exclusion of the mediating effects of key variables. This study, therefore, aims at looking into the mediating role of entrepreneurial innovations on entrepreneurs’ competencies and the sustainability of SMEs in Tanzania. The study applied a cross-sectional design, in which a structured questionnaire was adopted to capture information from 384 sampled SMEs. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) in doing a confirmatory factor analysis and a path analysis. The findings show that entrepreneurs’ competencies have positive and significant effects on entrepreneurial innovations, and the effects of entrepreneurial innovation on SME sustainability are also positive and significant. The study further found partial mediation effects of entrepreneurial innovations on entrepreneurs’ competencies and SME sustainability. It was found that establishing SME sustainability is the outcome of competencies and innovation. Therefore, this study’s findings can help enrich the limited literature on competencies and innovations and increase the chances of SME sustainability. Further, the current study recommends providing key competence-based training that will help equip entrepreneurs with innovative skills for the sustainability of SMEs.