The Nexus between Innovation Types and Marketing Performance of SMEs in an Emerging Economy: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships between the innovation types, knowledge sharing and firm’s marketing performance of small and medium enterprise (SME) in an emerging economy- Ghana. In particular, it measures the mediating role of knowledge sharing within the relationship between innovation types and marketing performance. The study relied on a survey method through convenience sampling and gathered data through a sum of 437 questionnaires from SME service companies operating in Ashanti and Greater Accra region of Ghana. The quantitative methodologies were used in which Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and bootstrapping method were used to test the hypotheses. The results obtained indicate that innovation types strongly have a significant impact on marketing performance, there is a positive connection between knowledge sharing and marketing performance, innovation types have a positive influence on knowledge sharing, and knowledge sharing was found to completely mediate the association between innovation types and marketing performance. The results clarify that innovation types, knowledge sharing, and marketing performance play a vital role in the success of SME in emerging economies and the indisputable fact that managers and owners of such businesses need to pay attention to these concepts and use them to their advantage.