Moderating Role of Competitive Environment between Knowledge Management, Human Capital and SMEs’ performance: Emerging Countries’ Perspective

Abstract

The importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their economic contribution is acknowledged globally. Although SMEs in developed economies have become fairly competitive, their counterparts in the emerging economies have struggled in the rapidly evolving external environment. The objective of this study is to present a conceptual framework for SMEs in emerging economies targeted to raise their performance. Literature indicates that the low skill level of human resource and the lack of emphasis on knowledge management are the major factors behind the struggle of SMEs to establish themselves in emerging economies. Earlier studies have discovered a positive impact of knowledge management and human capital in raising SMEs’ performance. Literature also indicates that the influence of knowledge and human capital within SMEs’ performance varies due to the prevailing competitive conditions. Therefore, this study proposes a conceptual framework to leverage the performance of SMEs in emerging economies and examines how this relationship may vary when it interacts with the competitive environment.