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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of innovation on the relationship between managerial competencies and business performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey and quantitative methodological approach were used to collect the data. The bootstrap method was used to test mediation effects. Findings The findings revealed that innovation is a significant mediator in the association between managerial competencies and business performance. This study, therefore, adds new knowledge by stating that innovation toward business performance is a partial mediator in the relationship between managerial competencies and business performance of SMEs in Rwanda. Research limitations/implications Only a single research methodological approach was used. Qualitative studies through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate. Furthermore, the findings from the present study are cross-sectional. Longitudinal studies ought to be undertaken to examine the mediation effects studied to investigate any possibility of variations in the results. Practical implications The results may help owners-managers of SMEs to develop policies and strategies that could enable them to take advantage of new opportunities in relation to updated technology and cope with changes that may take place in the business environment to boost their business performance level. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, no research has ever been carried out on the mediating role of innovation in the relationship between managerial competencies and business performance of SMEs in Rwanda.

Abstract:The purpose of this study was to investigate whether knowledge management under its three dimensions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and responsiveness to knowledge lead to innovation in Rwandan SMEs. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to collect data used to examine that relationship. The results revealed that only knowledge sharing was found positive and significant predictor of innovation. This implies that effective knowledge management through knowledge sharing may lead to innovation.This study used a cross-sectional research design combined with a quantitative research approach. Future researchers could employ a longitudinal method to investigate any possibility of variations in the results. Qualitative studies could equally be used to supplement the quantitative findings. Lastly, this study focused on manufacturing SMEs only. Future research might focus on other types of businesses. Owners-managers of SMEs may sustain their competitive position and survive longer when knowledge is effectively and efficiently shared in order to increase their innovation capability. The study generated empirical evidence on less studied phenomena in the SMEs sector. The evidence highlighted the powerful influence of knowledge sharing in predicting innovation in SMEs.

Entrepreneurship is known, contribute to the economic growth locally as well as globally. To make entrepreneurship play its economic role, entrepreneurs are oriented by different factors and perform differently in their business. This lead the researchers to investigate the entrepreneurial orientation considering necessity and opportunity factors among women and men business owners and their owned businesses in Huye District. This was done to find out the effect of such orientation on their business performance and to examine the significance of cross-gender differences with regard to the variables under study. For achieving the above objectives; structured questionnaire and documentary review techniques were used to collect data. From total population of 1787 business owners identified from 11 sectors in Huye District, researchers sampled 327 respondents. Random and convenience sampling techniques were used. The results showed that both males and females are more opportunity oriented than necessity oriented. Study shows that business owned by males perform better than business owned by females regarding both financial and non-financial performance aspects. It was also found out that there are no significant differences in both levels of entrepreneurial orientation and business performance across gender. Correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between entrepreneurial orientation of women and men business owners and their business performance. Based on these findings, it recommends that the Government of Rwanda (GoR) should focus training and sensitization for women to increase their involvement in business and improve the performance of existing women business owners. Improving entrepreneurship program by MINEDUC should also be given consideration especially at primary and secondary levels/educations to prepare potential entrepreneurs.