Examining the Effect of Knowledge Management on Performance of Small Firms in Dare es Salaam: A Case Study of Garage Workshops in Temeke District, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Pius Sotery,Hawa I. Munisi

doi:10.37284/eajbe.5.1.549

Abstract

Despite knowledge management being an approach used to achieve organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge, little has been done on identifying the effect of knowledge management in the Tanzanian context. This study was therefore undertaken to assess the impact of knowledge management on the performance of small firms in Tanzania. Three variables, knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge utilisation were examined for their impact on the performance of garage workshops. The researcher used a random sampling technique in recruiting the sample size. Questionnaires and interviews were used in obtaining the data. Content analysis, descriptive statistics, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse study data. The study found that knowledge creation and knowledge utilisation were positively and significantly related to the performance of garage workshops, while knowledge sharing was found to have a positive but insignificant impact on garage workshops performance. Management of small firms was recommended to hire experienced staff to encourage knowledge creation, create an organisational culture that encourages workers interaction, and arrange tasks in a way that workers are encouraged to utilise new knowledge

Highlights

In the present hypercompetitive environment, knowledge management processes and international entrepreneurship orientations have become the most engaging concept in management (Hanif et al, 2018)
On average, 10% of the respondents agreed, 50% agreed, 32% were neutral, 8% disagreed, while 0% strongly disagreed that the independent variables, knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge utilisation influenced garage workshop performance (Table 1)
They reported a view that interaction between workers and job rotations played a key role in the sharing of knowledge to improve garage performance while improving the service quality

Summary

Introduction

In the present hypercompetitive environment, knowledge management processes and international entrepreneurship orientations have become the most engaging concept in management (Hanif et al, 2018). Both are predominantly the common strategies for better organisational performance. Knowledge in businesses can be acquired through social processes between a firm and local stakeholders or selfgeneration of new knowledge in the process of research and development. Different studies have proposed that organisations applying knowledge management can bring out superior performance. The importance of knowledge management can be observed in the stimulation of innovation, especially in the present increasingly interacting and deregulated business environment as a result of globalisation

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion