| The overall objective of the study is to identify the impact of innovation and information technology transfer on organizational performance in developing countries and to assess the extent to which entrepreneurial characteristics and environmental dynamics affect the relationship between technological innovation and the transfer among SMEs in Kenya.The specific objectives were to:establish the effect of technology innovation on SMEs performance,determine the impact of technology transfer on SMEs performance,examine the effect of entrepreneur characteristics on the SMEs performance,assess the effect of environmental dynamic on SMEs performance,and finally determine the joint effect of technology innovation and transfer,entrepreneur characteristics and environmental dynamics on SMEs performance.The study hypotheses were resultant of the stated objectives.The population of the study consisted of 300 SME managers from whom a sample of 240 SMEs was drawn.A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used.Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.The findings indicate that technology innovation influences firm performance positively.Firstly,it helps owner-managers understand the market,customers,products,and competitors.Secondly,it reveals the interrelationship between technological dynamics,product quality,and the level of innovation at all stages of business growth.Thirdly,it helps entrepreneurs take forward-looking perspectives,promote strategic planning,and continually update existing technologies to advance enterprise performance.The absorption and implementation of ICT vary according to mitigating factors such as entrepreneurial innovation,which improves the impact of technological innovation on organizational performance.Thus,technology innovation addresses two fundamental goals of business competitiveness;improving product quality and the company's overall technical operations that guarantee sustainable firm performance.Small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries can use ICT to make more innovative decisions relating to their production and marketing strategies.The use of technology in business results in superior performance,and the perceived benefits associated with technology innovation stimulate SMEs'innovativeness.Implementation of technology innovation by SMEs depends on its compatibility with work practices,which can hamper its application in developing countries.Similarly,the findings on technology transfer indicated a positive impact on SMEs' performance revealing the need for managers of both the provider and recipient firms involved in technology transfer to work together to ensure that all relevant information on the transferred technology is appropriate and available to the SMEs.Though technology transfer between providers and SMEs is focused on improving performance and solving problems,the SMEs need to comprehend the utility of the transferred technology based on their economic capability,the alternative solutions available,and their previous experience.Besides,the results show that the income disparity between SME sectors is a measure of the digital divide characterizing the development of technology interventions in developing nations.Further,the results show that the choice to adopt technology is influenced by the entrepreneur's capability based on the relative advantage of technology innovation.Manager's positive behavior coupled with experience has a significant impact on the firm's technology adoption and strengthens its confidence that technology innovation will improve its business performance through increased market access and efficiency.Success depends on the entrepreneur's hard work and persistence.Training enhances the entrepreneur's ability to adopt the technology relevant to business growth.These findings reveal the important role played by the entrepreneur's capability to screen the relevant environmental factors while introducing a new product,process,or market.The entrepreneur's ability to undertake calculated risks through environmental screening is necessary for addressing today's ever-evolving technology and customers' preferences.The findings on environmental dynamic on the relationship between technology innovation and SMEs performance revealed that entrepreneur innovativeness determines the level of IT innovation rather than the environment.Thus,the entrepreneur influences the actual use of technology innovation in the firm rather than the business environment.This result implies that SMEs must pursue technology innovation mechanisms in the operating environment indicating that the pressure for technological innovation with both environmental factors and performance might be risky.Therefore,SME performance is predisposed by the interaction of the innovation environment within which the business operates.Entrepreneurs can implement innovation either progressively or radically depending on the available resources.The results also confirm the relationship between an entrepreneur's ability to influence environmental factors and business performance.Taken jointly,technology innovation,technology transfer,entrepreneur characteristics,and environmental dynamics were found to have a statistically significant effect on SMEs' performance.The findings of this study enhance current theories and contribute to SMEs'management practices in both developed and emerging countries.The study suggests that entrepreneurs develop innovative strategies to achieve business performance.Educational practitioners should review the ICT curriculum in line with global trends to enable students to keep pace with changes in technology.Government policy ought to improve technology infrastructure to promote SMEs by providing the requisite infrastructure,training and by fostering business incubation,effective technology transfer,resource centers,role modeling,and marketing as a strategy to improve SME performance via global collaboration enabled by ICT interconnectedness. |
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