Are African micro- and small enterprises misunderstood? Unpacking the relationship between work organisation, capability development and innovation

Kraemer-Mbula, Erika; Lorenz, Edward; Takala Greenish, Lotta; Jegede, Oluseye Oladayo; Garba, Tukur; Mutambala, Musambya; Esemu, Timothy

Abstract

Mainstream studies on innovation consider innovation processes as necessarily driven by expenditures on formal R&D and the input of engineers and scientists with third-level degrees. This bias in the literature has led to the view that micro- and small enterprises (MSEs), which constitute the majority of Africa’s enterprise base, are non-innovative. Building on an existing critique largely emerging from developing countries, this study provides evidence that, despite their lack of formal R&D expenditures, MSEs in Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda are in fact active innovators. The paper argues that the mainstream literature fails to capture important dynamics and practices that are central to innovation in MSEs. Arguing that the way work activity is organised is closely linked to learning, capability development and, ultimately, innovation, the paper unpacks the relationships between these three processes with evidence from MSEs in the four African countries. The empirical findings demonstrate that an important basis for the innovativeness of African MSEs is the adaptability of employees and their ability to learn on the job and to make use of their own ideas in solving the problems they face in work.

Citation

Kraemer-Mbula, E., Lorenz, E., Takala Greenish, L., Jegede, O. O., Garba, T., Mutambala, M., & Esemu, T. (2019). Are African micro- and small enterprises misunderstood? Unpacking the relationship between work organisation, capability development and innovation. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 11(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTLID.2019.10018585

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 21, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jan 21, 2019
• Publication Date: Jan 21, 2019
• Deposit Date: Mar 2, 2023
• Journal: International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development
• Print ISSN: 1753-1942
• Electronic ISSN: 1753-1950
• Publisher: Inderscience
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-30
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTLID.2019.10018585
• Keywords: Innovation; micro- and small enterprises; MSEs; Africa; work organisation; learning; capability building; informal economy
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10478042
• Publisher URL: https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJTLID.2019.097411