Benue State University, Makurdi

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES) IN BENUE STATE NIGERIA

Dr. John Emakwu, Dr. Emmanuel Lubem Asenge Bukola Rebecca Oyeleye and Michael Abah

Abstract

The emergent changes in the business environment have led to a focus on knowledge as a driver of superior performance in firms. Firms therefore tend to adopt organizational learning practices to manage their knowledge assets for competitive advantage and increased performance. The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of organizational learning practices on the performance of selected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Benue State, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design and self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of132 selected SMEs in Benue State. Data collected were analyzed using correlation and multiple regressions with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 23). Findings of the study revealed that organizational learning practices (knowledge acquisition, information distribution, information interpretation and organizational memory) were significantly correlated with organizational performance and have positive and significant effect on SMEs performance. The study recommended amongst others that managers of SMEs should ensure the accessibility of stored information by all employees and the creation of manuals for storing such information.

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