Organisation learning capability in Malaysian SMEs: Exploring management commitment, openness, and knowledge transfer as drivers for innovation implementation

Small Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) are vital for facilitating economic growth for developed and developing countries. SMEs are the main vehicle for entrepreneurship, contribute toward employment, society, and political stability, and are pioneers of innovation and competitive power. Besides, SMEs become the main supplier of goods and services to a large industry. However, in reality they are still unaware about the challenges faced by them, such as lack of knowledge, skills, and skills manpower, as well as limited financial resources and insufficient managerial infrastructure. SMEs also do not have abundant resources available for human capital development, which would enable R&D personnel to self-generate new knowledge. Organizational learning capability may serve a great function in innovation activities for SMEs. Therefore, it is important to conduct research that focuses on SMEs in this regard. The main objective of this study was to fill the identified literature gap by exploring organizational learning activities with three established SMEs currently conducting business. In this study, a qualitative method based on interviews was implemented. A total of 3 SMEs was selected. The results of the study revealed that organizational learning capabilities through management commitment, openness, and knowledge transfer can be considered critical factors for SMEs to achieve innovativeness and increase productivity within the organization. This paper is able to enrich the current understanding of organizational learning capabilities through management commitment, openness, and knowledge creation and transfer. A greater understanding of organizational learning contributes to improved organizational practices and as such, ultimately improves SMEs productivity through innovation activities.