The role of supply chain management practices towards knowledge acquisition and business performance among SMEs

As competition intensified within the 4 IR era, along with the recent aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, managing supply chains became increasingly complex, thereby escalating the challenges faced by SMEs in acquiring the relevant knowledge necessary for enhancing their competitive advantage. This situation has prompted researchers and practitioners alike to shift their attention from short-term transactional supply chain management practices to adopting knowledge acquisition strategies that improve organisational competitive advantage. A review of the existing literature revealed that limited research on this subject has been conducted within SMEs, thereby warranting a study of this nature. The objective of this study is to examine the role of supply chain management practices in knowledge acquisition, as well as the impact of knowledge acquisition on the business performance of South African SMEs. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was adopted, and data were gathered using a cross-sectional survey with self-administered structured questionnaires among SME owners and managers (n=250) in Gauteng province. The results revealed that four out of the five predictors (with the exception of information sharing) showed significant predictive relationships towards knowledge acquisition in SMEs. Moreover, knowledge acquisition also demonstrated a significant relationship with business performance. These findings have implications for policymakers and researchers in the field of supply chain management, as they highlight the need for SMEs to adopt effective supply chain management practices to strengthen their knowledge acquisition capacity and subsequently improve their business performance.