Organizational Innovation and Export Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Spice Enterprises in Tanzania: The Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the role of organizational innovation on export performance. Process upgrading was introduced in order to capture the mediation effects through a moderated mediation model. Firm size was presented as a moderator. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Hayes’s PROCESS Model 8 to determine the indirect effects. The results show that process upgrading partially mediates the relationship between organizational innovation and export performance and firm size was an important factor in shaping the direction of this relationship. Therefore, SME managers and entrepreneurs need to develop effective systems to accommodate organizational innovations and process upgrading in their organizations. This study provides a conceptual model that takes the network theory into account and can be used as a guide for the actions of managers, and it offers some insights that SMEs operating in a resource-constrained environment can use organizational innovations to upgrade their positions and thereby improve their export performance in the food sector.