Title: Impact of knowledge management on the self-efficacy of entrepreneurs: Mexican SME context

Authors: Louise Kelly, Rachna Kumar

Addresses: Marshall Goldsmith School of Management, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA 92131, USA. ' Marshall Goldsmith School of Management, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA 92131, USA

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between knowledge management and the self-efficacy of individuals in the organisation. We investigate the impact of the ETK model on the self-efficacy of entrepreneurs in the organisation. The ETK model refers to the three concepts: emotional competence (E), technology competence (T) and knowledge competence (K) within an organisation and is a synchronisation concept of linking the ETK components in an organisation so that they operate synergistically. We propose that self-efficacy of individuals in an organisation is related to the synchronisation levels of the ETK components in that organisation. Self-efficacy, an intrinsic characteristic of an individual, can be impacted by using different interventions and treatments. Using data from 200 small and medium entrepreneurs in the Mexican economy, the paper concludes that the synergistic operation of the E, T and K components in an organisation is significantly related to the self-efficacy scores of the organisational entrepreneurs.

Keywords: information technology; knowledge management; KM; emotion; synchronisation; self-efficacy; entrepreneurs; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; Mexico; entrepreneurship; emotional competence; technology competence; knowledge competence.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2009.023917

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2009 Vol.10 No.1/2, pp.111 - 124

Published online: 18 Mar 2009 *

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