TECHNOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES INKNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN A SELECTED CITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA

Abstract

In a knowledge economy, knowledge has become the basic form of capital. Economic growth is driven by the accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge is used in organisations to make money. The current study seeks to explore the challenges that SMEs experience when managing their knowledge in a developing country, Zambia that is undergoing radical change. An exploratory and descriptive type of study was conducted because there is little research that has been done on the availability and challenges of Knowledge Management in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of SMEs that were drawn randomly across the selected city and those registered with the relevant authorities that is, the Patents and Companies Registration agency (PACRA) of Zambia. Interviews were conducted with some of the supervisors of these SMEs to allow for more probing and insight into the challenges being experienced. It was found out that most SMEs experienced challenges of competing in the global market more specifically, economic, political and social challenges, human resource challenges, organisational structure challenges and technological challenges.