Job-Rotation, Utilization of Workshops, and Performance of SMEs: An Empirical Study from the Gasabo District in Rwanda

Citation

Habiyaremye P, Ayebale D & Wanyama SB (2017) Job-Rotation, Utilization of Workshops, and Performance of SMEs: An Empirical Study from the Gasabo District in Rwanda. In: Achtenhagen L & Brundin E (eds.) Management Challenges in Different Types of African Firms: Processes, Practices and Performance. Frontiers in African Business Research. Singapore: Springer-Verlag Singapore Pte Ltd, pp. 187-204. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4536-3_11

Abstract
This study addresses an important aspect of building small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SME) performance capacity through human resource development. It specifically studies the experiences of manufacturing SMEs in Rwanda to demonstrate the performance implications of using workshops and job-rotation in small entrepreneurial firms. Given its unique commitment in the region for building necessary support for developing enterprises, Rwanda was a particularly interesting context to study this aspect. Our study included 101 firms drawn from Gasabo, a district in capital Kigali. With the help of a regression analysis, we found support for a positive direct link between job-rotation and SME performance . We, however, did not find a similar result regarding workshops and SME performance. In order to examine the effects of job-rotation and workshops in more depth, we tested for the combined effect of these two practices. Our findings demonstrate the value of workshops when combined with job-rotation among SMEs in our study setting. With these findings, our study demonstrates how local firms and advocates of workshops can effectively use this method to enhance SME performance.

Keywords
Performance; Training practices; Job-rotation; Workshops and small; Medium-sized enterprises