Customer Employee Exchange and Firm Innovative Behavior Among SMEs in Ghana : The Mediating Role of Customer Knowledge Management

Abstract

The study sought to examine the relationship between customer-employee exchange and firm innovative behaviour (FIB). The mediation effect of customer knowledge management in the relationship between customer-employee exchange and FIB was determined. Quantitative data was collected using a structured questionnaire. We sampled 247 respondents from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana using the simple random sampling technique. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was assessed using the Smart-PLS. The findings of the study suggest that the variables representing customer-employee exchange (solidarity, harmonization, and information exchange) have had an important effect on FIB. Moreover, customer knowledge management is found to mediate relationships between customer-employee exchange and firm innovative behaviour. The study recommends that due to their limited resources compared to larger companies’ new ways of interactions between SMEs and customers should be introduced and enhanced as that will help the firms to improve their innovative behaviour.