Organisational learning and competitive advantage: testing for the interacting influence of knowledge management and innovation

It is argued that in this era of globalisation and knowledge economy competitive advantage is a result of firm-specific resources and capabilities with characteristics of value, rareness, inimitability and non-substitutability. Accordingly, firms consider organisational learning, knowledge management and innovation as intangible resources for achieving competitive advantage however; little research has empirically examined the relationships between these resources especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore in a single model the relationships between organisational learning and competitive advantage with the interacting influence of knowledge management and innovation in a developing country such as Uganda in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between organisational learning and competitive advantage and that the interactive influence of knowledge management and innovation increases the predictive power of the relationship. This paper discusses these findings and provides theoretical and managerial implications.