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Abstract:
The attention that has lately been paid to the importance of knowledge in companies is not a recent phenomenon. Companies have always been based on knowledge. Knowledge is an important resource and undoubtedly one of the sources of sustainable competitive advantage. We are well aware of the fact that it is very difficult to define every dimension of knowledge and even harder to measure them. In this paper we have focused at the entrepreneur knowledge. We have thus developed a knowledge model in entrepreneurship, tested it empirically on a sample of Slovenian small and medium-size companies and thus proved its multidimensional character. The model unites entrepreneur knowledge dimensions with performance ratios. For the purpose of the model design we have developed a model of the factors which constitute and measure entrepreneur knowledge, as well as a company's performance. By using the final model in our research we have proved that almost 18 % of the variability in a company's performance can be accounted for with entrepreneur knowledge.
Keywords: knowledge, small and medium- sized companies, business performance, structural modelling, knowledge model.
Introduction
Research dealing with the study of the importance of knowledge, has lately often been carried out in entrepreneurial environment. The concept of human capital of entrepreneurs, of which knowledge is an important dimension, is the topic of many studies that deal with the topic from both economic and organisational aspect. These studies most often focus on the effects of entrepreneurs' education, their past experience and family and professional background of entrepreneurs (Brüderl et.al. 1992; Boswell 1972; Bates 1985, 1990; Preisendörfer and Voss 1990; Cooper et al. 1994). Brüderl et al. agree that a higher level of entrepreneur education has a positive effect on productivity, which subsequently leads to higher profitability. Higher productivity leads to greater efficiency of organisation and process management and, on the other hand, to improved ability to attract customers and participate successfully in negotiations with suppliers and eventual investors. Entrepreneurs with more knowledge will be less uncertain regarding their effectiveness and they will be able to learn and notice changes on the market faster. In addition, they are likely to notice profitable market opportunities faster than their competitors. In-depth research on different dimensions of the knowledge of entrepreneurs...