Measuring The Impact Of Innovation On Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises SME Evidence From Iraq - Duhok Province Enterprises

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between innovation and performance in (316) small and medium sized enterprises in Duhok province enterprises. The research employed a quantitative approach related to impact of various innovation’s dimensions on performance metrics, the questionnaire will use Likert scale items. Data collected at the first quarter of 2024. The findings concluded the hypotheses that dimensions of marketing, operational, organizational innovation have significant impact on dimensions performance through performance’s dimensions (Financial Performance, Market Performance and Employment Performance) of SMEs in Duhok province. In contrast, the product innovation dimension had no significant effect on performance). In addition, the findings inform SMEs and policy makers that innovation is a critical factor in today’s entrepreneurial activities. The study recommends that SMEs should allocate resources towards building their marketing, operational, organizational innovation to improve performance of their firms.  Further studies should explore methods for how SMEs could assess cost-benefit ratio of innovation and how they determine whether to select internal or external sources of innovation prior to initiating actual innovation.