Knowledge management and innovation in the certified family SME: the mediating role of TQM

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of knowledge management (KM) on innovation (INN) through the mediating role of total quality management (TQM). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 130 certified family SMEs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model. Findings Results show that knowledge management positively influences TQM. Similarly, TQM positively influences product and process innovation. The direct effect of KM on product and process INN is not significant. Furthermore, results show that the indirect effect of KM on product and process INN through TQM is significant. TQM fully mediates the relationship between KM and product and process INN. Research limitations/implications This research was carried out on the basis of a sample of family SMEs, which shows the difficulty of generalizing the results of this study. Future researchers are encouraged to investigate the present model by selecting samples of companies from the industrial and service sectors. Practical implications The results of this article demonstrate that in resource-constrained SMEs, KM practices alone are insufficient; embedding them within a structured TQM framework is necessary to translate knowledge into innovative outputs. As a result, managers can pay particular attention to knowledge management processes, removing barriers to organizational learning to improve innovation. Originality/value This article test a full mediation model in which TQM completely channels the effect of KM into both product and process INN, challenging the assumption that KM directly drives innovation.