Managerial Innovation and Front Office Employee Performance: The Mediating Role of Training in Service SMEs in Souss-Massa

Abstract

This research examines the influence of managerial innovation on front office employee performance in service SMEs in the Souss Massa region of Morocco, exploring the mediating role of staff training. In the Moroccan economic environment characterized by intense competition and high uncertainty, service SMEs, which represent more than 95% of the regional economic fabric, face significant challenges to maintain their competitiveness. Souss Massa, as the second economic hub of Morocco, presents an entrepreneurial landscape dominated by service SMEs that significantly contribute to the regional economy. The study tests four main hypotheses on a sample of 54 SMEs from various service sectors (restaurant/hospitality, commerce, financial services, business services, personal services, and transportation/logistics) using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that managerial innovation has no significant direct effect on front office employee performance, but operates indirectly through staff training (β=0.743, p<0.001), which significantly enhances performance (β=0.610, p=0.002). This complete mediation (indirect effect=0.453, p=0.005) highlights the strategic importance of aligning managerial innovation initiatives with appropriate training policies to maximize performance outcomes in service SMEs. Managerial innovation explains 55.2% of the variance in training, and together, these two variables explain 39.0% of the variance in employee performance. These findings enrich our understanding of the underlying mechanisms between managerial innovation and employee performance, while emphasizing the importance of training as an essential vector for the effective appropriation of managerial innovations, particularly in the context of emerging economies where SMEs often have limited resources.

Classification JEL: M53

Paper type: Empirical research.