Entrepreneurship Training and Performance of Tanzanian Handicrafts Exporting Micro and Small Enterprises: The Moderating Effect of Home Market Export Incentives

Abstract

The contribution of home market export incentives to the performance of exporting enterprises has been the subject of growing interest from scholars, entrepreneurs, and policymakers. Nevertheless, exporting MSEs is constrained by such favourable
incentives, mostly when compared with medium, large, and multinational enterprises. This study sought to examine the moderating
effect of export incentives on the relationship between entrepreneurship training and the performance of handicrafts exporting Micro
and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Tanzania. Descriptive and correlational research designs were adopted in this study. Data were
collected from 171 sampled owner-managers of handicrafts exporting MSEs in Dar es Salaam obtained through purposive sampling
and proportionate stratified sampling techniques. The moderating effect was tested by comparing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)
regression and Moderated Multiple Regression (MMR) models. The interaction effect between home market export incentives and
entrepreneurship training was found to be significant (β= 1.484, t= 3.714>|1.96|, p=0.000<0.05). It is concluded that export incentives
moderate the relationship between entrepreneurship training and the performance of handicrafts exporting MSEs. The study recommends the need for the respective ministries to work on the policy framework and institutional context to enhance the provision of entrepreneurship training programmes and home market export incentives more frequently, at low costs and for specific MSEs’ needs.