This study examines the effect of transformational leadership and organizational learning on the performance of Tunisian SMEs, integrating the mediating role of organizational innovation. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of resource theory (RBV) and dynamic capabilities, the research proposes a conceptual model tested empirically through a survey of 332 managers and executives of Tunisian industrial SMEs. Data analysis, using the PLS-SEM method, shows that transformational leadership and organizational learning have a significant positive effect on organizational performance. Organizational innovation plays a partial mediating role, converting these managerial levers into concrete performance gains. These results underline the importance of an integrated, strategic approach to management in SMEs, based on the development of human capital, a learning culture and the encouragement of innovation. The study thus makes both theoretical and managerial contributions in an emerging country context.

Autorentext

Mourad Souissi holds a doctorate in management science, specializing in entrepreneurship. He is a teacher-researcher at the Faculté des Sciences Économiques et de Gestion in Sfax-Tunisia, where his work focuses on managerial innovation, SME development and entrepreneurial dynamics.