NAVIGATING GOVERNANCE IN EMERGING MARKETS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR SMES IN UGANDA

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in driving economic growth, generating employment, and alleviating poverty in developing nations. They account for a significant share of the workforce and make substantial contributions to the national GDP. However, despite their critical role, SMEs encounter various governance challenges, including institutional gaps and inadequate stakeholder representation and trust, which hinder their sustainability. This article presents a comprehensive systematic review of SME governance within the context of emerging markets, with a particular emphasis on Uganda. The resulting framework advocates for a multi-faceted approach to governance that includes: regulatory governance, particularly adherence to norms and business formalization; institutional governance that leverages informal networks like family and community ties along with a solid knowledge foundation to navigate formal requirements; stakeholder governance that fosters trust and transparent relationship management; and adaptive governance that emphasizes continual learning and the integration of technology to remain agile in a rapidly changing environment. This framework aims to facilitate a multi-tiered governance strategy essential for the evolution of both formal and informal governance systems to manage the intricate institutional landscapes of emerging economies. Additionally, it addresses significant policy and management challenges that Uganda and similar countries may face in the future, emphasizing the need for capacity building, regulatory reforms, and technological assistance to enable SMEs to expand and thrive in governance. This integrated model serves as a foundation for further empirical investigation and practical initiatives aimed at enhancing SME governance and is pivotal for the success of rural development in Uganda, ultimately contributing to the nation’s long-term economic progress.