Majority Of SMEs Research Articles

Export Behavior, Export Performance and International Marketing Strategy on Export Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises: An International Trade Perspective in Developing Countries

The aim of this Doctoral Seminar-I is to examine why the majority of SMEs in the developing countries like Ethiopia remain focused on the domestic market, while few choose to sell a proportion of their goods abroad, even though they face similar market conditions and operate in the same location. A variety of explanations to this problem exist in the literature examining the export promotion strategy of SMEs. Following the recognition of a gap in international marketing strategy such as: standardization and adaption, managerial determinants and export behavior including expansion and involvement based on the literature studies, this Doctoral Seminar-I seeks to shed light on the issue from the Ethiopian context. The seminar proposes an integrated theoretical framework, developed from the analyses of the extant literature review, to address an explanation why some SMEs export do not succeed to achieve the exporting of their products in the context of developing countries like Ethiopia. The proposed framework consists of a synthesized integration of the following theoretical perspectives: the resource-based view of the firm; stage theory; network theory, international entrepreneurship theory; and contingency theory which mostly applicable in the context of SMEs. Here, the key assumptions underlying the integrated framework that SMEs export behaviour represents a complex event, and therefore no single theoretical framework is robust enough to explain the phenomenon in detail. In addition, as none of the theoretical frameworks are without weakness it is argued their integration offsets the weaknesses of each, thereby offering a deeper explanation of the factors underlying export behaviour, international marketing strategy and managerial determinants. Keywords: Export promotion, Internationalization, Export behavior, Ethiopia DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-16-06 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

Informal Finance Options and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises’ Patronage in Nigeria: Empirical Evidence from Ekiti State

This paper appraises two topical issues namely, which are the most patronized informal finance institutions by small and medium scale enterprises in Ekiti State, What is the distribution of SMEs by informal finance options and rural and urban areas classification in the State? The study examines the most patronized among the available informal finance institutions in Nigeria using Ekiti State as a case study. A critical analysis of primary data collected from field survey and questionnaires administered on five hundred and forty (540) respondents in the State shows the distribution of small and medium scale enterprises in term of patronage. It however found that among the informal financial institutions analyzed in the study, availability of fund from cooperative thrift and credit society, daily contribution scheme, rotational savings and credit association, tends to be considerably high, while majority of SMEs in the state do not have access to funds from professional money lenders, and professional trade association. It is therefore recommended among others that Informal financial institutions should make use of the strength in research to track SME’s perception of their services for increased patronage and fund availability thereby contributing significantly to the growth and development of the state.

Kemampuan Kinerja Keuangan Untuk Meningkatkan Daya Saing UKM Yang Berbasis Green Economy

The majority of SMEs in its activities is how to obtain the highest possible profits without pay attention to the potential negative impacts. The purpose of this research is how to increase the financial performan through strengthening the financial performance through the strengthening of institutional and production on the SME-based green economy..
 The methodology used in this study by doing observation as well as administering the questionnaire to SMEs, then the results of these questionnaires do tabulate and analyzed using the structure equation model and then do analysis by AMOS.
 Based on statistical analysis of the results obtained that financial performan has no capability as full variable intervening to the financial performan and competitivness on SMES based on green economy

Kesiapan UMKM Terhadap Implementasi SAK EMKM (Studi UMKM Di Kabupaten Blora)

SMEs has an important role in economic development in Indonesia. In this development, SMEs has several obstacles. One of them is the preparation of financial statements that are not in accordance with accounting standards in Indonesia. SAK ETAP is a standard for SMEs in preparing financial statements. However, many studies have suggested that the majority of SMEs in Indonesia have not been able to implement SAK ETAP because the standard are too complex. Therefore DSAK IAI publishes new financial accounting standard for SMEs which is SAK EMKM effective on January 01, 2018. The new standard is intended to assist the needs in the preparation of financial statements. The result of this research shows the level the readiness of SMEs in implementing SAK EMKM. In conducting this research, the researcher used descriptive qualitative research. The researcher collects the data of this research from the interview and documentation. The analysis is dine by data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion. The results of this research shows that two SMEs in Blora Regency are not ready in applying SAK EMKM. The absence of SMEs have not done the preparation of financial statements.

Analysis of Implementation of SMEs Tax Enforcement: The effects of tax justice dimensions, understanding of tax ac-counting on SME’s tax compliance

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of understanding on tax accounting, tax justice toward tax compliance on SMEs tax. The research method applied in this study is quantitative deductive method. The population taken were SMEs registered in Department of Cooperatives SMEs, Trade and Industry in Banyumas, Purbalingga and Cilacap. The data were collected by using convenience sampling. They were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 115 SMEs. The finding shows that the SMEs tax compliance is influenced by understanding on tax accounting and tax justice. In addition, this study also reveals that the majority of SMEs have lack of understanding about tax accounting and most respondents still doubt about tax justice. Thus, the recommendation of this research is to conduct a judicial review of Government Regulation No. 46 Year 2013 to conform to the principle of tax fairness, transparency in the field of taxation should be improved, and the bottom-up approach must be conducted prior to issuing regulations by the government, especially given the economic capacity of SMEs.

The extent of logistics outsourcing among small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi

Background: Small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (manufacturing SMEs) can facilitate economic growth and development by creating employment and spurring economic activities at low levels of the economy. The performance of SMEs in Kenya has, however, been poor, despite their significance. This poor performance is attributed to the high costs of logistics operations in the country. Manufacturing SMEs can, however, improve the performance of their logistics operations by adopting appropriate logistics outsourcing strategies.Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of logistics outsourcing among manufacturing SMEs in Nairobi.Setting: Manufacturing SMEs in Nairobi operate from the industrial zones of the Nairobi City County. The enterprises’ logistics operations are characterised by long cycle times, high transportation costs and limited resources. The high operational costs experienced by the SMEs threaten their survival, and they are therefore required, among other things, to manage their logistics more efficiently to improve overall performance.Method: A quantitative research design was used in this study. Data were collected from 163 manufacturing SMEs using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and (a one-way analysis of variance) ANOVA were used to analyse the data.Results: Most (94%) of the manufacturing SMEs opted to outsource their logistics operations, although the extent of outsourcing was limited (1% – 50% of logistics operations were outsourced). Logistics outsourcing by the SMEs is intended to reduce logistics costs and supplement the limited in-house capabilities. In addition, there were significant differences in the extent of outsourcing of operational, information processing and value-added categories of logistics activities.Conclusion: The results motivate SME owners and managers to acquire logistics resources and capabilities that are lacking in-house through logistics outsourcing to achieve the required efficiencies. Although the majority of SMEs have embraced logistics outsourcing, the low extent of its usage within the enterprises might have limited the ability to achieve high efficiencies.

KUALITAS LAPORAN KEUANGAN UKM DI KOTA PEKANBARU

The development of SMEs in the city of Pekanbaru are very rapidly both in urban and in rural areas. But there are still many SMEs whose management is not maximized both in managerially and financially. This study aims to determine how the quality of the financial statements of SMEs in the city of Pekanbaru. Taken 100 SME units in the city of Pekanbaru as sample. To determine the quality of the financial statements, there are thing that will be examined: (1) the presence or absence of accounting records, (2) there is or is not doingthe recording and accounting reporting, (3) the presence or absence special part of routine accounting, (4) components of the financial statements. The results showed that as many as 84% of SME businessmen keep records of transactions, but only 61% were making financial recordingregularly. As many as 10% of SMEs have a special section which carry the recording and reporting of accounting. Only 1% of employers that presents the components of the complete financial statements. The majority of SMEs are as much as 32% present a statement of financial position and income statement in the financial statements. This suggests that the low quality of the financial statements of SMEs in Pekanbaru that reflects a lack of understanding and knowledge of the importance of accounting for business continuity support.

ASSESSMENT OF ICT APPLICATION BY SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES IN THE KENYAN PROFESSIONAL SERVICE INDUSTRY: A CASE OF SMES LOCATED ALONG MPAKA ROAD (WESTLANDS)

Purpose: The study was an assessment of ICT application by small and medium sized enterprises in the Kenyan professional service industry, a case of SMEs located along Mpaka road (Westlands).Methodology: A descriptive survey design was used as it was appropriate for reporting the way things are. A population of 124 SMEs gave rise to a sample of 25 SMES (20% of population) which were selected on a stratified non random sampling technique. The data collection instrument was a self-report questionnaire and the data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was then presented using graphs and chartsResults: Findings in this study indicated that though majority of SMES used various forms of ICT, they did not have faxes and internet connection. In addition, the SMEs did not use a website as an advertising tool since they did not have one and also didn’t use faxes for transmitting documents such as quotations and invoices. The challenges facing ICT use by SMEs were financial in nature, infrastructural in nature and capacity (training in nature). Benefits accruing to SMEs were as delineated in literature review though regional expansion was not applicable to SMEs in the study.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that there should be facilitation of training through workshops and courses on ICT, bridging the financial gap for SMEs, improvement in infrastructure and the internet backbone and a policy frame work on SMEs. Areas of further studies included a relationship analysis between the use of ICT and the financial performance, customer satisfaction, and staff morale in the context of SMEs.

Innovation magnitude of manufacturing industry in Egypt with particular focus on SMEs

This paper is based on the main findings of the 2015 Egyptian National Innovation Survey, which covered 2700 SMEs firms with different manufacturing activities. The main objective of paper is to try to evaluate the situation in the private SMEs, regarding to the innovation. Also highlights on the roles of cooperation in innovation on performance of SMEs. Our findings show that 35.5% of Egyptian SMEs have at least one type of innovation (product or process). The innovation activities increase with increasing the size of companies in term of number of employees. The majority of SMEs are in the manufacturing sectors, whereas 2.1 % of innovative SMEs firms depend on universities, government, and public research institutions as main sources of information to developing their product or process innovation.

External managers, family ownership and the scope of SME internationalization

SMEs are important to world business and the majority of SMEs are family firms. Yet some family SMEs are inert, local firms while others are dynamic and international. Do certain governance structures encourage the scale and scope of their internationalization? We jointly apply social capital and corporate governance theories to explain the scope of family SMEs internationalization, and find that professional managers externally recruited from outside the family are important, but only for lower levels of family ownership, suggesting synergistic combinations of ownership and management. It is the combination of external capital with external managers that really works.

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Home Industri Dalam Rangka Mendorong Kemandirian Ekonomi

Development in harmony is needed, between the buffer zones and urban areas.Development in harmony must demonstrate the important role of buffer zones tourban areas because of the synergy potential of different regions and need eachother. So by knowing the potential of each area required mapping potential areascan provide a buffer for future development plans. This study has the objective to provide information to SMEs located in the Donowarih Village, Karangploso District., Malang Regency, which has good characteristics as a buffer zone for the surrounding urban environment. This study used a qualitative descriptive method. The study states that the majority of SMEs in the village Donowarih still using simple management in the management of its business. Many factors are influential in this regard, education, mental, environmental and other factors. Based on the need for repair and improvement programs that can improve the ability of SMEs and the other is the most important thing the government can directly determine program development program that is in harmony with the state of local characteristics.

Español

Numerous studies have shown that ICT can increase the productivity of enterprises. This study was developed in order to satisfy the need to possess information updated about the use of ICT in SMEs in the industrial sector of the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga (AMB). This study was a non-experimental cross-sectional quantitative approach and correlaccional / causal scope. The sample was composed of 35 mediumsized companies and 182 small businesses that were selected by stratified random sampling. The instrument of compilation of information was a questionnaire that was applied by personal interview. Some important conclusions of this study are: i) The use of ERP software (95% CI: 9.98%; 19.38%), design software (95% CI: 7.24%; 15.70%) or another kind of specialized software (95% CI: 7.86%; 16.55%) is limited. ii) Most SMEs do not have a formal policy to use social media (95% CI: 79,42%; 84,64%). iii) The use of an electronic platform for selling is uncommon (95% CI: 12,84%; 23,10%) and the percentage of Internet sales is not significant (95% CI: 20,25%; 25,01%). iv).The majority of SMEs (61.93%) spent less than 5 million in ICT in 2013.

Readiness for Future Internet Services in Rural Areas

Abstract Among the functional analysis the evaluation of rural regions has a growing importance. From the analysis reveals, that there is a significant difference between rural and metropolitan areas. With regard to the territory and the population, Hungary is mainly ranked as rural area, so in accordance with our objectives, the attitudes of the business sector have been studied globally on a rural settlement and we present our results in this article. We have chosen Hajduboszormenyfor detailed analysis and106 enterprises involved in our study. The data collected during the research were construed by Principal Component and Cluster analyses and the results were evaluated from two aspects. On the one hand for the SME-s, and on the other hand for agricultural enterprises. The separation was necessary because the situation of the SME-s had a bad reputation, especially in rural regions. The basis of the results of the analysis, agro-enterprises use ICT at least of all. The farms do not use and consider unnecessary the use of broadband services, referring to the nature of their work. They communicate with partners and clients personally and trust is very important factor for them. They sell the products and carry out the purchase just few places. A change in this situation is not expected in the foreseeable future. In contrast, the most of factors were considered important or expressly important by service and commercial enterprises, regardless from the application. Regarding to remote network services there was a uniform conclusion. The majority of SME-s is not familiar with these services, and when the services are known, these are not considered useful or efficient. The price is not a determinative factor for the use of these services, so the diffusion of the solution would be difficult and lengthy.E-business can do much to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of agricultural and related industries.Enterprises still do not interested in new IT solutions, such as Cloud Computing. They not trust about it and only 10% considering to take a remote software or data server. We have concluded that the current result of network investments is principally the creation of the possibility and right of accessibility, and equal opportunities. The business SME sectors do not take enough advantage of business opportunities provided by networks.

Beverages-Food Industry Cluster Development Based on Value Chain in Indonesia

This study wants to develop the cluster-based food and beverage industry value chain that corresponds to the potential in the regions in Java Economic Corridor. Targeted research: a description of SME development strategies that have been implemented, composed, and can be applied to an SME cluster development strategy of food and beverage, as well as a proven implementation strategy of SME cluster development of food and beverage. To achieve these objectives, implemented descriptive methods, techniques of data collection through surveys, analysis desk, and the FGD. The data will be analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results of study on PT KML and 46 units of food and drink SMEs in Malang shows that the condition of the SME food-beverage cluster is: not formal, and still as the center. As for the condition of the existence of information technology: the majority of SMEs do not have the PC and only 11% who have it, of which only 23% have a PC that has an internet connection, as well as PC ownership is mostly just used for administration, with WORD and EXCEL programs, and only 4% (1 unit SMEs) who use the internet marketing media.

Improved Methods of QC for Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises

The methods of QC have significant effects on SMEs’ product quality and may influence the development of the majority of SMEs. In recent years, the principal problems concerning QC for SMEs are that the methods are inefficient and in low degree of application, the workers are not rigorous enough toward self-checking or cross-checking etc. These cause many problems such as the enhanced randomness of product quality problem and the increased working load of quality inspectors, and finally lead to the decrease of enterprise’s quality assurance ability. After analyzing the main problems in SMEs’ QC and their causal factors, the standard method of QC is discussed. Measures such as providing technology support, clarifying responsibilities, establishing the rapid feedback system and improving the visual management of QC are proposed to improve the low application efficiency of QC methods adopted in SMEs and increase the QC effect on the whole process of production.

Recruitment and Selection Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises: Perspectives from Ghana

Effective recruitment and selection practices are key factors to the entry point of human resources in any organization and they also tend to determine the success and sustainability of SMEs. This present study sought to identify the skills and competences required of graduates by SMEs, and the graduates selection and recruitment practices of SMEs. A questionnaire survey was chosen as the most appropriate design for this investigation, with purposive sampling being used to select respondents ranged from company top management. The data was analysed using SPSS. The results suggest that a majority of SMEs do recruit graduates but do not retain them beyond three years. Respondents identified information technology as the most important skill they require of graduates; followed by numerical skills, written communication skills, oral communication skills, confidence and self discipline. The findings will enhance a realistic recruitment and selection interface between graduate jobseekers and SME recruiters in Ghana.

Engaging SME managers and employees in training: lessons from an evaluation of the ESF Objective 4 Programme in Great Britain

This paper draws on a telephone survey of 116 independent SMEs to explore the impact of a variety of training interventions on human resource (HR) practices and business performance in Great Britain. The paper investigates the extent to which targeting such interventions on the managers of SMEs affects the impact and the likelihood of changes in HR practices but finds no statistically significant relationship. The research findings suggest that whilst training interventions have positively contributed to the establishment of HR practices and are perceived by SME managers to have met the needs of the organisation, their impact on a range of business performance indicators is fairly modest. Furthermore the research identifies the propensity of SMEs who are currently engaged in training to become involved in these interventions whilst the majority of SMEs who are not engaged in external training activities remain untouched by the policy intervention.

The accessibility of the government-sponsored support programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises in Penang

Abstract The essential contribution that SMEs make in national economic development is widely recognised in many countries, developed and developing countries alike. In Malaysia, there have been numerous support programmes provided by government agencies and institutions aimed at fostering the development of SMEs. These support programmes can be broadly divided into five aspects, among which are: financial and credit assistance; technical and training assistance; extension and advisory services; marketing and market research; and infrastructure supports. Despite the fact that there are as many as 10 ministries and 30 government agencies and institutions that are involved in providing support programmes for SMEs, the accessibility of these supports to SMEs and how far SMEs make use of them are indeed difficult to ascertain. In this regard, a survey was carried out on 185 small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector in Penang, Malaysia. The study reveals a number of interesting findings: the majority of SMEs do not receive any government assistance; the assistance received by the firms is also quite diverse, i.e. some firms have made use of only one type of assistance, while others have used two or more categories of assistance. The reasons for such differences in accessibility of the assistance are also presented. The results suggest that the accessibility of support programmes for the development of SMEs is still limited despite the fact that a high policy agenda has been introduced to promote the development of SMEs in Malaysia.

Foreign Exchange Transaction Exposure Management Practices of Australian SMEs: An exploratory analysis

Firms face foreign exchange (FX) transaction exposure if they have accounts payable and/or receivable in foreign currencies. This paper is an exploratory analysis that aims to discover the FX transaction exposure management practices of small and medium sized Australian enterprises (SMEs). More specifically, the paper examines whether SMEs hedge FX transaction exposure and the reasons for their actions, as well as focusing on the following issues: the importance of the management of FX transaction exposure to SMEs, the frequency of SMEs hedging activities, the type of instruments used for hedging, and the characteristics of SMEs that hedge. To explore these issues, 350 responses from a mail questionnaire administered to SMEs involved in exporting and/or importing located in Brisbane and Sydney were utilised. The results of the study show that the majority of SMEs do not hedge transaction exposure, while most of those that do hedge do so selectively. In addition, forward contracts are found to be the most used hedging instrument and firm size is found to be associated with the decision to hedge.

Radical change or business as usual: Flexibility in non‐union SMEs

At a macro level there is evidence of greater numbers of people involved in the working practices associated with the “flexible firm”, i.e. part‐time, temporary, agency workers and self‐employment. However, if flexibility is to provide the promised source of competitive advantage then we may expect to see, not only a rise in the numbers of people involved in these “non‐standard” forms of work, but also greater evidence of strategic approaches to flexibility within UK organizations. As average firm size continues to decline it is particularly important that we know something of the extent to which SMEs are adopting flexible working practices. In addition, as the majority of SMEs are non‐union, the commonly held assumption is that such firms have the freedom to be more flexible than their unionized counterparts. In order to investigate this area the article draws on national survey data and findings from two research projects. It concludes that, although there is greater incidence of non‐standard forms of work, the adoption of such practices in the SME sector is more a reflection of pragmatism than a radical new approach to flexibility.