Growth Of Medium-sized Enterprises Research Articles

Challenges and Strategies for Small and Medium sized Enterprise Growth: A Holistic Approach

This study examines the obstacles faced by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) when it comes to the expansion of their business. This research employs a qualitative methodology, focusing on the viewpoints of managers at SMEs. The results are categorized into three main themes: company model, leadership, and people. One of the key challenges associated with leadership is to the establishment of efficient structures and the formation of competent management teams. The issues that are centered on individuals include obstacles in the recruitment process and the enhancement of employee skills and knowledge. There is a reduced prevalence of issues related to business models, as the emphasis is placed on tactics pertaining to sales and market growth. The research highlights the significance of cultivating leadership, personnel, and business model dimensions via the implementation of management training. Organizations that prioritize management and leadership development initiatives tend to exhibit better levels of employee engagement. The research emphasizes the need of adopting a well-rounded strategy towards expansion, with a particular emphasis on customer relationship management and a comprehensive approach to addressing development obstacles. Additionally, it underscores the significance of staff development and organizational culture in comprehending the expansion of SMEs. The study proposes the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to address managerial difficulties and recommends more investigation into the interconnected nature of these challenges, as well as the influence of management in fostering a sense of purposeful work among workers in SMEs.

The Effectiveness of Trading Venues in Facilitating Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Growth: An Examination of Liquidity and Regulatory Oversight

The Effectiveness of Trading Venues in Facilitating Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Growth: An Examination of Liquidity and Regulatory Oversight

Развитие цифровых технологий и производительности труда средних предприятий России (In Eng.)

Economically developed countries develop pilot projects aimed at developing entrepreneurship and improving labor productivity through the use of modern technologies. In this regard, the state's policy focus on addressing the issue of labor productivity growth and bridging the technological gap between the country and advanced economies has brought attention to the need for discovering new avenues and resources to enhance labor productivity in Russia. The goal of this work is to identify the dependencies between the development of digital technologies and the labor productivity of medium-sized enterprises in Russia and its regions. The study confirmed the following hypotheses: there is a correlation between the share of companies using the Internet and labor productivity of medium-sized enterprises in Russia. ICT costs in Russia have a rather strong impact on the labor productivity of medium-sized enterprises. The study results can be used to identify those digital technologies indicators that have the greatest impact on labor productivity growth of medium-sized enterprises, which can be used to improve regional aspects of innovative development of the country's economy.

The Relationship Between Mobile Money Services and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Growth in Bamenda, Cameroon: A Probit Model Approach

ABSTRACT The main objective of this article is to determine the relationship between mobile money services and the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A sample of 50 SMEs was collected. The probit model was used to estimate the result. The study established that mobile money services have a positive and significant relationship with the growth of SMEs. The determinants of mobile money services observed are; experience in business management, frequency of bill payment, size of business, male entrepreneur, operation of mobile money account, frequency of purchasing airtime, distance to financial institutions, number of business branches, mobile money accounts held, secondary education, technical support, location of business, number of workers and size of capital transaction. The challenges faced by entrepreneurs in mobile money transactions observed are: wrong manipulation of account, delays, environmental complexities, and loss of money due to hawkers. The result suggests that SMEs should intensify the use of mobile money services in their daily business transactions. It is a wise step toward business expansion. Entrepreneurs of SMEs should take advantage of the drivers of mobile money services to encourage the diverse use of digital technologists. Finally, entrepreneurs should avoid risky manipulations of their mobile money gargets.

Enterprise Architecture as Explanatory Information Systems Theory for Understanding Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise Growth

Understanding and explaining small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth is important for sustainability from multiple perspectives. Research indicates that SMEs comprise more than 80% of most economies, and their cumulative impact on sustainability considerations is far from trivial. In addition, for sustainability concerns to be prioritized, an SME has to be successful over time. In most developing countries, SMEs play a major role in solving socio-economic challenges. SMEs are an active research topic within the information systems (IS) discipline, often within the enterprise architecture (EA) domain. EA fundamentally adopts a systems perspective to describe the essential elements of a socio-technical organization and their relationships to each other and to the environment in order to understand complexity and manage change. However, despite rapid adoption originally, EA research and practice often fails to deliver on expectations. In some circles, EA became synonymous with projects that are over-budget, over-time and costly without the expected return on investment. In this paper, we argue that EA remains indispensable for understanding and explaining enterprises and that we fundamentally need to revisit some of the applications of EA. We, therefore, executed a research study in two parts. In the first part, we applied IS theory perspectives and adopted the taxonomy and structural components of theory to argue that EA, as represented by the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture (ZFEA), could be adopted as an explanatory IS theory. In the second part of the study, we subsequently analysed multiple case studies from this theoretical basis to investigate whether distinguishable focus patterns could be detected during SME growth. The final results provide evidence that EA, represented through an appropriate framework like the ZFEA, could serve as an explanatory theory for SMEs during start-up, growth and transformation. We identified focus patterns and from these results, it should be possible to understand and explain how SMEs grow. Positioning the ZFEA as explanatory IS theory provides insight into the role and purpose of the ZFEA (and by extension EA), and could assist researchers and practitioners with mediating the challenges experienced by SMEs, and, by extension, enhance sustainable development.

Using Contribution Analysis to evaluate small & medium enterprise support policy

This research illustrates a pragmatic approach to evaluating the small and medium sized enterprise policy support in small or intermediate N research situations. A public interest perspective is taken. The suggested approach is most appropriate in settings where, for a variety of reasons, a study is unable to meet the requirements of a true experimental design (e.g. random assignment, establishment of counterfactuals, control groups, random samples, etc.). This approach will deliver findings on the contribution of the multiple factors influencing a result and will show whether the implicit theory of change for the policy under evaluation makes the expected contribution to the observed result and in what way. The Contribution Analysis finds that the theory of change for the policy under analysis was not verified in the study period. The outputs and outcomes of the analysis broadly support this conclusion. Moreover, the study finds that the primary limiting factor on profitable small and medium sized enterprise growth was the ‘limited endowments of managerial resources’ (Penrose, 1959) to manage the value-adding growth process and the lack of ‘well thought out, well managed projects’ (Walsh, 1985) and not lack of access to equity finance as surmised by policymakers. Whilst Ireland is used as the case example in the study, there are significant lessons for policy evaluators in other late-developing states and in regions with policy autonomy in the enterprise domain.

Linkage between Training and Development on Business Growth: A Study of Manufacturing SmalllMedium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka.

ABSTRACT: SMEs are increasingly important to the economic growth of the economy. In response, governments have introduced a variety of policies to facilitate the formation of new firms and to offer support to SMEs to aid their survival foster improved rate of growth. There appears to be a strong linkage between the training and development and the level of growth within a country. The best HRM practice for improving employee’s skills is training and development. Generally Training and Development practices are an organization’s intentional efforts to improve performance by helping employees acquire the skills and knowledge. Training enables employees to achieve the levels of knowledge, skill and competence needed to carry out their work effectively and thus helps the growth of a business. One of the core objectives that every business should have is business growth. Sample of 60 from small and medium-sized enterprises in the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector that have embarked upon different growth development pathways; and to examine possible connections between small and medium-sized enterprise growth, and training and development. A few studies have been done on the above theme, but no studies have been conducted in Sri Lankan perspectives. Statistical analysis reveals highly significant differences in training and development, as well as training methods, providers and fields, across the low-, moderate and high-growth small and medium-sized enterprise development pathways. Furthermore, training is a relatively consistent concomitant with small and medium-sized enterprise growth.

Growth factors in medium-sized enterprises: the case of an Italian region

Due to the polarisation of the Italian production system into small and large enterprises, the role of medium-sized enterprises has been largely neglected. As a consequence, studies analysing the factors that affect economic development in Italy have mainly focused on the role of small businesses or on aggregates of small and medium-sized enterprises. This study contributes to the literature by focusing on medium-sized enterprises, and the study has a two-fold aim. First, our study aimed to identify the growth factors specific to medium-sized enterprises in comparison with small enterprises. Second, of the factors that determine the growth of medium-size enterprises, we aimed to identify factors with entrepreneurial characteristics. To investigate these two aims, we surveyed and analysed medium-sized enterprises operating in the Italian region of Bergamo. Our findings highlight some of the factors that significantly determine the growth of medium-sized enterprises, including proactivity, risk taking posture and investment aimed at growth.

Training and Development, and Business Growth: A Study of Australian Manufacturing Small–Medium Sized Enterprises

The principal objectives in this paper are to compare and contrast training and development initiatives for a longitudinal sample of 871 small and medium-sized enterprises in the Australian manufacturing sector that have embarked upon different growth development pathways; and to examine possible connections between small and medium-sized enterprise growth, and training and development. Statistical analysis reveals highly significant differences in management training and qualifications, training changes, as well as training methods, providers and fields, across the low-, moderate and high-growth small and medium-sized enterprise development pathways. Furthermore, training is a relatively consistent concomitant with small and medium-sized enterprise growth.

Missing the target: Assessing the role of government in bridging the European equity gap and enhancing economic growth

International evidence suggests that the European venture capital market would grow by itself for management buy-out and buy-in type investments but would not function to promote small and medium sized enterprise growth and employment without a stimulus from policy, as the bridge between risk and return is simply too great. In this paper it is argued that the challenge for policy is to use venture capital as a tool for creating that growth--rather than growing the venture capital industry in and of itself. Whilst acknowledging that the limited public provision of seed capital can prove an effective stimulus for many small enterprises, it is hypothesized that a further target for government in Europe should be the removal of structural barriers--both tangible and intangible--that hinder the development and diffusion of private venture capital. This involves tackling not only regulatory impediments but also providing the information to dispel the embedded fear of risk--and of venture capitalists--that abides across Europe.