Performance Of Medium-sized Enterprises Research Articles

Efficiency of small business: the case of Nigeria

The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been widely discussed through previous studies in entrepreneurship, so it can be considered as one of the main topics in this field, and the most commonly used measure of entrepreneurial behaviour. The main objectives of the study were to determine the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on small and medium sized enterprises and also to examine the effect of innovative performance on EO. The study population refers to selected SMEs that were registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Ogun State, Nigeria. The primary data was generated through the field survey using structured questionnaire as a major research instrument. Taro Yamani scientific formula was adopted to determine the sample size. Correlation statistical analytical, Pearson Product Moment correlation Coefficient method and content validity method was applied. The study used Analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation efficiency, and regression analysis for this study. The research found that there is a significant effect of entrepreneurial orientation on small and medium sized enterprises performance in Nigeria. Moreover, the results of the study indicated that EO affects innovative performance. The study recommends that small and medium sized enterprises should embrace the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions of autonomy, pro-activeness, risk taking, competitive aggressiveness and innovativeness to increase business performance and SMEs operators should adopt autonomy by encouraging employees to be autonomous and be free to take initiative for the best interest of the organization and use periodic appraisal to monitor them.

The role of competitor orientation and proactiveness in competitive advantage for small- and medium-sized enterprises performance

Background: As small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the primary source of job creation in Nigeria and contribute 48% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), their performance must be enhanced and sustainability ensured. The article suggests that through competitor orientation and proactiveness, SME managers and owners can achieve competitive advantage which ultimately promotes firm performance.Aim: The article aims to examine how competitor orientation and proactiveness in competitive advantage enhance the performance of SMEs in Nigeria.Setting: The study focused on registered SME owners and managers who are operating in Nigeria, using Lagos State as a case study.Methods: This study was conducted through administering questionnaires to owners and/or managers of SMEs as the unit of analysis. A quantitative research design was used with stratified and simple random sampling as the sampling method, with the sample comprising 100 SME owners and/or managers.Results: The results of the study indicated that competitive advantage mediates the relationship between competitor orientation, proactiveness and SMEs’ performance indirectly. It further revealed that competitor orientation and proactiveness have significant effects on SMEs’ performance.Conclusion and contribution: The article reveals how competitive advantage, which is influenced by competitor orientation and proactiveness, contributes to increased SMEs’ performance in SME sectors. Thus, to gain a competitive edge over their rivals, the study recommends that SME owners and managers consider competitor orientation and proactiveness more seriously, as these factors ultimately boost their performance.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium-sized enterprises performance.

This study has several purposes. First, identify indicators contributing to the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could be affected by the COVID-19. Second, formulate the framework to measure the level of vulnerability of SMEs. Third, assign the SMEs into several clusters. Data used in this research were collected through web-based closed questionnaires and short telephone interviews. This study used Content Validity Analysis, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Multi-Attribute Value Theory approach, K-means Clustering Analysis, and Discriminant Analysis for data processing. The data processing results indicated that the 44 valid indicators belonging to ten dimensions could be used to measure the level of vulnerability of SMEs whose performance was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveyed SMEs can be segmented into four clusters, namely resilient cluster, low vulnerability cluster, moderate vulnerability cluster, and high vulnerability cluster. Most of the surveyed SMEs belong to the moderate and high vulnerability clusters. The differences between the clusters were based on 16 indicators. These indicators include levels of supplier disruption and the SMEs’ market in which the SMEs operate or expect to operate. The results of this study help quantify how the pandemic could generate different levels of impact on each indicator that could depend on the business and what policymakers should consider as they contemplate the scale of the required intervention. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the effects of the pandemic on SMEs by synthesizing the findings of studies on the impact of COVID-19 on SMEs. The study also determined the framework and the equation for measuring the level of SME vulnerability caused by the pandemic.

Total Quality Management and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ (SMEs) Performance: Mediating Role of Innovation Speed

This study focuses on investigating the role of innovation speed in mediating the relationship between total quality management and small and medium-sized enterprise performance. Cross-sectional data from 484 Nigerian small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises were collected using judgmental sampling, which was targeted at the owners and managers of small-scale manufacturing enterprises within Nigeria. The obtained data were evaluated using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Hence, the heuristic model for the relationship was subjected to a string of tests using the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique. The results show that total quality management is positively related to operational performance as well as innovation speed, which has a substantial influence on the nexus between total quality management (TQM) and small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SME) performance. The study expands the understanding of innovation, regarding speed and its measures within total quality management, where the five basic dimensions of total quality management are top management quality practices, employee quality management, customer orientation, process management, and employee knowledge and training. Furthermore, the model contributes to the scarce literature on the mediating factors needed to boost the operational performance of small-scale manufacturing firms.

The Impact of Online Business Marketing on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Performance (SMEs)

The Impact of Online Business Marketing on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Performance (SMEs)

Effect of opportunity seizing capability on new market development and small and medium-sized enterprise performance: Role of environmental uncertainty in the IT industry

With the rapid evolution of technologies and markets in the IT industry, it is especially crucial for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the IT sector to possess the dynamic capability of seizing opportunities. This paper adopts the concept of “opportunity–seizing capability (OSC)” from the perspective of dynamic capability, and investigates its impact on relative firm performance via new market development. Furthermore, we examine whether environmental uncertainty influences the effect of a firm's OSC. Our hierarchical ordinary least squares regression results obtained using the data of 215 IT SMEs indicate that new market development is an important link between a firm's OSC and relative performance. The positive effect of a firm's OSC on new market development is stronger under a highly uncertain business environment. The findings indicate that enhancing an IT SME's OSC is crucial for its survival, particularly under an uncertain business environment.

The Role of Intellectual Capital, Organizational Learning and Digital Transformation on the Performance of SMEs in Denpasar, Bali-Indonesia

This research is motivated by the idea that intellectual capital, organizational learning, and digital transformation are needed by medium-sized businesses to improve performance to maintain business sustainability during the covid-19 pandemic. The main purpose of this study is to determine the direct influence of intellectual capital and the indirect effect of organizational learning and the effect of digital transformation as a moderating variable on business performance. The sample of this study used 174 medium-sized business managers in Denpasar City, Bali-Indonesia. The results of the study found that digital transformation was able to strengthen the relationship between the influence of intellectual capital and organizational learning on the performance of medium-sized enterprises.

Determinants of small and medium-sized enterprises performance: The evidence from Vietnam

This paper estimates the factors affecting Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the Chi Minh City Stock Exchange between 2009 and 2019. The au...

Does the presence of governance structure affect small and medium-sized enterprise performance? Evidence from an emerging market

Does the presence of governance structure affect small and medium-sized enterprise performance? Evidence from an emerging market

Environmental influences, employee resourcing strategies and small and medium-sized enterprises performance: Case of South African small restaurants

Orientation: Small businesses’ contribution to economic growth and employment creation cannot be disputed in South Africa, amid operating in an environment that is highly competitive and reports of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) high failure rates, in general. In view of this, and to our knowledge, no known theoretical study has been conducted in South Africa examining how certain environmental factors might influence the use of appropriate resourcing strategies for improved small businesses’ performance.Research purpose: This theoretical article investigates the relationships between environmental influences, employee resourcing strategies and business performance among South African small restaurants.Motivation for the study: There is a paucity of literature that has explored whether a relationship exists between the three variables among small restaurant businesses in South Africa, justifying the need for such an investigation.Research approach/design and method: This article, which is conceptual in nature, adopted a systematic literature review which entails combining all existing research literature related to the three variables so as to arrive at logical inferences.Main findings: The research contends that a relationship exists between the three variables.Practical/managerial implications: Small businesses need to be aware of the environmental influences that may contribute to business failure so that they attune employee resourcing strategies to the environment to achieve high performance.Contribution/value add: The article contributes to extant literature on the interplay between environmental factors, resourcing strategies and firm performance in small restaurant businesses of emerging economies.

The Empirical Evidence of Enterprise Resource Planning System Adoption and Implementation on Firm’s Performance Among Medium-Sized Enterprises

The objective of this study is to examine the mediating role of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system adoption on the relationship between performance of medium enterprises (PMEs) and organizational culture (OC), communication process (CP), organizational structure (OS), information technology readiness (ITR), technological change (TC), government policy (GP), information access (IA) and technology infrastructure support (TIS). This study also includes the role of top management support (TMS) as a moderating variable on the relationship between ERP and PME. This study proposes a theoretical framework based on theories such as resource-based view, contingency theory and diffusion of innovation. The data were collected from medium-sized enterprise (ME) organizations operating in South Western Nigeria. A total of 658 questionnaires were distributed to selected MEs and only 355 were returned and used for the analysis. The empirical data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that CP, ERP, GP, IA, ITR, OC, OS, TC, TIS and TMS have significant direct relationships with the ERP and PME while GP is not significantly linked to ERP adoption. Moreover, IA, ITR, OC, OS and TC have no significant relationship with PME while ERP system adoption mediates the relationship between the CP, OC, OS, TC and TIS with PME. The findings showed that the presence of CP, OC, OS, TC and TIS will influence the PMEs in the adoption of ERP and confirmed that TMS plays an important role in moderating the relationship between ERP and PME. The findings provide important insights to CEO, managers, policymakers and researchers to help them understand the importance of using the ERP system to enhance the performance of medium-sized enterprise (PMSE) organizations. Limitation of the study is based on MEs only. In this light, future research can focus on the evolution of not only small enterprises but also large firms.

Arcs of communication and small- and medium-sized enterprise performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the information shared by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers and its implications on their performance.Design/methodology/approachThe paper puts forward the concept of arcs of communication based on the frequency and direction of the information exchanged by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers. SMEs are classified by the arc of communication they belong to using data from a survey carried out in the Canary Islands (Spain). The Rasch Measurement Theory is applied.FindingsThe largest group of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shares information frequently with both customers and suppliers (broad arc of communication). Differences were detected in the performance of SMEs belonging to this broad arc, as well as, in those firms that communicated frequently with their main suppliers (asymmetrical arc of communication towards suppliers). In both cases, these firms were better than their competitors in innovation.Practical implicationsThis study demonstrates the need for better management of the links between SMEs and their suppliers and with their customers in accordance with their strategies, promoting a greater cooperative behaviour throughout the supply chain.Originality/valueSMEs’ customers and suppliers are their main sources of information compared to large firms, which have greater resources to search for and acquire information. This paper investigates the information exchanged by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers from a strategic focus by adding to the literature the concept of arcs of communication. It also has the added value of applying the Rasch Measurement Theory (Rasch, 1960/1980).

Smaller businesses and e-innovation: a winning combination in Australia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand whether or not factors that impact the performance–innovation nexus differ from one percentage level of performance to another among small- and medium-sized enterprises in regional Australia, with a specific focus on e-innovation by strategic and non-strategic firms in the agricultural sector and in other industries. Design/methodology/approach Researchers implicitly assumed that the performance–innovation relationship is uniform across high-level, mid-level and low-level performing small- and medium-sized enterprises. In this study, the authors analysed performance at different percentage levels. Findings The findings indicate that the levels of small- and medium-sized enterprises performance have a significant difference in terms of the factors influencing their performance. The industry may be a determinant of performance, which is similar in the case of the topmost performers in the non-agricultural sector. The major findings of this study are as follows: the performance–innovation relationship differs by the percentage level of small- and medium-sized enterprises performance; and Solow’s productivity paradox exists at the firm level. Practical implications The authors recommend that rural policies should target low-performing firms. Moreover, researchers should adopt methodologies that shed light on the differences in the performance–innovation nexus across performance levels rather than one-size-fits-all methodologies that are often adopted. Originality/value The major contributions of this study are that the performance–innovation relationship differs by the level of small- and medium-sized enterprises performance, and Solow’s productivity paradox exists at the firm level.

Is E-Learning that important? SMEs Training and Economic Performance

Fronting stress from a progressively competitive business environment, enterprises have, over the years, employed trainings in order to have more efficient work force and also to enhance performance. The drive of this study is to ascertain different problems to e-learning that small and medium enterprises faced in their training process and attests, through a case study, how well e-learning could resolve some of many hitches identified. This study also identifies how e-learning can enhance small and medium sized enterprises performance.

Research on Motivation, Constraints and Countermeasures of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Performance Evaluation

Business performance evaluation is an essential part of enterprise management activities. It is based on the actual situation of the enterprise and uses relevant indicators to evaluate the business performance and employee performance. The results of the evaluation will play an important role in the formulation and development of the enterprise's future strategy, and it is also a measure of the management level of the enterprise managers and the staff's ability to work. The paper expatiates on the necessity of performance evaluation for small and medium enterprises, the causes of performance evaluation of small and medium-sized enterprises in China are analyzed, and puts forward to strengthen enterprise managers performance evaluation consciousness, improve business performance evaluation system and other strategies to promote the strategic objectives of enterprises.

The impact of exchange rate depreciation on small and medium sized enterprises performance and development in Nigeria - research

The impact of exchange rate depreciation on small and medium sized enterprises performance and development in Nigeria - research

The Determinants of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Performance in Nigeria

This study aimed at examining the determinants of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance in Nigeria. An autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration was applied to sample from 1981 to 2010 to achieve the set objective. The results revealed that both in the short-and long-run, interest rate and net export have had a negative impact on SMEs performance. At the same time, other determinants such as government spending, political instability and level of education were found to have insignificant impact during the studied period. Therefore, maintenance of low interest rate will undoubtedly assist to boost the performance of SMEs in Nigeria. As such, monetary authorities need to play a very important role toward achieving the target.

Branding Effects on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Performance in Malaysia: A Conceptual Framework

Small to medium sized enterprises is growing tremendously in Malaysia and has great potential to improve in terms of performance by utilizing the resources meritoriously and implementing the right strategy. The businesses in Malaysia are still struggling with branding even though there are commercial establishments in the SME category. Realizing the importance of branding, firms in this country need to strengthen branding implementation to be in a better position to build strong brands because businesses here are in general lack of branding appreciation and suffer from branding misconceptions. Hence, this study proposes an empirical study to examine the relationship between branding involving different dimensions such as brand trust, orientation and brand equity in affecting SMEs in Malaysia. The aim of this article is gather and review the growing visibility of these branding dimensions notions among firms from different studies, social theorists and author’s perspectives to conceptualize into a framework that responds to the performance of SME. It is considered the first research that measures the branding among SMEs in Malaysia and its impact to the performance of the smaller firms in Malaysia. The insights from this research may implicate other emerging markets with similar situations and further creates an understanding of the subject matter.

The Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Performance Evaluation Model Based on DEA and AHP Method

In this paper, DEA model and AHP model combined with a new method to evaluate the performance of the small and medium enterprises. In this paper, mainly introduced the analytic hierarchy process（AHP）and data envelopment analysis ( DEA ), based on the existing on the small and medium-sized enterprise performance evaluation methods are analyzed, finally, through empirical analysis that the method of DEA based on AHP and has good applicability and feasibility. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i11.3470 Full Text: PDF

Research of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Performance Evaluation System Based on ERP

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a kind of advanced management method and ideological system, which is an effective tool to improve operating efficiency. In reference to the domestic and foreign relevant research results, this paper attempts to find a set of evaluation index system and method, which is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises in China implementing ERP system performance evaluation according to characteristics. Then use AHP to determine each index weight and evaluate comprehensively ERP implementation performance of small and medium-sized enterprise employing the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. This can provide ERP project methodological guidance and help enterprise to carry out the scientific decision, improve the success rate of ERP implementation, and promote the process of ERP in our country popularity.