Number Of Small And Medium-sized Enterprises Research Articles

Regional features of state financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises

Purpose: of the article is to study the existing system of state financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Tyumen Oblast in order to identify problematic points of SME development in the region and determine of appropriate measures for their adjustment.Methods: in the part of the study on the quantitative indicators of State financial support for SMEs, statistical analysis was used, including a study of the structure and dynamics of measures implemented, as well as the number of SMEs. To assess the degree of influence of the tools used on the development of SMEs, data from the ongoing program of state financial support in the Tyumen Oblast were used.Results: in the course of the research, the main determinants constraining the effectiveness of the use of State financial support tools for SMEs in the Tyumen Oblast were identified. The lack of systematic and comprehensive State financial support for SMEs was revealed, which would reflect the vision of the elements of the system and the establishment of the relationships between them, taking into account changes in the external environment and the indication of the most effective support measures for individual areas of SMEs activity.Сonclusions and Relevance: as a result of the study, the need to modernize the implemented state financial support for SMEs in the Tyumen Oblast in the direction of expanding the list of instruments and diversifying the measures applied to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs has been established. As one of the promising areas, it seems reasonable to create guaranteed sales markets and active connection of SMEs to business networks. This will maximize the effectiveness of measures applied to support economically and socially important SMEs, taking into account their specifics, strengthen the financial condition of enterprises in this sector and thus ensure the stability of the economic development of the region.

Major Determinants of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Growth in Ragwe Market, Homabay County, Kenya in Post Covid -19

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal economical role in various countries. The SMEs propel the growth of a country, create job opportunities, and increase the national income. There is a number of SMEs in Ragwe market on which many entrepreneurs rely for income and livelihood. However, SMEs growth is challenged with some of them dying in their first years of operations. The main objective of this study was to examine major determinants of growth of SMEs. The specific objectives were to examine how the i) management skills; ii) availability of ready market; iii) source of capital, iv) availability and accessibility to credit facilities, v) government policies and regulations affect the growth of SMEs in Ragwe Market. This was a cross-sectional study that targeted SMEs within Ragwe Market. A sample of 41 SMEs was selected using purposive sampling. The study made use of a questionnaire and SPSS 22 was used to analyse the data. The frequencies, percentages, chi-square test, multiple linear regression and ANOVA were used in data analysis. The study found that management skills, availability of ready market, source of capital, availability and accessibility of credit facilities, and government policies and regulations significantly influence the growth of SMEs in Ragwe Market (p < 0.05) with management skills being the most important determinant of SMEs growth. The regression model with the five variables managed to explain 73.9% of variance. Therefore, further studies should be done to capture more factors influencing SMEs growth in post covid-19 era.

Assessing the impact of criminal prosecution of entrepreneurs on small and medium-sized enterprises in Russia

A significant proportion of entrepreneurs as well as Russian population in general consider the possibility of criminal prosecution to be one of the main problems that hinders business development in Russia. However, only a small proportion of entrepreneurs are subjected to this type of prosecution. The current study attempts to empirically test the hypothesis about the negative impact of unjustified criminal prosecution on entrepreneurial activity. First, we examine the mechanism of unjustified criminal prosecution of entrepreneurs and then using mixed effects regression modelling on panel data for 2017—2021 assess its impact on the growth rate of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The number of appeals reviewed by the Center for Public Procedures “Business against corruption” (CPP “BAC”) is used as an indicator of unjustified criminal prosecution. The results show that each additionally handled appeal reduces the rate of growth in the number of SMEs in the medium term. This relationship is explained via the theory of signals: appeals to the CPP “BAC” serve as indicators of unjustified prosecution problem for entrepreneurs. If this problem persists, a decrease in the growth rates of firms, and an increase in their number in the shadow economy can also be expected.

Organizational Commitment Impact on Job Well-Being of SMEs Employees in Taiwan in Post-COVID-19 Era

Taiwan's industrial structure is mainly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with over 98% of enterprises being SMEs and employing more than 80% of the workforce in Taiwan. Many industries are under severe stress due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and many companies are reducing staff hiring or staff working hours. The main purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing the job well-being of Taiwanese SME employees in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, including organizational justice, job insecurity, decent work, and organizational commitment. Through a questionnaire survey, 653 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling to verify the effects between the study constructs. The study found that organizational justice, job insecurity, and decent work all had significant effects on organizational commitment, with job insecurity having the least effect. Organizational commitment has a positive and significant effect on employees' job well-being, with a standardized regression coefficient of 0.469. In the research model, the R2 of employees' organizational justice, job insecurity, decent work, and organizational commitment on job well-being was as high as 0.724. The results of the study show that Taiwan has a large number of SMEs that can respond quickly and flexibly to the environment. Even in the unsettled environment of an epidemic, employees' organizational commitment to the company remains a decisive factor in employee well-being. The smaller-than-expected impact of employee job insecurity is indirect evidence of the resilience of the Taiwanese industry.

Development Trends of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Amid Pandemic-Induced Crisis

Against the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic-induced economic crises, small and medium business sector oriented towards off-line services provision has been worst-hit. In reality, demand for services provided by catering, entertainment, tourism, hospitality, beauty-business, and non-food retail has declined several-fold amid lockdown. This being said, the need to pay wages, taxes, social contributions, rental charges, bank credit interest, and contractors for supplies and other services has remained. All types of businesses who missed the chance to switchover to online services provision or stick to business model for rendering exclusively personal off-line services to date are exposed to bankruptcy risk. Cash gap is on the rise that can lead to bankruptcy of multiple small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) unable rapidly and without losing work performance to switchover to the online regime especially in large Russian cities. In this memorandum we present assessment of the crisis impact on income, employment, lending, and the number of SMEs.

The interests of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) actor in using mobile commerce in effort to expand business network

PurposeThis paper aims to know the interest of leading small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Y generation in Surabaya City using mobile commerce, identify the effort that has been done by the leading SMEs actors of Y generation in Surabaya City to expand its business network by using mobile commerce, and analyze the success rate of the use of mobile commerce to expand the business network of leading SMEs of Y generation in Surabaya City.Design/methodology/approachThis research is designed using qualitative method. The research is directed more toward a research with phenomenological approach because the research also gives the description related to the phenomena in the field to the actor of SMEs and Disperdagin of Surabaya City. The researcher picks Surabaya City as the location by considering the following: the number of SMEs in the Surabaya city is greater than any other cities in East Java considering that Surabaya is the capital of East Java. The number of SMEs is 37,906 units; it means that Surabaya is a city with high economic activity and this place is also the largest trading city after Jakarta. Based on the number of SMEs mentioned above, in this research, only leading SMEs are taken amounted to 161 leading SMEs in the Surabaya City. Information or technological exchange and development are faster compared to other cities because most of the community living in this city uses information technology in running their business.FindingsSME actors in Surabaya city have high interest in using m-commerce. In expanding the network, the SME actors use online media. The SME actors in Surabaya have successfully expanded the business network through online marketing by using m-commerce to overseas including Germany, France, South Korea and the UK. Effective model is needed for the policy in Surabaya city is Disperdagin has its own website to overshadow all SMEs in Surabaya City, and identify the role of Disperdagin to SME or vice versa, and clustering SMEs in Surabaya such as cluster of handicraft and Food and Beverage (MAMIN). Factors that are the advantages of using m-commerce are wider business network; increasing sales; adding resellers and buyers; smooth business transaction; development of product innovation, process and marketing; the facilities provided by the government; and easy to use m-commerce application.Originality/valueThis is one of few papers that study the interest of SMEs actor in using mobile commerce in effort to expand business network. The use of m-commerce will grow the business capability of SMEs, thus increasing the role of SMEs as the counterweight to the structure of the national economy. Therefore, the government policy related to the use of e-commerce and m-commerce is very important to be socialized to business actors, especially the SMEs.

Improving Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises with the Application of Quality Management System

In a modern global economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have inviolable importance and inclusion in the overall social development and economic growth. Regarding the high share of SMEs in the total number of companies, given the number of employees and the share in export orientation, the question of SMEs existence, as well as their market share and competitiveness in the global environment, represents prime relevance to any national economy. Therefore, the issue of quality becomes a critical component of achieving competitiveness in delivering products and services to their consumers (customers.) Due to this extremely delicate issue, each company establishes and implements a systematic process relationship or a quality management system as a part of its general management mechanism. This is a reason for SMEs management to strategically decide on the challenges of introducing a quality management system; thus, to improve their competitiveness on the domestic and foreign markets, which is a very demanding, exhaustive and time absorbing process requiring detailed preparation and collective engagement. The basic reasons for applying a quality management system are apostrophised in any business objectives – improving business processes, product quality and services, increasing spending as a factor of developing higher market share, better reputation (image) and sustainable business results. Due to the measurable quantitative and qualitative attributes and features that can significantly enhance the introduction of quality management systems into practice of SMEs, numerous studies have been carried out, some of which are conducted within the last two decades. For the authors, this was an initiative to conduct a survey, within this paper, in the Primorsko-goranska county (Croatia) during the month of July 2018, in which a number of SMEs were analysed in the crucial areas of quality management systems. The authors’ objective was to assess the viability of SMEs regarding their application of a quality management system. The basic hypothesis was that introducing quality management systems into SMEs contributes to their foreign competitiveness i.e. strengthening their export activity in general. Beside positive outputs of applying quality management, the authors’ research presented in this paper also established some relatively high and negative quantifications in relation to the application of the quality management system. Such outcomes represent justified reasons for future scientific research in this area.

Stabilization Factors of Family Enterprises in the Context of Macroeconomic Performance

The article describes performance and stabilization factors in the context of macroeconomic performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which comprise also family businesses (SMEs) in the Czech Republic. We consider the number of SMEs active entrepreneurial subjects, the number of SMEs employees, the accounting value added of SMEs and the wage costs of SMEs the performance and stabilization factors. As a representative of macroeconomic performance the authors chose GDP. The stability and performance of SMEs are examined through statistical methods: the Pearson correlation coefficient and the average growth factor. The statistical methods are applied to the data time series between 2002 and 2016. The stability and performance factors are mutually measured and evaluated.

Assessing the Influence of Accounting Outsourcing on Financial Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Thika Subcounty, Kenya

Globally, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been found to significantly contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) in developing nations as well as to employment. In Kenya, the SMEs have the potential of raising many citizens to the mainstream economy. Although the SMEs contribute toward economic development as well as to employment in Kenya, their financial performance is still wanting, which is evidenced by the high collapse rate of SMEs. This research project assessed the influence of accounting outsourcing (AO) on financial performance of SMEs. The study used a descriptive design, and the number of SMEs that formed the population of study was 8605 in Thika subcounty. The sample size was therefore 368 SMEs, which were sampled using stratified and simple random sampling. The study adopted a questionnaire to collect data, and the Cronbach alpha coefficient was employed for testing of reliability. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the collected data with the assistance of statistical packages of social science (SPSS) version 23. The relationship between influences of AO and its effect on financial performance of SMEs were established through a simple regression model. The results of this study showed a significant positive association between the explanatory variables and the financial performance of SMEs. The study concludes that influences of AO have significant influence on SMEs financial performance. The study recommended that managers and owners of SMEs should seek service from qualified accountants as this may increase the quality of financial records and may improve their SMEs financial performance.

The Growth of Export-Oriented Small and Medium Enterprises in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

This paper examines how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can serve as engines for economic growth. Relevant international trends are explored before we home in on the regional experience, focusing on Central Asia. It should be noted that the number of SMEs engaged in trade in the region is relatively limited, making the potential for growth significant. The bulk of the paper will consider findings from the four research papers published by the Institute of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Central Asia (UCA), seeking to put them into a broader context. This synthesis report draws primarily on the following reports: • Export Driven SMEs in Kyrgyzstan: The Garment Sector (Jenish 2014). • Informality and Gender: Study on Kyrgyz SME sector (Kapalova 2014). • Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Regional Trade in Afghanistan (Mashal 2014). • Dynamics of the SME Sector in Tajikistan (Tilekeyev 2014). For the purposes of this synthesis paper, we focus on four cross-cutting themes that emerge from the case studies but that are also relevant to the development of the SME sector outside the three countries considered. The four common themes that will be dealt with in more detail are: size of SMEs; the informality of the sector; domestic bottlenecks to trade and women and their engagement in SMEs.

The Conditions of Development and Operation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Sprewa-Nysa-Bobr Euroregion

Abstract Subject and purpose of work: The aim of this article is to present the most important aspects related to the functioning of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Euroregion Sprewa-Nysa-Bóbr, as well as to indicate the objectives and priorities regarding its support. Materials and methods: The paper utilized official statistics, existing legal regulations and information presented in the plan of action and development for the Euroregion Sprewa-Nysa-Bóbr for the years 2014-2020. Results: The important role of SMEs in the Euroregion’s socio-economic development is determined by the fact that they constitute more than 99.9% of all enterprises. In the years 2006-2013, the number of SMEs in the region increased by 3.3%, while the number of large companies decreased by 15.4%. The Euroregion pursues an active policy of supporting the development of the SME sector. Of particular importance in the shaping of this policy is the plan for the development and operation of the Euroregion developed ever since 1993. Conclusions: Within the current plan for the operation and development of the Euroregion, under the first objective (Increasing the competitiveness of the region), measures that will support the development of the SME sector were included. The result of the first objective will be the cross-border expansion of economic relations. Additionally, the timeframe for the past and the present plan deliberately coincide with periods of EU funds which goes on to demonstrate that European support programs are an important source of funding for cross-border cooperation in the Euroregion, including the development of SMEs.

ИНТЕРНАЦИОНАЛИЗАЦИЯ ПРЕДПРИНИМАТЕЛЬСТВА И НАЦИОНАЛЬНАЯ КОНКУРЕНТОСПОСОБНОСТЬ

The internationalization of business activity contributes to strengthening of the country's competitiveness at the global marketplace. National competitiveness is investigated through the prism of political and economic “weight” of the country in the business framework of the world community. According to the information of the Report on the global competitiveness – 2015, most countries – world leaders in the gross domestic product, failed to get into the top-10 of globally competitive economies. The results of a survey of over 14 000 business executives around the world suggests that entrepreneurs in industrially developed countries (Japan, USA, Germany and the UK), long been successfully operating in the absence of corruption clutches, express their displeasure with the tax system that prevents their enrichment. One of the priorities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participation in the process of internationalization is identified now with the spread of born global enterprises. Successful operation of such companies, originally aimed at doing business at the global marketplace, is preordained by free use of information and communication technologies. The necessary condition for business activity effective internationalization is the development of the information technology infrastructure of the market. Emergence of industrial technologies, affordable to the SME of manufacturing industry, became the sufficient factor of business internationalization's attractiveness. Industrial business internationalization process is likely to develop, provided that the major players on the world market – corporations – will have an interest in cooperation with SMEs that are expanding beyond national markets. Competitive mechanism of cooperation, not competition (struggle), is typical today for such well-established forms of internationalization of industrial enterprise as production cooperation and outsourcing. Manufacturing corporations through subcontracting are able to cooperate with a large number of SMEs supplying components and details of the final product. The additive manufacturing technology may form the material basis for this kind of cooperation between industrial corporations and SMEs. Offshoring (a kind of outsourcing when an enterprise in another country is executing order) should be regarded as an instrument of strengthening SME positions at the global market.

Management Accounting Systems in SMEs: A Means to Adapt to the Financial Crisis?

In the present study we examine the impact of the recent financial crisis in the management accounting systems of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Greece. More specifically, we assess whether and to what extent Greek SMEs adjusted their management accounting systems as a reaction to the intense pressures deriving from the extensive financial crisis. For this purpose, we explore the application of budgeting and costing systems as well as of various management accounting practices and techniques during two periods: at 2009, the year of the financial crisis outbreak, and at 2013, a period in which Greek economy is deeply in the financial vortex. The study is informed by the answers of 161 SMEs falling into the manufacturing, retail and service-providing sectors on a structured questionnaire. Results indicate that the various facets of the financial crisis resulted to SMEs adjusting their management accounting systems. Therefore an increase in the number of SMEs starting to apply budgeting and costing systems within the examined period is evident. Additionally, the use of budgeting and costing for various managerial purposes, as well as the use of several modern management accounting and performance measurement techniques has been intensified, albeit in a moderate magnitude. Therefore, despite the crisis most of the SMEs have not resorted into more sophisticated management accounting methods.

Performance and strategic changes of SMEs in the Korean electronic parts industry: a dynamic strategic group approach

This study empirically examines the patterns and performance consequences of strategic changes of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in response to environmental changes based on longitudinal data from 102 Korean electronic parts SMEs from 1990 to 2001. The dynamic analysis of strategic groups in the Korean electronic parts SMEs shows that four to five different strategic patterns (subcontractor, production-focus, market-focus, innovator, and market-diversified groups) with significant performance differences emerged depending on the period. For instance, the innovator group outperformed the subcontractor group in terms of return on sales. The production-focus group (which exhibited a relatively higher performance level in the early 1990s) gradually deteriorated in profitability in the late 1990s. Subsequently, a substantial number of SMEs (25% of sample firms on average) have attempted to shift their strategic configurations with different performance consequences. These results imply that given the rapid technological development in the industry and changes in the global production network with the emergence of Chinese competitors, Korean SMEs should focus on technological innovations to maintain their competitive position by relentlessly enhancing their technological development capabilities rather than production capabilities.

Trade liberalization effects on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia: A case study

The impact of international trade policy reform on the Indonesian economy, particularly in the areas of economic growth and development of the domestic manufacturing industry, has been studied extensively. However, the implications of such reform on the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia remain under-researched. This paper thus contributes to filling the gap by examining the impact of international trade policy reform, particularly following the 1997 crisis, on the growth of SMEs in Indonesia. Two main questions are posited: (a) how does international trade policy reform affect local SMEs?; and (b) has the growth of SME exports accelerated since the reform? The study does not find evidence that the reform has affected SMEs negatively. On the contrary, with the exception of a slight decline in 1998 due to the economic crisis, the number of SMEs has been growing. The paper suggests that such enterprises have not only managed to survive, but they have also been able to increase their output. Their exports also increased annually.

King Hotel Goes Online

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) usually face financial constraints that limit their resource development and hinder their technological advancement. In Egypt, SMEs comprise almost 99% of the non-agricultural private sector and 75% of the private sector in Egypt at large. It is an important contributor to the economy and affects a number of sectors including tourism. The increase in competition in the sector has driven a number of SMEs to turn to the Internet to gain competitive advantage and to leverage their position and attract more business. However, the successful integration of what is still an innovation into the business process and its application into organisational functionality requires careful institutionalization. There are many challenges that need to be carefully handled in addition to a number of societal and cultural factors that are integral to the process that need to be adapted. The role of the change agent at the SME level is vital to the success of the introduction of the technology, its diffusion, adaptation and acceptance by the different levels in the organisation. This case demonstrates the results of a study addressing the impact of introducing information and communication technology to small and medium sized enterprises in Egypt, represented through the experience of King Hotel in introducing the Internet as a platform for business development, the challenges faced, opportunities created, and lessons learnt for future implementations.

Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Opportunities

In numerous countries, many entrepreneurial opportunities have been created as a result of the transformation from a planned economy to the market-driven system. This process continues to receive attention within both the business and academic communities. According to Ivy (1996), newly created small-scale enterprises run by local entrepreneurs are making major contributions to private sector development in these countries. Ivy further states that the increasing number of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the role they play in economic regeneration are of vital importance to economic stability in many nations. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have made radical changes, and many new firms have emerged. This has initiated and promoted a new way of doing business for millions of people from many different cultures. New ideas, entrepreneurship, and market-oriented methods are being quickly implemented. The transformations in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have outperformed other countries in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Poland has taken the lead in economic growth and development in the region. Its gross domestic product (GDP) has been steadily increasing over the past five years and it is on schedule to become a full member of the European Union (EU). This economic market oriented progress can be viewed as a showcase in the global economy. As such, Poland's success is worthy of closer inspection. This paper attempts to identify the factors, conditions, and opportunities that exist for entrepreneurs who are exploring new ventures generated from this remarkable transformation.

Occupational Safety and Health in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises During Social and Economic Transformation

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Central and Eastern Europe at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s were characterised by many people exposed to hazardous working conditions. Statistics recorded a considerable increase in the number of occupational diseases. They also showed that it was more dangerous to work for a small company.The transition from planned to market economy has brought about an increase in the number of SMEs in Poland. Data on them are provided. The role of the Central Institute for Labour Protection in studying SMEs is presented. A pilot study of employers and employees is discussed.

Knowledge management as a service: co‐operation between small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and training, consulting and research institutions

Based on a representative study covering SMEs, providers of training and consulting and research institutions in Austria, the co‐operation process between SMEs and external providers of know‐how is discussed. A lack of market transparency, problems in the search phase, a lack of co‐operation targets and evaluation criteria as well as deficits in the co‐operation during the transfer phase lead to a considerable number of SMEs which are disappointed with the co‐operation. This problem can be met by the development of new forms of co‐operation, i.e. integrated training and consulting programmes, process consultation of in‐house development projects and the support of and process consultation of co‐operations between SMEs. In this context, new learning technologies can be used to foster co‐operative learning and networking.

Smaller enterprises’ experiences with ISO 9000

Discusses the experience of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with ISO 9000 series certification, based on the results of a Western Australian questionnaire survey. It explores issues ranging from why certification was sought, the benefits derived and disappointments. Also examines the problems encountered by SMEs and how they dealt with them. Comparisons are made between those SMEs perceiving more success with ISO 9000 series certification and those which do not. Findings suggest that SMEs are experiencing mixed results from ISO 9000 series certification. Some are reporting considerable internal benefits while many are not experiencing external benefits. An encouraging outcome is that a number of SMEs see ISO 9000 series certification as a useful first step in the quality journey with a view to moving forward in the direction of a broader quality management approach.