Opportunities For Small Businesses Research Articles

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: EXPERIENCE OF EU

Over the last few years, e-commerce has become increasingly popular, because it is one of the most effective mechanisms for informing the target audience and distributing goods and services. Gradually, digital technology and information and communication networks began to penetrate not only in everyday life of people, but also took an important place in the development of business and the national economy as a whole. The purpose of the article is to study the features of the e-commerce market. Taking into account and analyzing all the impact factors of e-commerce on the development of the economy, the study has demonstrated positive and negative aspects of the spreading of this process. The expansion of online business leads to changes that push innovation to progress, leading companies are able to follow innovations and encourage other companies to upgrade. E-commerce can help businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, overcome the barriers to their expansion, besides this, the opportunity for small businesses to engage in different business activities, with equal opportunities for cooperation and innovation, using alternative funding mechanisms. A particular challenge was to explore how developing e-commerce could be used for sustainable development and what benefits can be derived from it. It has been determined that highly developed countries perform a rapid pace of development of electronic trading mechanisms, and during the last years there has been a positive and stable dynamics of electronic commodity turnover, at the same time society is improving while adapting to the changes. Particular attention is paid to the European Union, which plays a leading role in the development of the digital economy and e-commerce, since this industry is an auxiliary instrument that serves to achieve diverse development goals for the European Union. In general, the EU can serve as an example for many countries of the world, because e-commerce actually accelerates development, boosts innovation progress and promotes the country's economy to a comparatively higher level.

Revival of Hejaz embroidery: a collaborative design process engaging Saudi female academics

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to collaboratively design eight professional dress ensembles incorporating Hejazi tribal embroidery and to evaluate Saudi female academics’ perceptions about those ensembles as appropriate for professional attire. The concept aimed to offer the potential for increased cultural identity by wearing modernized ethnic dress as everyday workplace attire that was relatively practical, affordable and expressive of Saudi cultural identity.Design/methodology/approachThe goal in this research was to engage Saudi female academic professionals in designing clothing that integrated Saudi textile and costume traditions into contemporary styles appropriate for the academic work environment. Two models guided the research. The FEA model (Lamb and Kallal, 1992) was used to organize the questions in the survey questionnaire around an integration of culture with functional, aesthetic and expressive aspects of apparel. The second model guiding the research was an adaptation of the USAP participatory co-design model (Demirbilek and Demirkan, 2004). This model was used to engage study participants in the design process.FindingsQualitative results showed that participants were willing to wear the garments in this study, as the garments represented heritage, looked contemporary in terms of style lines, had comfort and interchangeable garment components, embroidery and printed fabric, fabric used in garment designs and color. Quantitative results showed that the ratings for the final garments were generally higher than the first sketches in the first phase. Results of the eight designs in the collection revealed that the aesthetic aspect was the most referenced by the participants among the FEA aspects. Results also indicated that silver waves design received the highest rating among the designs in terms of FEA aspects.Originality/valueThis research provides greater understanding of the ethnic culture of the Western region of Saudi Arabia for Western scholars. Previous research has indicated an interest in having garment manufacturing take place in Saudi Arabia (Turkustani, 1995). Findings from this research may lead to future study on the state of apparel production in Saudi Arabia and the potential feasibility of establishing a center for training in digital technology to support small business opportunities for Saudi women who are trained for work in the apparel industry.

Pengaruh Citra Produk Berdasarkan Analisis Persepsi Konsumen pada Kelompok Usaha Aneka Pangan Kota Sidoarjo

Persepsi produk di masyarakat konsumen memang tidak dapat dilepaskan dari desain labelnya, mengingat kesan pertama yang muncul ketika konsumen melihat produk adalah berdasarkan bagus tidaknya label yang digunakan. Penelitian ini terfokus pada sebuah kelompok usaha kecil aneka produk pangan dan craft di Sidoarjo yang cenderung masih mempertahankan model kemasan tradisional. Kelompok tersebut merupakan penghasil produk sumber pangan dan aneka kerajinan dimana selama ini masih dikerjakan dan diproduksi secara sederhana. Mengingat kemajuan teknologi dan desain label selama ini yang semakin pesat maka perlu adanya sentuhan kemajuan teknologi pada produk kelompok usaha ini agar desain label mampu meningkatkan persepsi positif konsumen ketika melihat produk tersebut. Kecenderungan pasar selama ini bahwa produk yang dihasilkan oleh kelompok pelaku usaha kecil semakin diminati oleh pasar global, tentunya kondisi ini membutuhkan kepedulian dan penanganan secara baik terutama pada label kemasan produknya. Untuk memudahkan analisa maka pemicu persepsi konsumen di identifikasi menggunakan beberapa faktor yang berinterelasi secara langsung yang melekat pada produk yang dihasilkan. Melalui pendekatan analisa faktor diharapkan dapat diketahui secara signifikan bahwa faktor apa saja yang perlu diketahui dan diperbaiki agar konsumen memiliki minat yang kuat terhadap segala bentuk produk yang dihasilkan oleh kelompok usaha kecil tersebut. Selanjutnya dapat diambil kebijakan dan tindakan mengenai perbaikan label pada beberapa produk yang nantinya dapat dijadikan produk unggulan bagi pelaku usaha kecil di kawasan kota Sidoarjo. Bertambahnya pelaku usaha kecil di kota Sidoarjo sangat terkait erat dengan munculnya berbagai peluang usaha kecil dalam kelompok industri rumahan yang memiliki potensi untuk dikembangkan ke depan.

Fueling the Gig Economy: A Case Study Evaluation of Upwork.com

With recent downsizing of talented professionals and the power of globalization to provide opportunities for more underdeveloped countries, the gig economy is a source of influence in today�s generation of professionals. Online outsourcing media have shown to be valuable resources for companies who need a specific set of skills for a limited period. This case study evaluates Upwork.com, one of the leading freelance websites in the gig economy; this article provides insights on how others should evaluate the power of this new economy in terms of opportunities for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers. Upwork has led the pack by providing a flexible platform for freelancers worldwide, including coders, writers, and web developers, putting businesses in touch with reasonably priced workers. The study begins by exploring the attributes of the gig economy. Data collection is achieved through qualitative analysis. The application of these conclusions could increase the survival rate of new freelancers on Upwork.com and in the gig economy. The study is significant because this research widens contemporary assumptions about strategic thinking for individuals engaged in e-commerce.

Opportunity recognition for small businesses in medical tourism in Taiwan

Medical tourism has become an investment focus for many Asian countries. For example, India, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, and Malaysia have governmental projects to foster this emerging industry, and successfully attract millions of medical tourists each year. Medical tourism consists of diverse industries that can provide abundant opportunities of new businesses. Currently Taiwan is trying to catch up in this trend by making national development policies, setting up institutions, modifying laws and regulations, and encouraging investment of private sector. The purpose of this study is to analyze the status quo of international medical tourism in Taiwan, and identify several opportunities for small businesses to catch and to participate in forming a solid medical tourism industry for Taiwan.

ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ РАЗВИТИЯ БАНКОВСКОГО КРЕДИТОВАНИЯ МАЛОГО БИЗНЕСА В РОССИИ

Practical experience of foreign countries testifies to the significant role of small business in ensuring the economic well-being of the country, which is facilitated, among other things, by a highly developed system of its financial support. In modern Russian conditions, the features of bank lending to small businesses give rise to a number of problems that complicate the opportunities for small business to use an affordable source of financing. In work on the basis of the analysis of existing problems, measures are proposed to develop a system of bank lending to small businesses.

(Invited) Sensors in Agriculture: Opportunities for Small Businesses

This talk will focus on opportunities for agricultural sensors through USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Dr. Melnick is the USDA NIFA lead for the joint NSF/NIFA program Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems as well as manages the Plant Production and Protection – Engineering program are for the USDA Small Business Innovation Research program. The USDA SBIR program offer competitively awarded grants to qualified small businesses to support high quality research related to important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture that could lead to significant public benefits. The program stimulates technological innovations in the private sector and strengthens the role of federal research and development in support of small businesses. The need to increase agricultural production while reducing the environmental impacts of has led to new and innovative technologies. Smart sensors are a key to precision agricultural production and ensure the security and safety of our food and fiber systems from field to fork.

Critical Incidents of Growth in Nordic eHealth Service Start-Ups

Technological development and digitalisation can revolutionise healthcare delivery and provide new business opportunities for innovative start-ups. Start-up businesses in the healthcare service sector are a promising source of new employment and innovations. The start-up stage is the most critical period for the survival of a business, as decisions made during the early stages have a definitive influence on success. This study seeks to clarify the early development of eHealth service start-ups. To summarise the research problem, the authors ask the following question: What are the critical incidents related to the early development of eHealth service start-ups? The units of analysis in this study are 14 Nordic eHealth service start-ups located in Sweden and Finland. The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) and semi-structured interviews were applied for data collection. The results are of interest to the public sector, which plays an essential role in healthcare as a service producer, but also as a creator of the business conditions of and opportunities for small businesses. EHealth service start-ups will provide fresh insights into the challenges and opportunities of the eHealth business sector.

Differences between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector in terms of growth

PurposeSmall businesses growth has become an important area of study in the field of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to extend the inquiry by investigating whether there is a significant difference in growth between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector in the least developing countries (LDCs), particularly Tanzania.Design/methodology/approachA survey strategy as well as non-probability sampling are used. The sampling included 50 formal and 61 informal small businesses from the furniture industry. Data collected were evaluated using chi square and compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) techniques.FindingsThe results indicate that firms from the formal sector do not grow faster than firms from the informal sector. on the contrary, our tests reveal that firms from the informal sector predominantly grow faster than firms from the formal sector.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in Tanzania which is just one of the 48 LDCs in the world. Second, the literature that is used predominantly applies to developed countries. Third, the field work dependent on the respondent’s perception. Finally, change of measurement scale from five to three is ought to have contributed to mixed findings.Practical implicationsThe overall implications are that external factors like inadequate regulatory tax systems may affect growth of formal small businesses and thus influence market opportunities for informal small businesses. Further, internal factors like inefficiencies of workers from formal enterprises may affect growth and therefore create more opportunities for informal enterprises.Originality/valueExploring differences between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector, and the way five scales were aggregated into three scales in the methodology.

DIRECTIONS OF ALTERNATIVE STOCK MARKET INCREASE OF MARKET CAPITALIZATION OF DOMESTIC COMPANIES

The article reveals the need to create alternative stock market that would open access to participation in the SME. Based on the experience of alternative securities markets in Europe, conclusions regarding the need for a stock exchange available to wider circles of consumers to increase their own capitalization and support the domestic stock market. In times of severe economic crisis, support for small and medium businesses is extremely important in Ukraine. One of the effective mechanisms for increasing the capitalization of enterprises is the attraction of stock exchange instruments in the stock market. But given the fact that the domestic stock market is in a systemic decline, most Ukrainian enterprises (especially those strategically important for the country's destinations, such as enterprises of the agro-industrial, metallurgical and mines-mining complex) choose foreign exchange platforms, in particular Warsaw (WSE) and London (LSE) Stock Exchanges. Due to the attraction of additional funds on foreign stock sites, Ukrainian companies managed to achieve a significant increase in their own capitalization. Today, the necessity of creating an alternative stock market in Ukraine is extremely important. This will provide an opportunity for the following: raising the level of development of the stock market of Ukraine; raising the popularity of stock instruments among enterprises and the population, which will provide preconditions for attracting temporarily free funds for the purpose of investing in the securities market; raising the capitalization of domestic enterprises through the attraction of exchange instruments; the emergence of opportunities for new small and medium-sized businesses to become involved in the stock sector; attraction of small and medium enterprises to the stock sector will make business in Ukraine more transparent, and more attractive both for domestic and foreign investors.

RUSSIAN REGIONS INVESTMENT AND INNOVATION POTENTIAL

Purpose : the main purpose of the article is to study the current state of the investment and innovation process in the regions of Russia. To achieve this goal, the article solved the following problemsthe: to describe measures to ensure a balanced innovative growth of Russian regions; to substantiate the need for large-scale increase and effective use of investment funds to stimulate the transition to a new quality of economic growth based on the deployment of innovative processes; to investigate the problems of development of large and small business in the regions, as sources of innovation and job creation; to carry out an analysis the cluster approach as the most priority area with great potential for creating new competitive advantages of the regional economy; to evaluate the effectiveness of management tools that have a direct impact on the innovation space in the regions. Methods: the study was conducted using systematic, logical, comparative analysis, grouping and generalization methods, which made it possible to ensure the validity of the results and conclusions of the study. Results: the factors influencing on the investment and innovation development of the regions have been identified, the management tasks solved in interaction at the level of the state, the region and the industrial complex have been identified. These factors allow multiplying and effectively using the opportunities for large and small business in order to modernize, provide the necessary investment support for the innovative development of regions and the country. Using these approaches give the opportunity to increase the effectiveness and quality of the influence of these factors and tasks on the innovative development of the regions and to adapt their strategy of innovative modernization. Conclusions and relevance : the article show the special role of active investment-innovative interaction between the national and regional levels of public administration for implementation of modernization processes in the economy in order to build a common innovation space in the whole country.

Rethinking the Providence Hill cable car: transit, equity, and urban design in Rio de Janeiro

In July 2014, the oldest slum in Rio de Janeiro, Morro da Providência (“Providence Hill”), received a cable car meant to facilitate up- and downhill commuting for residents of this hilltop community adjacent to downtown. Socioeconomic indicators suggest that this community was an ideal recipient of such a project, which facilitated mobility to center-city transit and potential employment. Yet the resulting impact on the adjacent built environment may have negatively impacted small-business vitality and development opportunities for residents of the community. Using social indicators and urban design analysis, this paper examines the distributional and design implications of these choices and proposes improvements.

Sociedad de acciones simplificadas, oportunidad de organización y trascendencia para las pequeñas empresas familiares

En el país como en el mundo entero, las pequeñas y medianas empresas representan más del 95% de las entidades económicas que dedicadas a la actividad productiva, en gran mayoría representada por empresas familiares, enfrentan múltiples problemáticas objeto de estudio a través del tiempo, que han dado pie a posibles soluciones enfocadas al proceso de administración y trabajo dentro de la formalidad. Tanto el sector gubernamental como las asociaciones empresariales, han buscado siempre como apoyar a este tipo de unidades económicas a permanecer y ser competitivas en el mundo empresarial. La reforma financiera de 2014, relacionada con las modificaciones a la Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles en 2016, da origen a la nueva Sociedad de Acciones Simplificada, la cual viene a impactar directamente como una oportunidad a las pequeñas y medianas empresas familiares, pretenden ayudar a fortalecer su economía, ampliar sus oportunidades en la actividad económica y fortaleciéndolas, sirviendo de impulso para trascender y ser más productivas

The Italian food industry in the era of the TTIP negotiate

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to focus, first, on the analysis of recent trends of the European and Italian food industries, and, second, on the possible implications that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiate can exert on the Italian agri-food system.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on an in-depth analysis of current economic trends, characteristics of production structure, and the trade balance of Italy-USA commercial relationship in the context of EU market. The main advantages and disadvantages that can be derived from the TTIP negotiation are pointed out.Findings– The analysis of the Italian food industry highlights a very fragmented production structure characterized by the coexistence on the market of a small number of big companies and a large number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Such bipolar structure constitutes a constraint to internationalization and limits the quantities of exportable products. The TTIP can represent an opportunity for the Italian food small businesses. On the other hand, the main disadvantages are related to the agricultural raw materials market.Originality/value– The study offers an in-depth analysis of the main features of the Italian food industry and of its role in international agri-food trades, describing the scenario that could be opened by the TTIP negotiation.

THE NEW URBANISM OF FISHERMEN’S VILLAGE IN BULAK SETTLEMENT SURABAYA

Based on the existing potential characteristics, Surabaya is developed to function as the nation’s center of main area C, that covering areas in the east and north of Indonesia. The nation’s target in city development are field of industry, trading, maritime, garrison and tourism. Land condition in Surabaya is not fully urban, because there are areas with rural use such as paddy field, moor, ponds and coastal forest. The rural use of land are found in west, south-west and eastern part of Surabaya. The condition shows that the activity is dual, which are urban and rural. It is related with the environment which is hilly topography at the western part of Surabaya and shore at the eastern part of Surabaya. The scope of study research is identification that is conducted in a fishermen’s settlement of Bulak, Surabaya. The identification covers physical and non physical aspects of the area. The environment and buildings’ condition,and land use are covering demography, social economic and culture condition. The research method is conducted by inventory of data, using the observation technique, interview, and documentation, moreover visual observation. The use of theory is related to the fishermen’s settlement, sense of place and new urbanism. Result of the research is a strategy concept in efforts to renewal the fisherman’s area based on physical and non physical characteristics. Consist of “ Government and community participation are needed for renewal settlement in fishing village. The guidance of local government was needed on various small business opportunities, where process is quite simple and profitable for low income people. They have to demonstrate the balance between ‘man-houses-environment’, so that the relation between them can be dynamic and sustainable. The existence of houses in fishing area need a private bathrooms with good sanitation and septic tanks, for environment preservation. They need to obtain good economic opportunities are promising for low income level. The some environments in coastal area need electricity services especially in study area .

Crowdfunding: Literature Study for Communication and Information Asymmetry

Advance in technology in most fields and industries brings new and undiscovered evolutions of systems and methods by making transactions and processes more efficient, thus requiring modern and absolutely unique ways of interaction. Crowdfunding can be thought to be the next breakthrough evolution at a point of collision of technology, social networking interactions online and finance. Triggered by recent financial crisis trust for traditional financial intermediaries had been shaken. Moreover the crowd realized and was pursuing to eliminate financial intermediation and complications in investment market that consumed most of the bounty of capital investments.Crowdfunding became interesting topic and has shown some signals of future perspectives toward decreasing investment costs as long as facilitating new markets and good opportunities both for small and medium businesses and individual investors.However as the Crowdfunding specifications and characteristics are in a sense different from other ways of financing, key and fundamental issues such as information asymmetry should be understood and investigated to have a knowledge of the topic.

Township Tourism: The politics and socio-economic dynamics of tourism in the South African township: Umlazi, Durban

The paper analyses how tourism development at Umlazi which is one of the second biggest Townships in the Southern hemisphere has been hampered by politics and socio economic dynamics that stifle the empowerment of both tourism entrepreneurs and local communities respectively. The impacts of tourism have been given much attention by scholars to examine the perceptions and attitudes of local residents towards Township tourism in South Africa. However, there is little research that focuses on how much political and economic dynamics of the past and present dispensations have adversely impacted on the tourism economic development of small emerging entrepreneurs and local residents of the Townships. This study attempts to make a little contribution to South African Township tourism by examining political and economic dimensions that hinder small businesses and local residents of uMlazi to thrive and get empowered through tourism. Township tourism in South Africa has slightly improved and grown in popularity since 1994 and is considered by the government and other social agents to be an appropriate opportunity for small businesses and the stimulation of local economic development. However, the paper argues that tourism fails to act as a panacea of economic development in the township of Umlazi, since there is lack of business opportunities, intervention and support of local government, private sector and racial groups that are endowed with more than enough financial resources. Data were collected by means of interviews that allowed the interviewer to pose some open-ended questions so that the interviewee could express his or her own opinion freely for the extraction of more information. Based on 30 respondents surveyed, the findings show that there are numerous obstacles that are directly linked to political and economic dynamics. These obstacles include lack of political intervention and financial support for tourism entrepreneurs and local residents of UMlazi Township. On the whole respondents viewed Township tourism negatively. They were generally of the idea that township tourism can only be of benefit to residents once it is often visited by racial groups who are better off financially after their fears about safety and security have been allayed.

The units of value added to offset the cost calculation shortcomings: an opportunity for small African businesses

Firms are growing increasingly complex and have to respond very quickly to changes in an unstable environment. Using reliable costing methods, they must be able to clearly identify sources of losses and profit. This requires them to adopt a radical change of perspective, replacing calculation of the margins on products with calculation of the profit on each sale. This type of analysis, facilitated by the UVA costing method, can inform businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which of their customers are profitable and which generate losses, which of their products and services are not meeting customer demand, which prices are not reflecting the costs borne, which processes must be improved, and so on. Firms can thus make operational and strategic decisions to improve profitability. SMEs in African countries, facing a difficult business context, could usefully take advantage of these systems, which are appropriate for their structures.

Mining and the fall and rise of poverty in southern West Virginia

The region in the United States now known as West Virginia was, prior to the Civil War, an isolated, sparsely settled frontier populated primarily by subsistence farmers and hunters. With the vigorous advent of industrial development elsewhere in the US, what became the state of West Virginia turned into a production powerhouse of coal, the lifeblood of growth for the country. Coal and its exploitation became the defining feature of the West Virginian social and economic landscape. Changes included massive in-migration, the emergence of company coal towns, wage labor with a significant increase in incomes for local people as well as improved opportunities for small businesses. From the 1950s on, however, increasing mechanization reduced the need for labor, ‘easy coal’ was gone and broader economic and social changes meant coal production in West Virginia plummeted. Environmental and social devastation ensued with levels of poverty unmatched elsewhere in the United States. The development of a Third World status for this region went largely unnoticed by the rest of the country. What were the causes for this and who was responsible?

Liquidity Constraints and Investment Opportunities: New Evidence from Large and Small Businesses in the UK

In this paper, we compare the liquidity constraints and investment opportunities for large and small businesses. This is done by examining the relationship between stock liquidity and investment opportunities in a sample of large and small enterprises listed on the London Stock Exchange. We find a positive statistical association between stock liquidity and investment opportunities, regardless of the size of the enterprise. This unique result in the London Stock Exchange suggests that firm size does not influence corporate investment decisions because there is no significant change in the cost of capital between large and small enterprises.