Small And Medium Scale Enterprises Research Articles

READINESS OF SAUDI ARABIAN SMEs FOR GLOBAL COMPETITION: A STUDY ON THE EASTERN PROVINCE

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) of Saudi Arabia are going to be challenged by the global competitors as a result of country’s accession to WTO. The main objective of the study is to evaluate current level of competitiveness of the Saudi Arabian SMEs in order to assess their readiness to face global competition. Competitiveness of Saudi SMEs is measured against 4 parameters, which are Management Awareness and Attitude, Level of Technology, Customer Responsiveness and Skill Level of Manpower. It was found that awareness level of the management of Saudi SMEs about the potential competition resulting from joining the country in WTO is very high and they are trying to shape their companies accordingly. They were found relatively weak in switching to new product in a quick time with little expenses. It was also found that level of technology used by the Saudi SMEs is quite advance and comparable to the global leaders in the respective industries. The study also found some weaknesses of Saudi SMEs in their customer responsiveness and skill level of their employees.

Financial Deepening and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) Output in Nigeria

The study examined the relationship between financial deepening (FD) and entrepreneurial growth (EG) in Nigeria for the period of 1986-2021 (36years). This was done in respect to the measures of FD, namely; Ratio of Broad Money Supply to Gross Domestic Product (M2/GDP), Ratio of Private Sector Credit to Gross Domestic Product (PSC/GDP), Ratio of Market Capitalization to Gross Domestic Product (MCAP/GDP) and Ratio of Loans to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises to Gross Domestic Product (LSMSE/GDP) in relation to EG was proxied by Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Output (SMSEO) in Nigeria. The data for the study was sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and World Bank Development Indicators. Then, the stationary and normality tests was carried out, followed by the descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression tool of analysis with the aid of E-VIEW 9.0 statistical package. The results showed that M2/GDP, PSC/GDP, MCAP/GDP and LSMSE/GDP have positive and negative significant effect on SMSEO in Nigeria. Hence, the study indicated that FD had a considerable impact on EG in Nigeria. The report proposed that the CBN compel deposit money Banks (DMBs) to extend greater loan facilities to entrepreneurs (private sector), including young graduates and new entrepreneurs, without collateral to enable them to participate in successful businesses. In addition, venture capital firms should be developed to aid in EG, resulting in the production of value and wealth.

Financial Deepening and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) Output in Nigeria

Financial Deepening and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) Output in Nigeria

Does trade openness influence the performance of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria? A re-evaluation of the evidence

The theoretical premises of open trade predict that open economies would benefit more from trade than those in autarky. Empirical findings for Nigeria are mixed both for macro-based studies and those devoted to sectoral investigations. In this paper, we re-evaluate the evidence on trade openness’s impact on the performance of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. Existing studies in this area suffer from a twin restriction; one in scope, the other in methodology. We thus employ a two-pronged analytical framework on time series data spanning 1981 to 2019. First, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology is used to investigate the short-run and long-run effects of trade openness on SMEs’ performance. Second, the Toda-Yamamoto causality test provides additional evidence on the direction of causality among the policy variables. Our findings show that trade openness exerts a positive but insignificant impact on the performance of SMEs. Causality test results indicate that variations in exchange rate, infrastructure, labour force and foreign direct investment influence the performance of SMEs. The paper recommends the creation of enabling environments that guarantee formidable enterprise performance amidst open trade. Specifically, there is need, among other things, for significant improvements in infrastructure levels as well as stability in the exchange rate.

The Impact of Finance to Sustainability of SMEs in Post COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has severely affected the global and Nigerian Economy. The most affected victims of the pandemic are the Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). This study aim to explore the role of finance in sustainable operations of SMEs in Nigeria post COVID-19 pandemic. The study shall adopts a quantitative approach where questionnaires are distributed to SME owners and managers in the Northeast region of Nigeria. A total sample of 384 SMEs are expected to participated in this study. The Dataset collected for the purpose of this study is expected to be analysed using both binomial and T-test. The data collected revealed that finance plays an important role in the sustainability of business in the sampled area. Based on the findings, it is recommended that government should provide means of tacking the funding challenges faced by SMEs through provision of infrastructure and loan facilities. Finally, the business owners should equally focus on wealth and profit generation, bearing in mind other social and environmental concerns.

Customer Relationship Management, Innovation Capability, Technological Environment, and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises: A Research Framework and Proposition

This study looked into the consequences of customer relationship management by creating empirical evidence grounded in relationship marketing theory and dynamic capability theory. The study proposed a direct as well as an indirect relationship between customer relationship management and firm performance, recognizing technological environment as the interacting variables of customer relationship management that influences the performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), suggesting that technology environment as a moderator in the customer relationship management model. The study explained the theoretical and practical contributions of the model in our understanding of customer relationship management practices and the intervening role of innovation capability. Technological environment was also discussed especially from the perspective of SMEs.

INFORMAL SECTOR AND POVERTY ERADICATION STRATEGIES IN THE NEW NORMAL OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NORTH-WEST, NIGERIA

This study was conducted to find out informal sector and poverty eradication strategies in the new normal of covid-19 pandemic in North-West, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population consisted of all the registered Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Kano the largest city in the zone, Kaduna, Zaria, Sokoto, Katsina, Gusau, Garki and Funtua. These were metropolitan/commercial cities in each State in the North-West, Nigeria. It was hypothesized that there was no significant difference in the responses of the respondent groups on the level of effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the informal sector in North-East Nigeria; there was no significant difference in the responses of the respondent groups on the strategies adopted for the eradication of poverty among informal sector workers in North-West Nigeria in the new normal COVID-19 pandemic; there was no significant difference in the responses of the respondent groups on the factors that militate against the effective application of the strategies adopted for poverty eradication among the informal sector workers in North-West Nigeria in the new normal COVID-19 pandemic. Mean, t-test and correlation analysis were used to analyze to the data. All the hypotheses were retained. It was recommended among others that the State governments in the region should set aside emergency fund targeting informal sector in the zone. And that deferment of taxes or waiver of taxes, lower interest rate could also be embarked on by the appropriate policy makers in the zone to make informal sector remain afloat in the new normal COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: Poverty reduction, information sector, flexible loan, cost loan

Innovations in small businesses: do public procurement contracts and intellectual property rights matter?

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are known to drive innovations, economic growth, and job creation. Numerous studies have analysed small businesses' innovations using new products and processes, with indicators such as funding, innovation activities, and collaborations. However, other vital determinants such as public procurement contracts and intellectual property rights protections capable of influencing innovations have not received enough scholarly attention, especially in the context of Central European countries. This paper aims to examine whether public procurement contracts, market orientations, public subsidies, intellectual property rights, and other firm characteristics shape small businesses' innovation outcomes in the Czech Republic. The results based on a cross-sectional sample of 4,193 small businesses from the Community Innovation survey 2014 prove that European utility models positively influence major and minor forms of innovation but not general innovations. Our findings also show that foreign procurement contracts matter for small businesses' major and minor forms of innovation but not general innovations. Our results further demonstrate that exporting, collaborations with universities and other public research organizations, and external research and development positively influence major and minor forms of innovation but not general innovations. The results on the average treatment effects confirm that firms' collaborations with universities and public research organizations have the highest additionality effects on major and minor forms of innovations. Finally, we find evidence that firm size and belonging to the enterprise group positively impact small businesses’ general innovations. We conclude with practical implications for policymakers and firm managers in Visegrad economies on measures that could be adopted to develop and improve upon existing and new policy initiatives to increase the effect of major and minor innovation outcomes.

Assessment of the Impact of a Firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on its Profitability in Nigeria: A Case Study of Akure Firms in Ondo State

This study critically examined the impact of a firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on its profitability in Nigeria. The specific objective of the study was to assess the effect of customer orientation on the performance of SMEs in South West, Nigeria; examine the effect of competitor orientation on the performance of SMEs in South West, Nigeria and investigate the effect of inter-functional coordination the on the performance of SMEs in Ondo state, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted and the population of the study covered all the 23,289 SMEs across all the states in the South West region of Nigeria; out of which, 393 small and medium scale enterprises’ owners were selected using the Yamane model (1967). An adapted questionnaire was used and it was subjected to a validity and reliability test. Data gathered via the questionnaire was analyzed using frequency and percentage for background information of the respondents and items on the questions, Pearson correlation to show the relationship between the predictor and outcome variable and simple linear regression to reveal the effect of all the predictors on the outcome variable. The result of the analysis revealed that customer orientation has a positive and significant effect on the performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in South West, Nigeria to the tune of 0.302(p=0.000<0.05), Thus, it was concluded that all the predictors (customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional orientation) have a positive and significant effect on the performance of SMEs in South West, Nigeria.

A real options approach to assessing the cost savings potential of renewable energy adoption among SMEs in Ghana

ABSTRACT Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are integral to economic development. However, they face significant challenges within their operations, of which access to an affordable power supply is profound. Self-generation options have the potential to curtail these challenges to an extent, but SMEs need to choose options that provide significant cost savings. This study proposes a simulation-based real options model using secondary data to evaluate the cost savings potential for SMEs in switching from conventional power generating sources to renewable energy based on three main scenarios: using renewable energy as a backup; a complete transition to renewable energy generation; and a partial transition to renewable energy sources. The results show that using renewable energy as backup sources of energy does not provide significant cost savings to the SME. However, a complete or a partial transition from conventional to renewable energy resources offers substantial cost savings for the SME over the life of the renewable energy technology. SMEs must consider capacity factors of renewable energy technologies, tariffs for conventional power supply, system reliability of conventional systems, and the investment costs for renewable energy generation as critical determining factors for renewable energy investments. Successful integration of renewable energy by SMEs also requires policy support towards educating SMEs on its importance and technical requirements. Key policy insights Renewable energy integration can allow SMEs to make substantial savings in their power consumption costs. SMEs must be mindful of an approach towards investing in renewable energy technologies so that it also maximises their gains in renewable energy integration. Government policy must focus on creating an enabling environment for SMEs to reap the benefits of renewable energy integration.

Exploring Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Performance among Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) In Nigeria

This research is designed to examine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). The study was carried out in the South-South Geopolitical Region of Nigeria. The proxies for EO were innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness. This study used a survey research approach and a sample size of 1308 SMEs was selected. Copies of an adopted questionnaire were administered to the respondents who were owners/managers of the selected SMEs using the stratified random sampling method. Pearson's correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The result of the research revealed that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has significant influence on performance of SMEs in Nigeria. Consequently, it was recommended that SMEs' owners/managers should use the EO dimensions that best suit their firm's strategic emphasis, taking into account aspects such as the organization's age and/or size, industry influence, and the specific setting in which the firm works.

Entrepreneurial Leadership and Managerial Sustainability

Entrepreneurial leadership has been tipped as one of the millennium solutions to challenges associated with the current competitive and dynamic global business environment. Majority of businesses operating in the localities of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria including Ikot Ekpene and Uyo, the state capital are on small and medium scale. For decades now, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are considered as an important aspect of Nigeria’s economy and this makes it quite necessary to investigate the extent to which entrepreneurial leadership behaviour may lead to managerial sustainability. Considering this fact, this study seeks to examine the effect of entrepreneurial leadership behaviour on managerial sustainability in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. The study employed a quantitative survey research design. This study targeted a population of 135 owners/ managers who assume leadership positions in SMEs across Akwa Ibom state. This number cuts across sectors like food processing, livestock rearing, trading, art/craft, bakery, table water, fashion and designing/hair dressing and ICT. Out of this figure 101 owners/managers were selected to represent the sample through purposive sampling technique. The cleansed data was further quantitatively analyzed by product moment correlation and multiple regressions. Results of correlation analysis reveal that there is significant relationship between all the constructs of Entrepreneurial leadership (miner behavior, explorer behavior, accelerator behavior and integrator behavior) and managerial sustainability. The result of regression analysis showed that miner behavior, explorer behavior, accelerator behavior and integrator behavior jointly contribute to managerial sustainability. This study concludes that entrepreneurial leadership behaviors of managers/owners of SMEs significantly affect managerial sustainability of such SMEs. Arising from the findings and conclusion, it is recommended amongst others that mangers/owners of SMEs should enhance their innovation capacity and expand innovative entrepreneurship.

Lean Human Resource Initiatives and Employee Performance of Selected Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria

Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in terms of growth and development of an economy. Despite this ostensible relevance of small and medium scale enterprises, it is observed that employee performance level especially in Nigeria is low compared to that of other nations. This is evident in declining workforce productivity, inefficiency, and decreased commitment. These challenges have been attributed to a variety of factors, including poor hiring approach, irregular improvement, and poor teamwork. The impact of lean human resource initiatives on employee performance in selected SMEs in Lagos State, Nigeria, was explored in this research. The survey research design was used in this study. In Lagos State, Nigeria, there were 8,396 small and medium-sized businesses. Sample size of 481 was ascertained using the Research Advisory Table. The participants were identified using a simple random sampling approach. Data was collected from the participants using an adapted and validated questionnaire. Construct ranged from 0.74 to 0.89 for Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficients and study found that 85% of participants responded. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (multiple regression). According to the findings, lean human resource initiatives had a significant impact on employee performance in Lagos, Nigeria.. Employee performance was significantly affected by lean human resource initiatives (Adj.R2 = 0.095; F (5,401) = 9.509, p 0.05). The study concludes that lean human resource initiatives had significant effect on employee performance of SMEs in Lagos Nigeria. The study recommends that small and medium scale enterprise owner/managers should embrace Lean Human Resource initiatives such as selective hiring, continuous improvement, mentoring, cross-functional team, and flexible information system which is geared towards human capital development to improve employee performance and boost their contribution to the organization. Keywords: Continuous Improvement, Employee Performance, Lean Human resource initiative, Mentoring, Selective Hiring.

Effect of Bootstrapping Dimensions on Sales Growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in South West Nigeria

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) have been recognized to be the economic drivers in both developed and developing nation. Despite their economic importance, SMEs have been experiencing poor performance and do not survive beyond five years of inception. SMEs in Nigeria encounter challenges in developing creative ways of acquiring resources in non-traditional ways through owner’s financing, subsidy financing, delayed payment, joint utilisation, and social capital result into persistent decline in sales growth, market share growth, productivity growth, profitability and increase in employee turnover. This study investigated the effect of Bootstrapping dimension on sales growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in South-West, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design. The population of the study comprised 14, 527 owner/managers of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) enterprises in Lagos and Oyo States. The study utilized stratified simple random sampling technique. A sample size of 750 owner/managers of SMEs were enumerated using Cochran’s (1977) formula. Adapted questionnaire was used and 86.4% response rate was achieved. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential (regression) analyses. The findings revealed that bootstrapping dimensions had significant effect on sales growth (Adj. R2 = 0.055; F(5, 642) = 8.542, p < 0.05). The study concluded that bootstrapping improved sales growth of SMEs in South-West, Nigeria. It was recommended that management of small and medium scale enterprises in South-West, Nigeria should pay more attention on subsidy financing, delayed payment, social capital with less attention on joint utilization in order to improve their sales growth. Keywords: Bootstrapping, Delayed Payment, Sales Growth, Small & Medium Scale Enterprises, Social Capital, Subsidy Financing

Resource Allocation and Innovativeness of Selected SMEs in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Purpose: Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) play an essential role in the maintenance of a stable and viable economy, such as continuous employment creation. Besides, by cooperation, SMEs play a significant role in the production process by providing raw materials for large organisations to aid smooth operations. To support SMEs, efforts have been tailored towards ensuring that SMEs can compete favourably amongst themselves and perform at par if not better than their counterparts in other countries. However, in developing countries such as Nigeria, SMEs are seen to be struggling with poor innovativeness. It is observed that the innovativeness of Nigerian SMEs has been in a huge decline and has been attributed to factors such as poor resource allocation. Therefore, this study examined how resource allocation affects innovativeness of SMEs in Lagos State, Nigeria.
 Methodology: The study adopted a survey research design. The population of the study was 8,396 owners and managers which is the total number of registered SMEs in Lagos State, Nigeria. A sample size of 481 owner/managers of SMEs sampled using the researcher advisors table of sampling. Data was collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire with a Cronbach alpha value greater than 0.7. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential tools. Linear, Multiple and Hierarchical Regression Analysis were used to determine the effect of the variables using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0.
 Findings: The study revealed that resource allocation had significant effect on innovativeness in selected SMEs in Lagos State, Nigeria (β = .290, t = 7.163, R2 = 0.098, p < 0.05). The study concluded that resource allocation affects innovativeness in selected small and medium scale enterprises in Lagos, State, Nigeria. 
 Recommendation: The study recommended that SMEs should focus on a better approach to managing and allocating their resources. This will help to ensure that innovation is resource-driven and can have the tendency on ensuring productivity improvement.

Identifying the key areas for benchmarking towards the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) construction firms in developing countries: the case of Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify key areas for benchmarking (BM) towards the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) construction firms in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the use of the quantitative research method in the collection and analysis of primary data collected from field surveys using a piloted close-ended questionnaire created following a review of available literature on BM. Based on 63 solicited views of professionals with SMEs (quantity surveyors, project managers and architects) data collected were statistically analysed using a one-sample t-test.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that the key areas for BM towards the improvement of SME construction firms in developing countries in order of relevance are “Financial Performance”, “Competitiveness”, “Customer Satisfaction”, “Technology Advancement”, “Communication Skills”, “Collaboration”, “Employee Satisfaction” and “Product orientation”.Practical implicationsThe study has given more insight into the areas that need more attention for SMEs BM to achieve improvement. It can therefore be suggested firms that adapted identified areas will derive the benefits of BM. It is further opined that more BM education should be provided to various SMEs construction firms to facilitate an effective and efficient BM regime aiming at performance enhancement in project delivery.Originality/valueThis forging research attempts to identify the key areas for BM towards the improvement of SMEs construction firms in developing countries. Although there have been several efforts to create BM tools for the construction industry.

Underpinning Hawley’s Risk Theory of Profit on Risk Intelligence and Sustainability Relations of SMEs in Nigeria

Sustainable development is one of the topical issues posing a global challenge to the business world. To remain successful in today's competitive business environment, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) must find a way to exist by adapting to dynamic sustainability challenges. The study aimed to examine Hawley’s Risk Theory of Profit's underpinning role in explaining the connection between Risk Intelligence (RI) and SMEs’ sustainability (SUS). It was understood that risk could pose both opportunities and threats to business, and therefore, proactive detection is paramount to address the risk capable of ridiculing sustainability. Therefore, we proposed integrating the moderating role of financial performance in the relationship between Nigerian SMEs' risk intelligence and sustainability. The study found Hawley’s theory relevant to risk and sustainability tradeoff. Previous studies proxied risk intelligence by knowledge management, financial literacy, and risk-taking propensity, which paved the way for developing a framework for attaining sustainable SMEs in Nigeria. We concluded that SME’s sustainability could be ensured by effectively managing inherent risks and should be incorporated into Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) systems.

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and National Development in Nigeria a Case Study of Akwa Ibom State

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs) have been widely acknowledged as essential elements for economic and national development. In effort to encourage the growth of SME’s in Nigeria, successive governments have adopted different strategies and policies to strengthen the sector. But the impact of the sector and its contribution to the economic development of Akwa Ibom State remains sub-optimal. The main objectives of this research were to identify the problems of SMSEs in Akwa Ibom State and also to suggest ways of addressing these problems to enhance the performance of the sector in the State. Methodology used for the study was a combination of the descriptive and survey techniques while questionnaire was used for collecting the data for the study. The study revealed that though SMSEs abound in Akwa Ibom State and have the potential to bring about economic development in the State, the major problem faced by operators in the state include lack of funds; that though governments have severally put up policies to strengthen the growth of SMSEs sector in the state, most of the policies fail at the implementation stage; and that there is a significant relationship between economic development policies and the growth of SMSEs in Akwa Ibom State. The paper therefore recommended that government should not only take appropriate steps to duly implement SMSE policies in order to create the enabling environment for investment in the state, but should also review the existing policies on SMSEs to meet the needed standard, as well as employ capable personnel to implement and monitor policies effectively.

I can see the opportunity that you cannot! A nexus between individual entrepreneurial orientation, alertness, and access to finance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to demonstrate how alertness enable small and medium scale enterprise (SME) owners to leverage their individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) such as risk-taking, pro-activity, innovation, passion and perseverance in a better way to recognize opportunities for financial resources as compared to their counterparts who are not alert. Moreover, it elaborates on the mediating role of opportunity recognition of financial resources between IEO and SMEs’ access to finance (AF).Design/methodology/approachA three-wave time-lagged survey from a stratified sample of 271 small and medium scale business owners in Pakistan was conducted and the data were analysed using PROCESS models 1 and 4.FindingsThe findings grounded in the theory of Action Regulation, signify that the IEO of small and medium scale business owners helps them attain financial resources through opportunity recognition capacity which is an action characteristic. Moreover, the IEO of SME owners, coupled with entrepreneurial alertness (EA; a cognitive pre-action state), amplifies their ability to recognize opportunities for financial resource availability.Originality/valueThis is one of the initial studies to test the IEO scale, including passion and perseverance. Moreover, it has added to the individual-level antecedents of AF in small and medium scale businesses through the role of EA and opportunity recognition.

Socio-cultural business environment factors and entrepreneurial performance: Experience from Nigeria small and medium enterprises

The study examined the impact of socio-cultural business environment factors on the performance of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the Ibadan metropolis. The paper sets out to weigh the influence of variables such as the family system, gender, level of income, education, and religion on the making of successful entrepreneurs. The study made use of the questionnaire, which was well structured and worded to elicit the desired responses from the respondents. This was administered to 300 respondents, although 275 copies of the questionnaire were properly filled out and returned. To analyze the collected data and determine the strength of the relationship between socio-cultural factors and entrepreneurial performance, the Multiple Regression statistical tool was used. Findings from the results (R2 = 0.845; F-value = 524.38, P > z| = 0.0001) revealed that socio-cultural business environment factors positively influence the performance of the selected enterprises. It is recommended that relevant authorities work on the socio-economic sector of the economy so as to increase the capacity of potential entrepreneurs. An enabling environment should be created by the government to give businesses room to thrive, so as to increase the drive for entrepreneurship development.