Small Enterprises Research Articles

Research on International Trade Development Path of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Context of E-commerce Trade

With the rapid development of Internet technology and the advancement of globalization, e-commerce has become an important part of international trade activities. In this context, how to expand the international market and enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises with the help of e-commerce trading platform has become a hot issue in current research. This paper first summarizes the development of e-commerce trade and its impact on the international trade of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and then analyzes the current situation and main problems of the international trade of small and medium-sized enterprises. On this basis, it puts forward the development path and strategy of SMEs' international trade under the background of e-commerce trade, including establishing e-commerce trade platform, strengthening supply chain management, utilizing cross-border e-commerce, strengthening brand building, and innovating service mode. This paper aims to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for SMEs to carry out international trade under the background of e-commerce trade.

Digital tax policies and compliance challenges for MSMEs in Indonesia

As digital Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) rapidly grow in Indonesia, ensuring their compliance with tax regulations has become an urgent priority. This study delves into the challenges and innovative solutions to enhance tax compliance, focusing mainly on digital content creators. This study examines the challenges and solutions for improving tax compliance among digital Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia, mainly digital content creators. The research aims to analyze the impact of tax sanctions, modernization of tax administration, and tax policy reforms on the compliance behavior of these entities. A qualitative approach was employed, utilizing interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with informants selected through purposive sampling. The findings indicate that tax sanctions significantly influence compliance, but modernization of tax systems improves transparency and efficiency, thus enhancing compliance. Policy reforms, particularly those tailored to the unique needs of digital businesses, offer the flexibility needed for fulfilling tax obligations. The novelty of this research lies in the proposed model that integrates tax sanctions, administrative modernization, and policy reforms, addressing the unique characteristics of digital MSMEs. The practical implications suggest that implementing a user-friendly digital tax system, supported by clear guidelines and targeted reforms, can simplify compliance for digital MSMEs, leading to better tax reporting. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers in designing effective, adaptive tax policies for Indonesia's rapidly growing digital economy.

Pemberdayaan UMKM Batik dalam Rangka Meningkatkan Daya Saing Produk Unggulan Daerah di Desa Ngentrong Kecamatan Karangan Kabupaten Trenggalek

Trenggalek Regency has typical batik with the main motif of clove flowers. Currently the batik center in Ngentrong Village is the most famous center in Trenggalek Regency which is currently experiencing many problems regarding the development of existing Human Resources. This research aims to determine the empowerment of Batik Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in order to increase the competitiveness of regional superior products in Ngentrong Village, Karangan District, Trenggalek Regency. This research uses a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. The focus of this research uses the empowerment aspect theory, namely enabling, empowering, and protecting. The data collection techniques used in this research are interviews, observation, and documentation. The data analysis techniques used are data collection, data condensation, data presentation, and drawing conclusions and verification. In this research, the validity tests used are the credibility test, dependability test and confirmability test. The results of this research found that when viewed from the enabling, empowering and protecting aspects as a whole, it can be stated that the empowerment of Batik Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in order to increase the competitiveness of regional superior products in Ngentrong Village, Karangan District, Trenggalek Regency has not yet been achieved. done optimally.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainability in MSME

This research paper examines the role of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Indian economy and their sustainability. It analyses 85 Scopus documents from 66 sources between 2014 and 2024, revealing a peak in scientific production in 2023. The study emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices for long-term success. This comprehensive research paper rigorously examines the pivotal role of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Indian economy and emphasizes the critical importance of sustainable practices for long-term success. Through meticulous analysis of 85 Scopus documents from 66 sources between 2014 and 2024, the study conclusively reveals a peak in scientific production in 2023 and robust ties between India and various other countries in this domain.

Factors Affecting the Management of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Corresponding Recommendations

Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)play a crucial role in economic development. Their management methods and internal strategic decisions not only affect their own development but also influence the establishment of internal management systems within related industries. Therefore, identifying the factors that influence changes in business management methods is of paramount importance for SMEs. Additionally, due to the smaller size and scale of SMEs, they are easily affected by changes in various management factors. To mitigate risks and enhance development, SMEs must assess both individual and combined impacts of various factors. This article employs a literature review to examine SMEs comprehensively. It summarizes and analyzes existing research, identifies key management factors, and offers targeted recommendations. The research results show that human resource management, financial management, and technology management have important effects on the management methods of SMEs. All three aspects originate from the enterprise itself and continuously affect enterprise development from different angles. Therefore, this article also proposes corresponding recommendations for SMEs concerning these three aspects, in order to continuously improve enterprise management methods.

Marketing Strategies and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Ikare Akoko Ondo State

Marketing strategies has been a functional desire and a method for attaining all-inclusive business success. This paper examined effect of marketing strategies on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ikare Akoko. A descriptive research design was employed. Sample size of 350 was drawn from a population of 2825 which comprised selected registered SMEs owners in Ikare Akoko. Multiple Regression Technique was used to test research hypothesis. The findings obtained revealed that marketing strategy (promotion marketing strategy, price marketing strategy, place marketing strategy, and product marketing strategy) significantly influence performance of SMEs in Ikare Akoko. The research concluded that marketing strategy (product strategies, promotion strategies, price strategies and place strategies) have a significant and positive impact on performance of SMEs in Ikare Akoko. Hence, the paper recommended that SMEs in Nigeria should establish varieties of quality products with new features and design. This will increase many customers to patronize their products. They should also charge equitable price, position suitably to the final consumers. More so, Management of the SMEs in Ikare Akoko should ensure that they increase effort in product advertisement in order to enhance promotional strategy in the organisation. Finally, SMEs should continually ensure goods and services produced reach final consumers or users by locating convenient place for their varieties products. Keywords: Marketing Strategies, Performance, Price Strategies, Promotion Strategies, SMEs,

The impact of sustainable entrepreneurship education and self-efficacy on students' entrepreneurial mindset and attitude

This study aims to foster a shift in students' entrepreneurial mindset through sustainable entrepreneurship education. This initiative is expected to contribute to the recovery of the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) sector while enhancing the quality of education by expanding the content of entrepreneurship courses, inviting experts to share their experiences, organizing events to promote student products, and facilitating internships in the entrepreneurial industry. Data were collected through questionnaires, with responses measured using a Likert scale. A literature review was also conducted to support the research. The population of this study consists of students from universities in West Jakarta, with a sample of 153 respondents. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach based on components or variances. The results of hypothesis testing reveal that: (1) Entrepreneurship education has a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial mindset; (2) Self-efficacy has a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial mindset; (3) Entrepreneurship education has a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial attitude; (4) Self-efficacy has a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial attitude; (5) Entrepreneurial attitude has a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial mindset; (6) Entrepreneurial attitude does not mediate the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial mindset; and (7) Entrepreneurial attitude does not mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial mindset.

The Impact of Digital Finance on the Efficiency of Urban Green Economy

Digital finance is a new financing model for small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals. In recent years, with the rapid development of big data, cloud service technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, it has to some extent promoted the efficient development of urban green economy. From the perspective of applying digital finance to urban enterprises and individual consumers, this study explores the important role of digital finance in enterprise investment and financing services, industrial structure upgrading, technological innovation, and the promotion of personal credit, consumption patterns, job employment, and environmental participation activities. Based on this, the impact of digital finance on the operation and efficiency improvement of urban green economy is obtained, and the problems of inadequate digital transformation and low coordination level in different industries of the city's economy are solved.

Transforming European Food Systems with multi-actor networks and Living Labs through the FoodSHIFT Approach.

Our current global Food System is facing extraordinary challenges in both size and severity, including a rise in unsustainable consumption behaviours, continued environmental degradation, growing food insecurity, and widening social inequalities. A Food System transformation is now both critically important and overwhelmingly complex, requiring nothing less than a complete overhaul of the entire value chain. Everyone is needed: Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with technological solutions, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with social innovations, researchers with novel methodologies, governments with food policy advancements, professionals with varying expertise, and last but not least, empowered and informed citizens with the ability and resources for better decision-making. Living Labs offer a holistic, place-based approach needed to facilitate multi-actor inputs on various levels, specifically Food System Living Labs (FSLLs) like the ones established as part of the FoodSHIFT 2030 Project. Nine front-runner Food System Living Labs were operationalised alongside a novel framework merging high-level interdisciplinary initiatives with a diverse set of innovative approaches towards more Sustainable Food Systems (SFS). The FoodSHIFT Approach concept was praised by external evaluators for its ground-breaking framework, and the nearly completed project has been listed as a best practice. However, positive applications alone will not ensure a cross-sector European-wide Food System transformation, and the following text offers a critical reflection coupled with experience-based solutions to further improve the FoodSHIFT Approach.

Pengaruh Pemahaman dan Kesiapan terhadap Penerapan Standar Akuntansi Keuangan Entitas Mikro Kecil dan Menengah (SAK EMKM) pada UMKM Jenis Perdagangan dan Reparasi di Kabupaten Ponorogo

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia are one of the priorities in national economic development. Therefore, reporting in this type of MSME business activity must be able to make systematic reports with the recording process following the applicable Financial Accounting Standards. So, there needs to be an understanding and readiness factor in preparing the report, so that SAK EMKM can be implemented in the management of MSMEs. This research aims to determine the effect of understanding and readiness for SAK EMKM on Trade and Repair MSMEs in Ponorogo Regency. This type of research uses primary data in the form of data on the number of trade and repair type MSMEs in 2021. This research method is a quantitative descriptive approach. Meanwhile, the data analysis method uses data quality testing, regression analysis, and hypothesis testing, while data collection is by distributing questionnaires and interviews. The results of this research show that there is a significant influence of understanding and readiness factors on the implementation of SAK EMKM in Ponorogo Regency. This means that the government needs to pay more attention or provide outreach/direction regarding the preparation of financial reports to MSME actors in Ponorogo Regency in accordance with applicable financial standards.

Trends in public procurement and innovation: a bibliometric analysis and future research agenda

PurposeIn recent years, there has been a growing academic interest in incorporating innovation into the public procurement practices. Nevertheless, a noticeable scarcity of current bibliometric studies in this particular field exists. To fill this gap, the study analyzes trends in public procurement and innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducts a bibliometric analysis on data from 354 journal articles and reviews retrieved from the Scopus database. Specifically, performance analysis was conducted to gain an overview of the field in terms of research productivity, while science mapping was performed to analyze the relationship networks between concepts through co-word analysis.FindingsThe initial part of the analysis focused on publication trends and compiled a list of the most influential journals that delve into the field. Generally, the findings indicate an increase in research on public procurement and innovation since 2012, despite fluctuations in the number of publications over the years. The geographical distribution highlighted that countries from Europe have been the most prolific contributors to this field, with limited representation of developing countries especially from Africa. A co-word analysis through VOSviewer identified 11 key clusters that present relevant knowledge themes and future research agenda in the field. The themes revolve around aspects such as sustiainability, development strategies, efficiency in construction industry, societal and regional development, small and medium-sized enterprises' involvement, sustainable public procurement, and tendering.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge by uniquely presenting the trends on publications related to public procurement and innovation, considering recent developments in the field. It identifies key research themes and delves into the identified clusters, concluding with a discussion on potential avenues for future research.

Developing Vocational Education and Deepening the Integration of Industry and Education Providing Human Resources Support for Building a Strong Provincial Centre-Taking the Development of Vocational Education in Sanmenxia as an Example

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China's vocational education has experienced significant improvement and optimisation, and the group of graduates from vocational colleges and universities has grown to become the backbone of China's industrial army, which not only provides a solid support for the vigorous development of small and medium-sized enterprise clusters, but also greatly promotes the transformation and upgrading of the regional industry, and accelerates the process of urbanization, which has become an important driving force for the socio-economic development of the society. In recent years, Sanmenxia City has paid special attention to the development of vocational education in the process of strengthening the construction of provincial centre city, and has cultivated a large number of high-quality technical talents, which has provided a solid talent foundation for the transformation and development of the city's economy and society. Taking the development of vocational education in Sanmenxia as an example, this paper focuses on the inevitability and positive contribution of vocational education to the construction of Sanmenxia as a provincial central city, analyses the current situation, and puts forward countermeasures and suggestions for the future of vocational education in the provision of talent support for the construction of a provincial central city.

Green nexus womenpreneurs: harnessing internal-external capabilities for sustainable MSMEs fashion

Purpose This study aims to analyze the capabilities and external conditions of womenpreneur owners of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Fashion EcoPrint Indonesia in green business practices and their implications for sustainable business performance. Design/methodology/approach This study chooses a quantitative approach with a sustainable business internal-external capability model. Using the structural equation modeling-partial least square analysis tool, the analysis was conducted on a sample of womenpreneurs who owned MSMEs EcoPrint Indonesia (n = 493). Findings In the internal capability dimension, total quality environment and green core competence affect green supply chain management, affecting green product innovation performance. Meanwhile, women entrepreneurs’ external capability dimensions (regulation, customer awareness of the environment and technological innovation infrastructure) are connected to sustainable development business capabilities, which affect the performance of green process innovation. The study confirms that green products and processes have the potential to influence sustainable business performance. A key finding is the strong influence of environment-based total quality management governance on both sides. At the same time, womenpreneurs have a significant impact on their respective dimensions. Research limitations/implications This study has implications for increasing competency, Sustainable MSME industrial infrastructure, and protecting women in developing countries. The theoretical implications of creating a model that examines the impact of womenpreneurs’ internal and external abilities on eco-friendly businesses’ success are significant for developing nations’ promising growth. Originality/value This study explores women’s contributions to family well-being and environment-based economies, focusing on eco-friendly supply chain management and sustainable external capabilities of women entrepreneurs in Indonesia, using a gender equality approach in developing economies.

Strengthening Family Resilience For Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Work Family Conflict (WFC) is a pressure or imbalance between roles at work and roles in the family. Entrepreneurial families are very vulnerable to WFC, even more vulnerable than working families. Even though entrepreneurs are known to have flexible working hours, in reality entrepreneurs' working hours are unlimited. This service aims to provide assistance in strengthening the resilience of entrepreneurial families by focusing on managing stress and conflict in entrepreneurial families, building effective communication and balancing the roles of husband/wife of business actors in the family. The service partners are members of the Kaliurang Connection, which is an MSME community in Yogyakarta. The service method is training and counseling from a team of psychologists according to the participants' needs and problems.

The Impact of Financial Literacy, Inclusion, and Access on Msme Growth and Welfare in North Sumatra: A Mediating Role of Business Growth

This study examines the impact of financial literacy, financial inclusion, and financial access on the growth and welfare of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in North Sumatra, Indonesia, with business growth acting as a mediating factor. Using a quantitative research design and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis, data were collected from 306 MSME operators selected via purposive sampling. The findings reveal that while financial literacy does not have a significant direct effect on MSME growth and welfare, both financial inclusion and financial access significantly enhance business growth and welfare. Furthermore, business growth serves as a mediating variable, amplifying the positive effects of financial inclusion and access on MSME welfare. The results indicate that MSMEs benefit from better access to formal financial services, such as credit and insurance, which facilitates business expansion and improves the overall welfare of business owners. However, the lack of significant impact from financial literacy suggests that practical financial education initiatives should be paired with improved access to capital and market opportunities. This study highlights the need for integrated policy efforts to enhance financial literacy, expand financial inclusion, and provide easier access to credit to foster MSME growth and welfare in North Sumatra.

Business landscape and growth determinants of micro- and small enterprises working in WASH sector: evidence from Ethiopia

This study aims at assessing business landscape and growth determinants of micro- and small enterprises working in WASH sector. The study also investigates the effect of determinant factors on enterprise growth. The study population comprised 6000 enterprises working in six cities. The study used varieties of data collection instruments including questionnaire administered with randomly selected enterprises and collected valid data from a total of 300 enterprises; conducted 24 Key informant interviews with different officials in the Cities who are concerned with WASH products and services including private WASH goods and service suppliers; conducted 12 FGDs with utility officers; community representatives; enterprise owners to triangulate the data come up with the questionnaire result. The WASH business landscape in Ethiopia faced several challenges that hinder its ability to create demand for WASH products and services among enterprises. These challenges include inadequate and ineffective demand creation efforts, low capacity of private commercial operators, limited financial services available to both the private sector and households, inadequate business support services at the local level, and inadequate workspace for WASH enterprises. However, there are also several drivers of WASH sector development in the city, such as increased government commitment to supporting access to WASH services through policies and budget support, support from development partners like the World Bank, and an increase in the city’s population. The structural equation modeling result revealed that finance resources, administrative skills, marketing competence, and technical support were found to be significant. However, infrastructure facility was found insignificant. The study recommended that the government and stakeholders come together to support enterprises and play their roles in the growth of enterprises in Ethiopia.

A multi-step regularity assessment and joint prediction system for ordering time series based on entropy and deep learning

Customer maintenance is of vital importance to the enterprise management. Valuable assessment and efficient prediction for customer ordering behavior can offer better decision-making and reduce business costs significantly. According to existing studies about customer behavior regularity segment and demand prediction most focus on e-commerce and other fields with large amount of data, making them not suitable for small enterprises and data features like sparsity and outliers are not mined when doing regularity quantification. Additionally, more and more complex network structures for demand prediction are proposed, which builds on the assumption that all the samples have predictive value, ignoring the fine-grained analysis of different time series regularity with high cost. To deal with the above issues, a multi-step regularity assessment and joint prediction system for ordering time series is proposed. For extracting features, comprehensive assessment of customer regularity based on entropy weight method with the result of predictability quantification using K-Means clustering algorithm, real entropy, LZW algorithm and anomaly detection adopting Isolation Forest algorithm not only gives an objective result to ‘how high the regularity of customers is’, filling the gap in the field of regularity quantification, but also provides a theoretical basis for demand prediction models selection. Prediction models: Random Forest regression, XGBoost, CNN and LSTM network are experimented with sMAPE and MSLE for performance evaluation to verify the effectiveness of the proposed regularity quantitation method. Moreover, a merged CNN-BiLSTM neural network model is established for predicting those customers with low regularity and difficult to predict by traditional machine leaning algorithms, which performs better on the data set compared to others. Random Forest is still used for prediction of customers with high regularity due to its high training efficiency. Finally, the results of prediction, regularity quantification, and classification are output from the intelligent system, which is capable of providing scientific basis for corporate strategy decision and has highly extendibility in other enterprises and fields for follow-up research.

Insights from small and medium-sized enterprises in Colombia

Insights from small and medium-sized enterprises in Colombia

How to guide venture capital to startups? Evidence from China's Science and Technology Innovation Board

Venture capital (VC) plays a vital role in supporting startups. However, in many developing economies, venture capitalists' tendency to prioritize later-stage over early-stage investments constrains their capacity to fund startups. China's recent Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR) market establishment, with its focus on innovation ability over profitability, enables high-tech startups to list at early stages. This improves exit prospects for VCs investing to the early-stage startups. Employing a regression discontinuity design, our empirical analysis demonstrates that the STAR market establishment attracts additional capital to the VC market and guides VCs toward earlier-stage startups. Mechanism analysis indicates these effects stem from improved VC exit returns rather than heightened exit activities. Our findings underscore the efficacy of specialized stock markets for startups in channeling venture capital towards small and early-stage enterprises. These findings provide valuable insights for developing countries seeking to leverage VC for startup growth.

Access to finance and its impact on operational efficiency of MSMEs: mediating role of entrepreneurial personality and self-efficacy

PurposeThe present study aims to investigate the factors of loan access that affect entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and operating efficiency of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Furthermore, the study intended to investigate the influence of ESE on the operating efficiency of Indian MSMEs and its mediating role.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, exploratory research design is used. The study heavily relies on the primary data which has been collected by using the survey research method from a cross-section of 617 women-owned MSMEs, located in urban, rural, suburban and exurban areas of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and NCR-Delhi. The partial least square structural equation modeling method version 3.3.3 has been used to evaluate.FindingsIn terms of the selected factors affecting access to finance, it has been established that the Loan Formalities, Banking Process, Loan Process, Staff Responsiveness and Incentive Scheme have a positive and significant influence in enhancing accessibility to finance and improving the self-efficacy and operating performance of firms. The findings also show that ESE mediates the relationship between various factors of loan access and the operating efficiency of MSMEs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s findings show that entrepreneurial capacity is significantly and favorably impacted by attitudes toward entrepreneurship, ESE, perceived access to findings and business operations. It has also been demonstrated that entrepreneurial intentions are strongly and favorably influenced by entrepreneurial ability to access commercial bank financing for small businesses and the impact of the same on the women-owned MSMEs in India. It also revealed unfavorable loan terms, limited collateral, fear of repaying of loan and intricate loan application were among the many reasons for loan denial.Originality/valueThe study offers a comprehensive approach that simultaneously considers financial accessibility and ESE. This all-encompassing method offers a thorough grasp of the variables affecting MSMEs' operational efficiency (OE). In contrast to earlier research that might have concentrated only on direct relationships, this study explores the mediating mechanisms involved. This study examines how ESE modulates the influence of financing availability on OE, providing a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms. By taking into account particular MSME sector characteristics like size, industry or regional variations, the study may provide a unique contextual lens. Understanding how these contextual factors interact with entrepreneurial attributes and access to finance adds depth to the analysis.