Small Manufacturing Enterprises Research Articles

Research on the impact and mechanisms of lean management on the green development of traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises

AbstractTo achieve the “dual carbon” goals, manufacturing businesses must pursue green development. Compared to larger enterprises, the path towards green development is fraught with difficulties for the numerous traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises. Lean thinking offers new solutions to the pain points and challenges of green development for these enterprises. However, existing research primarily focuses on large enterprises, with limited studies on traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises; moreover, the conclusions on lean green development remain contentious and fail to effectively guide these enterprises through their green development bottlenecks. Therefore, this paper constructs a lean green development mechanism model for traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises based on the grounded theory research method and the “resource‐behavior‐performance” model. It validates the model with empirical data from 333 traditional small manufacturing enterprises in China. The results show that in the actual development process of traditional small and micro enterprises, implementing lean organization and lean production significantly improves environmental performance, but the impact on economic performance is complex. Additionally, the influence of lean strategies on green development performance is not significant, not fully realizing their potential guiding role. Further in‐depth analysis of traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises with a mature level of lean management reveals that as the level of lean management improves, the guiding effect of lean strategies begins to emerge; both lean organization and production have a significantly positive impact on economic performance. The findings are theoretically and practically significant for overcoming the green development challenges faced by traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises, help to broaden the research scope of lean green development, and provide decision‐making and theoretical support for promoting the seamless implementation of lean green development in the traditional manufacturing sector.

Personality-Traits Taxonomy and Operational and Environmental Performance: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Small and Medium Scale Manufacturing Enterprises

This research aimed to assess the operational and environmental performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria in relation to their adoption of personality-traits taxonomy (i.e., conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, neuroticism or emotional resilience and agreeableness). The survey-based study involved the entire population of SME operators in South West Nigeria, totaling 1842 individuals (i.e., entrepreneurs). Through the use of stratified random-selection methods, a sample size of 420 was chosen. Data was collected, and both structural and measurement models were used to assess it. The results of the study demonstrate that personality traits have a significant influence on how successful SMEs function. The results also demonstrate that personality traits have a positive impact on SMEs’ environmental performance. These findings suggest that sustaining operational and environmental performance may be accomplished by resource allocation, promoting diversity and inclusion, and employing trustworthy assessment methods. To enhance both their overall operational performance and their environmental performance in particular, the study advises SME operators in Nigeria to undertake proper management of personality traits for sustainability. The paper recommends for greater research on this subject and emphasises the necessity of understanding how personality factors impact operational and environmental performance in Nigerian SMEs.

Shanghai oil futures prices and firms' investment decisions: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

International crude oil futures prices play a key role in market pricing, price discovery, and reshaping the market order. As the world's largest importer of crude oil, China urgently needs to establish contracts based on Asian supply and demand to mitigate currency risk for refiners and consumers. Against the backdrop of the launch of yuan-denominated crude oil futures by the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) on March 26, 2018, this paper examines the impact of crude oil futures prices on the investment scale of Chinese manufacturing companies based on data from listed manufacturing companies in China from 2016Q1 to 2021Q3. The study finds that increases in international crude oil futures prices suppress the investment scale of Chinese manufacturing enterprises, while price volatility has a promoting effect. The listing of Shanghai crude oil futures has a negative shock effect on the impact of international crude oil futures prices on the investment scale of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Additionally, increases in operational leverage amplify the negative impact of international crude oil futures prices on the investment scale of enterprises and weaken the positive impact of changes in international crude oil futures prices on the investment scale. Furthermore, among large manufacturing enterprises, volatility and increases in international crude oil futures prices suppress their investment scale; whereas in small and micro manufacturing enterprises, price increases and volatility significantly boost their investment scale. This paper provides empirical evidence and policy implications for fully leveraging Shanghai crude oil futures to optimize corporate investment decisions and support the sustainable development of enterprises.

Building a knowledge graph to enrich ChatGPT responses in manufacturing service discovery

Sourcing and identification of new manufacturing partners is crucial for manufacturing system integrators to enhance agility and reduce risk through supply chain diversification in the global economy. The advent of advanced large language models has captured significant interest, due to their ability to generate comprehensive and articulate responses across a wide range of knowledge domains. However, the system often falls short in accuracy and completeness when responding to domain-specific inquiries, particularly in areas like manufacturing service discovery. This research explores the potential of leveraging Knowledge Graphs in conjunction with ChatGPT to streamline the process for prospective clients in identifying small manufacturing enterprises. In this study, we propose a method that integrates bottom-up ontology with advanced machine learning models to develop a Manufacturing Service Knowledge Graph from an array of structured and unstructured data sources, including the digital footprints of small-scale manufacturers throughout North America. The Knowledge Graph and the learned graph embedding vectors are leveraged to tackle intricate queries within the digital supply chain network, responding with enhanced reliability and greater interpretability. The approach highlighted is scalable to millions of entities that can be distributed to form a global Manufacturing Service Knowledge Network Graph that can potentially interconnect multiple types of Knowledge Graphs that span industry sectors, geopolitical boundaries, and business domains. The dataset developed for this study, now publicly accessible, encompasses more than 13,000 manufacturers’ weblinks, manufacturing services, certifications, and location entity types.

Digital strategy for firm performance- mediating role of digital platform capabilities and digital culture in manufacturing SMEs

ABSTRACT Manufacturing businesses worldwide increasingly strive to devise and implement strategies to succeed in digital transformation and improve their performance by developing digital capabilities and competencies. We argue that this process should incorporate a culture and dynamic capabilities that support this transformation. In this vein, we propose and test a model explaining the impact of digital strategy on firm performance and the mediation mechanisms of digital platform capabilities and digital culture in this relationship. Our analysis of time-lagged data, gathered from middle and top managers of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs), affirms our initial hypotheses: digital strategy positively influences firm performance, and digital platform capabilities and organisational culture mediate this relationship. Our study carries significant implications for manufacturing SMEs, particularly those in developing countries, as it underscores the pivotal role of digital platform capabilities and cultural factors in leveraging digital strategies for competitive advantage.

How Can Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises Improve Green Innovation Performance through Innovation Ecosystems?

Under the fierce business competition and sustainable development pressure, the pattern of enterprise innovation has gradually changed from independent innovation to cooperative innovation. As a collection of multi-type innovation actors, the innovation ecosystem provides opportunities and platforms for cooperative innovation among government–industry–university–research institutions. While the present studies on innovation ecosystems are mostly from the perspective of the system level, few studies pay attention to the innovation mechanism of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) in the innovation ecosystem. Therefore, this study takes SMMEs embedded in innovation ecosystems as research objects and explores the factors affecting green innovation. We constructed a theoretical model to explain the effect of innovation eco-embeddedness on green innovation performance based on ecosystem theory and network embeddedness theory; we then collected 363 samples of SMMEs in China through surveys and further tested the data empirically. The results show that the innovation eco-embeddedness (IEE) of SMMEs has a positive effect on their green innovation performance (GIP), and their green value co-creation practices (GVCCPs) partially mediate the relationship between IEE and GIP. Moreover, ecological norms (ENs) in the innovation ecosystem not only positively moderate the impact of IEE on GVCCPs but also positively moderate the mediating role of GVCCPs. This study enriches the relevant research on innovation ecosystems from the perspective of non-core enterprises and provides a theoretical basis and practical reference for SMMEs to implement green innovation practices and realize growth through innovation ecosystems.

Digital innovation ecosystem and innovation of SMEs: A case study of Anker

Digital technology has changed the original product form, the way of new product production process, business model and organizational form, and even overturned the basic assumptions of many innovation theories. Embedding digital innovation ecosystem makes it possible for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises to create value from the production side in the industrial era to the demand side in the digital economy era. Through a typical vertical case analysis, this paper reveals the internal mechanism and process of digital innovation ecosystem enpowers the innovation of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. The research results show that the embedding of digital innovation ecosystem has a significant positive impact on the innovation performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, and value co-creation plays an intermediary role between digital innovation ecosystem and the innovation performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. This paper puts forward the innovation theoretical framework of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises from the perspective of digital innovation ecosystem.

Sustainable procurement practices and sustainable performance: evidence from small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in an emerging economy

Sustainable procurement practices and sustainable performance: evidence from small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in an emerging economy

Effect of logistics integration and demand and supply uncertainties on manufacturing performance: A mediating role of product characteristics

This study examines the influence of distribution convergence, delivery lead times, manufacturing difficulties, material management, and procurement on company performance. Primary and secondary data from small and large-scale manufacturing enterprises will be gathered and analyzed using structured and explorative methods, with different analyses applied for causal and cross-comparison outcomes. It will be used as a mathematical model for the following investigation. It assessed the variables' correlation and function as a mediator between them. Cronbach's alpha, a measure of internal consistency, was used to assess overall variable agreement. The study shows the role of interdependence in logistics convergence, pricing fluctuation, and demand and supply uncertainty. Demand and supply uncertainty is one of lead time and substantially impacts outcomes. In this research, procurement lead time significantly impacts the relationship between overall market volatility and supply and demand characteristics. Efficacious Manufacturing requires well-planned procurement, as well as extensive logistical integration.

Food safety culture and climate prevailing in micro and small food manufacturing enterprises in Mauritius and Rodrigues

SummaryFood safety culture and climate are strong elements of food safety performance. This study describes a mixed‐methods approach to assess prevailing food safety knowledge, attitudes, practices, culture and climate in micro and small food manufacturing businesses in Mauritius. The approach included participant observation, questionnaire‐based surveys and checklists, and was adopted to collect data from six managers/owners and thirty‐six employees in six businesses. Results showed that food handlers had satisfactory knowledge in some aspects of food hygiene and safety. Mean scores of specific food safety climate indicators for employees diverged from the corresponding values for managers. Inconsistencies were observed in food safety culture maturity scores computed from survey data (quantitative), which were higher than related scores obtained from participatory observation (qualitative). This discrepancy underlines the importance of triangulation methods and the necessity to establish appropriate weightings for data obtained from different methods to gain an overall assessment of food safety culture. The results provide concrete input to develop tailor‐made interventions to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices of employees and managers, and promote positive food safety cultures. Further research is needed to design theory‐based interventions to improve food safety culture and interpretation grids to analyse and triangulate prevailing food safety culture data.

Financing Mechanism Design of Small, Medium and Micro Manufacturing Enterprises with Capital Constraints in Different Life Cycle Stages

In order to solve the problem that manufacturers have sufficient funds when producing traditional products and lack of funds when producing green products, this paper considers three financing strategies: no financing, bank loan financing and internal financing, and constructs centralized decision-making and manufacturer-led Stackelberg game model. It is found that the wholesale price, production input, green input level and supply chain profit of the three financing methods are not optimal under the manufacturer-led decision-making. On this basis, aiming at the overall profit under centralized decision-making, this paper designs the combined contract of "revenue sharing contract + two-part cost + green cost sharing" to coordinate the supply chain, and puts forward the scope of optimal coordination of the combined contract under three financing models.

Entrepreneurial Marketing Skills and Growth of Small and Medium Plastics Manufacturing Enterprises in Nigeria

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of entrepreneurial marketing skills on growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises in Nigeria.
 Methodology: Descriptive research design was applied by the study. The study target population was 18,476 plastics manufacturing SMEs in LAGOS State, Nigeria. Based on Yamane Formula adopted the sample size for this study was 397 respondents. Random sampling was used to select the 392 plastics manufacturing SMEs. The study therefore randomly selected 392 plastics manufacturing SMEs from a list of total lists of these is 18476 plastics manufacturing SMEs in LAGOS State, Nigeria. The study used semi structured questionnaires to collect primary data. The study used SPSS version 27 software to analyse the data. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out. Results from analysed data were presented in tables and figures.
 Results: The inferential statistics results revealed a positive and significant relationship between entrepreneurial marketing skills on growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises in Nigeria at p<0.05. Entrepreneurial marketing g skills on growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises had a Pearson’s correlation of r=0.808 (p=0.000). The correlation results implied that implied that entrepreneurial marketing skills had very strong positive correlation with growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises in Nigeria. The finding implied that improving the marketing skills for SMEs entrepreneurs would results to high growth of heir enterprises. The R2 for the model was 0.653 indicating that 65.3% of growth of SMEs is explained by entrepreneurial marketing skills other factors held constant. This was a sign that the model was appropriate for establishing the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing skills on growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises in Nigeria. 
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Life Cycle Theory used in this study may be used to anchor future studies on describing the different stages of corporate life. The study recommends that SMEs owners should invest in capabilities that will enable gather market information in the industry they operate. This will ensure that marketing approach and their entire growth model is streamlined to optimize market segment that have the largest potential for growth. According to the study, policy makers should formulate policies that will ensure that SMEs are trained on entrepreneurial marketing skills and financial management to equip them with adequate skills need to grow their businesses.

Entrepreneurial Networking Skills and Growth of Small and Medium Plastics Manufacturing Enterprises in Nigeria

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of entrepreneurial networking skills on growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises in Nigeria.
 Methodology: Mixed methods research design was applied by the study. The study target population was 18,476 plastics manufacturing SMEs in LAGOS State, Nigeria. Based on Yamane Formula adopted the sample size for this study was 397 respondents. Random sampling was used to select the 392 plastics manufacturing SMEs. The study therefore randomly selected 392 plastics manufacturing SMEs from a list of total lists of these is 18476 plastics manufacturing SMEs in LAGOS State, Nigeria. The managing director/CEO of these enterprises were the main respondents therefore the study administered 392 questionnaires. The study used semi structured questionnaires to collect primary data. The study used SPSS version 27 software to analyse the data. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out.
 Results: The inferential analysis results revealed that entrepreneurial networking skills had a significant and positive influence on the growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises in Nigeria at p<0.05. This indicates that strategic question asking, ability to get referrals and value adding skills are crucial drivers of growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises. The Coefficient of determination R2 of 0.470 showed that 47.0% of Growth of SMEs is explained by entrepreneurial financial skills. The R value for the model was 0.686 and the R2 was 0.470. This was a sign that the model was appropriate for establishing the link between entrepreneurial networking skills and the growth of small and medium plastic manufacturing enterprises and, as a result, for drawing the conclusions and suggestions from the study. 
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: While the existing Social network entrepreneurship theory used in this study was validated, the study recommends that SMEs in Nigeria should form quality networking which will enable them to create social communities shared by stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, other enterprises. According to the study, policymakers and state regulatory organizations should take the lead in formulating favourable legislation and policies that will provide friendly operating environment to enhance the growth of SMEs.

Research on the Financing Strategy of Small, Medium and Micro Manufacturing Enterprises in the Environment of Output Uncertainty

Small and medium-sized enterprises often face the risk of uncertain output. We considered a supply chain system composed of a single risk-neutral retailer and a single risk-averse manufacturer. When manufacturer is faced with capital constraints in the production of green products, they can solve it by external financing to third-party financial institutions or internal financing to retailer. At the same time, the retailer can determine the expected order quantity according to the market demand, the wholesale price and the green technology input level of the manufacturer. Based on these, we construct three game models: no financing model, external financing model and internal financing model, and study the financing strategy of manufacturer and the ordering strategy of retailer. The results show that the manufacturer's profit is the largest when producing green products. At this time, both internal financing and external financing are optimal financing decisions for the manufacturer. However, the retailer 's optimal ordering strategy is when only green products are sold and the manufacturer conducts internal financing.

Environmental orientation and sustainability performance; the mediated moderation effects of green supply chain management practices and institutional pressure

This research delves into the examination of how green supply chain management practices serve as a channel, and how institutional pressures act as limiting factors, affecting the connection between environmental orientation and sustainability performance. The investigation draws on data collected from 202 small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. The results of the study indicate that while environmental orientation has a positive impact on environmental performance, it does not significantly influence economic performance. Moreover, the study highlights that the relationship between environmental orientation and environmental performance is mediated by the adoption of green supply chain management practices. However, this mediation is not observed in the context of economic performance. Notably, the research underscores that the positive indirect correlation between environmental orientation and environmental performance, facilitated by green supply chain management practices, remains significant with the boundaries of regulatory institutional pressure. This study makes a noteworthy contribution by offering empirical evidence from an African economy, shedding light on the effectiveness of institutional pressures and environmental orientation on both economic and environmental performance.

Government regulatory policies for digital transformation in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises: an evolutionary game analysis

In recent years, digital transformation (DT) has become an inevitable choice for manufacturing enterprises to achieve sustainable development. As a large number of enterprise groups, small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) play an important role in the industrial development of China. However, due to insufficient resource investment, high transformation costs, lack of talents, and unclear transformation pathways, how the government can help SMMEs carry out DT has become an important research topic. Based on this background, this study considers the strategies of government, third-party demonstration enterprises (TDEs) and SMMEs, develops and builds a three-party evolutionary game model, and puts forward a governance mechanism for effective DT strategies (TDEs guide DT and SMMEs conduct DT). This study has drawn many interesting conclusions. (1) If the government chooses not to regulate, when SMMEs are risk-neutral, the government only needs to increase the rewards for SMMEs to effectively promote DT. When SMMEs are risk-averse, the government needs to increase the penalties for SMMEs and increase the rewards for TDEs to effectively promote DT. (2) If the government chooses to regulate, when SMMEs are risk-neutral, the government needs to increase the penalties for both TDEs and SMMEs to effectively promote DT. When SMMEs are risk-averse, the government only needs to increase penalties on SMMEs or TDEs to effectively promote DT. (3) When SMMEs are risk-averse, the government’s best choice is regulation. Because when the government does not regulate, DT may fail even if the government increases the penalties for SMMEs and increases the incentives for TDEs.

Differentiation Strategy and Performance of Small and Micro Manufacturing Enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya

Differentiation Strategy and Performance of Small and Micro Manufacturing Enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya

Knowledge heterogeneity and corporate innovation performance: The mediating influence of task conflict and relationship conflict.

Innovation has emerged as a crucial factor in the sustenance and growth of enterprises. Nonetheless, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) confront numerous challenges in their pursuit of innovation, owing to constraints in capital, expertise, and knowledge resources. Drawing on the resource-based theory and the input-process-output (IPO) model, this study devises a mechanism model to assess the impact of knowledge heterogeneity and innovation performance on small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Guizhou Province, China. The objective is to offer recommendations for the advancement and innovation of enterprises with relative knowledge resource deficiencies. A total of 324 valid questionnaires were gathered, and the acquired data were analyzed employing SPSS 23.0 and Amos 26.0. The findings reveal that knowledge heterogeneity exerts a significantly positive influence on innovation performance. Task conflict and relationship conflict serve as partial mediators in the effects of knowledge heterogeneity on innovation performance. By capitalizing on the heterogeneity of internal and external knowledge, enterprises can effectively enhance their innovation outcomes. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that knowledge sharing possesses a moderating effect on the impact of knowledge heterogeneity on task conflict, relationship conflict, and innovation performance. In a conducive sharing environment, the ultimate effect of knowledge heterogeneity on innovation is subject to alteration.

FORMATION OF THE CONCEPT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY AT SMALL PRODUCTION ENTERPRISES

This article describes that economic security is an important component of the economic security system of small manufacturing enterprises. The general conditions for the process of organizing economic security at enterprises are determined. To prevent a possible threat and achieve its minimum level, functional components are analyzed and what is contained in them is described.

Post-Crisis Sustainable Performance of Manufacturing SMEs: The Roles of Positive Orientation, Financial Slack, and External Networks

This paper examines the roles of positive orientation, financial slack, and external networks in the sustainability of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) following the global financial crisis in 2008–2009. The financial crisis is a good example of sudden, unexpected external disruption, in which a firm’s resilience as well as sustainability is seriously tested. Using a sample of 207 manufacturing SMEs in Hong Kong, we tested the simultaneous effects of positive orientation, financial slack, and external networks on post-crisis firm performance through strategic change. Our findings show that positive orientation and external networks play an enabling role in strategic change, which in turn leads to high performance. The enabling role of financial slack is, however, not supported. The study also shows that positive orientation, financial slack, and external networks play a buffering role, which has direct and positive effects on performance. The results provide academics and practitioners with a new perspective of the underlying mechanism that sustains the firm performance of SMEs under a financial crisis.