Small To Medium Size Enterprise Research Articles

Non‐bank financing of small and medium size firms in developing economies: Effect of management control systems including large firm affiliation

AbstractThis study investigates the relationship between Management Control Systems (MCS) of Small to Medium Size Enterprise (SME) and how that can sway financing of working capital (short‐term) and long‐term assets by non‐bank sponsors/investors. Based on the World Bank enterprise survey, we examined elements within the data that we classified as key components of management control mechanisms that can affect the effective running of SMEs to attract non‐bank financing. We developed six hypotheses to test the vigor of the association of financial report systems and/or subsidiaries status of SMEs and the financing of working capital and/or long‐term assets by non‐banks. The results of our tests illustrate that generally firms with sound financial systems and/or that are subsidiaries of a parent company entice non‐banks sponsors to finance the working capital and long‐ term assets of SMEs. This study contributes to the financing literature by examining MCS employed by non‐banks to extend financing to SMEs.

Fossil-free village simulation game

How can the energy supply of a community be transformed to become fossil-free and thus become more sustainable while remaining affordable? “Sarnetz”, an online computer game implemented by a multi-disciplinary research team from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, is providing possible answers for a specific case in the Swiss Alps. Unique measures for their implementation are discussed, in terms of relative impact on the CO2-balance, sourcing of local energy and investments. Further consideration includes the attractiveness for inhabitants and tourists as well as the business case for a “small to medium size enterprise (SME)”. The simulation is set-up as a game for teaching inhabitants and students. Participants compete as a team, taking on different roles, implementing measures to satisfy the objectives of a sustainable solution. The feedback and assessments from Swiss, Japanese, and Middle East students indicate that this approach could be successfully applied to other parts of the world. Suggestions are given, as to the transferability of the simulation, requiring different measures to achieve a fossil free community.

Management Consulting Intervention in Family-Owned SMEs

This intervention research aims to overcome resistance by Small-to-Medium size Enterprise (SME) to formal adoption of structured Organization Management methodology. It explores the impact of owner’s influence on the organization management of family-owned SME management. The adopted methodology is pursuant to Socio-Economic Approach to Management (SEAM) Intervention Research (IR) that focus on intervening in a selected site to solve the diagnosed problems and generate new knowledge

Study on and Instrument to Assess Knowledge Supply Chain Systems Using Advanced Kaizen Activity in SMEs

This article discusses one knowledge supply chain system for effective kaizen activity in a small to medium-size enterprise (SME). It consists of two subsystems. The first subsystem is a team-building process. It supports a total management of kaizen activity from the viewpoint of team management by performing three phases, including an execution phase, a consultation phase, and a presentation phase. The second subsystem contributes to accumulate success factors in team management. A checklist style is applied as the accumulation methodology and an accumulation procedure consists of three steps: an attention step, a memorization step, and a confirmation step. A case study that was conducted over the course of a four-year period is presented to confirm the utility of the proposed system with the collaborative SME in Japan. As the result of this study, the proposed system delivers a visualization of valuable knowledge and a systematic skill succession of kaizen activity in a company that has limited human resources.

GAZI and the Shock Absorber Market in Thailand

Siam Suspension Innovation Co. Ltd. (SSI) in 2004 manufactured the first local brand of shock absorber for motor cycles (GAZI brand) in Thailand. This case documents how several entrepreneurs with a passion for motorcycles grasped an opportunity to invent, manufacture and successfully brand a decorative shock absorber for the ubiquitous motorcycle riders of Thailand. Prior to the development of the GAZI brand, shock absorbers were simply just another OEM (original equipment manufacturer) component on a motor bike that was typically only replaced when it was worn out. Shock absorbers were differentiated on their performance characteristics of smoothness of ride. Siam Suspension Company (SSI) changed all that with their decorative GAZI brand that had a mass appeal to consumers under 25 years who possessed a 125–150cc motorcycle (by far the largest segment) who simply wanted their motorcycles to look attractive. Rather than compete in the high volume, low margin standard shock absorber segment, SSI positioned GAZI as a decorative shock absorber. However, because GAZI used a new innovative gas filled technology (all other brands used oil filled cylinders) it also gave a much smoother ride on the rough roads of Thailand. GAZI's management initially created a “first-mover” advantage by targeting Gen Y consumers and convincing them to use shock absorbers to decorate their motorcycles. Hence a replacement market was born for decorative shock absorbers, with many riders replacing the OEM shocks as soon as they purchased a new motorcycle. Sales grew at a rapid pace until other manufacturers of standard shocks saw the success of GAZI. At this time the barriers to entry were quite low. As a SME (small to medium size enterprise) with limited capital, the challenge for SSI in 2012 is how to regroup and stay one step ahead of the competition and protect its market share from further erosion.

Sustainable value creation in SMEs: a case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study how a small to medium‐size enterprise (SME) in Campania (Italy) integrated sustainability into its corporate strategy, and how its sustainable corporate strategies reflect on intangible assets.Design/methodology/approachThe paper, an exploratory study based on grounded theory, analyzes are interviews with the entrepreneurial team and top and middle management. Findings are integrated with documentary analysis, internal process data and archival material.FindingsEthics and value systems play a significant role in devising sustainable corporate strategy. Competitive strategies, innovation, quality and responsibility are reflected in management procedures and the supply network system involving partners in sustainable innovation processes.Research limitations/implicationsA single case study obviously limits the generalizing of the findings.Practical implicationsEntrepreneurs and managers can benefit from the study to build a relational network for sustainable development.Originality/valueThe process of sustainable value creation, sharing and the co‐creation of knowledge emerges fully in the case study analyzed. The study pivots on issues of innovation and eco‐sustainability as drivers for corporate sustainability and business ethics.

A Novel Innovation Management Process: For Applications in Fields such as Food Innovation

The sustained competitive advantage of a company today requires the management of internal and external knowledge and leveraging it to create innovation. The 21st century is rapidly moving into what is being called the "global knowledge economy," marked by the increased turbulence, uncertainty, and ambiguity of the current economic climate. Managing innovation requires research methods which evaluate: a) the technological abilities, b) the procedures, and c) the needs of a company/organization and propose specific actions for improvements, progress, and development. This paper proposes a process for managing innovation in small to medium size enterprise (SME). In order to support this process, this article elaborates on the innovation management techniques through a directory, which organizes techniques and tools into four generic types and 36 sub categories. Finally, to demonstrate this process a fictitious case example is presented.

Knowledge transfer for technology based interventions: Collaboration, development and evaluation

The development of technology based interventions for healthcare requires collaborative working between multidis- ciplinary groups of scientists, engineers, designers, healthcare professionals, and of course end users. This necessitates transfer of knowledge between the various disciplines, preferably underpinned by defined methodologies. Exploitation and uptake of the technology requires participation of industry, typically a small to medium size enterprise (SME) or research department of a larger company and use of the technology requires flexibility of working and often change in healthcare practices. This paper documents the experiences of developing and evaluating two prototypes: the first for telerehabilitation of stroke and the second for self management of long term conditions (stroke, pain and coronary heart failure). We have identified two challenges: (a) knowledge transfer from domain specialists to engineers to facilitate technology development and (b) knowledge transfer back to the domain specialists to facilitate prototype evaluation and exploitation. The use of appropriate ICT tools and the incorporation of principles of human computer interaction have underpinned this approach. Users should influence the choice and functionality of the technology, but decisions must also be informed by technical considerations and possibilities for both hardware and software design. This is a two-way flow of information. How a prototype is taken forward into mainstream practice requires knowledge transfer from academia into the clinical and commercial sectors. Research funding enables both formative and summative prototype evaluation, but does not generally extend to examination of population based effectiveness, which is the evidence most often sought by health commissioners. Hence a process which provides the necessary underpinning for robust evaluation is proposed.

Action learning in an SME: appetite comes with eating

This account describes action learning in a small to medium-size enterprise (SME) that operates as a local power utility on an established market that is currently going through a process of radical transformation. The task of the action learning set was to improve the flow of information to employees about the evolving framework in which the company operates. The set was made up of participants from a number of different SMEs and from a holding company who had taken part in a management development programme run and offered to its investments by the holding company as a minority shareholder. The account relates how the set gradually relinquished its habitual mental structures to become a change agent for the transformation of the SME.

An Action Research Case Study of the Facilitators and Inhibitors of E-Commerce Adoption

This research has studied an established Irish retail business as it takes its first tentative steps into the e-commerce arena. Although the adoption of e-commerce is widely studied in the academic world, only a small percentage of these studies focus on the Small to Medium size Enterprise (SME) retail sector. SMEs account for 97% of Irish companies and employ up to 800,000 people (Chamber of Commerce Ireland, 2006). Whilst examining the SME’s adoption of e-commerce, the factors that affected the adoption process were specifically identified and understood. This was achieved by conducting an action research case study. Action research merges research and practice thus producing exceedingly relevant research findings. The case study commenced in August 2003 and concluded in August 2004. It consisted of three distinctive action research cycles. The researcher worked in the SME throughout the research process, and had been employed there for the previous 5 years. This chapter demonstrates how the research was undertaken, and also discusses the justification, benefits and limitations of using action research. The research concluded that the adoption of e-commerce within the SME sector tends to be slow and fragmented, the presence of a “web champion” is paramount to the success of the project and Internet adoption is faster with the recognition of a business need. It also supported the evidence that an SME is more likely to adopt e-commerce when the SME owner has a positive attitude to IT.

Factors affecting successful implementation of total productive maintenance

Modern manufacturing requires that to be successful organisations must be supported by both effective and efficient maintenance. One approach to improving the performance of maintenance activities is to implement and develop a total productive maintenance (TPM) strategy. However, it is well documented that a number of organisations are failing to successfully implement such strategies. This paper outlines research carried out by the Aeronautical, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Department at Salford University aimed at discovering the factors affecting the successful implementation of TPM. This research has led to the development of a generic model indicating factors affecting the successful implementation of TPM. The validity of the generic model has been tested in a UK manufacturing small‐ to medium‐size enterprise (SME) and the case study research findings further triangulated through a review of documented case study evidence. This research has also led to the development of recommendations to improve the TPM development and implementation program of the case study organisation. Further development of the research has resulted in a step‐wise program or generic roadmap for UK SMEs which is proposed as a tool for the implementation or rejuvenation of an organisation’s TPM program.

Policy, Delivery and Impact: A Decade of New Zealand Small Business Failure

Consistent with the theme of this conference the paper stretches the boundary of what might be considered free and frank evaluative comment. By its nature is born out of a political agenda, yet the political opportunities and political risk is not traditionally considered evaluation. In the discussion following the policies relating to small medium enterprises in New Zealand are considered within a political economy model. The economic framework is conventional transaction economics and the market research using questionnaires, interviews and focus groups is mainstream. The question addressed is necessarily political in part, at least, and the problem identified is political in terms of bureaucratic capture. The small to medium size enterprise (SME) sector, of the New Zealand economy, is very significant however its contribution is measured. Public policy concerned with the sector provides opportunities to achieve multiple objectives and outcomes that impact significantly upon the whole nation. It is surprising therefore, that government policy towards SMEs has not been subject to rigorous evaluation at the macro or micro level and when it is analysed fails the conventional requirements for sound public policy. In this paper comment is passed upon what has happened and the lessons which may be learned through reading these entrails. The findings are not encouraging and a fresh look at policy towards the sector is necessary.

Designing for profit

Product design and development is a key element of the product creation process which embraces design, engineering, marketing, manufacturing and financial skills. While the principles discussed are intended to be universal in their application, the author focuses on recommended practice for the small-to-medium size enterprise (SME) with up to 500 employees. The content draws from the experience of both independent businesses and the subsidiaries of public companies.