SME Managers Research Articles

ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF SMEs POST COVID-19: THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

Small and medium enterprises had difficulty coping with the Covid-19 pandemic as very few SMEs have made it through it, particularly in Nigeria. Strategic leadership has been acknowledged as a crucial asset and one of the driving forces of success among SMEs. This study examined the impact of strategic leadership on the performance of SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria, adopting a mixed-method approach. A total of 400 complete responses from SME managers were analyzed. While simple regression was applied for the analysis of the returned copies of the questionnaire, the qualitative interview results were obtained through thematic analysis. The results indicate that innovation capabilities significantly impact organizational performance. Hence, the study recommends that focusing on innovative capability of strategic leadership such as new product development, innovation activities, marketing intelligence, value creation and new ideas with radical changes are germane for enhancing performance.

ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF SMEs POST COVID-19: THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

Small and medium enterprises had difficulty coping with the Covid-19 pandemic as very few SMEs have made it through it, particularly in Nigeria. Strategic leadership has been acknowledged as a crucial asset and one of the driving forces of success among SMEs. This study examined the impact of strategic leadership on the performance of SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria, adopting a mixed-method approach. A total of 400 complete responses from SME managers were analyzed. While simple regression was applied for the analysis of the returned copies of the questionnaire, the qualitative interview results were obtained through thematic analysis. The results indicate that innovation capabilities significantly impact organizational performance. Hence, the study recommends that focusing on innovative capability of strategic leadership such as new product development, innovation activities, marketing intelligence, value creation and new ideas with radical changes are germane for enhancing performance.

Impact analysis of intra-firm factors on share prices of Chinese construction SMEs based on the XGBoost algorithm

At this stage, small and medium-sized construction enterprises (construction SMEs) are in a difficult position due to fierce competition and severe homogenization. However, current studies on China's construction industry are mainly from the macro perspective of regions and policies. There is a lack of studies that can guide business managers to improve enterprises' performance. This paper constructs a 5-dimensional and 18-indicator system of factors influencing the share price of construction SMEs from an intra-firm micro perspective. Based on this, several XGBoost models were trained, and the highest accuracy was selected as the criterion for feature importance ranking using and RMSE to output the importance ranking of internal factors influencing the share price of Chinese construction SMEs. The results show that the most critical intra-firm factors for the share price of Chinese construction SMEs are the growth capacity of capital, especially the growth ability of shareholders' equity, and the long-term and short-term solvency. This study provides an actionable starting point for Chinese construction SME managers. It uses the XGBoost algorithm, which has higher predictive accuracy than the linear regression commonly used in existing studies, to obtain more reliable factor importance rankings.

Effective Financial Management Strategies to Improve MSME Performance

The purpose of this research is to find and analyse efficient financial management solutions for improving the performance of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). A qualitative approach was adopted, utilising in-depth interview techniques and participant observation as a data gathering instrument. The research subjects were owners and managers of SMEs who have improved their financial performance in the previous three years. According to the findings of the study, there are three effective financial management strategies: (1) locating appropriate funding sources, (2) producing accurate budgetary reports, (3) managing capital structure, and (4) performance management. These techniques can assist MSMEs in improving their financial performance and dealing with the challenges of a complicated and changing business environment. This study is expected to contribute to the advancement of MSME financial management theory as well as provide practical recommendations to MSME owners and managers on how to enhance their financial performance.

The Interplay Among Restaurant SMEs' Financial, Quality, and Managers' Perceived Business Performance

The present study aims to test a simplified version of the balanced scorecard (BSC) model for restaurant industry SMEs. This study aims to determine if (I) restaurant managers' perceived business performance correlates to SMEs' (II) actual financial and (III) quality performance. A new variable, the manager's perceived business performance, was added in light of the unique characteristics of restaurant SMEs. We hypothesized that all three business perspectives are positively correlated since restaurant managers must have realistic perceptions of SMEs' business performance. A total of 266 questionnaires were obtained from restaurant managers, and 1,330 questionnaires were obtained from restaurant guests. SMEs' official financial reports served as the basis for the analysis of financial data. Exploratory factor analysis and correlation analysis were used to investigate the relationships among the three perspectives. Results indicate that managers' perceptions of business performance are not correlated to SMEs' actual financial performance, and managers have realistic perceptions about the quality of what restaurants offer. Interestingly, SMEs' financial performance is not correlated to guests' perceptions of quality. Introducing a new internal perspective indicates the incoherence among the three BSC perspectives. Furthermore, using selected variables highlights the necessity of raising the managerial perspective in future restaurant SME studies.

Environmentally responsible behavior: Attitudes of Russian SMEs

The study of barriers and drivers of Russian SMEs’ environmentally responsible behavior is essential, since this business cluster is characterized by low information openness and transparency. The goal of the study was to research attitudes of owners and managers of Russian SMEs of different sizes towards diverse factors of internal and external business environment acting as barriers and drivers of SMEs’ environmentally responsible behavior. In this context, the following research tasks were set: to identify the significance of factors in SMEs’ external and internal environment (drivers and barriers) shaping their commitment to environmentally responsible practices after analyzing a broad range of publications in the corresponding scientific domain; to compare analytical results from reviewing academic publications to findings from the empirical study of Russian SMEs’ views and opinions. The research methods were questionnaire and interviews among representatives of 151 and 20 Russian SMEs respectively. The study revealed that the majority of respondents marked factors of external business environment, first of all, actions of federal and local authorities, as most significant barriers and drivers of environmentally responsible behavior of Russian SMEs of all sizes. They also mentioned “the culture of responsible production and consumption” in this regard. Market conditions (competition, opportunities of concluding contracts within the network of responsible suppliers, etc.) can be ranked second by their significance according to respondents’ answers. Factors of internal business environment (financial, human resources, time resources, etc.) are significantly less often perceived by SMEs’ representatives as drivers and barriers for their organizations’ green business practices. In contrast to other developing market economies, where SMEs include large corporations, business associations and technological, demographic and religion factors, along with governmental activities, into the list of important drivers for environmentally responsible behavior, the priority of authorities’ actions is absolute in the ranks of Russian SMEs in this regard. Employees of micro businesses were different in their estimations of restraints to environmentally responsible behavior, as well as of benefits that their firms may get from environmentally responsible initiatives, than their colleagues from medium-sized companies. The latter group increasingly relies on international organizations’ and UN recommendations, as well as competitors’ adherence to green practices. Research outcomes allow to conclude that if large corporations within Russia consider expansion of cooperation opportunities for responsible suppliers from the SMEs segment, while professional associations and communities boost efforts for increasing their awareness and knowledge of environmentally responsible practices, the degree of Russian SMEs interest to green projects and practices may become considerably higher.

Influence of Employee Soft Skills on Job Performance

Purpose: Due to COVID-19's global impact, work from remote has become the norm which led to the closure of offices throughout the globe. Workplace learning, communication skills, collaboration, and emotional intelligence are all examples of soft skills, and they are crucial in the workplace. They are likely to boost workers' efficiency and effectiveness on the job. This study is sought to examine the relationships between employee soft skills and job performance based on evidence from Small and Medium Size Enterprises in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon. Methods: A mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) research design was used in this paper. Data were collected from 241 SMEs using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis used both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Results show that improving communication skills results in higher job performance. Further, it is found that the higher the capacity of employees to discern and manage their emotions the better the job performance. Teamwork is revealed to increase the level of job performance. Work ethics shows a minimal effect on work performance. Implications: SME management should focus on developing employees’ emotional intelligence as this will improve their job performance. SMEs that are yet to adopt effective teams as an approach to functioning should consider doing so following the established benefits of effective teamwork in the organization. Employers also should try to cultivate a culture of work ethic at their place of work.

The Role of Community Engagement in SME Management: A Qualitative Synthesis

The Role of Community Engagement in SME Management: A Qualitative Synthesis

Influential role of homophily on innovative work behavior: evidence from innovation management of SMEs

Influential role of homophily on innovative work behavior: evidence from innovation management of SMEs

MEDIATING ROLE OF FIRM SIZE FOR ETHCIAL E-PROCUREMENT IMPLEMENTATION: EMPLOYEE PERCEPTION FROM SMES

The current study examines the mediating role of firms’ size between perceived benefits and perceived implementation of cost for ethical e-procurement implementation in small and medium size firms of Sindh, Pakistan. For the achievement of research objectives, the required primary data gathered using the adopted questionnaire and the researcher used survey method. Total 300 questionnaires distributed among middle level and upper-level employees and 270 filled questionnaires returned for further analysis and data cleaning process. The response rate was 90 percent. Confirmatory factor analysis and SEM analysis performed in AMOS version 25 for the study of the collected data. The study's findings supported the hypotheses that both perceived benefits and perceived costs have a partial mediating influence on the adoption of ethical e-procurement in small and medium-sized businesses in Sindh, Pakistan. The result of study are insights for the top management and managers of SMEs in order to arrange workshops intended for employees for better implementation of ethical e-procurement in small and medium size firms situated in Sindh, Pakistan.

Influence of big data adoption on sustainable marketing and operation of SMEs: a hybrid approach of SEM-ANN

PurposeThis research aimed to analyze and prioritize the factors affecting sustainable marketing (SM) and sustainable operation (SO) of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs through big data adoption (BDA).Design/methodology/approachThe technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework was used as a theoretical base and data were gathered from manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. The 159 questionnaire replies of chief executive officer (CEO)/managers were analyzed using a hybrid approach of structural equation modeling-artificial neural network (SEM-ANN).FindingsThe findings of this study showed that perceived benefits (PB), technological complexity (TC), organization's resources (OR), organization's management support (OMS) and government legislation (GL) are the factors that influence BDA and promote SM and SO. The findings of ANN showed that a perceived benefit is the most important factor, followed by OMS.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can assist SMEs managers in making strategic decisions and improving sustainable performance and thus contribute to overall economic development.Originality/valueThe manufacturing industry is under immense pressure to integrate sustainable practices for long-term success. BDA can assist industries in aligning industries' operational capabilities. The majority of the current research have mainly emphasized on BDA in corporations. However, the associations between BDA and sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs have been less explored. To address this issue, this study developed a theoretical model and examined the influence of BDA on SM and SO of manufacturing SMEs. Meanwhile, the hybrid methodological approach can help to uncover both linear and non-linear relationships better.

SMES' FLIGHT TO DIGITAL AND GREEN ECONOMY: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

This research aims to examine the impact of SMEs’ digital transformation on improving green economy implementation in Indonesia. This research will analyze how the influence of digitalization on SMEs on green economy implementation is getting stronger in SMEs that have access to financial services in Indonesia. This research will have implications on both theoretical and practical points of view regarding the importance of digital transformation in SMEs, the role of financial access, and green economy. The current research provides empirical evidence on the implementation of digital technology by Indonesian SMEs and the environmental issues that received renewed attention recently. The data in this study were collected using an interviewer-administered survey using google forms with the owners or managers of SMEs in the manufacturing, retail, and services sectors. The variables of interest in this study are the digital transformation of SMEs and green economy implementation. Furthermore, access to financial services is proposed as a moderating variable. In addition, the analytical method used in this quantitative study regression model and processed using STATA 17 software. This research shows that the digital transformation of SMEs helps improve green economy implementation in Indonesia.

Covid-19's effect on green supply chains and environmental sustainability; innovative technologies moderation

Even though the COVID-19 epidemic caused many problems for global supply chains, it also created opportunities that helped get people interested in cleaner production, sustainability, and business practices that are good for the environment again. This study seeks to examine the pandemic's opportunities for enhancing green supply chain management (GSC-management) and Sustainable environmental-performance by exploring the link between the uncertainty-anxiety of the pandemic, GSC-management, and Sustainable environmental-performance and inspecting the moderating effect of novel technology adoption like big-data analysis capabilities (BDA) and blockchain technologies (BCT) on this relationship. A questionnaire of 517 managers of SMEs in Egypt was used to test and analyze hypotheses with the PLS-SEM method. The findings show that the uncertainty-anxiety of the pandemic improves GSC-management significantly. Also, BDA moderates the link between the uncertainty-anxiety of the pandemic and GSC-management. However, BCT does not moderate that direct link. Also, GSC-management positively affects a firm's sustainable environmental-performance. In addition, GSC-management significantly mediates the correlation between the uncertainty-anxiety of the pandemic and sustainable environmental-performance. The study's findings have massive implications for how SMEs will be managed during COVID-19. Also, it contributes to the theory by using the Social cognitive theory to show how the uncertainty-anxiety of the pandemic positively affects the GSC-management practices and how the dynamic capabilities theory explains the innovative technologies moderating effect of such relationship.

The Determinants of a Crowdfunding Campaign: An Analysis Based on Some Cameroonian Experiences

The objective of this study is to identify the explanatory determinants of success of a crowdfunding campaign in Cameroon. By adopting a qualitative approach, we carried out semi-structured interviews with 4 managers of SMEs that had carried out a crowdfunding campaign. The analysis were made using the Nvivo 10 software, it appears firstly that the inherence characteristics of the project constitute the major determinant of the success of a campaign. Secondly, after analyzing the speeches of the interviewees, it emerges that identity of proximity does not influence contributions during a campaign. Finally, it appears that the current institutional framework is not adequate for crowdfunding, it does not constitute a guarantee for potential investors.

MENUMBUHKAN PRODUKTIVITAS DAN KINERJA USAHA KAIN TIE DYE UMKM SRIKANDI DI DESA DONOHUDAN

Increasing public awareness of increasing local wisdom products is in line with activities to preserve nature, this has made the trend of an environmentally friendly lifestyle very popular and increasingly spreading to various business sectors. One of the products of local wisdom, namely batik, in the development of a relatively new manufacturing technique, ecoprint batik is contemporary batik. One of the batik ecoprint SMEs in Boyolali is Srikandi SMEs precisely in Dohohudan Ngemplak Boyolali. This SMEs can be categorized as a start-up business managed by housewives in Donohudan Village. The local village government strongly supports SMEs activities in the hope of improving the standard of living of the community during the Covid 19 Pandemic like this. Community roles and contributions are needed in economic empowerment. The result of the activity is the implementation of community activities in developing skills in managing Srikandi's SMEs management activities in growing their performance productivity through SMEs management training (entrepreneurship, simple financial management, marketing strategy and e-commerce). This activity is expected to increase the competitiveness of SMEs Srikandi (batik ecoprint) with similar SMEs. The activity was carried out for one week, the training participants gave positive and enthusiastic responses to developing these batik products
 Keywords: MSME, Ecoprint, management 

The Role of Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Orientation in Developing Tourism SMEs Resilience

This paper aims to propose a framework that may enhance business resiliency of the tourism SMEs through social capital and entrepreneurial orientation. The claim that there has been a dearth of research models in this area through a systematic review triggered the development of a moderation model to understand the relationship between social capital and entrepreneurial orientation towards enhancing business resiliency of the tourism SMEs. Based on an extensive literature review, a total of two propositions were proposed to understand the relationship between social capital, entrepreneurial orientation, and business resilience. This study is important to the management of tourism SMEs as it shows that management of SME could be improved, recovered, and sustained business resiliency through social capital and entrepreneurial orientation. There are only a few research studies related to the contribution of social capital and entrepreneurial orientation to business resilient of tourism SMEs. This study demonstrates the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between social capital and business resilience.

Analyzing The Behavior Of SMEs To Use External Financing Using Theory Of Planned Behavior

This study examines the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in explaining SMEs' financing decisions. The data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires to SMEs owners or managers in Ternate City using purposive sampling and obtained 167 responses. Hypothesis testing is done using PLS-SEM analysis. The results of the analysis show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are positively related to the SMEs owner or manager's intention to use external financing. In addition, the results of the analysis also show that behavioral intentions are positively related to actual behavior using external financing. Finally, the results show that behavioral intentions mediate the influence of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on actual behavior using external financing.

Influence of Innovation, Creativity, and Risk-Taking on Entrepreneurial Growth and SMEs Performance in Sukabumi City

This study explores the influence of innovation, creativity, and risk-taking on entrepreneurial growth and SMEs performance in Sukabumi City, Indonesia. A survey was conducted with 150 SMEs in the region to collect data on their innovation, creativity, risk-taking behavior, and performance indicators. The results suggest that innovation and creativity significantly impact SME growth and performance, while risk-taking has a weaker impact. These findings have important implications for policymakers and SMEs owners or managers in Sukabumi City and other regions with similar economic contexts, highlighting the need to promote and support innovative and creative practices among SMEs.

Pengaruh Kinerja Manajemen UMKM di Kota Padang terhadap Penerapan Laporan Keuangan Berbasis SAK EMKM

Accounting practices, financial statements produced by an entity, especially in SMEs in Padang that the financial statements have been stated in accordance with accounting standards based on SAK EMKM. SAK EMKM is applied to SMEs in Indonesia for the preparation of effective financial statements as of January 1, 2018. Lack of understanding of Financial Accounting Standards (GAAP) from owners and managers due to the absence of regulations that require the preparation of financial statements for SMEs. The main problem in this research is how the influence of small and medium business perceptions on the use of SAK EMKM. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the performance of SME management in Padang on the application of financial statements based on SAK EMKM. The results showed that the performance of SME management in Padang had a significant effect on the application of financial statements based on SAK EMKM. The contribution of the performance of SME management in Padang has a significant effect on the application of financial statements based on SAK EMKM is 41.1% while the remaining 58.9% is influenced by other factors beyond this research

Triple Helix Innovation Ecosystem: The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises Community in Enhancing Performance

Purpose: This study seeks to reveal the relationship between the triple helix innovation ecosystem and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs’) performance and the role of the SME community as the mediator between the triple helix innovation ecosystem and SMEs’ performance. Methodology/Approach: This study uses a quantitative approach. Data were collected using an online questionnaire from 386 SME managers who are members of the SME community in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. SEM-PLS was used to analyse the data to examine the relationship of three latent variables: triple helix ecosystem, SME community, and SMEs’ performance. Findings: The triple helix ecosystem in this study was the collaboration of three agents, namely the government, large companies, and universities. This study proves that the triple helix ecosystem innovation is positively and significantly related to the performance of SMEs. Another important finding is that the SME community partially mediates the triple helix innovation ecosystem relationship and SME performance. The SME community has a strategic role in the triple helix agents intervention process to improve the performance of SMEs. Research Limitation/Implication: The data were collected through an online questionnaire so that it could not reveal the process of operational interventions of triple helix agents to improve SMEs’ performance. The performance of SMEs did not measure internal business processes, such as the presence of technology in processes, product development, and time savings. Originality/Value of paper: This research contributes to the literature through triple helix analysis as an ecosystem in improving the performance of SMEs.