Success Of SMEs Research Articles

Entrepreneurial orientation and performance of SMEs in the services industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine both the sources of competitiveness of small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in the services industry measured by their capability to grow, and the relative importance of each of these sources. More specifically, the resources and capabilities of Spanish SMEs in the services industry that may become sources of competitive advantage are analysed. Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve this objective, this paper is organized as follows. First, a concise overview of prior research on determinants of performance of SMES is provided, outlining the role of factors regarding resources and capabilities. Second, a set of lineal regression models are performed to test the hypothesis research. In line with several previous studies, competitive success and performance of the company are approached through the recent evolution of firms in terms of employment, turnover and productive investment. The data set comes from a survey on Spanish SMEs operating in the services industry that was carried out between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. Findings – The findings reveal that entrepreneur characteristics, firm features and managerial attributes have significant effect on the business performance. The results from the empirical analysis indicate that competitive success of the Spanish SMEs in the service industry is conditioned by macroeconomic and social factors related to the general business environment and especially by business factors concerning the entrepreneurial orientation of the firm, these findings are consistent with those of earlier research conducted at both an international level a national level. Originality/value – The fundamental contribution of SMEs to the overall performance of the economy constitutes a crucial motive for researchers to investigate and examine the key success factors behind these enterprises. This issue has been analysed exhaustively for the manufactured goods industry, but has scarcely been addressed for the services industry. Thus, further research is needed to clarify the variables explaining survival and success for services SMEs. Furthermore, since this research is focused on the microeconomic level, by considering the firm as the unit of analysis, it contributes towards complementing previous research on this topic that has been conducted from a macroeconomic approach. Thus it attempts to provide certain empirical evidences for support the traditional academic debate between economic and administrative disciplines concerning the appropriate unit of analysis for the understanding and explanation of businesses competitiveness.

Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility of Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan-Lessons Learnt

Japan is a high income economy country and scored well in terms of CPI index. Since Malaysia’s intention is to move towards a high income economy there is much to learn from SMEs in Japan. A study was conducted on 17 SMEs in Japan and data collection includes survey and interviews. Amongst lessons learned are that SMEs in Japan place a great respect on seniority and they treat their business as one family. SMEs in Japan also place high importance on customer satisfaction, they do not believe in “quick wins” and will ensure that expansion of business is made progressively. They also view preserving traditional culture as one of their responsibility. One of the challenges they faced are the declining sales due to the lesser number of tourists in Japan and declining demand of traditional products. Success of SMEs in Japan is partly because of the ability of the government in Japan to “make the blue collars’ conditions equal to the white collars,” especially involving the expanded application of monthly-payment, life-time employment, seniority-based payment and promotion system in SMEs similar to large corporation.

Entrepreneurial Competencies and SMEs Business Success: The Contingent Role of External Integration

This is a conceptual paper to study the effects of entrepreneurial competencies on success of businesses in the context of Malaysian SMEs. This paper argues that the external integration moderates the influence of entrepreneurial competencies on success of SMEs businesses. Hence, the entrepreneurs should be competent enough to manage their relationships with their customers and suppliers to get competitive advantage. Only sustainable competitive advantage will ensure business survival and success. This paper adopts the resource based view of competencies (RBV) which claims that entrepreneurial competencies are valuable and intangible resources that lead towards the success of business. Entrepreneurial competencies alone are not enough to ensure the survival and success of businesses. Since, SMEs have scarce resources of finance, skills, technology and knowledge; therefore SMEs sustainable business success highly depends on many other factors such as supplier’s capabilities as well as customer’s integration. Moreover, the strong relationships of SMEs with their customers and suppliers enable them to access the information regarding latest customer choices and tastes, technologies and new methods of innovations. Therefore, this paper incorporates two theories namely, the resource dependence theory (RDT)and the resource based view (RBV) to explain the conceptual model, where RDT suggests that firms have to depend on external parties (suppliers and customers) to get critical resources for their survival. Particularly, there is a dearth of studies that have examined the influence of external integration on the relationship of entrepreneurial competencies and success of Malaysian SMEs businesses. Therefore, the current study strives to investigate the moderating impact of customer and supplier relationships on the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and success of businesses of Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector. Ultimately, this study will contribute the existing body of knowledge in entrepreneurial competencies, external integration and success of Malaysian SMEs businesses in the manufacturing industry. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1p50

Standardisation and adaptation of firms' export marketing strategies in familiar European and non-familiar non-European markets

Our study investigates the relationships between export market experience (internal contingency factor), competitive intensity (external contingency factor), marketing strategy adaptation and export success of Austrian SMEs. Drawing from contingency theory, we develop a conceptual model and test it with a sample of 115 Austrian SMEs. After splitting the sample into familiar European countries and unfamiliar non-European countries including CEE countries, we found a negative relationship between product adaptation and sales growth and profitability in non-European and CEE countries, and a positive relationship between product adaptation and profitability in familiar European countries. Our results demonstrate that promotion adaptation has a positive effect on sales growth and profitability in both subsamples: European countries and non-European countries including CEE countries.

Preparing Researchers for Entrepreneurship Based on Systematic Innovation Training

Preparing young researchers for entrepreneurship has become a key strategic objective in the knowledge-based economy to assure the sustained growth of successful Start-Ups and SMEs that can keep pace with the ever increasing innovation speed and pressure. As ideas are the origin of every successful innovation, students have to be trained in systematically opening their mindsets to generate and structure ideas with high innovation potentials. They also have to learn to implement them in a way that the results facilitate their entry in entrepreneurial activities. The systematic approach of TRIZ can be considered as a key facilitator towards helping researchers to generate, structure, and assess ideas related to technology-based product/service solutions.This paper presents the Europe-wide certified Education and Training Programs Idea2Enterprise and ResEUr, two successive European projects that have conceived and implemented a unique e-Learning enabled training and EU- wide certification program to sensitise young researchers and creative minds for innovation and entrepreneurship in our modern environment.

Small Business Incubation and the Entrepreneurial Business Environment in South Africa: A Theoretical Perspective

Small business entreprises and entrepreneurs face numerous challenges that include lack of managerial skills, financial challenges, lack of credit, lack of access to markets, usable technology, low production, lack of interest by employees, and inadequate institutional support. The paper presents various literary perspectives on small business incubation in South Africa, the state of innovation-oriented business environment and the significance of small business incubators for developing and promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship in South Africa. Business incubators provide a good platform for the convergence mechanisms for supporting knowledge-based enterprises, both before and after their incubation. Overall, it is worth noting that business incubators do not replace entrepreneurial initiatives, but create better conditions for entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the increasing number of business incubators in South Africa shows that the right kind of business environment is increasingly being acknowledged as an important factor contributing to the success of SMEs, entrepreneurship and the local economy. Conclusions and future studies are proposed. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p264

Effect of Strategic Leadership Styles on Firm Performance: A Study in a Turkish SME

Many studies suggested that a development of good leadership is one of the driving forces for the success of SMEs in the future, and evidences suggest that inadequate leadership and management skills as primary factors contributing towards the failure of SMEs (Razak, 2000, Davies et al., 2002). In this study, we examine to understand how these leaders have the greatest positive impact on firm performance. This study is significant since the outcomes will contribute to the body of knowledge in the field of leadership and SME's firm performance in Turkey. The aim in this study is to interrogate the strategic leadership in terms of different leadership styles and test the effect of them on performance. The study is applied to an export company in Turkey. The sample is consisted of white-collared members who are working in managerial and non-managerial job positions in different offices of the company. A total of 215 complete responses were used for analyses. In terms of hypothesis testing, the first hypothesis of the study is partially supported as only relationship-oriented and transformational leadership styles are significantly related to firm performance. As to the second hypothesis compared to other leadership styles transformational leadership has a stronger effect on firm performance. When the means of leadership styles are considered, it is clear that in three countries most common leadership style is relationship-oriented. This study can be repeated by increasing the number of participants. And also for further studies, to identify the effects of leadership styles on firm performance more precisely, the number of leadership styles may be increased.

Method of evaluating the success of the dairy Czech small and medium-sized enterprises

The paper is focused on the draft of the method for quantification of the factors, which determine the success of the SMEs in foreign markets. In the proposed method the multidimensional assessment of indicators of success of SMEs in foreign markets are used, ie. not only the proportion of sales from exports is observed, but also the profitability of international activities in an absolute and in a relative rate. Other indicators of success are the satisfaction of the company management with international activities and the success of achieving defined targets for business activities in foreign markets. Evaluation is made up of both the objective and the subjective indicators of success. Among the objective indicators of success is included the intensity of international activities of SMEs, which is detected as the sum of revenues generated from international activities in relation to total sales company, the profitability of international activities, (ie. whether the foreign activities are profitable or not), and the relative profitability of international activities, where it is ascertained whether the foreign activities generate higher profit than the activities at the domestic market. The next subjective indicator of success is the success of objectives – it was found how many objectives related to operations in foreign markets has been achieved. Another indicator is the subjective satisfaction of the company management with existing activities on foreign markets. Overall performance on foreign markets of the company is quantified using an assessment of objective and subjective indicators of success. Using the defined evaluation it will be possible to determine which of the SMEs are more and which are less successful in foreign markets. Finally, this evaluation model is used for the research aimed at identifying characteristics affecting the success of dairy SMEs in the foreign markets.

The early stage performance of successful SMEs and a Desirable Policy for SMEs

The early stage performance of successful SMEs and a Desirable Policy for SMEs

Coaching is key to SME success

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to provide an interview with Peter Boolkah. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses some of the current issues within the coaching industry. Findings – Boolkah answers questions on coaching philosophy, what attributes make a successful coach and how a business can make the most of a coach’s expertise. Practical implications – Provides insight and advice from a leading industry professional.

The Search for Broad Environmental Information and New Product Development Success in Technology-Based SMEs

In this study we examined the relationships between environmental scanning and information sources on new product development (NPD) success in a sample of 112 Korean technology-based SMEs. We found a significant positive relationship between scanning the task sectors of the environment of customers, competitors and technology on the timeliness and creativity of the NPD process. We also found that external personal sources of customers, competitors and suppliers/distributors and internal sources of employees, company library, etc. had a significant positive relationship with NPD success, while the use of professional sources of information such as lawyers, bankers and trade and industry association members had a negative impact on NPD success. We discuss the findings and their implications.

Outsourcing IT – The Alternative for a Successful Romanian SME

IT outsourcing is one of the most frequently met action by SMEs in the USA, Australia and Western Europe but, in this respect, Romania is still at the beginning. Regardless of company size, both the structure and functionality of IT systems are much the same, so the main components that SMEs outsource, are: the Internet connection (with sub-web services such as e-mail, browsing), IT infrastructure: hardware component (including servers, workstations, printers, scanners, UPS's) as well as software component that includes a wide range of specialized applications, and also generalized systems such as ERP (Business Management),CRM (Customer Management), SCM (Supply Chain Management), applications for data backup and internal communication. Therefore, within the current research it is our endeavor to identify the IT areas that are fertile for service outsourcing, highlight the future trends, identify the advantages and disadvantages that comes along with the IT outsourcing process and what is Romanian SMEs interest in IT outsourcing.

The Need to Deliver Higher-Order Skills in the Context of Marketing in SMEs

It is argued that the delivery of learning and the development of skills and competences are central to SME success; and there appears to be a requirement for higher-order education and training that can deliver a certain level of skills through the social aspects of learning. The author uses discourse analysis to examine data generated from a small sample of participants from UK SMEs and business support agencies. The findings suggest that social interaction, developing critical thinking, using critical incidents as effective active learning episodes, and the management of internally and externally derived knowledge are critically important factors in training dealing with SME marketing. The implications for SME managers and learning providers are discussed.

Faktory úspěchu v internacionalizačním procesu MSP podnikajících v oblasti ICT

Small and medium enterprises are the major players in the Czech economy, because they contribute significantly to job creation and GDP, they are the source of innovation and of the technological progress. This article is focused on the internationalization of SMEs, specifically on SMEs operating in the field of ICT. Investigations were carried out between Czech SMEs operating in this sector and the key success factors of the process of internationalization of Czech small and medium sized enterprises in the ICT sector were specified based on the data obtained from the questionnaire survey. Among the key determinants of the success of SMEs in internationalization process it is possible to include training of key employees, the choice of appropriate forms of entry into foreign markets, the number of exporting countries and the selection of appropriate country of export. In addition, it is possible to include also language skills of key staff and frequency of communication with foreign partners.

Performance assessment of food safety management systems in animal-based food companies in view of their context characteristics: A European study

Recurrently the question arises if efforts in food safety management system (FSMS) have resulted in effective systems in animal-based food production systems. The aim of this study was to gain an insight in the performance of FSMS in European animal-based food production companies in view of their typical context characteristics. Hundred European companies (from Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and Hungary) varying in company size, and producing different types of fresh and processed animal-derived products (dairy, beef/lamb, poultry, and pork) were assed using a diagnostic instrument. Results indicated that most participating companies adapted adequately their food safety management systems to the riskiness of their context characteristics resulting in rather good safety output scores. Only a small group have overall basic systems and operate in a moderate or moderate-high risk context, which was reflected in lower safety output scores. Companies tend to invest first in the control strategies whereas assurance activities such as verification and validation seem to require more time and effort to achieve advanced levels. Our study demonstrated that also small and medium enterprises managed to have advanced systems, and achieve a good safety output. However, their typical organisational characteristics such as less resources (educated staff, laboratory facilities, time), more restricted formalisation (restricted use of procedures and formal meetings), limited information systems, but more stable workforce, might require more tailored support from government and/or branch organisations to develop towards advanced systems in the case of high-risk products and processes. More in-depth studies to successful SMEs could give insight in best practices to improve FSMS performance.

Exploring Key Factors of Application Software Services and Their Relationships for Organizational Success in SMEs

This paper sets up an extended model that integrates the technology acceptance model and DeLone and McLean's information system success model and also extends this integrated model by adding a construct representing specific features of application services in order to investigate the way that features of application services influence small and medium‐sized enterprises' use of application services. Overall, the extended model performs well in explaining the relationships between constructs, and this research shows that certain specific features of application services are key factors that have positive effects on application service usage behavior and organizational success.

"Entrepreneurship And Strategic Management In Emerging Economies: Kosovo‘s Perspective "

The intention of this study is to observe the importance of Entrepreneurship and Strategic activities in the SME sector in Kosovo. The study refers to the long-term research experience of the author in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development especially, in designing Strategic Activities in SME Development. The subject is developed based on a broad literature and practices in the SME development sector, and the great importance of Strategic activities in the direction of firm's growth. During the preparation of this study, a range of methods were used to research and study the SME development in the era of globalization. Using a sample of BSCK research from 2010 and 2011, the conclusion of this study indicates that the majority of CEOs agreed that various of the actions undertaken by enterprises in an effort to realize prosperity occur within six domains: innovations, networks, SME internationalization, organizational learning, top management team, and growth orientation. These conclusions suggest that successful Entrepreneurship and SME Strategic Development is conditioned by factors such as: SME leadership, Local and Central Institutions, conditions of financial sector, structure of the SME sector, the business environment, and approaches to regional markets.

Evaluation Model of the Success of SMEs in the Internationalization Process

Evaluation Model of the Success of SMEs in the Internationalization Process

Entrepreneurship Challenges in High‐Growth Companies and Consequences for SME Policy

Objective: The objective of this paper is to identify success factors for corporate growth out of these two approaches (hidden champions research, high‐growth companies research) to make the findings fertile for entrepreneurship policy and for entrepreneurship with a growth focus. Research Design & Methods: The article is based on the literature review (theoretical background and research results on high‐growth companies). The paper is a summary of recent research findings regarding SME growth drivers and success factors as well as considerations about the goals of an effective SME and entrepreneurship policy. Findings: On the basis of the various empirical research only 6 to 10% of companies become high‐growth companies. Most high‐growth companies arise in niche markets in low‐involvement industries and are not breakthrough innovators or technology leader. These companies produce the most jobs. Implications & Recommendations: Therefore, it is recommended in terms of SME policy not to generally support high technology or ‘trendy’ industries or more or less evenly many companies, but to use research findings for better targeting the companies with the highest potential to become outperformer and ‘jog engines’. Contribution & Value Added: The paper can be treated as a unique summary of the ‘state of research’ about successful SMEs and the application of the research findings to an economic policy question (interdisciplinary approach).

Relationship between Entrepreneurial Personality, Performance, Job Satisfaction and Operations Strategy: An Empirical Examination

The goal of this research paper is to study the possible interactions between operations strategy andentrepreneurial traits, performance and job satisfaction. This empirical paper used a non-experimental design totest a proposed model based on a review of relevant literature. The study was conducted with 1200 SMEs in theLynchburg City region using an administered survey instrument. The results of this study indicate thatentrepreneurial personality has statistically significant relationship with Performance and Operations Strategy.The relationship between entrepreneurial personality and Job Satisfaction was not statistically significant.Operations strategy has statistically significant moderating role in the relationship between entrepreneurialpersonality and performance. The research framework offers a different way forward for both practitioners andacademicians in thinking about the factors which may be critical for the success of SMEs.