Narrow Results

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world engage in e-commerce and e-business to support business operations as well as to enhance revenue generation from nontraditional sources. Internet and e-business technologies (IEBT) are the pillars of e-commerce and e-business. Despite the universal appeal of IEBT, it has been reported that the adoption of such technologies by SMEs is influenced by contextual imperatives. The objective of this research is to investigate factors impacting the adoption of IEBT in SMEs based in the Maritime region of Canada. A research model based on the diffusion of innovation (DIT) and the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) frameworks was used to guide the discourse. Such factors as relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, management support, organizational readiness, external pressure, and government support were used to develop relevant hypotheses. Questionnaires were mailed to key informants in SMEs. Data analysis was performed using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. Predictions related to relative advantage, management support, and competition's pressure were confirmed. The study did not support the constructs of compatibility, complexity, government support, customers' and partners' pressures as significant predictors of IEBT adoption by the SMEs in the region.

The aim of this article is to assess the current state of research on open innovation in SMEs to understand why and how SMEs do open innovation. Stemming from a systematic literature review of 73 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, from 1983 to 2017, we identify five main research focuses on open innovation in SMEs. Directions for future studies on open innovation in SMEs are provided in this article.

Production in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) makes a substantial contribution to the Gross Domestic Product directly and indirectly in developing economies including India. In the present time, applying Industry 4.0 to the SMEs will build a smart manufacturing system that will prove to be economically feasible as well as socially sustainable. The purpose of this study is to identify and prioritize major barriers of implementing Industry 4.0 in Indian SMEs. A questionnaire with 12 barriers which were identified based on the literature survey and expert discussion was made to be filled by industry experts of production, information technology, business and members of the top management in SMEs. Further, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods like TOPSIS, VIKOR and PROMETHEE are used to find the rank for each barrier. The study reveals that the major implementation barriers of Industry4.0 in Indian SMEs are fear of unemployment, lack of IT training, poor IT infrastructure, etc. The ranking for each barrier will not only help to assess risks in manufacturing, supply chain or business initiative, but also to help the managers in devising risk mitigation plans. This study may be used by firms working under the manufacturing sector.

The open innovation approach emphasizes porous knowledge boundaries between firms and upstream suppliers, but tends to ignore questions of transformative efficiency and effectiveness once the knowledge reaches the focal organization. In this paper, we test for the significance of interaction effects between open innovation strategies and absorptive capacity, finding support for the idea that effective knowledge absorption capabilities are of vital importance in the facilitation of innovation effectiveness.

This study investigates the barriers to growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kosova. It is based on a SME survey conducted by Riinvest Institute at the end of 2002 which identified critical business environment barriers perceived by entrepreneurs such as legal environment, administrative burden, external financing, tax burden and unfair competition. First, based on this SME survey, the econometric model is constructed in order to test empirically the validity of Gibrat's Law. Then, in order to identify and measure the impact of current reported business environment barriers on SME growth, the Gibrat's Law is augmented with other business environment variables. The econometric results suggest that firms' growth is negatively linked to firms' size and age, suggesting that Gibrat's Law does not hold for growing SMEs in Kosova. Also, the growth of the SMEs is reduced by the presence of the business environmental barriers such as tax burden, unfair competition and inadequate financing. Econometric results raise important issues and policy implications for the development of the SME sector in Kosova.

Drawing on a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in traditional manufacturing industries from seven EU regions, this study investigates how cooperation with external organisations affects technological (product and process) innovations and non-technological (organisational and marketing) innovations as well as the commercial success of product and process innovations (i.e., innovative sales). Our empirical strategy takes into account that all four types of innovation are potentially complementary. Empirical results suggest that cooperation increases firms’ innovativeness and yields substantial commercial benefits. In particular, increasing the number of cooperation partnerships has a positive impact on all measures of innovation performance. We conclude that a portfolio approach to cooperation enhances innovation performance and that innovation support programs should be demand-led.

Being embedded in an open innovation (OI) ecosystem can be the road to success for startups. In order to survive and become competitive, they must collaborate with external partners. Not only could large corporations be suitable partners, but innovation with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can be constructive and fruitful as well. Furthermore, accelerators, incubators and other institutions can offer value to startups. Despite this fact, little attention has been paid to startups and SMEs embedded in OI ecosystems, especially from their point of view. The aim of this paper is to fulfil this research gap and deliver empirical data about the benefits and challenges of an OI ecosystem orchestrated by a startup and to investigate the potential role of an SME in these ecosystems. To answer the research questions, a case study approach was used.

One of the most challenging difficulties for incumbent organisations, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is to manage digital transformation driven by technological change. Incumbent organisations’ responses to digital transformation have been extensively studied in the current literature. However, most research neglects digital transformation in SMEs. There are hardly any valid developed measures for the maturity of digital transformation. We present a holistic digital transformation maturity model based on an extensive literature review, qualitative computer-assisted data analysis, and empirical findings. The digital transformation maturity model focuses on small- and medium-sized enterprises’ unique features and characteristics. We proved the practical applicability and relevance of the digital transformation maturity model in an extensive study involving various organisations, particularly German SMEs ($n$= 310). Organisations can use this model to assess themselves initially and, through this process, gain a comprehensive understanding of the multiple forms of digital transformation.

The study of modes of open innovation in smaller companies is still in the development phase. This study responds to this situation and, drawing upon a data set from 4,679 Turkish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), explores the influence of inbound open innovation and coupled open innovation on marketing innovation as well as process and organisational innovation in SMEs. Results reveal major differences between small and medium-sized Turkish enterprises with regard to both marketing innovation as well as process and organisational innovation. While inbound open innovation positively influences both, marketing as well as process and organisational innovation, the effects for small-sized enterprises are even higher than for medium-sized ones. Coupled open innovation positively influences both innovation outcomes as well, although the effects for medium-sized enterprises are significantly higher than for smaller ones.

This research explores the effects of innovation-orientated technology assimilation strategy on Korean SMEs’ enhancing innovation capability, competitive advantage and firm performance. The results of this paper demonstrate that an innovation-orientated technology assimilation strategy enables SMEs to cultivate innovation capability, a crucial capability for catching-up to advanced firms and developing new products. In addition, innovation-orientated technology assimilation strategy significantly contributes to SMEs’ developing competitive advantages, leading to enhanced market share and sales growth. This study provides empirical evidence of SMEs employing innovation-orientated technology assimilation strategy to enhance innovation capability and to gain competitive advantage, and provides an empirical measurement for the execution of an innovation-orientated technology assimilation strategy.

Social media and public cloud computing (SM&PC) have emerged as important resources of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but not all SMEs use SM&PC. The existing research predominantly focuses on the role of either the features of social media and cloud computing in relation to the perceptions of decision makers or the internal capabilities of organization concerning new innovation adoption. By integrating multidisciplinary literature, we, instead, argues that both the perception- and capability-related factors could play an important role in the adoption of new ICT technology, such as SM&PC. Therefore, we empirically investigated the decision maker’s perception-related and SME’s capability-related factors that may influence the adoption of SM&PC in SMEs in Germany. We used quantitative research methods to examine the proposed hypotheses on a sample of 2,404 SMEs from 17 industrial sectors. The results demonstrate that the decisions of German SMEs to engage in social media and cloud computing are not only influenced by the perceptions of SME owners about the usefulness, security aspects, and the implementation costs of SM&PC, but also by the internal capabilities of an SME, namely the innovativeness of an SME. The results and potential contributions of our research are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of factors of environmental uncertainty on the innovativeness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Innovativeness is widely accepted as an important characteristic for firm competitiveness and it has been studied by both researchers as well as business managers. Environmental uncertainty is a measure of the complexity of changing external forces faced by an organisation and it crucially impacts the responses of organisations in order to stay competitive. Based on approaches in existing literature, this study conceptualises environmental uncertainty comprised three separate dimensions — competitive intensity, market/demand turbulence, technological turbulence. Data for the study were collected from 156 SMEs in Turkey. SMEs are regarded as an important ingredient in the economic growth of nations and especially so in developing nations such as Turkey. The findings of the study reveal that market/demand turbulence and technological turbulence have a positive effect on the innovativeness of SMEs. Interestingly and contrary to popular belief, competitive intensity was not found to have significant effect on an SME's innovativeness. The implication of the results from this research is that the degree of organisational innovativeness for SMEs tends to increase and therefore should be supported in environments with greater technological and market/demand turbulence. This research makes an important contribution to the developing body of innovation literature and provides directions for managers and researchers in influencing innovativeness of firms.

Mutual growth in the relation between large firms and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) has been an important issue that can be overcome with the concept of open innovation, which is the most continuous research topic in technology innovation. However, most previous studies on open innovation barely analyse both firm types, focusing only on one party. The aim of this study is to develop open innovation models for complementary cooperation between both types of firms in manufacturing industry. Based on a basic understanding of open innovation in each firm type, this study suggests open innovation typology with two main concepts of open innovation: knowledge interaction and technology innovation. Finally, open innovation models are developed, considering the cooperative participants, their relationships in open innovation processes, and open innovation activities illustrated through case studies. The results contribute to manage strategic open innovation between large firms and SMEs through various approaches of cooperation.

In this paper is we attempt to construct and validate a typology of innovation strategies among family SMEs applying the Miles and Snow's configurational model. We also try to extend the scope of the model testing the fit between entrepreneurial, managerial and governance characteristics and innovative posture of the firm. Research has been carried out on a representative sample of small and medium family firms of the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia. Results indicate that significant differences in the mentioned contextual variables exist among different strategic typologies of family firms, however some questions remain unanswered and more effort is needed to develop the configurational approach in the field of family business.

Customer capital has attracted a great deal of attention among marketing scholars in recent years. This study explores at first the links between customer capital with firm innovativeness (i.e., the ability to generate new ideas and actions within firms) and customer response speed (i.e., the ability to respond to the customers’ needs immediately). Furthermore, it is analysed how firms’ marketing capability mediates these relationships. For this, a unique environment in post-sanctions Iran is chosen. By using the original survey data from 107 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), our results confirm that durable relationships that a company builds with its customers over the time enhance the market information within firms. This, in turn, enables firms to respond faster to market changes with innovative products and services. Furthermore, the lifetime relationship with the customers enhances the awareness of firms about customers’ needs and demands in a timely manner. Accordingly, it accelerates the process of responding the customers’ requirements before competitors can catch up.

This study addresses a certain research issue: how do the Big Five personality traits of managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) impact the business performance of companies? A representative random sample of managers of SMEs in Slovenia was used for data collection through survey research. Hypotheses and the model were tested using structural equation modeling. A valuable contribution is made in the form of a new model of Big Five personality induced SME growth, profitability and new value creation. Openness of managers can be predictive of growth and new value creation of their companies, with the new value creation impact especially expressed in female-managed companies. Conscientiousness may not be crucial for performance, except for new value creation in females where this relationship can be negative. Extraversion can predict the growth and profitability. Agreeableness can have negative effects on all performance elements. Neuroticism can be predictive of growth and profitability. Practitioners must be aware of the importance of managers’ Big Five personality traits for SME performance. Where possible, managers may like to develop their levels of openness, extraversion, non-agreeableness and neuroticism.

The study explored the effects of the individual dimensions of market orientation on the superiority of new products introduced unto the market by SMEs, as well as the moderating role of innovation capability on these relationships. Analysis was based on 373 SMEs whose respondents were either employee-managers or owner-managers. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to check for validity and reliability of the observed items. A hierarchical regression model was estimated to test the various hypotheses set for the study. Findings revealed that customer orientation and inter-functional coordination had a positive and significant effect on new product superiority; however, competitor orientation had no significant effect. Innovation capability positively moderated the effects of customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination on new product superiority. This indicates the crucial role of SMEs’ innovative capability in leveraging the effect of competitor orientation on new product superiority.

Given that few studies have focused on the relationship between social capital, open innovation and firm performance, particularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we decided to extend this line of research. Thus, we tried to focus on social capital as a key element of informal cultural norms and to study its impact on open innovation in these firms and consequently on their performance. Through a review of the literature, we were able to develop the existing relationships between these three concepts and design our theoretical model. In accordance with a positivist posture, we adopted a hypothetical-deductive approach and a quantitative empirical validation method. In order to test our conceptual model and to analyse the results of the study carried out with 67 Tunisian SMEs of the mechanical and metallurgical industries, we used the Structural Equations Method and the Neural Networks Method. The results of this research indicate that social capital significantly influences open innovation which in turn positively influences the performance of SMEs. Specifically, this study contributes to resource theory and social capital theory by first confirming that intangible resources and capabilities, associated with social capital and open innovation are valuable to SME performance. In addition to the theoretical implications, the results of this study also provide important guidance to practitioners regarding strategic direction, in that SMEs should deliberately use their limited administrative capabilities and intangible resources to support business performance. As SMEs play an important role in building, maintaining, and evolving innovation ecosystems and contribute significantly to a country’s economic growth, our research can offer significant policy implications for Tunisian SMEs to improve their innovation performance through OI strategies.

Research into product innovation and financial orientation in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is burgeoning, yet our understanding of the finance product innovation and performance remains unclear. Given the lack of empirical research on the role of financial orientation on innovation performance in the SMEs, especially in an Asian context, the current study addresses the relationships between financial orientation, product innovation and business performance in the Japanese SMEs, because it has a long established record on product innovation. Data were generated from 189 Japanese businesses and the results were analyzed using multiple regression. Results confirm the study hypotheses. Implications for management are discussed, along with suggestions for further research.

The gastronomy sector was one of the industries most fundamentally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the subsequent disruption of demand. Entrepreneurs were challenged to secure their survival. This study aims to analyze how COVID-19 has accelerated digital technologies in the hospitality industry. The study assumes that due to lockdowns successful restaurants in Baden–Wuerttemberg have developed new digital business models. Data for the quantitative study were collected through a survey among randomly selected restaurants carried out between December 2020 and February 2021. A cluster analysis is used to identify different types of restaurants concerning their propensity to innovate and their success. Results of the study show that the level of digitization is one important factor regarding the range of entrepreneurial success.