Narrow Results

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 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.

The advent of social media allows SMEs to use marketing information gleaned from social media to develop functions that enable them to serve their customers better. Small businesses can improve their communication with customers through social media to understand their ideas and thereby increase their profits. Small businesses can gain brand awareness on social media at a lower cost, as consumers can spread word of mouth to more potential customers on social media. SMEs can get information about changing customer preferences for products and services by communicating with customers on social media. Marketing insights gained from social media can support innovative strategies to improve retailer performance. SMEs can use information obtained from customers via social media to make accurate and timely brand innovation decisions. This research uses the PLS-SEM method to study the relationship between social factors in information processing and customer relationship performance. Data collection using interviews and distributing questionnaires to SME merchants. This study aims to influence customer relationship performance by studying the impact of social customer relationship management (s-CRM) and customer relationship store positioning on customer engagement and social information processes.

The vital factors which can facilitate the development of Startups and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in markets are the appropriate regulatory and policy frameworks. However, there is a difference in the frameworks which may contribute to different levels of development of startups and SMEs in different countries. This chapter thus focuses on the comparative study of the frameworks of selected countries to display their possible challenges in those countries. The chapter shows that governments in Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand adopt different regulatory frameworks which help stimulate the creation of startups and SMEs. It provides comparisons of the frameworks in those four countries, and also presents that there are challenges from these regulatory frameworks for startups and SMEs developing there.

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 internationalization of the portfolio company is a key strategy used by private equity (PE) investors to create value and produce returns. In recent years, the focus on the strategies for value-creation through operational improvement has become essential to achieve the exponential growth required to the portfolio company, given the low multiples and the market risk of leverage. In this paper, we define the key types of contribution that a PE investor can provide in order to support the internationalization process and their effects on the portfolio company’s performance. The research is based on a survey administered to 47 PE fund managers, which covers 156 deals involving Italian companies. The results offer insight into the contribution to the corporate governance, strategy and management that PE provides in addition to the monetary support. The findings show that the non-financial support given to the portfolio companies has a positive impact on the performance and that the most impactful contribution the PE can give is the support to the relational network when the company strategy involves a foreign direct investment.

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.

Given that many large-scale digital transformations fail, researchers have sought to identify factors that may increase the likelihood of success when institutionalising organisational changes. The importance of digital readiness for digital transformations has attracted increasing interest recently in this context. However, prior research has not addressed which specific aspects of digital readiness links to digital transformation outcomes under a given context. This study contributes to filling this gap in the literature. Using a sample of 207 Danish SMEs, we conduct an ordinal regression analysis to find out which dimension(s) of digital readiness are important to digital transformation outcomes for small companies. The results show that the strategy and technology dimensions have a positive impact on the dependent variables. The results further highlight the importance of a company’s capacity for change to deploy existing resources. Our results have strong implications for practitioners, as they provide guidance on what to focus on with respect to digital readiness at the outset of a firm’s digital transformation journey.

Research shows that data-driven decision making using business analytics can create competitive advantages for organisations. However, this can only happen if the organisations successfully accept and use the business analytics effectively. Many studies reported business analytics implementation in large organisations, and fewer studies focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, SMEs are scoring lower scores in technology absorption. Therefore, it is essential to examine the business analytics adoption among SMEs. Previous research has reported that relative advantage and compatibility were the most highlighted factors under the technology dimension in adopting innovative technologies. However, the literature reported inconsistent findings on the significance of relative advantage and compatibility in adopting various technologies. Therefore, this research conducted a quantitative survey-based study to examine the significance of relative advantage and compatibility in predicting business analytics adoption among SMEs. The sample was selected using systematic random sampling from a Malaysian national entrepreneurs database. There were 241 SMEs that responded to the online survey sent by email. The analysis using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) informed that relative advantage was significantly related to business analytics adoption; however, compatibility did not influence the business analytics adoption by SMEs in Malaysia. This finding shows that the better the relative advantage of business analytics SMEs know, the higher the possibility of adoption. In addition, less compatibility of the SMEs in Malaysia hindered the business analytics adoption. This study contributes to the theoretical aspect, which statistically informed the finding out of inconsistent gaps in technology adoption. Furthermore, this study also contributes to the practical aspect, in which managers, owners, vendors, and policy-makers can use these findings to spur and facilitate business analytics adoption among SMEs in developing countries.

Firms focus on digital entrepreneurship to face the challenge of survival in turbulent times, a continuing challenge for their leaders, specifically those in charge of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This means these leaders have to be manufacturers and digital at the same time, to avoid digital, technological and innovative illiteracy. This study aims to determine how digitalisation and innovation have a positive influence on the advantages of digital entrepreneurship in SMEs. To achieve this objective, the quantitative method of structural equation modelling (SEM) was used, with data-collection being based on a questionnaire. The results obtained show that digitalisation and innovation greatly increase the advantages of digital entrepreneurship when the intention is to maximise efficiency, customer relations and stimulate better behaviour among collaborators. Specifically, this study shows how SME managers can embrace new business opportunities supported by the use of information technology and by adopting an organisational culture of innovation. In this way, these small firms can raise their competitiveness in relation to their rivals. Conclusions, contributions, limitations and indications for future research are also presented.

The environment surrounding small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has changed dramatically due to rapid technological advances and the global and domestic impacts of pandemics and regional conflicts. This study identifies the relationship between customer collaboration and innovation activity under this environment. Our hypothetical model is based on relational view and analyses the relationship between customer collaboration, technological and business uncertainty, and innovation activity, which is divided into incremental/radical goods and services. We conduct a survey of Japanese SMEs (suppliers) in industrial markets. The results of our analysis using structural equation modelling highlight that customer collaboration is overall positively associated with SME innovation activity. Further, different types of uncertainty may affect customer collaboration and innovation activities differently. In sum, this study interprets the relationship between customer collaboration and innovation activities using the theoretical framework of relational view and provides insights into the possible impact of environmental uncertainties on this relationship.

This study explores how training of facilitators and coordinators can promote the creation of high-performing innovation teams in SMEs, and analyzes why some trained teams are successful and others are not. Within a participatory action research framework, eight innovation teams were newly created in six SMEs in the Spanish service sector and were followed up over six months. Facilitators and coordinators underwent 12 h of training prior to creating new innovation teams in their own organizations, whose work was followed up over six months. Team processes and results were analyzed based on both quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews, incident diaries, and open questions) data that were gathered longitudinally across the study period. Our results showed that, despite complaints about poor management of face-to-face meetings, difficulties in the use of information and communication technologies and work overload are surmountable. The greatest barrier for innovation teams is a lack of commitment on the part of top managers and low involvement and participation by team members. Reflexivity, both inside and outside the team (i.e. in follow up sessions), was one of the most valued and useful strategies for innovation teams. Our findings highlight the importance of training programs that can provide both technical and emotional support to team facilitators and coordinators and enable SMEs to create high-performing innovation teams despite their limited financial and human resources.

Digital transformation has transformed the business processes and operations of firms worldwide. Companies need to adopt new technologies capable of automating and boosting the business to maintain competitiveness in a global market. This study aims to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) that impact Cloud ERP implementation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A systematic literature review was conducted with the support of the PRISMA-P. The identified factors were classified following the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework. The CSFs that stood out most were system compatibility with the organization’s needs, data security, and senior management commitment support. This study contributes to the literature by identifying and grouping the CSFs that most impact the implementation of Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) in SMEs and to the practice by serving as a guide for managers and decision-makers of SMEs.

This study investigates whether small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under family influence (FI) can achieve business model innovation (BMI) through dynamic capabilities (DCs) as promoted by prior research. Overall, 259 small and medium-sized family firms in Southeastern China were examined and analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. The findings showed a direct negative link between FI-DCs (sensing, seizing, and transforming capabilities), sensing capabilities—value capture, transforming capabilities—value proposition/value creation, and a positive link between seizing capabilities—value creation. Additionally, the negative moderation effect of environment dynamism was found between sensing capabilities—value capture, seizing capabilities—value creation, and transforming capabilities—value proposition. This research provides various new insights for practitioners and researchers in small and medium-sized family firms to achieve BMI through DCs. It develops an empirical, multi-dimensional hypothetical model from a micro perspective that includes the moderating role of the influencing relationship.

Green innovation is garnering increasing attention in business, academic and policy circles as a route to sustainable growth and development. Governments have introduced a range of policies to encourage and enable firms to introduce and expand their offerings of environmental friendly goods and services. While environmental regulation has been shown to be an important driver of green innovation, little is known about whether other types of polices, such as financial incentives, technical and marketing supports, and assistance with identifying potential markets, are important to firms of all sizes at different stages of the green innovation process (i.e., at product/service launch vs. product/service expansion). Using data from the European Commission, the results show that policy support to identify markets or customers is deemed important by firms of all sizes to introduce green goods and services. However, this support is no longer perceived as important to expand firms’ green portfolio. This suggests firms capitalise by using their existing markets or customers. The results do not lend support to the view of small firms as the most resource constrained and hence needing the greatest policy supports. Overall, the results point to the need for a variety of policy supports targeted at (1) firms of different sizes and (2) by stage of the green innovation process.

The reduction of wastes, improved industrial performance, and the SME environment are very important topics for the image of the organization. Recently, several business managers have implemented lean manufacturing in order to improve and optimize productivity and quality of production, some of them have achieved significant results while others have not yet succeeded in setting up lean manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the implementation of lean manufacturing in SMEs worldwide, to identify and present the critical difficulties and obstacles that impact the implementation, and to highlight the success factors of manufacturing firms. The bibliographic study findings allowed us to collect a list of the difficulties that we classified according to the amount of occurrences which showed that five difficulties represent 77, 78% of the discontent causes, from what we note: the lack of leadership and the lack of commitment of top management; lack of financial resources; resistance to change; lack of training and knowledge about lean tools; and lack of know-how, skills and expertise. We noticed that these difficulties are extremely identical whether in Morocco or elsewhere in the world. In the same way, we have pointed out that the commitment of top management is a key factor that determines the success of the implementation and the success of the company. Finally, the novelty of our paper lies in the preliminary proposal of a model that explains the impact of the management commitment on the performance of the company, and on its customers and employees.

As the major business environment changes, there is a growing need for management innovation to strengthen the organisation. Large enterprises such as GE, which promoted Six Sigma, and Toyota, which installed innovative production systems using the Kanban method, have rooted management innovation in their corporate cultures. However, although there are precedent cases limited to some high-tech ventures, the actual state of management innovation in low-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is not well understood. Therefore, we investigated the SMEs in Japan’s relatively low-tech industrial areas using structural equation modelling. This study found that collaboration with customers is an important antecedent factor for management innovation. Moreover, management innovation mediates the relationship between the collaboration with customers and technological innovation activities and between the former and firm performance. The explanatory power of management innovation on firm performance is weak. This paper provides deep insights into the role of management innovation in SMEs.

The aim of this study was to investigate how combining internal and external knowledge sources (KS) may influence product and process innovation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from developing economies in order to improve their financial performances (FPs). Previous research mostly supported that internal KS influence innovation directly as well as indirectly, moderating the relationship between external KS and innovation performance (IP), with this moderation being more prominent in the case of high-technology firms. These studies also supported that innovation influences FP more strongly in this type of firm. The present study proposes that, in developing countries, the opposite occurs. The moderation relationship of internal KS on the relationship between external KS and IP would be stronger in low-technology firms, as well as the positive effect of innovation on FP. We tested our propositions using a sample of 1551 Brazilian manufacturing SMEs controlling by the technological intensity of the industry and confirmed a good part of the proposed hypotheses.

In order to achieve successful open innovation partnerships, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to choose very carefully whom they partner with. Open innovation has gained significant attention as a strategy for organizations to leverage external knowledge and resources to foster innovation and competitiveness. However, few studies have examined the dynamics of open innovation partnerships between startups and SMEs. This study adopts a qualitative research approach, employing multiple case studies to gather data. We mapped the reasons German medium-sized enterprises chose to partner with startups, enumerated the benefits and challenges they encountered during the projects, and uncovered the keystones of successful open innovation partnerships. Furthermore, our findings led to the discovery that startups can help SMEs to become more digital. Finally, we suggest future research topics in this field.

The aim of this study is to analyse how firms combining the use of all types of innovation during a certain period differ from other firms. Zhang (2022) argues that side-by-side innovation practices are understudied in the innovation literature. The paper is based on the OECD typology of innovation (product, process, marketing and organisational). This study offers a new and timely perspective on the innovation literature by examining firms’ side-by-side innovation practices, which are understudied in the innovation literature. The paper is based on data from 387 Finnish SMEs and analyses the factors related to the innovativeness of SMEs. The research provides comprehensive information on how different factors contribute to the emergence of SME innovation practices and create competitive combinations of their resources in the form of side-by-side implementation of different types of innovation.