Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make sizeable contributions to the economic success of nations. Research concerning the internationalization of SMEs is available in the context of ...developed economies but less is can be found dealing specifically with the entrepreneurial behavior and international expansion of SMEs in emerging markets such as India. This research extends the literature addressing the relationships surrounding the internationalization of SMEs in India as related to entrepreneurial behavior, firm resources, and commitment to internationalization. Entrepreneurial orientation, a commitment to internationalization, and the ability to leverage human capital influence the international success of Indian SMEs, based on the analysis of data collected from 150 Indian SMEs.
•Contrary to the generic belief, cost reduction is not the top two factors for SMEs to move to cloud.•Security and privacy factors are more than willing to move to cloud than cost reduction.•The ease ...of use and convenience scores the topmost slot, fueled by the exponential growth in tablets and smart phones.•The cloud service providers should improve the reliability of the cloud, which would expedite the adoption by SMEs.•A better reliable cloud would also increase the chances of sharing and collaboration between the stakeholders in SMEs.
Cloud computing has become the buzzword in the industry today. Though, it is not an entirely new concept but in today's digital age, it has become ubiquitous due to the proliferation of Internet, broadband, mobile devices, better bandwidth and mobility requirements for end-users (be it consumers, SMEs or enterprises). In this paper, the focus is on the perceived inclination of micro and small businesses (SMEs or SMBs) toward cloud computing and the benefits reaped by them. This paper presents five factors influencing the cloud usage by this business community, whose needs and business requirements are very different from large enterprises. Firstly, ease of use and convenience is the biggest favorable factor followed by security and privacy and then comes the cost reduction. The fourth factor reliability is ignored as SMEs do not consider cloud as reliable. Lastly but not the least, SMEs do not want to use cloud for sharing and collaboration and prefer their old conventional methods for sharing and collaborating with their stakeholders.
In the era of economic globalization, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are recognized as an engine of sustainable economic development in both the developed and developing world. In literature, ...three competitive challenges—the sustainability challenge, the global challenge and the technological challenge—faced by industrial entities in the current globalized economy, are categorized. Of them, this paper undertakes a systemic review of the literature covering the theme of SMEs and technology in order to identify how technological progress in the SMEs, correlates with SMEs survival improvement in the global competition. The review identified six driving forces—social capital, link with Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) and Transnational Corporations (TNCs), innovation, sharing and networking, information technology, and adoption of productivity-enhancing technology—influencing technological upgrade in the SMEs. The review also identified two conditions for successful technological adaptation in the SME sector—availability of technologically skillful workforce in the economy, and identification of opportunities of new technologies in the competition. These conditions could be viewed in the macro environment and emphasize the need for the economies’ readiness towards SMEs’ success.
•Digital platform capability and organizational agility in manufacturing SMEs with the mediating role of intellectual capital and moderating role of environmental dynamism.•Time-lagged two-wave ...survey of 227 firms to test the proposed hypotheses using structural equational modeling (SEM).•Digital platform capability is positively associated with the agility of SMEs, and all three intellectual capital dimensions (i.e., human, organizational, and relational capital) mediate this relationship.•Environmental dynamism curbs SMEs’ ability to turn their digital platform capability into increased intellectual capital.•Managers must focus on intellectual capital to make their organizations more flexible in responding better to environmental changes.
In this study, we untangle the relationship between digital platform capability and organizational agility in the manufacturing sector small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by investigating the mediating role of intellectual capital and the moderating role of environmental dynamism. Using a time-lagged two-wave survey of 227 manufacturing SMEs, we tested our proposed hypotheses using structural equational modeling (SEM). Our results reveal that digital platform capability is positively associated with the agility of SMEs and that all three intellectual capital dimensions (i.e., human, organizational, and relational capital) mediate this relationship. We also found that environmental dynamism has a negative moderating role on digital platform capability and intellectual capital. Environmental dynamism curbs SMEs’ abilities to turn their digital platform capabilities into increased intellectual capital. Our results shed light on the importance of intellectual capital in creating improved organizational agility for manufacturing SMEs through digital platform capability within the boundary conditions of environmental dynamism.
•Geographic proximity makes open innovation more accessible for inexperienced firms with resource constraints.•Regional promoter institutions play a central role in initiating knowledge exchange to ...establish innovation ecosystems.•Local open innovation (LOI) constitutes an instrument for regional policy development to favor SMEs involvement.•Definition of the local open innovation concept to overcome the fuzziness regarding the aspect of proximity in OI-networks.•LOI allows a tradeoff between advantages of a great scope in distant search and spatial proximity for close collaborations.
Our study focuses on how public policy can effectively increase collaboration for innovation among firms, entrepreneurs, research institutions and the public sector in a way that is easily accessible and beneficial for SMEs. In recommending Local Open Innovation (LOI), this paper helps to shape regional innovation policies by strengthening regional networks to efficiently facilitate collaborative innovation. Considering cognitive barriers and constrained resources and capabilities for applying open innovation (OI) in SMEs with unrestricted scope, a local approach offers advantages to facilitating OI. In light of our findings, we present the impact of such a policy mechanism on the adoption of OI, the unique combination of features of the LOI process, and how they affect collaboration. We also present the respective stakeholder relations, barriers preventing SMEs from engaging in OI and potential remedies LOI offers to overcome these barriers. We conclude with varieties of LOI for strengthening regional development in different contexts.
A smart manufacturing adoption framework for SMEs Mittal, Sameer; Khan, Muztoba Ahmad; Purohit, Jayant Kishor ...
International journal of production research,
03/2020, Volume:
58, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Smart Manufacturing (SM) a revolutionary paradigm that aims to improve production systems' performance in terms of quality, time, cost, and flexibility, as well as human and machine decision-making ...capabilities. Most large enterprises have already taken first steps towards adopting SM. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) on the other hand, are struggling with developing a SM adoption roadmap. Our research builds on the real and perceived needs and challenges faced by manufacturing SMEs and advances the field by developing and evaluating an SME-specific 'SM adoption framework'. We have employed a multiple case study approach to acknowledge the lessons learned by selected early-adopter SMEs that have recently implemented and deployed SM tools and practices. We propose an SM adoption framework with five vital steps that SMEs interested in SM should follow: (i) identify manufacturing data available within the SME, (ii) readiness assessment of the SME data-hierarchy steps, (iii) developing SM awareness of SME leadership and staff, (iv) develop a SM tailored vision for the SMEs, and (v) identify appropriate SM tools and practices necessary to realise the tailored SM vision. Moreover, the results of the case study analysis enabled us to formulate many generalisations.
•The concept of m-commerce has grown exponentially within business in the last decade.•The paper aims to understand barriers of m-commerce adoption in SMEs in Wales.•The paper used Interpretive ...Structural Modelling and MICMAC to develop a framework.•A large number of the barriers of m-commerce adoption have high levels of driving power.•The findings indicated perceived risk as the key driving barrier of m-commerce adoption.•The lack of customer trust and confidence depends the most on all other variables.
In the modern business era, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is changing the way the business is conducted using the Internet. However, the prominence of m-commerce among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK is minimal. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the existing literature and to extend the research surrounding the barriers that prevent the adoption of m-commerce amongst SMEs. The study uses an Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and MICMAC approach for guiding and helping managers of SMEs. Data was collected from an expert participant group each of whom had extensive knowledge of m-commerce. The findings represent the unstable nature of variables in the context of their impact on each other, their relationships, and themselves. The listed factors in the proposed framework and the interrelationships between them highlight the multi-dimensional element of m-commerce adoption prevention. This observation proves criticality of analysing data as a collective entity rather than viewing the barriers in isolation. The findings also indicated ‘perceived risk’ being a key barrier that demonstrates how personal opinions of the concept of adoption can have a great significance on the outcome and whether other variables will come into effect.
This article discusses microlevel actions undertaken by owner-managers, and how such actions affect stakeholders in enhancing the sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the knowledge ...on which is lacking in the extant literature. The paper, by adopting an inductive analytical approach, draws key insights from the literature on microfoundations and sustainability and evidence from representatives of 5 Cultural and Creative Industry SMEs in Italy and of 5 in the United Kingdom. The findings suggest that owner-managers play a crucial role when engaging in sustainability activities jointly with employees and other stakeholders, through which individual-level actions enhance collective organizational-level sustainability practices. The U.K. and Italian cases highlight 2 contrasting approaches to dealing with sustainability; thus, the paper contributes to the emerging literature on SME microfoundations and sustainability.
•This study proposes a novel sustainable blockchain framework for the halal food supply chain that can be used to enhance the supply chain integrity.•The framework comprises five key challenges that ...are vital to SMEs in halal food supply chain blockchain implementation and uses to investigate blockchain opportunities and their potential impacts on the current halal SC business model.
This study proposes a sustainable blockchain framework for the halal food supply chain. As is widely acknowledged, blockchain could enhance supply chain integrity, but its impacts on the halal food supply chain are unknown. Disruptive technologies for Industry 4.0 can improve transparency, which is desperately needed in the food supply chain; however, various challenges are also incurred. Based on five in-depth halal food supply chain case studies, this paper reveals a practical framework for overcoming the challenges faced by the halal food supply chain pertaining to blockchain implementation. The framework comprises five key challenges that are vital to small and medium enterprises in halal food supply chain blockchain implementation. The findings also indicate that the halal food supply chain can gain a congruent and fresh perspective in inducing or superseding blockchain technology. In addition, the roles of supply chain integration and food regulations as the key enablers on the success of blockchain technology in the halal food supply chain are also discussed in this study. Additionally, the limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
Based on a 20‐year dataset collected from the Web of Science database, this study aims to present a comprehensive knowledge map of the intellectual structure of the field of study of sustainability ...and financial performances in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review method were employed by analyzing articles published between 1999 and 2018, using the VOSViewer software. The study provides an overview of articles, authors, the most influential journals, and themes of research. The results reveal the existence of three themes in research: the role of innovation and entrepreneurship and their impact on sustainability in SMEs (cluster 1), corporate social responsibility in the context of SMEs (cluster 2), and green management and environmental issues for SMEs (cluster 3). In sum, this paper discusses prominent insights from the research analyses and recommends future research directions for the field.
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