scholarly journals Demystifying small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) performance in emerging and developing economies

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndeye Ndiaye ◽  
Lutfi Abdul Razak ◽  
Ruslan Nagayev ◽  
Adam Ng
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zengming Zou ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Naveed Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Safdar Sial ◽  
Alina Badulescu ◽  
...  

The topic of corporate social responsibility (henceforth referred to as CSR) has been a central topic during the last decade, but the majority of the existing literature discusses CSR relationship with large organizations. Whereas, its contribution in small and medium enterprises (henceforth referred to as SME) sector has received little attention. There have been some studies that focused on CSR activities in SME sector quantitatively in the context of developing economies like Pakistan, but the fact is, to date, SME sector of Pakistan is not participating actively in CSR-related activities due to some constraints. The present study is a pioneer attempt, to explore CSR barriers that restrict SME sector of Pakistan from practicing CSR initiatives. For this reason, the present study explores these barriers qualitatively in order to gain in-depth knowledge of different CSR barriers. In doing so, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews from 9 SMEs in Lahore city of Pakistan. We performed thematic analysis, which produced five relevant themes of CSR barriers, including: Lack of resources, lack of regulations, lack of top management commitment, lack of CSR knowledge, and passive customer behavior. Our analysis further showed that lack of resources is the most related barrier that hinder SMEs to be engaged in CSR activities. This paper contributes to CSR literature in emerging economies’ context. Through an increased awareness of barriers, policy makers and practitioners may take necessary steps to improve CSR practices in SMEs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Okokondem Okon

Growing or expanding the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector of the economy is one key strategy to achieve economic growth and development. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) scalability (growth or expansion) have become an area of concern for economic growth in developing economies. People use the term in reference to computer or other technological systems, but those in business also use the word to describe the adaptability of a company (Thibodeaux, 2015) in today‘s fast-paced business environment where the focus on customer satisfaction is at an all-time high. This article discusses the concept of scalability as it relates to business and non-scalable components of business process as well as the importance of being scalable. It also looked at some of the challenges and practices that prevent effective scalability of MSMEs in Nigeria and the way forward.


foresight ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huma Sikandar ◽  
Umar Haiyat Abdul Kohar

Purpose There is a growing trend of open innovation (OI) in small and middle enterprises (SMEs) these days, yet the implementation of OI in SMEs is a challenge because of their financial and resource constraints. This study aims to identify and analyze the past trends, barriers and outcomes and major factors influencing the implementation of OI in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This review is based on 40 published articles from the Scopus database. It selects highly cited papers published from 2010 to 2019. The PRISMA statement template is used to explain the overall process of selection and rejections of the relevant articles. Findings The study contributes in two ways. First, through a comprehensive literature review, the authors highlight the overall development of the concept of OI in the literature over the past 10 years and highlight the findings of the significant studies. Second, the authors provide detailed representations of the OI literature by calculating yearly publications and identifying the SMEs which mostly implement OI practices, journals that publish a relevant article, OI-related publications in different disciplines and geographical locations in which most of the OI studies have been conducted. The study also reveals the most cited articles, journals and authors. Originality/value The authors conclude this paper with the argument that although much research has been done in the OI field, still there is a need to establish tools, models and methods that could facilitate SMEs in OI, especially for developing economies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soniya Billore ◽  
Gautam Billore

Purpose This paper aims to study the context of market orientation and the contribution of customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge to market orientation particularly to the internationalization of firms in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case approach is adopted with four Swedish firms internationalizing to the Indian market. The data was obtained through personal interviews and typically lasted an hour. Follow-up questions were obtained by personal meetings or on Skype. Data was collected over a period of seven months during 2016-2017. Findings This study highlights the importance of customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge for foreign small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the initial stages of internationalization. It proposes that a holistic market sensing of the target market can be achieved as the three constructs contribute to the market orientation of the firms and help in devising relevant strategic fit with the market. Research limitations/implications The sample size is small due to a limited number of Swedish SMEs who have the experience of operating in the Indian market. Future studies may include the Nordic region, and a quantitative approach for testing market orientation frameworks can be adopted. Originality/value This study lifts the concept of market sensing as customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge strengthen the market orientation of the firm. It addresses the research gap about limited research in developing market contexts for SME internationalization and specifically on Swedish SMEs in the Indian market.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Yakubu Salisu ◽  
Lily Julienti

The increasing globalization and liberalization of trade have posed onto manufacturing small and medium enterprise (SMEs) in developing economies of Africa a survival and growth challenges. Nevertheless, the resource-based-view (RBV) has given rise to a perspective that views a firm’s intangible assets as strategic resources with the potential to create and enhance sustainable competitive advantage in both local and global markets. Based on the peculiarity of SMEs in Africa, this paper develops and validate a conceptual model on the role of strategic organizational capabilities in improving the competitive advantage of SMEs for sustainable development in developing economies of Africa. Precisely, six variables were identified and reviewed as strategic capabilities. A total number of 81 valid questionnaires were retrieved from owners/managers of SMEs in Yobe state Nigeria and used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the adopted measures. The result of Cronbach’s Alpha test reveals a satisfactory value for all the variables under study. Specifically, innovation, learning, management, marketing, relational and technological capabilities have been established to be reliable strategic capabilities that would effectively and efficiently create and improve the sustainable competitive advantage of SMEs in developing economies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9332
Author(s):  
Dorothee Apfel ◽  
Carsten Herbes

Renewable energy technology (RET) can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies to both meet the need for a stable energy supply and contribute to the fight against climate change. In Senegal, SMEs have the opportunity through RET to become electricity prosumers. Whether it works as such in Senegalese SMEs is one of the questions we were able to address through qualitative interviews with 23 SMEs and 13 experts. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined what factors promote the adoption of RET by these SMEs. We also examined how well the established Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT2) can serve as a guiding framework for this type of investigation. We find that effort expectancy is generally underestimated. Performance expectancy, when high, may influence the adoption process positively, while social influence does not seem to play a role. Both SMEs and experts point to customer service and government support for SMEs adopting RET as important facilitating conditions. The cost of RET is another factor influencing the adoption of these technologies. However, we regard the UTAUT2 as only partially helpful for the Senegalese context, due to the informal sector economy in Senegal. This leads us to add the factors knowledge, communication channels and entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, we question the unequivocally positive notion of prosumerism for African contexts, as the idea draws its motivating power from a Western mindset.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-337
Author(s):  
Bishwajeet Prakash ◽  
Indrajit Kumar ◽  
Jainendra Kumar Verma

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have emerged as an accelerator of economic growth with a sizeable contribution in job creation, innovation development, and reduction of regional disparities in most world economies. This paper investigates the influence of external and internal factors affecting the growth of MSMEs in poor-performing Bihar state, India. The objective of the study is to identify the major deep-rooted causes for the inability of MSMEs to compete in developing states and identify potential solutions. The study is based on an empirical database; it tested various dimensions of MSMEs barriers in their potential growth. The target group included MSMEs of Bihar state, India, using a sample of 450 entrepreneurs. The paper adopted a multistage stage sampling and multivariate analysis technique. The results showed that there are twelve major potential barriers, both endogenous and exogenous, faced by MSMEs, such as availability of raw materials, financial issues, labor force challenges, technology inefficiency, power/electricity scarcity, poor marketing, competition, knowledge-related challenges, government and administration problems, infrastructure inefficiency, etc. The findings show that these barriers affect the promotion and growth of MSMEs in developing regions. In future, it is suggested to focus on the implementation of good governance that helps to remove effectively the major barriers of MSMEs in underdeveloped states, such as Bihar, India.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund Mallinguh ◽  
Christopher Wasike ◽  
Zeman Zoltan

Sufficient literature supports small and medium ‘enterprises’ (SMEs) significant role in emerging and mature economies. Still, the same research highlights varying challenges that innovative firms in developing economies face, like access to formal credit and external markets. This study examines the effect of a capital budget’s proportion for acquiring new technology and sale performance between 2017–2019 using a sample of 101 Kenyan SMEs. The ordinary least square moderated mediation results indicate that: (1) the proportion of the capital budget allocated for the acquisition of technology positively and significantly influences sales; (2) the index of moderated mediation suggests that the perception of firm owner-managers towards the availability of formal credit moderates the mediated relationship between the capital budget’s portion spent on technology and sales as mediated by innovation activities. However, the index is insignificant for the second mediator, export longevity. However, in the final model, both the level of innovation and export longevity positively and substantially affect sales.


Author(s):  
Galinoma Gahele Lubawa

Writing of business plans ensures performance of a business and contributes to enabling countries to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). The latter are intended, in part, to promote industrialization, and improved human living and working standards. This chapter identifies and analyses the importance of business plan for family-owned food processing small and medium enterprises (Fo-SMEs). It advocates for the establishment of an “integrated planning” strategy to link Fo-SMEs and government support system for business development. Business-planning forecasts industrial production based on consumers' demands. Integrated planning ensures sustainability of Fo-SMEs, farmers' economic growth, and consequent achievement of SDGs. Tanzania Fo-SMEs serve as a useful lesson for developing economies. Future studies should consider Fo-SMEs' succession planning framework.


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