Climate Governance for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises

2020 ◽  
pp. 295-308
Author(s):  
Janis Sarra
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Chapter 9 explores why management of climate-related risks can be particularly challenging for micro, small, and medium enterprises (‘MSME’) to address. MSME comprise about 99 per cent of all businesses globally and they often lack the infrastructure and resources to manage deep shifts in their business activities. This chapter explores how one could build financing and infrastructure to support the MSME sector to advance in their transition to net zero. It discusses how the European Union has taken the lead globally on microfinance for vulnerable groups that want to set up or develop their businesses and microenterprises. It is building the institutional capacity of microcredit providers and supporting development of social enterprises by facilitating access to finance. It also examines climate governance for MSME, offering examples of toolkits being developed for micro and small businesses. The chapter concludes with a discussion of contributions that women entrepreneurs and micro-business owners are making in the transition to net zero.

Selected Key External Factors Influencing the Success of Rural Small and Medium Enterprises in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 331-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence M. Lekhanya ◽  
Roger B. Mason
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Rural Businesses ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Skills Shortages

Small businesses are critical to improving economic development in rural areas of South Africa. However, rural entrepreneurs are still faced with challenges and problems which make the success of small businesses, especially in rural areas, uncertain. This paper investigates business environmental, financial and infrastructural factors that influence the success or otherwise of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. Primary data was collected in five rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from a sample of 374 business owners/managers, with respondents completing a questionnaire. Access to finance and skills shortages were the factors that most significantly differentiated between more successful and less successful rural businesses in KZN. The majority of respondents indicated that poor roads/transport and access to electricity were major problems.

FACTO RS AFFECTING THE RUNNING OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN GREATER GIYANI MUNICIPALITY

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khazamula L. Mnisi ◽  
Edward M. Rankhumise
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Business Skills ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Medium Enterprises

There is increasing recognition of the potential contribution of small and medium enterprises towards economic growth and creation of job opportunities worldwide. This study was aimed at determining the factors that contribute to the success or failure of small businesses operating under jurisdiction of Greater Giyani Municipality. Data were collected via a focus group, which consisted of eight business owners. The findings revealed that business owners experience challenges, for instance, no entrepreneurial support is accessible to them and they struggle to get start-up capital for their businesses and as a result end up sourcing funds from micro-lenders. Most business owners have poor business skills, but they do not receive any training to enhance their capabilities, hence the likelihood of some businesses failing. Businesses are not being afforded the support they require. This could compromise the intentions of the government to encourage people to start businesses and thus improve their livelihood and the wellbeing of society. For these businesses to sustain their operations, it is important that they be provided with support, particularly in the form of start-up capital and business skills. Regarding future research, a study should be carried out on a large scale in order to allow for generalisability of these findings to the entire Limpopo province.

Family Firms, Enterprise Development and Tacit Knowledge Transformation: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Innovation in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
pp. 097215092110476
Author(s):  
John Lee Kean Yew
Keyword(s):  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Enterprise Development ◽  
Generational Change ◽  
Knowledge Transformation ◽  
Family Smes ◽  
Medium Enterprises

In light of the global economy, it is undeniable that small businesses such as family-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affect economic performance globally. They offer a key basis of flexibility and innovation but also face some challenges along the way. Since family SMEs form a large portion in the Malaysian corporate sector, the economy of this country is highly dependent on family firms’ entrepreneurial capacity. During the past decade, although family SMEs innovation is analytically and empirically reviewed in terms of theory building, it still lacks a systematic adoption of thorough and theoretically-based frameworks to gain understanding on the evolution of knowledge transformation surrounding this topic. This study primarily focuses on the development of tacit knowledge through innovation during generational change with specific attention given to three family firms ranging from old, new and declining wealth enterprises. Besides, this article appraises the evolution of SMEs innovation when new generations attempt to transform the tacit knowledge in advancing the products innovation and quality branding in Malaysia.

scholarly journals New tools and opportunities in growth and climate friendly greening for small and medium enterprises in the European Union

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
Xénia Szanyi-Gyenes ◽  
György Mudri ◽  
Mária Bakosné Böröcz
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Access To Finance ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Eu

The role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is unquestionable in the European economies, while financial opportunities are still inadequate for them. The more than 20 million SMEs play a significant role in European economic growth, innovation and job creation. According to the latest EC Annual Report , SMEs are accounting for 99% of all non-financial enterprises, employing 88.8 million people and generating almost EUR 3.7 tn in added value for our economy. Despite the fact that there is plenty of EU funding available for these SMEs, for certain reasons these funds hardly reach them. But we have to see that the EU supports SMEs by various way, e.g. by grants, regulatory changes, financial instrument, direct funds. On the other hand, SMEs and decision makers realised that the environmental sustainability has to be attached to the economic growth, therefore more and more tools are available for these enterprises. Over the last few years, public institutions, the market, the financial community and non-governmental associations have explicitly demanded that firms improve their environmental performance. One of the greatest opportunities might lay in the Climate- and Energy Strategy till 2030 as 20% of the EU budget is allocated to climate-related actions, however the easy access to finance is still a key question. Does the EU recognise the actual difficulties? Is there a systemic reason behind the absorption problems? Is the EU creating a more businessfriendly environment for SMEs, facilitating access to finance, stimulates the green and sustainable growth and improving access to new markets? The paper analyses the current European situation of the SMEs and the effectiveness of some new tools, which are specially targeting SMEs. JEL classification: Q18

scholarly journals Customer expectations and service delivery: Are SME’s aware of the service quality standards gap?

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-184
Author(s):  
Johannes Arnoldus Wiid ◽  
Michael Colin Cant ◽  
Carly Prinsloo
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Customer Expectations ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Service Standards

Competition among small businesses are high, as small businesses compete for market share which larger business do not engage with. A definite competitive advantage that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can rely on is service quality (Kasul & Motwani in Anuar & Yusuff 2011:328; Tseng & Wu 2014:77). SMEs do not necessarily understand service standards and how to ensure that the service standard is implemented. The research utilised a quantitative research design whereby the data was collected by means of a 5-point Likert scale survey known as the SERVQUAL model. The results indicate that there are discrepancies between dimensions those owners feel should be adhered to and the extent to which they perceive their businesses to adhere to these dimensions.

scholarly journals Perception towards Regulatory Burden on Small and Medium Enterprises Performance: A Case Study in Shashemene Town, West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 294
Author(s):  
Ofgaha Alemu Dire ◽  
Wegene Bekele Bekelcha
Keyword(s):  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Regulatory Burden ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprise ◽  
Arsi Zone ◽  
Medium Enterprise ◽  
Broad Objective ◽  
Medium Enterprises

The study focuses on “perception towards regulatory burden on small and medium enterprise performance” in Shashemene town, west Arsi zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. The study adopted a qualitative research approach to address broad objective through answering research questions developed by a researchers. Specifically, this study used questionnaire to collect data from SMEs business owners, managers and employees and in-depth interview conducted. Data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The information obtained from a samples of the 140 small and medium enterprise and through face-to-face interview of 10 owners of SMEs business. The respondents were selected using stratified sampling techniques. The result of the study show that small and medium enterprise challenges from different factors as they perceived from the challenges of regulatory burden and identifies mechanisms used to mitigate problems from regulatory burden and how much the regulators have smooth contact with them and to what extent regulators made inspections. Moreover, the result indicated the perception of SMEs businesses towards regulatory burden. As a whole, the study suggests a series of measures should be taken by government policy, makers and regulators for SMEs performance. Researchers’ conclude and recommend that government bodies, Small and medium enterprise business owners, managers, employees and policy makers should focus on regulation to reduce regulatory burden on small and medium enterprises.

Electronic Commerce Opportunities, Challenges and Organizational Issues for Australian SMEs

2011 ◽  
pp. 297-314
Author(s):  
Mohini Singh
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Organizational Issues ◽  
Integrated Environment ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Australian small businesses are increasingly adopting the Internet and the World Wide Web as a medium of doing business to reach new customers and suppliers, cut costs and expand business. They also use it to enhance communication between buyers and suppliers. This chapter discusses the findings of an exploratory study in Australia that identified the objectives, opportunities and challenges of e-commerce experienced by small businesses that were mostly early adopters of the Internet as a medium of trade. E-commerce issues presented in this chapter include research findings, supported by theory from literature. Electronic commerce opportunities, challenges and organizational learning by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia indicate that small businesses have created value with e-commerce, although benefits are long term and dependent on a plethora of technological, business and management issues that need to be addressed. Due to the fast-evolving nature of e-business and technological developments that are new to many small businesses, challenges such as managing the expanded flow of information, cross-border taxation, authentication, trust and security, as well as the high costs of acquiring the required technologies and skills, are prevalent. Other challenges of e-commerce range from Web site maintenance to business process reengineering for an integrated environment. Research findings also highlight the fact that small businesses need formal methods of evaluating the performance of e-commerce to realize the benefits of investment and to further expand their e-commerce venture.

The Post-Adoption Phase of Broadband in Small Businesses

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Gholami ◽  
Elizabeth Koh ◽  
John Lim
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Medium Enterprises

In spite of the increasing significance of broadband, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are unaware of or unappreciative of its benefits. This is potentially a problem for governments, Internet Service Providers and other supply side institutions. The current study empirically verifies applicability of an extended IS continuance model controlling for organizational variables based on the Technology-Organization-Environment framework to examine factors influencing broadband post-adoption behavior of SMEs in Singapore. Strong support for the model has been manifested by the results, providing insight into influential factors. Results of the study suggest that perceived usefulness is a strong predictor of users’ continuance intention, followed by satisfaction with broadband usage as a significant but weaker predictor. SMEs in a more competitive business environment and whose key executive possesses greater IT knowledge are more likely to use broadband.

scholarly journals Factors behind trade credit financing of SMEs in Croatia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-76
Author(s):  
Sandra Pepur ◽  
Dujam Kovač ◽  
Marijana Ćurak
Keyword(s):  
Trade Credit ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
External Financing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East European ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Credit Financing ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute to the national economy in terms of employment, added value, knowledge generation, and innovation. However, their potential and in the case of economic downturns even their survival is affected by the difficulties in their access to external financing under acceptable terms and adequate timing and amount. In the case of asymmetric information problems, which make SMEs more sensitive to financial market imperfections, trade credit can be a valuable source of financing. In the European Union, trade credit is among the most relevant external funding sources and it is among the most important alternatives to financial intermediaries’ financing. However, there are substantial differences between the countries with respect to availability and use of trade credit. Therefore, this research examines determining (company-specific and country-specific) factors behind the use of trade credit as a financing source in Croatia. The empirical analysis is based on the data for 1,225 SMEs operating in Croatia in the period from 2008 to 2017 and is done using the panel data methodology. The findings confirm that firms’ characteristics, as well as the characteristics of financial, macroeconomic and legal environment in which the firms operate, influence the use of trade credit in SMEs in Croatia. The paper contributes to relatively scarce empirical evidence on the determinants of trade credit use by SMEs in South-East European countries.

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