scholarly journals Innovations and Other Processes as Identifies of Contemporary Trends in the Sustainable Development of SMEs: The Case of Emerging Regional Economies

Author(s):  
Krzysztof Malik ◽  
Anna Jasińska-Biliczak

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the biggest group of enterprises in the European Union (EU); they are also characteristic for emerging economies. Given this situation, there is a need to provide instruments such as processes, which allows them to realize a model of sustainable development. The ability to classify processes and occurrences happening inside these processes often affects the condition of the enterprises. The implementation of innovations, as identified process, enables the directions of SME development towards sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to find out if the identification of processes such as innovations, have any influence on the competitiveness and sustainable development of SMEs. This study was based on pilot research, which examined small and medium enterprises at the regional level, at the example of Polish emerging economy region. It was researched under the angle of the identification of processes and changes happening inside enterprises in terms of understanding the sustainable development concept. Research composition allows to present an understanding by the SMEs of the problems analyzed. The novelty was in the new questionnaire, the definition of sustainable development, and matching those processes identified by the enterprises analyzed with the particular sustainable development dimensions suggested by the authors. In light of the analysis of the literature and the results of this research the important contributions of this study are as follows. This approach pointed the understanding and practical meaning of the identification of processes to be understood. The most important finding was that there is a need to make entrepreneurs aware of the fact that innovations are also processes in themselves, which often constitutes the sum of other supporting processes occurring in the enterprise. Support in the form of knowledge transfer from experts to SMEs would also be recommended.

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Angel Mirchev ◽  
Vesela Dicheva

In the context of deepening economic and social crisis the importance of small and medium enterprises in the Republic of Bulgaria is steadily increasing. They have provided significant number of jobs on the labour market and have created much of the gross domestic product of Bulgaria. Our thesis is that technological entrepreneurship is a factor for the sustainable development of small and medium business in the country as a whole and stimulates overcoming the crisis in the country. This research paper reviews the results of a study of the conceptual apparatus of technological entrepreneurship. Based on the results, the relationship of technological entrepreneurship with sustainable development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Bulgaria is determined. The author's conclusions and definition of technological entrepreneurship as a factor for sustainable development are made on the basis of the analysis of the development of Small and Medium Enterprises in key sectors of Bulgarian economy such as tourism, power engineering, transport and industry. An attempt has been made for taking defining measures for development stimulating the technological entrepreneurship in these sectors of the national economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 250 ◽  
pp. 06007
Author(s):  
Elena Korneeva ◽  
Natalia Skornichenko ◽  
Tatiana Oruch

Sustainable development is becoming a very important issue in the 21st century. Facing global changes such as the global warming, global climate change, as well as other pressing issue, all spheres of economy and social life need to take part in mitigating them and preventing disasters from happening. Our article studies the role of the small business in the above processes and the place of the small business in promoting sustainable development through its actions, public and social awareness and responsibility. We show how even small and medium enterprises can become a decisive power in tackling the climate change and promoting green thinking and sustainable awareness. This can be achieved through enhancing social responsibility of business companies which can greatly contribute to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and promoting sustainable economic growth.


2019 ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Svitlana M. Fedyna ◽  
Bohdan L. Kjvalov ◽  
Vitaliy M. Ignatenko

The paper analyzes various approaches to defining the definition of "bioeconomy", clarifying its essence, spheres of influence (field of application), its technological basis (biotechnology). It was determined that the bioeconomy is closely related to the circular economy, the nature of the circular economy, its main differences from the linear economy and the economics of processing have been clarified. It also paid attention to bioeconomic strategies adopted in different countries, identified the main directions of development of bioeconomies of these countries, reviewed the European Union program documents on bioeconomic issues, as well as major funds, international associations, forums operating in the bioeconomic sphere and unite stakeholders. The total volume of bioeconomy in Europe is analyzed (the share of bioeconomy and its percentage in individual sectors of economy is broken down by the share of bioeconomic income for each of the considered sectors and the share of employment in the bioeconomy sector), the main tasks of bioeconomic growth in Europe are determined. The Sustainable Development Goals have been identified and their achievements are related to bioeconomy in one way or another. The bioeconomy development rating based on the Global Biotechnology and Innovation Index, based on performance indicators, intellectual property rights, intensity, enterprise support, education and training, research and development funding, and policy, and policy, Ukraine is ranked in this rating by each indicator. The main economic sectors in Ukraine that use biotechnology are identified. Ukraine's bioeconomic strategy has not yet been formulated, in view of this it has identified the main obstacles to the development of the bioeconomy in Ukraine and directions that need to be developed Key words: bioeconomics, biotechnology, circular economy, “biologization” of the economy, sustainable development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-190
Author(s):  
Monika Raczyńska

AbstractResearch problem: It should be remembered that projects co-financed from European Union funds are a special type of projects to which additional guidelines apply. Awareness of the regulation may help enterprises avoid erroneous categorization or loss of SME status resulting in non-awarding or reimbursement of subsidies with tax interest. The problem is still valid, because EU projects are and will be implemented and must preserve the so-called durability. The validity of the topic can be confirmed by the fact that definitional problems appear all the time, which are even dealt with in court.Thesis: The definition of micro, small and medium enterprises under the European Union guidelines requires special attention when applying for EU funding.The aim of the article is to present the issues related to the qualification of an entity to the category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the context of using EU funds.The research methods were applied in the article: in the theoretical part – literature studies, comparative analysis, in the empirical part – case study, causal and effect analysis, descriptive analysis.


Author(s):  
Shaji Joseph ◽  
Apoorva Vikrant Kulkarni

In the current environment, there is an increased thrust to outsource manufacturing activities to developing countries. Countries such as India are actively inviting MNCs to partner with micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It is assumed that these initiatives would act as an incentive to increase their economic development. As most of the national, international agencies and regulatory bodies focus on the larger companies it is often ignored to account for the contribution of MSMEs towards improving sustainability. As every nation-state has a vital role to play in ensuring the successful implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), it is important to study and document the contribution of this sector towards SDGs. This article tries to document small but effective sustainable development initiatives by MSMEs. It tries to map the contribution of the four selected MSMEs towards SDGs. All these efforts are beyond the compliance requirement mandated to MSMEs in India.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Massa ◽  
Federica Farneti ◽  
Beatrice Scappini

Purpose – The aim of this study is to shed light on the mechanisms involved in, and consequences of, developing a sustainability report in a small to medium enterprise. Design/methodology/approach – Action research is used to provide insights into the initial stages of the development of the sustainability report and its consequences. “Mike” is an Italian small organisation with a sustainability orientation selling products and services about wellness and health. It decided to develop a sustainability report in 2013. Findings – The authors find that the organisation’s initial aim to report on its sustainability later extended beyond disclosure to using the information to enhance its sustainable development approach and awareness, consider long-term planning, support strategy-making based on the sustainable development concept and establish and enhance its reputation. Research limitations/implications – This research is limited to the analysis of only one small Italian organisation and as such cannot claim generalisability of its findings. Practical implications – The findings indicate that the sustainability initiative of this organisation, while originally focussed on reporting, evolved into strategy and planning. Managers in similar organisations may learn from this experience to focus on strategy-making and social and environmental value creation. Originality/value – The study examines sustainability reporting in the previously overlooked area of small and medium enterprises.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niki Derlukiewicz ◽  
Anna Mempel-Śnieżyk ◽  
Dominika Mankowska ◽  
Arkadiusz Dyjakon ◽  
Stanisław Minta ◽  
...  

Sustainable development is one of the fundamental and most important objectives of the worldwide policy. The conducted research shows that sustainable development (SD) is increasingly important in the consciousness of the EU countries, which can be viewed through a prism of the undertaken projects. This paper raises the issue of clusters and their significance in the development of a sustainable economy. The article explores trends in the European Union policy related to sustainable development and clusters. The purpose of this study is to find an answer to the following questions: How can clusters contribute to sustainable development and what are the key factors that ensure this process? To achieve the goal of the article a systematic study of the literature and reports was carried out. Moreover, the analysis of the activity of European clusters in the context of sustainable development was performed. Next, the examples of cluster projects focused on sustainable development were presented. It was shown that the clusters contribute a smarter and sustainable development by succeeding in technological and scientific results, developing new technologies for emerging industries, creating new business activities, enticing major technology companies, and connecting local firms into world-class value systems. Furthermore, the clusters participate actively in sustainable development as they promote knowledge creation, joint learning, technology transfer, as well as collaboration, and sustainable innovations. Finally, clusters facilitate the sustainable upgrading of small and medium enterprises and encourage the participation of stakeholders in the process of sustainable development.


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.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Marcin Surówka ◽  
Łukasz Popławski ◽  
Helena Fidlerová

The work discusses issues of the infrastructure, its instruments, and specifics of infrastructure in Polish and Slovak rural areas. The aim of this article is to analyze the level of technical infrastructure development in rural regions of the Małopolskie Voivodeship in Poland and the west part of Slovakia—Trnava self-governing region (Trnava region) as two regions with a similar position regarding regional competitiveness index. Following the topic, after identification of strengths and weaknesses of mentioned regions, the opportunities, and threats of sustainable development of infrastructure in rural areas have been analyzed using the SWOT method. The development of sustainable, reliable, and functional infrastructure does not only refer to the chosen regions of Poland and Slovakia but also other regions in the European Union. Sustainable infrastructure is a factor stimulating social and economic progress as one of the most important determinants of sustainable development and regional competitiveness. The authors notice a particular lack in the sustainable development of infrastructure in the field of water and sewerage management together with the supply of water. Therefore, this article tries to complete the gap in research focusing on the concept of a more systematic approach to technical infrastructure improvement in the context of sustainable development, and strategy of cooperation.


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