scholarly journals An assessment of informal SMEs’ potential in an African economy – theoretical and conceptual framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herrison Matsongoni ◽  
Emmanuel Mutambara

Informal Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in their respective economies over the world particularly in the African continent. This paper reviews various theories on SMEs towards understanding the potential of the informal sector in the context of African countries. The paper uses a theoretical approach for the purpose of assessing the challenges that have affected the development of the informal SMEs sector over the years in both the developing and developed world. Economically developing countries in Africa pose unique challenges to informal SMEs development compared to the developed countries. The paper reviews the theories that define the rise to informality in Africa by identifying the key determinants for the emergence of informal SMEs. A conceptual framework for assessing informal SME’s potential for Africa is developed. The conceptual framework is based on the Fishbone diagram developed by Kaoru Ishikawa (1986). This paper discusses the intricacies of the applicability of the proposed conceptual framework to assess the potential of the informal SMEs in Africa and the way forward for the formalization debate.


1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Richard D. Lamm

The single greatest challenge facing managers in the developed countries of the world is to raise the productivity of knowledge and service workers. This challenge, which will dominate the management agenda for the next several decades, will ultimately determine the competitive performance of companies. Even more important, it will determine the very fabric of society and the quality of life of every industrialized nation. … Unless this challenge is met, the developed world will face increasing social tensions, increasing polarization, increasing radicalization, possibly even class war.



2012 ◽  
Vol 490-495 ◽  
pp. 664-668
Author(s):  
Xiang Ying Dong ◽  
Xue Qun Wang

The construction of X Cigarette Factory’s Material Order and Warehousing Management System is underway, at the same time, the new system and the office automation system, the production execution system and the automated logistics system can form an integral enterprise business that operates on the basis of supply chain. It is necessary to be point out that it is an approach with Chinese characteristics on developing information system: compared with integrative and Process Reengineering construction model of the developed countries, most Chinese enterprises like X Cigarette Factory tend to develop information system gradually and by outsourcing partly subject to financial, staff and process stability factors. X Cigarette Factory’s practices and experiences can gave an inspiration to other small and medium enterprises in China.



Author(s):  
Fatma Nadia Amin ◽  
Putu Dana Karningsih

Many companies in developed countries are implementing lean manufacturing and offering significant results. However, experts argue that the concept can not only be used in large companies but also in SMEs. Some SMEs in the world have also implemented the lean concept, but there have been many failures during implementation. This is because of the lean implementation framework. Several researchers have developed specific frameworks for lean implementation in SMEs. Therefore the final objective of this study is a lean implementation framework that is suitable for SMEs in Indonesia. In this research, the first step of the literature study is to search for previous studies on google scholar, emerald, elsevier, etc. related to the lean framework. Furthermore, comparing and comparing the framework in previous research. This comparison can be a lean implementation in Indonesia, with the strengths and weaknesses of each of these frameworks



Author(s):  
P Venkat Kamesh

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious and long-term disturbances in people's lives all over the world, in both developing and developed countries. This has led to financial crisis and great depression in the GDPs of many countries. It has not only impacted the Multi-National Businesses (MNCs) but also disturbed the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and life’s of man vulnerable people. As the crisis continues, the pandemic's pervasive impacts, which have affected every part of our communities, continue to unfold, leaving profound marks on people's livelihoods and countries' economies that are likely to persist for several years after the pandemic has ended. As part of the global response to COVID-19, the digital technology industry especially Fintech (Financial Technology) has been instrumental in creating and delivering services and technologies that have mitigated, at least in part, the pandemic's effect on multiple aspects of people's lives in every part of the world. The Fintech companies and Start-ups have played a tremendous role in mitigating the inconvenience for the common people by implementing the next generation solutions for everyone and the people were quick to adopt to such a change. The interest and surge of usage of Fintech applications (Digital applications related to Finance/Payments/Banking/Ecommerce) carries in preserving people’s livelihoods and businesses that have been, and continue to be, threatened by the pandemic COVID-19. This working paper will discuss about the impact of digital payments in the developing country like India during COVID-19, Pre-COVID-19, evolution of digital transformation in India from the past few years, People adoption to digital technologies, digital literacy intensification in emerging markets and also discusses the future trends of Fintech and its impact on consumers and businesses even after the pandemic ends.



2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Idris Na'umma Abdullahi ◽  
Mohd Heikal Husin ◽  
Ahmad Suhaimi Baharudin

This paper reviews empirical literature to develop a conceptual framework for the adoption of Facebook as a marketing channel by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries like Nigeria. Recent peer-review journal articles were reviewed to develop the conceptual framework for this study. Facebook provides SMEs with a cost-effective strategy for marketing their products and services to both local and international customers. However, SMEs in developing countries like Nigeria are slow in the adoption of Facebook. A literature review has revealed a lack of research on the adoption of Facebook by SMEs from the context of developing countries like Nigeria. Most of the existing studies on Facebook adoption were conducted in developed countries. Findings from such studies cannot be directly applied to SMEs in developing countries because they face different challenges.  The paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework that can be empirically tested by a future researcher to determine factors influencing the intention of small and medium enterprises operating in the context of developing countries to adopt Facebook as a marketing channel to enhance their competitive advantage in the modern market. Findings from this study would be beneficial to decision-makers in Nigerian SMEs and Nigerian government agencies with responsibility for strengthening SMEs' activities in the country. It will also encourage and guide SMEs to adopt Facebook as their marketing channel.



2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 192-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghaith Mustafa Al-Abdallah

Internet is a new effective way to conduct business and marketing. It is used widely in the developed countries because of its unquestionable benefits especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) where internet provides great potential for such firms to compete world wild. SMEs are very important component of the national economies and are estimated to account for 80 percent of global economic growth. In developing countries, such as Jordan, internet adoption for marketing activities can be very helpful to SMEs. The main objective of this research is to examine the customer-company relationship effect on internet adoption in Jordanian SMEs, and highlight the actual use of internet in SMEs that adopted internet for marketing activities. One main and three sub- hypotheses were formed based on the literature review and previous studies. A restricted research methodology was used and the hypothesis was tested over a proportional systematic random sample obtained from the official records of Amman Chamber of Commerce. Data was collected through questionnaires, 270 personally submitted questionnaires were distributed to the decisions makers in Jordanian SMEs. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was chosen to describe and analyze the data of 253 filtered and screened questionnaires. Results and discussion, conclusion, and recommendations were provided.



2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-47
Author(s):  
Joel Osarcar Barima

The world economy has been passing through interesting and significant changes for several years now promising for some (the emerging countries in particular) and not so promising for others (the developed countries). Huge transfer of resources has taken place and the process is continuing. In this context, it is but natural for African observers to raise the question: African share of world resources remaining somewhat unchanged (as per the World Bank data), what is the role and future of the African countries in this changing scenario? Are they going to be partners in the transfer of resources that is being experienced? An attempt has been made here to examine the case of Ghana – a leading economy in the continent. The author wouldcontendthatalthoughthecountryispoisedtogrowspectacularlyassomeforecasterswouldenvisage,thanks to the prospect of oil revenues, Ghana has to traverse a long way if it is to be noticed in the world bodies. Growth and development must occur in substantive measures from the present state of affairs. Agriculture, almost the backbone for any developing country, must take the lead to offer meaningful support to the more promising industry. The real economy, in its basic form, must be properly understood, developed and managed with strategic investments in place. And this must be followed by or accompanied with a vibrant knowledge-based service economy. Failing this, the burgeoning oil wealth may only be hallucinatory at best. Keywords: Ghanaianeconomy;Worldeconomicorder;Economicforecast



Author(s):  
Hakikur Rahman

In spite of the increased acceptance by most of the corporate business houses around the world, the adaptation of strategies and concepts belonging to the newly evolved dimension of entrepreneurships, the open innovation (OI), countries in the East, West or South are yet to adapt appropriate strategies in their business practices, especially in order to reach out to the grass roots communities, or to the masses. So far, firms belonging to the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) sector, irrespective of their numbers and contributions towards their national economies are lagging behind far in accepting open innovation strategies for their business advancements. While talking about this newly emerged business dimension, it comprises of complex and dynamically developed concepts like, management of various aspects of intellectual property, administration of patents, copyright and trademark issues or supervision of market trend for minute details related to knowledge acquisition. All these issues are largely responsible to add value to the business plan in terms of economy or knowledge gain, and organizations acting in this aspect deserve comprehensive researches and investigations. As most of the developed countries are already in their advanced stage in adopting open innovation strategies, finding this as a weak link in terms of entrepreneurships in less developed countries, this chapter intends to seek answers related to the mentioned issues focusing adaption of open innovation strategies in developing and transitional economies. It is a study on business houses or national efforts from countries belonging to these categories, deducting from a longitudinal literature review. The chapter goes on looking into other aspects of business development incorporating various OI concepts, synthesizes to build a reasonable framework to be applicable in the target economies, points out to some future research aspects and concludes the finding of this research. This study expects to enhance knowledge of entrepreneurs, academics and researchers by gaining specific knowledge on trend of open innovation strategies in developing and transitional countries.



2020 ◽  
pp. 2030-2052
Author(s):  
Hakikur Rahman

In spite of the increased acceptance by most of the corporate business houses around the world, the adaptation of strategies and concepts belonging to the newly evolved dimension of entrepreneurships, the open innovation (OI), countries in the East, West or South are yet to adapt appropriate strategies in their business practices, especially in order to reach out to the grass roots communities, or to the masses. So far, firms belonging to the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) sector, irrespective of their numbers and contributions towards their national economies are lagging behind far in accepting open innovation strategies for their business advancements. While talking about this newly emerged business dimension, it comprises of complex and dynamically developed concepts like, management of various aspects of intellectual property, administration of patents, copyright and trademark issues or supervision of market trend for minute details related to knowledge acquisition. All these issues are largely responsible to add value to the business plan in terms of economy or knowledge gain, and organizations acting in this aspect deserve comprehensive researches and investigations. As most of the developed countries are already in their advanced stage in adopting open innovation strategies, finding this as a weak link in terms of entrepreneurships in less developed countries, this chapter intends to seek answers related to the mentioned issues focusing adaption of open innovation strategies in developing and transitional economies. It is a study on business houses or national efforts from countries belonging to these categories, deducting from a longitudinal literature review. The chapter goes on looking into other aspects of business development incorporating various OI concepts, synthesizes to build a reasonable framework to be applicable in the target economies, points out to some future research aspects and concludes the finding of this research. This study expects to enhance knowledge of entrepreneurs, academics and researchers by gaining specific knowledge on trend of open innovation strategies in developing and transitional countries.



Author(s):  
Adedokun J. Olusegun ◽  
Akinsanmi Fatima ◽  
Fasasi Abiodun Wakeel

Science and technology capabilities are fundamental for social and economic progress in African countries and they are crucial components aimed at fostering growth and development of every nation as they create impact on the various sectors of governments. Maintaining and Strengthening the contributions of science and technology become more important for Africa in addressing traditional development issues and successful application of science and technology entails establishing effective institutional framework and linkages so that the various science and technology institutions and the productive sectors work in a system that is focused on achieving developmental goals without undue duplication and completion. Unfortunately, many developing countries especially the poor countries in West Africa do not have human resources, physical and economic infrastructures and access to capital to take full advantage of the science and technology expertise and achievements of the developed countries like the USA, China, and Korea etc. Conclusively, it is imperative for Africa especially West African countries to embrace science and technology as a vital tool for accelerating their socio-economic development as science and technology enhances its international competitiveness and more importantly its position in the world economy.  



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