scholarly journals Analysis Community Competence Development in Improving Live through Small and Medium Enterprise Investment in the Pandemic Era in East Timor

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-29
Author(s):  
Julio Lino Tilman

Community competence development in improving life through investing in small and medium enterprises is one of the beneficial alternatives for groups and individuals for the welfare of the superior local community's wellbeing. The purpose of this study is to determine the basic provisions of the small and medium business investment group in the local area, related to hard and soft competence, which are used as criteria for giving, receiving, and solving problems. The method used in this study used a thematic descriptive qualitative analysis approach; the sampling method was taken by six people representing 28 people, including the core structure for semi-structured interviews. The technique used is a non-probability sample by exploring sources of information using purposive sampling and snowball sampling. From the results, it was found that the educational background was sufficient and still had shortcomings in hard and soft competencies, including creativity and technical skills. So, there are several suggestions, namely (1) to take additional training on creativity and technical skills to increase in-depth understanding, (2) for other studies that are interested in deepening research in that location. In terms of investment development, it can compete in national and international markets. These results also provide input for the investment group to learn hard and soft competencies and specifically creative abilities and technical skills to find learning resources that ensure development is related to investment in the digital era.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2292
Author(s):  
Aneta Ptak-Chmielewska ◽  
Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) represent more than 99% of enterprises in Europe. Therefore, knowledge about this sector, also in the spatial context is important to understand the patterns of economic and social development. The main goal of this article is an analysis of spatial conditions and the situation of MSMEs on a local level using combined sources of information. This includes data collected in the Social Insurance Institution and Tax registers in Poland, which provides information on the employment, wages, revenues and taxes paid by the MSMEs on a local level as well as contextual statistical information. The data is used for a diagnosis of spatial circumstances and discussion of conditions influencing the status of the MSMEs sector in a selected region (voivodeship) in Poland. Taxonomy methods including factor analysis and clustering methods based on k-means and SOM Kohonen were used for selecting significant information and grouping of the local units according to the situation of the MSMEs. There are eight factors revealed in principal component analysis and five clusters of local units distinguished using these factors. These include two clusters with a high share of rural local units and two clusters with a high share of rural-urban and urban local units. Additionally, there was an outstanding cluster with only two dominant urban local units. Factors show differences between clusters in the situation of MSMEs sector and infrastructure. Different spatial conditions in different regions influence the situation of MSMEs.


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Mouna Knani ◽  
Pierre-Sébastien Fournier ◽  
Caroline Biron

BACKGROUND: Presenteeism is generally viewed as a symptom of organizational or individual dysfunction and is rarely considered as a behavioral response to positive triggering factors. Our study examines this issue in small enterprises (SEs), which are an unexplored environment in terms of presenteeism. OBJECTIVE: Through in-depth analysis, this study aims to understand the positive and negative factors that impact presenteeism in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on SEs. METHODS: We adopt a qualitative methodological approach in which we conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with employees and owner-managers of SEs with between 20 and 49 employees. RESULTS: Our thematic analysis shows that presenteeism can be explained by factors related to pressure to attend work, by individuals’ constraints and commitment, by organizational and individual characteristics and by a congenial work environment. Presenteeism can also be a type of “therapy” which helps individuals to avoid focusing on being sick and enables them to stay active and avoid social isolation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study differs from earlier research by providing a more in-depth analysis of the positive and negative factors that trigger presenteeism. This article will help to expand the current theoretical knowledge about presenteeism and encourage a more holistic interpretation of the phenomenon.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 907-915
Author(s):  
Khaled Mohammed Alqahtani

In China, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in economic development and social wealth in terms of GDP growth, employment creation and poverty alleviation. In the age of technology and information, innovation has been regarded as one of the most significant drivers for the growth and prosperity of SMEs. Therefore, it is necessary for SMEs to implement innovation strategy, which would help them to initiate new products, adopt new processes and increase their competitiveness. From this point of view, this study attempts to identify the innovation situation of Chinese SMEs with regard to innovation type as well as innovation strategy. The research data is collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from SMEs of manufacturing industry in Shanghai, China. According to the data results, process innovation and marketing innovation are adopted more frequently than product innovation and organizational innovation by Chinese SMEs. This study also demonstrates most SMEs in China implement free-riding strategy; some of them adopt niche strategy; and few SMEs practice cluster strategy. Although innovation is increasingly important for Chinese SMEs, their implementation of innovation strategy is not highly effective and successful.


Author(s):  
Myriam Gagnon ◽  
Myriam Beaudry ◽  
Louise Lemyre ◽  
Alexandra Guay-Charette

There remains a knowledge gap regarding the factors that drive the development of business-nonprofit partnerships in the context of employer-supported volunteering—especially in small and medium enterprises. Furthermore, there is a need to consider how enterprises operate in their cultural contexts to better understand how they support volunteering trends in Canada. This study aimed to improve understanding of the multi-level factors that foster the development of business-nonprofit partnerships in the context of employer-supported volunteering. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with community and small business actors in a semi-rural setting in Francophone Québec. Results challenged the traditional view of volunteer support as a distinct activity, showing an integrated system of inter-dependence. Results suggest the relevance of conceptualizing small enterprises’ support of volunteering as part of an inclusive approach to community engagement. RÉSUMÉLes facteurs liés au développement de partenariats entre entreprises et OBNL dans le contexte du bénévolat appuyé par l’employeur sont méconnus – particulièrement au sein des petites et moyennes entreprises. Il est également pertinent de considérer le contexte culturel pour mieux comprendre les tendances canadiennes du bénévolat appuyé par l’employeur. Cette étude vise l’obtention d’une meilleure compréhension des facteurs multiniveaux associés au développement de partenariats entreprises-OBNL dans le contexte du soutien au bénévolat. Quinze entretiens semistructurés ont été effectués auprès d’acteurs du secteur communautaire et des petites entreprises dans un milieu semi-rural francophone-québécois. Les résultats repositionnent la notion d’activités distinctes et témoignent plutôt d’un système intégré d’interdépendances. Les résultats suggèrent de conceptualiser le soutien au bénévolat des petites entreprises au sein d’une approche inclusive d’engagement communautaire.


When SMEs are part of global value chain, the flows of information in cross-border buyer-supplier relationships which emerge from inward-outward internationalisation connections should be addressed. This study therefore investigates the learning processes of internationalising small and medium enterprises that engage in inward and outward internationalisation. Hence, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach based on ten cases of the internationalising SMEs in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews with the Managing Directors of the selected SMEs were conducted over a two-year period. Additionally, participant observations were conducted by attending the meetings related to import-export activities and documentations were gathered for data triangulation Findings of this study highlights that the relationship with key foreign suppliers empowered case firms to connect inward to outward internationalisation through collaborative knowledge sharing. The distribution of knowledge through tacit-tacit and tacit-explicit knowledge sharing underpinned by formal planning was a prerequisite for inward-outward internationalisation connections to be established.


Author(s):  
Salim Al Idrus

The research was aimed to uncover the effect of market orientation and technology orientation on entrepreneurship orientation with education as a moderator variable. This research used the quantitative approach and the causal relationship between variables was investigated through Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The research population included Small-and-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in East Java, Indonesia, and 168 SMEs were selected as the sample. The findings of the research revealed that education attainment levels could reduce the effect of market orientation on entrepreneurship orientation and could increase the effect of technology orientation on entrepreneurship orientation. Based on the findings, it is recommended that SMEs in East Java must improve their entrepreneurship orientation by intensifying the variation of the market’s supply and demand, upgrading technology, and hiring workers who have the required educational background, and then training them on the latest technology


Author(s):  
Mario Tani ◽  
Ornella Papaluca

This chapter analyzes the role of local area resources in the global hospitality market as a way for small and medium enterprises to create a portfolio of distinctive resources to reach a sustainable competitive advantage position in the international markets. After a brief introduction on the tourism industry and its main change factors the chapter adopts a resource base and market-driven approach in order to identify resources role in shaping competitive advantages. The chapter discuss a case-study on a successful example of diffused hotel in Abruzzo, Italy, identifying the core resources and those needed to support them in creating a successful tourism product.


Author(s):  
Torboon Puangmaha ◽  
Tatri Taiphapoon ◽  
Pakpachong Vadhanasindhu ◽  
Sukree Sinthupinyo

<p class="0abstract">Social media marketing communication has been widely adopted in organizations due to its values of interactivity, integration of communication channels, information collection and immediacy.  Nevertheless, a majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not realize how to systematically and effectively implement social media marketing communication.  In addition, few studies on application development of social media marketing communication have demonstrated the support for Thai hotel SMEs. This study aims to understand the pain points and expectations of SMEs in the Thai hotel industry, to design and develop an innovative social media marketing communication application for business promotion. The research utilizes design thinking process for application development using semi-structured interviews with 10 industry professionals. Based on results from the data analysis and conceptual prototype design, validated by group of professionals in business, innovation design and technology, the proposed prototype is practical and suitable for developing an innovative application that promotes Thai hotel SMEs’ social media marketing communication.</p>


Author(s):  
Corrinne Thompson ◽  
Maria Bounds ◽  
Geoff Goldman

<p>Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are faced will many challenges, and the development of a sound strategy for the SME could define how these challenges are met which, in turn, could mean the difference between success or failure of the enterprise. If a sound strategy is major contributing factor to the success of a small business, but the evidence of sound strategic management (as taught in universities and business schools) is not present in successful SME’s, one could question the way strategic management is conceptualised. The study thus aims to gather a greater understanding of strategic management – and strategy formulation practices in particular – within SME’s. The study employed a qualitative, descriptive design with semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 SME owners in Gauteng. Findings reveal that the majority of participants were in favour of and supported the notion of having a strategy for small and medium enterprises, but none of them made reference to a formal process regarding strategy formation.</p><p><strong>Key words:</strong> Strategy; strategy formulation, small and medium businesses; planning; qualitative research</p>


Author(s):  
Jesca Mhoja Nkwabi ◽  
Julia Fallon

The Tanzanian food industry is one of the most critical sectors in the country. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the largest processors of food. Although SMEs mostly deal with processing food, they still face challenges, especially with their suppliers. Though previous researchers have investigated partnership issues in SMEs, little has been reported on the factors that impact the supplier relationships found in food manufacturing SMEs. This study employed a qualitative design where semi-structured interviews with 13 experts were conducted to identify the factors that impede SRM in Dar es Salaam. The findings reveal that poor relationship management, poor storage facilities, poor transportation and inadequate production capacities are the main challenges affecting SRM within these firms. To overcome these challenges, it has been recommended to improve the supplier relationships through being transparent, fostering trust and sharing quality information with the suppliers on time. Furthermore, investment in technology has been recommended to reduce costs and to enhance the information sharing between suppliers and SMEs. Government support is required with regard to financial aid and the improvement in the infrastructure to facilitate the easier flow of goods from SMEs to the customers.


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