Influence of Business Competitiveness on SMEs Performance

Author(s):  
Neeta Baporikar

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal role in fostering socioeconomic development especially in developing countries. They create employment opportunities, empower communities, and make positive contributions towards GDP. The objective of this study is to understand the influence of business competitiveness on SMEs performance through a case study of auto body repairs SME enterprise in Namibia referred to as ABR for confidentiality. The methodology is mixed methods with in depth literature review, and detailed multiple case studies on eleven medium sized auto-body repair enterprises. The analysis is through strategy tools supported by secondary and published data and reports. The findings reflect that although ABR has a sound credit rating with local financial institutions and there are opportunities for growth, ABR also needs to invest in equipment to become more competitive and strengthen its market.

Author(s):  
Neeta Baporikar

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal role in fostering socioeconomic development especially in developing countries. They create employment opportunities, empower communities, and make positive contributions towards GDP. The objective of this study is to understand the influence of business competitiveness on SMEs performance through a case study of auto body repairs SME enterprise in Namibia referred to as ABR for confidentiality. The methodology is mixed methods with in depth literature review, and detailed multiple case studies on eleven medium sized auto-body repair enterprises. The analysis is through strategy tools supported by secondary and published data and reports. The findings reflect that although ABR has a sound credit rating with local financial institutions and there are opportunities for growth, ABR also needs to invest in equipment to become more competitive and strengthen its market.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Anjar Priyono ◽  
Abdul Moin ◽  
Vera Nur Aini Oktaviani Putri

The objective of this study was to analyze how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cope with environmental changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic by pursuing the business model transformation with the support of digital technologies. To achieve the objective, this study used a multiple case study design with qualitative analysis to examine the data obtained from interviews, observation, and field visits. Seven manufacturing SMEs from Indonesia were selected using a theoretical sampling technique, with the purpose of achieving some degree of variation to allow us to undertake replication logic. Our analysis demonstrates that SMEs adopt a different degree of digital transformations, which can be summarized into three paths, depending on the firms’ contextual factors. First, SMEs with a high level of digital maturity who respond to the challenges by accelerating the transition toward digitalized firms; second, SMEs experiencing liquidity issues but a low level of digital maturity who decide to digitalize the sales function only; and, third, the SMEs that have very limited digital literacy but are supported by a high level of social capital. This last group of firms solves the challenges by finding partners who possess excellent digital capabilities. The qualitative case study method allows us to conduct in-depth and detailed analysis, but has thin generalizability. To address this limitation, future research can use a survey covering various industries to test the proposed theory that has resulted from this study, so that the generalizability can be assured.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Doritta Rodrigues ◽  
Matheus Eurico Soares de Noronha

Purpose This paper aims to search measures that unicorn startups have implemented during the pandemic and show what lessons can be learned to help entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses to overcome the crisis. Design/methodology/approach The method is a multiple case study with five unicorn startups. This study collected data through interviews and analyzed them by the content analysis technique. Findings The findings show that the pandemic affects negatively unicorns’ businesses; that a digital business model innovation affects them positively; and that innovations moderate positively the negative impact of the crisis. Research limitations/implications Most interviewees hold operational positions. Practical implications Three actions stand out to overcome the crisis: adoption of new digital platforms; strategies to increase the network of partners; and adaptations in the provision of payment services. Originality/value The cases show that entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises need to develop capabilities to innovate in their business models, and digitalization is a solution to face the crisis and overcome it in the future.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (11) ◽  
pp. 2359-2372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Tardivo ◽  
Alkis Thrassou ◽  
Milena Viassone ◽  
Francesca Serravalle

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define and describe how consumers may constitute an integral part of small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) value co-creation process in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, and to provide practicable implementation recommendations to firms in the Piedmont region that are important and prominent in this sector. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology rests on a multiple case study design, applied to three F&B Piedmont SMEs that produce beer, water and starters: Baladin, Lurisia and Galfré. Findings Results show an increasing awareness by firms of the important role played by customers in value co-creation, though limited to specific roles in the case of SMEs. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by its exploratory nature, though the findings and conclusions drawn provide a solid foundation for further development and testing on the subject. Practical implications The case studies’ results allow the reader to understand the importance of the increasing awareness of the role played by customers in value co-creation, especially on the WWB, where costs are minimizing. Originality/value The research’s value stems from fact that there are few existing studies on the ways to engage customers in value co-creation. Moreover, these studies, contrary to the present research, are largely theoretical and either have no direct applicability or are limited to a single case.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Ormazabal ◽  
Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval ◽  
Carmen Jaca ◽  
Javier Santos

Purpose: This research analyzes the maturity of environmental management as well as the degree of to which the Circular Economy has been implemented in Basque SMEs.Design/methodology/approach: A total of 17 case studies were carried out in industrial SMEs companies in the Basque Country.Findings: The main results show that companies are limited to complying with the law and in many cases are worried about the image of the company, although they are not committed to environmental issues. There is still a lot to do in SMEs, as they are the companies that face the biggest challenges due to a lack of resources.Originality/value: Circular Economy aims to change a linear economy into promoting sustainability of the economy while also engaging in sustainable environmental protection. This research has focused on small and medium enterprises as they represent a 99% of companies in Europe and they are the ones that have the most difficulty reaching a stage of environmental excellence due to their limited resources.


Author(s):  
Judith Jeffcoate

This article describes an analytical framework to identify the triggers for value chain transformation that will encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt e-commerce. The framework was adopted in the KITS project as part of a qualitative approach, using multiple case studies of SMEs that were involved in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce (Jeffcoate, Chappell & Feindt, 2004). Results from this project are used to illustrate the use of the framework.


Due to dwindling economic situation most especially in developing countries, people have resulted into self-help through cooperative societies to raise funds for starting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It was on this premise that the study critically examined the activities of cooperative societies in Osun state in furthering SMEs advancement. The study adopted qualitative research method through in-depth exploratory design to explain ‘what’ and ‘how’ rather than mere prediction. A comparative multiple case study was used as it closely links empirical observations with existing theories to explore the effect of cooperative societies on enterprise creation and expansion and its impact on the advancement of SMEs in Osun State, Nigeria. Four cooperatives were selected and studied. Findings affirmed the significant role played by cooperative societies in advancing SMEs in Osun State. The study concludes that cooperative societies intervention in providing micro loans to members for investment purpose in the area of enterprise formation and expansion is encouraging and should be sustained to improve the prosperity of individuals in Osun State. It was recommended that the promoters of cooperative societies in the State and Nigeria must sustain and increase efforts towards advancing SMEs through the provision of financial facilities to members. Keywords: Cooperative society, Small and Medium Enterprises, Osun State


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Anjar Priyono ◽  
Fazli Idris ◽  
Sarina Binti Abdul Halim Lim

This study aims to examine how small and medium enterprises manage the tensions between organizational agility and efficiency. Organizational agility is a multidimensional concept where each of its components can interact differently with efficiency. The tensions between other capabilities have been explored in many previous studies, yet there is a lack of research exploring the roots of the tensions between organizational agility and efficiency, how the actors interpret these tensions and what dimensions of organizational agility are causing the tensions. A multiple case study research design with an inductive approach was used to explore how two SMEs manage the tensions between organizational agility and efficiency to serve customers from abroad. Despite the relationship between the agility and efficiency seeming contradictory, our analysis demonstrated that the interaction between the two concepts is complex, depending on the object of the tensions, the actors involved and the context. In fact, two actors at the same level of the organizational hierarchy can have identical perceptions about a tension, but they can arise from different logical reasoning. Moreover, due to the multidimensionality of organizational agility, a meta-capability of organizational agility is more likely to dominate the interaction with efficiency. This study contributes to the limited empirical evidence on how actors in SMEs perceive and manage the various tensions emerging from organizational agility and efficiency.


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