scholarly journals Is E-Learning that important? SMEs Training and Economic Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
Shamim Akhtar ◽  
Yanping Liu ◽  
Youyuan Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Training Process ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Efficient Work

Fronting stress from a progressively competitive business environment, enterprises have, over the years, employed trainings in order to have more efficient work force and also to enhance performance. The drive of this study is to ascertain different problems to e-learning that small and medium enterprises faced in their training process and attests, through a case study, how well e-learning could resolve some of many hitches identified. This study also identifies how e-learning can enhance small and medium sized enterprises performance.

Pure Biologics – From a Bootstrapped Boutique CRO to an Integrated Drug Discovery Public Company

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-63
Author(s):  
Sameer Deshmukh ◽  
Przemysław Jurek ◽  
Filip Jelen ◽  
Sabina Tabaczar ◽  
Tomasz Bakowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Corporate Management ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Biopharmaceutical Company ◽  
Public Company ◽  
Medium Enterprises

The present article is a case study of a Polish biopharmaceutical company, “Pure Biologics”. The company was founded in 2010 by a group of scientists and, over the last nine years, grew substantially from just a few individuals to nearly one hundred professionals. Initially, a privately-funded civil partnership, Pure Biologics, has been transformed into a publicly-traded company. Such a transformation has been possible not only because of the expertise and growing experience of corporate management, but also the specific economic environment and substantial public funding dedicated to innovative Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

scholarly journals Extrapolative Collaborative Filtering Recommendation System with Word2Vec for Purchased Product for SMEs

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7156
Author(s):  
Kyoung Jun Lee ◽  
Yu Jeong Hwangbo ◽  
Baek Jeong ◽  
Ji Woong Yoo ◽  
Kyung Yang Park
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Filtering ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Recommendation System ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Technology ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Start Ups

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) want to introduce recommendation services to boost sales, but they need to have sufficient amounts of data to introduce these recommendation services. This study proposes an extrapolative collaborative filtering (ECF) system that does not directly share data among SMEs but improves recommendation performance for small and medium-sized companies that lack data through the extrapolation of data, which can provide a magical experience to users. Previously, recommendations were made utilizing only data generated by the merchant itself, so it was impossible to recommend goods to new users. However, our ECF system provides appropriate recommendations to new users as well as existing users based on privacy-preserved payment transaction data. To accomplish this, PP2Vec using Word2Vec was developed by utilizing purchase information only, excluding personal information from payment company data. We then compared the performances of single-merchant models and multi-merchant models. For the merchants with more data than SMEs, the performance of the single-merchant model was higher, while for the SME merchants with fewer data, the multi-merchant model’s performance was higher. The ECF System proposed in this study is more suitable for the real-world business environment because it does not directly share data among companies. Our study shows that AI (artificial intelligence) technology can contribute to the sustainability and viability of economic systems by providing high-performance recommendation capability, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.

Relevant factors of innovation contests for SMEs

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1196-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Isabel Rodriguez Ferradas ◽  
José A. Alfaro Tanco ◽  
Francesco Sandulli
Keyword(s):  
New Product Development ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Context Factors ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Design Factors ◽  
Relevant Factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevant factors that influence the implementation of innovation contests, an open innovation (OI) practice that has been extensively reported in the literature as a managerial tool for external knowledge search. The authors focus the study on the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach The approach is a retrospective case study. This methodology allows an in-depth view into a Spanish SME that successfully undertook two new product development processes thanks to the deployment of innovation contests. Findings The main context factors influencing innovation contests as managerial tool are ambidexterity, technological and marketing turbulence and intermediaries, among others. Regarding design factors, this work highlights the role of attraction and facilitation. Additionally, the repetitive implementation of innovation contests creates a corporate culture that promotes OI activities. Practical implications Managers will understand that they can use innovation contests as a managerial tool, and knowing the factors that need to be taken into account when implementing an innovation contest will help SMEs managers to make better use of this practice. Originality/value This case study enriches the literature of both innovation contests and topics relevant to SMEs. Based on a theoretical framework of the design factors that influence the implementation of innovation contests, the authors propose a research framework that incorporates those context factors in association with an SME.

scholarly journals Success Drivers for Implementing Circular Economy: A Case Study from the Building Sector in Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1350
Author(s):  
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara ◽  
Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval ◽  
Andres Mejia-Villa
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Direct Communication ◽  
Management Commitment ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Large Building ◽  
Do So

This paper contributes to the circular economy (CE) literature by investigating the drivers of success of the CE implementation in the construction sector and how those drivers can complement any implementation process in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To do so, we analyzed the case of TECMO Estructuras Metálicas, using the methodology proposed by Jaca and colleagues to implement the CE in SMEs. It is a Colombian company with more than five decades of experience in the manufacture and installation of steel and aluminum structures for small and large building and infrastructure projects. The data were collected between August 2019 and November 2020 through direct communication with the company via workshops, meetings, and company reports. This research found that five drivers are relevant for implementing CE in the construction sector: fertile ecosystem, management commitment, identification of valuable materials, green teams, and CE intermediaries. Moreover, this study also contributes to teaching the implementation of the CE in companies, since it shows that through the methodology presented, implementation projects can be developed in postgraduate classes.

scholarly journals Strategic Planning and Competitive Advantage of ICT Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary B. Awino
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Balanced Score Card ◽  
Medium Enterprises

The Paper is the research findings on the role of strategic planning and competitive advantage of ICT Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya. Literature suggests that the contemporary business environment in which organisations operate is increasingly becoming uncertain and unpredictable. Significant changes are mostly driven by technological changes, globalisation and trade liberalisation. As a result, like large enterprises, SMEs are facing new and unexpected challenges that threaten their competitiveness. While most countries acknowledge the critical role that SMEs contribute to their economies, both as an engine of growth and sustainable development, many questions still remain unanswered as to the determination of the critical challenges facing SMEs and how these challenges could be addressed to improve their competitiveness. These challenges have increased the need for empirical information which is essential for decision making in addressing issues that are likely to enhance SMEs survival and growth. It is noted that there has been no adequate research studies on the role of strategic planning and competitive advantage of SMEs. This study contributes to the need to address the research gaps and thus explored the role of strategic planning and competitive advange of SMEs in Kenya. The study population consisted of 238 ICT SMEs from Nairobi and its environs. A sample size of 146 firms constituting 61 per cent of the total population was selected through stratified sampling. The study aimed to collect data from 438 respondents from top, middle and lower management teams. Structured questionnaires with closed and open ended questions was used for data collection, 239 responses were received from 123 ICT firms a response rate of 55 per cent and 84.2 per cent respectively. Key characteristics of strategic planning including formality, environmental analysis processes both internal and external orientations, strategies adopted, and implementation and control were recorded. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, t-test, ANOVA, correlation, correlation matrixes and regression analysis. The key findings revealed that strategic planning has significant and positive influence in performance of SME’s. The test of hypothesis revealed that strategic planning has positive and significant influence on competitive advantage. The study demonstrated strategic planning as a learning tool and a strategic resource which is consistent with the underlying assumptions of resource based theory, systems theory, chaos theory and balanced score card model assumptions. It is envisaged that, this kind of research is likely to generate useful discussions on the role of strategic planning and performance, of SMEs. It is apparent that entrepreneurs of SMEs cannot ignore strategic planning as significant changes in competitive advantage is the result of change or effective application of strategic planning. Policy makers and academicians may need to address the capacity needs of SMEs and develop strategic planning model that address the challenges that SMEs encounter in a dynamic environment.

scholarly journals Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh- Challenges and Determining Factors

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Afroze ◽  
Md Kashrul Alam ◽  
Eliza Akther ◽  
Nahid Sultana Jui
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Sales Promotion ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Medium Enterprises

The aim of this study is to find out the major challenges that hinder smooth operation of women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh. It also finds the reasons behind the success of the women entrepreneurship. Both primary and secondary data have been used to conduct the study. The questionnaire included questions about economic problems, family related issues, social constraints and other limitations faced by women entrepreneurs and the reasons behind their success. Women involved in various small and medium enterprises take on the challenge to work in a male-dominated society, competitive and complex economic and business environment. However, the identified challenges are inadequate capital, sales promotion, getting permission to start-up a business, gender discrimination, illiteracy and lack of knowledge among women, non-availability of training program and technical support, lack of managerial experience, in some cases young people make ill talk about the enterprise and so on. Personal qualities such as hard work and perseverance, management skills and marketing skills, support provided by their spouses or family are the main reasons behind the success of the women entrepreneurs. The level of participation of women in mainstream economic activities remains insufficient and the percentage of women in business is still much below than that of their male counterparts.Journal of Business and Technology (Dhaka) Vol.9(2) 2014; 27-41

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