Market knowledge acquisition and transfer in international SMEs: peculiarities, specifications and linkages to market success

PurposeThis paper aims to systematically review and evaluate extant literature on knowledge acquisition and transfer in international small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and to identify the requisite types of knowledge acquired and transferred in this context. The research further determines the mechanisms enabling SMEs to process this knowledge, unpacks the benefits of both knowledge acquisition and transfer for international SMEs and links them to the market success.Design/methodology/approachThe research has conducted a comprehensive systematic review of existing literature on market knowledge acquisition and its transfer, in the context of international SMEs, utilizing peer-reviewed articles published in top tier journals without any custom range of time.FindingsThe search strategy resulted in 37 reviewed academic articles, whose analysis identifies and elucidates on the best practices of knowledge acquisition and transfer in the context of international SMEs; the type of the knowledge acquired and transferred; the form and mechanism of the intersection of these processes; and the benefits gained. The findings, crucially, also identify and illuminate extant research gaps and insufficiencies and develop a comprehensive research agenda for the way forward.Originality/valueThe present study offers a uniquely comprehensive perspective on a topic of diachronic and, currently, rising significance to scholars and practitioners alike. Transcending its descriptive value, though, it further identifies extant knowledge deficiencies, it distils and consolidates critical knowledge and prescribes avenues for research towards the growth and development of international SMEs and born globals.

Constraints Faced by Vegetable Growers in Amaravati Division of Maharashtra

Vegetable cultivation involves intensive cultural operations since sowing to marketing, providing regular employment opportunities to unemployed youth and farm family. Vegetable production is now commercialized, but still traditional farming is done in far flung areas. Besides, they are not as well served by the extension system as the farmers growing food grains. Moreover, most of the vegetable growers in this region are small and marginal farmers, and they have their peculiar concerns and problems which need to be studied urgently and earnest. The present study was carried out in Akola and Amravati districts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state during the year 2019 with a sample size of 120 respondents to define the constraints faced by vegetable growers in Amravati division of Maharashtra. The major constraints faced by the vegetable growers were price fluctuation, electricity, fertigation, exploitation by middle men and lack of market knowledge.

No Magic for Market Entry in the Field: Evidence from Taxi Markets

We study taxi markets in Singapore to understand market entry in the field. Although market-entry games in the laboratory consistently produce equilibrium outcomes, we show that a lack of market knowledge hinders the markets from consistently reaching equilibrium in the field. In Singapore, a small, 720-square-kilometre island city that can be divided into 29 taxi markets, full equilibrium is elusive: 68% of the market-entry decisions made by the 2,728 taxi drivers in our data could be improved. Using three months of earnings and detailed movement data from these taxi drivers, we find an average 20% gap in marginal wage rates across markets. We use dynamic programming to derive the optimal solution for more than 3 million search decisions and find that only 32% of the searches ended in an optimal market. Finally, we find that market knowledge developed in a given month explains an additional 3% variation of the earning losses in the 2.6 million decisions for the subsequent two months, an improvement in model fit of 74%, whereas strategic thinking and minimization risk have no impact on earning loss. This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis.

PENGARUH PENGETAHUAN PASAR MODAL, PERSEPSI RISIKO INVESTASI, PENGGUNAAN TEKNOLOGI TERHADAP PERILAKU MAHASISWA BERINVESTASI DI PASAR MODAL (Studi Empiris pada Galeri Investasi di Purwokerto)

This study aims to determine and analize effect of capital market knowledge, risk investment perception and use of technology towards the student’s investing behavior in the capital market. The population is the student’s who are members of the Investment Gallery Universitas Jenderal Soedirman and Islamic Investment Gallery Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto. The sampling method used is purposive sampling. The data sample was obtained as many as 143 respondents. The result of this research indicates that capital market knowledge has a positive impact to the student’s investing behavior in the capital market, risk investment perception and use of technology have no impact to the student’s investing behavior in the capital market. Implication of the research is the most basic student’s must have as the investor. Investors need a basic understanding of the capital market, stocks as an investment in the capital market and rate of returns. Knowledge will support skills in analyzing, choosing and making a decision.

Housing Markets and Resource Sector Fluctuations: A Cross-Border Comparative Analysis

Recent research has sought to better understand resource and housing market cycles longitudinally and define clear phases in order to understand interactions between the two over time. This is a necessary step forward in housing market knowledge for this under researched area, particularly in an economically unique context. This paper expands knowledge by undertaking a comparative study of town housing markets in Queensland’s coal mining Bowen Basin and Sweden’s northern municipalities—specifically Gallivare and Kiruna—where a long history of iron ore mining exists. This paper analyses these housing markets using longitudinal data spanning two decades, which includes two resources cycles in two geographically disparate locations. The results indicate that the housing market in Queensland, Australia, is far more volatile than the housing market in the Swedish municipalities. The regional housing market in Sweden’s municipalities tend to be less dependent on resource price and output from mines than their Australian counterparts. Part of the explanation for this is that the Swedish towns examined are less of the traditional mining town known from previous studies, and more a town with mining. Developing and improving understanding of markets over the duration of a cycle is important. Particular value is apparent in the comparison and contrasting of two separate resource regions encompassing resource reliant communities in two different countries. Importantly, the linkage of research regions through resource relationships leads to groundbreaking research which will have practical benefit to multiple economies, housing markets and for policy-makers alike.

The effect of foreign market knowledge on SME export performance: a study ofnon-traditional SMEs in Ghana

Purpose It is well documented in the extant literature that knowledge plays a crucial role in small and medium enterprise (SME) internationalization. Exporting SMEs from developing economies faces many challenges, including lack of knowledge about institutions in foreign markets, inadequate knowledge about foreign institutions and limited internationalization knowledge (IK). However, research on the export performance of SMEs has thus far focused on the internationalization strategies of multinational corporations. This study aims to explore the effect of foreign market knowledge on SME export performance. The authors also assessed the moderating effect of employee absorptive capacity in the knowledge-performance nexus. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted a survey design to collect data from owners/managers of SMEs exporters in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed based on convenience. Of this number, 257 usable responses were used in the final analysis. The authors tested the proposed model using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Findings The findings show that the three types of foreign market knowledge tested in this study, namely, foreign institutional knowledge (FIK), foreign business knowledge and IK have positive and significant effects on SME exporters’ performance. It also shows that employees’ absorptive capacity affects the relationship between FIK and SME exporters’ performance. Originality/value The study demonstrates the types of knowledge relevant to SME export performance. The study further demonstrates the moderating effect of employee absorptive capacity on the relationship between knowledge and export performance. The study advances existing knowledge on SME performance, especially from an emerging economy context.