Assessing Firm Readiness to Adopt Cluster-Based Innovative Projects: A Segmentation Analysis

As innovation has garnered substantial attention on corporate success and sustainability, organizations must evaluate internal contexts to determine potential innovative practices and benefits. Firms need to investigate the determining factors of innovation preparedness as organizational innovation practices are catalyzed through internal elements. This study evaluates small and medium firms’ readiness to adopt and execute collaborative innovative projects within a future cluster and its impacts on organizational advantages, intentions, and attributes. Thereby, three dimensions were considered in examining organizational preparedness, namely, climate, culture, and motivation. A total of 70 firms operating in the labeled agri-food sector in Morocco were interviewed and homogenously classified using integrated hierarchical and non-hierarchical algorithms, following a segmentation approach. Three segments were identified, stressing the degree of organizational readiness to undertake innovative projects within future service clusters. The segments varied according to the firm’s sub-sector, experience, and resources. Considering the association of readiness with benefits and practical aims, the results broaden firm preparedness understanding to adopt innovative projects. The results also illustrate the relevance of adapting both innovative and beneficial project arrangements for firms with minor to moderate experience while addressing current issues across different segments.

Early Internationalizing of Small-Medium Firms

Internationalization is not an odd term in business, and increasing numbers in the business world show this phenomenon as a vital element that must be emphasized and practiced by an organization to become the top company in international markets. Born global has become a new entity entering the global market and rapidly evolved to catch up and maintain its pace with international new ventures. Gaining the upper hand in the international market has motivated the born global entity to compete with other giant companies in the same markets. This chapter's findings enlighten the crucial parts of the definition between these two terms supported with previous studies that encompass gaps, conventional and new ventures, and the advantages versus liabilities that existed in the new venture firms. In addition, this chapter's discussions would offer better justification and views in global market perspectives.

Dynamics of Employee Retention Among SMEs in a Developing Economy

The purpose of this study was to understand the challenges SME managers in a developing economy such as Ghana face in retaining their employees and how the situation could be mediated. This is because Ghanaian small and mediumsize enterprises are overwhelmed with the issue of how to retain their employees. Using a quantitative approach, data was collected from a sample of 300 SME managers and employees in fifteen small and medium firms in the manufacturing, financial, hospitality, IT, retail and service industries, it was found that the firms’ HR practices significantly impact negatively employee retention. It is therefore concluded that the best retention strategies available to SMEs in Ghana is the need to adopt a flexible workplace practices and work family support policies as well as focusing on good reward management practices.

Determinants of Manufacturing Firms’ Financial Performance in Pakistan

Investment in working capital by and large shows better returns than investment in fixed assets. As such proper management of working capital rightfully attracts a lot of attention. The objective of this research is to examine the impact of size and working capital management efficiency on firms’ financial performance using 10 years (2004- 2013) secondary data of 153 firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange and employing regression and ratio analyses. Results show that performance-wise large firms are better whereas WCME-wise small and medium firms are better. These findings indicate that better performance of large firms is not because of efficient utilization of working capital - rather it may be due to some other factors and these firms can further improve their performance if working capital is managed more efficiently.

ANALYZING FINANCIAL LITERACY OF INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS – A STUDY OF MSMEs

Entrepreneurs are constantly involved in decision making activities where the substantial decisions are financial in nature. So, increasing the financial literacy levels of entrepreneurs can play an effective role in efficient management of business finance and handling of financial risks and opportunities.This paper is an attempt to examine the financial literacy of MSME entrepreneurs along four dimensions- preparation and use of accounting statements; savings, investments and insurance; financial budgeting; and management of debt.The study is descriptive in nature. Since the majority of medium firms exhibited a higher level of financial literacy as compared to small and micro firms, so the policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders should focus more upon the enhanced financial education needs of micro and small firms.

Effects of the award of public service contracts on the performance and payroll of winning firms

We investigate the effects of an exogenous demand shock arising from the award of public service contracts by Italian public administrations in 2015 on a sample of 1782 winning small and medium firms that were not awarded any contract during the previous 3 years. Using a difference-in-differences model with continuous treatments estimated on a propensity score matched sample, our results reveal that higher awarded values enhance various performance dimensions of the winning firms as well as their average payroll per employee. Nonetheless, higher winning rebates moderate the positive effects of the award on payroll by inducing the winning firms to downward manage both salaries and social security contributions per employee to maintain their desired level of performance. The effects are mostly significant for smaller microenterprises. In addition, winning rebates negatively affect the performance of firms in the construction industry by leading these firms to downward manage the payroll of their employees more aggressively than firms in other industries. Our findings provide novel insights for the implementation of industrial policies aimed at achieving sustainable macroeconomic and social goals, within the business fabric, through the effective management of public service procurement.

REMOTE WORKING PRACTICES IN SMALL AND MEDIUM FIRMS: STYLE AND MANAGEMENT METHODS

Modern trends in the development of the world community determine the need to expand the use of remote technologies of work. The article discusses the practical aspects of managing remote work in small and medium-sized businesses.