Strategic Networking Behavior of SMEs

Strategic networking behavior of SMEs is an issue that has not yet been thoroughly studied in the context of emerging market economies in Eastern Europe. No doubt, through strategic networking, SMEs could gain access to valuable resources – information, know-how, technologies, finance, etc., needed for strategy development, and building and maintaining competitive advantages. In addition, the networking of Bulgarian firms operating in a limited domestic market can be viewed as a tool for gaining access to external markets. On the other hand, intensive collaboration and networking creates problems and challenges for the SMEs and places new requirements to their strategic management. Therefore, this chapter draws upon the data and results of three researches which investigated strategic networking behavior of Bulgarian SMEs in order to reveal the specific benefits and challenges of SMEs involved in networks and to examine the impact of networking activities on SMEs strategic development. Finally, recommendations for the strategic networking behavior of Eastern European SMEs are formulated with a view to improve their results from networking and hence their competitiveness.

Relevance and Usage of Management Control Systems with Reference to Strategy Formulation and Control

Management control systems (MCSs) can undoubtedly support organizations' strategic processes as they help coordinate and align personnel behaviour to organizational goals, verify the validity of the organization's strategic plan and contribute to better formulate future plans. However, past research indicates that SMEs scarcely adopt MCSs. With the aim to update past research, the present chapter explores the current role and quality of MCSs used by SMEs in relation to strategic processes. Moreover, it evaluates whether MCSs adoption is associated to specific SMEs owner-managers' beliefs and other contingency factors. A survey conducted in Italy in 2012 indicates that SMEs attribute an important role to MCSs in supporting strategy formulation, its control and subsequent reformulation, but this strategic role is not associated with the adoption of advanced MCSs. SMEs still rely on traditional accounting-based control systems or perform some ad hoc analysis to obtain information useful for top managers strategic decision making.

Strategic Management in German Mittelstand Companies

The objective of this chapter is to analyze the special aspects of strategic management in Mittelstand companies. It is a German phenomenon, which comes primarily from the State of Baden-Württemberg, in the south-west of Germany. Although the south-west of Germany was one of the poorest areas in Europe at the end of the 19th century, it developed to the most prosperous region in Europe over the next 100 years despite two wars which threw the region back for decades. The Mittelstand companies especially, sometimes called “the mighty middle,” are strongly connected with the German “Wirtschaftswunder,” the rise of the German economy after 1945. The strategic approach of Mittelstand companies is the content of this chapter. The formal approach of big corporations in strategic management does not really work in the very owner-centric environment of a Mittelstand company. The owners of Mittelstand companies seem to act more intuitively and are more intrinsically motivated than their counterparts in big corporations. The question now is what do Mittelstand companies have in common in their strategic management which can be generalized? This is the basic question of this chapter, which is looking for plausible answers.

Strategic Aspects of Non-Family SMEs Succession

While reviewing SME succession literature, an empirical dearth in internal non-family SMEs succession research was detected. This situation is somewhat surprising considering the demographic developments and the fact that in many countries (e.g. Belgium and the Netherlands) the majority of business transfers are actually non-family. In this chapter, internal non-family succession is explored in a smaller Austrian company to shed light on how the firm is preparing for this type of succession. With regard to succession preparation, insights into the aspects of successor selection, successor training, employee involvement in the succession process, and performance measurement systems are provided. The findings this chapter reports may be useful for both academics and practitioners.

Towards a New Model of SMEs' Internationalization

This chapter aims at exploring the internationalization of small and medium sized enterprises through the search within the referring literature for the main models challenging the internationalization process. In the light of the weaknesses and strengths as well as of the related gaps of such models, this study builds and presents a new model that is able to address the issue of both gradual and rapid growth at international level. This model, thanks to the supposed variables (roots of resources and development and direction trough which these resources are valorized) and mechanisms, offers interesting theoretical and managerial insights for the analysis of the internationalization process characterized by increasing uncertainty. Finally, the model is tested through the analysis of two case studies.

Becoming Strategic in Small Businesses

While strategy has been described as a plan or pattern of actions aligned to a conscious intent, it can also be conceptualised as the deliberate activities those in business engage in to realise a strategic intent. It is this activity oriented conception of strategy that is fuelling the turn towards practice in strategy scholarship. This chapter draws on this perspective and the ‘communication as constitutive of organisations' (CCO) perspective to explore what is involved in becoming strategic in an active and experiential sense in a small business. To do this, it uses illustrations from a series of studies of business startup or restart from the creative, ICT, and construction industries in New Zealand. The empirically-based synthesis presents strategic management in small businesses as a relational process producing a narrative infrastructure that weaves together episodes of strategy praxis to produce a coherent thread that ‘tells the firm forward' (See Deuten & Rip, 2000). The chapter finishes by briefly exploring the implications of this view for those seeking to become more strategic in small businesses.

The Entrepreneur as Strategist and Improviser

The chapter deals with the search for relevant strategic responses to the challenges of a dynamic and competitive, international and multicultural business environment where new strategic approaches like Strategic Entrepreneurship (SE) and tools to meet the specific characteristics and needs of SMEs are launched. The entrepreneurial opportunities, and their exploration and exploitation through the entrepreneur's/ manager's various roles as a strategist, leader, and improviser, are analyzed. It is shown that in most cases the entrepreneur (especially in long-term dynamic, ambiguous conditions) acts without sufficient formal information and resources and therefore has to improvise taking certain risks (strategic improviser). Difficulties in the understanding and the implementation of entrepreneurial roles, especially those of strategist and improviser, require non-traditional approaches, forms and methods in the education of students in entrepreneurship, and in training/ consulting for both new and established entrepreneurs. The forms and methods of mythology, metaphorical representation and jargon, as tools of the so-called subjective (qualitative) approach, are widely accepted. The chapter employs examples of original myths and metaphors to demonstrate how better to understand the linkages across strategic orientation/ management, improvisation and strategic learning, thus helping entrepreneurs/ managers to better adapt theories, concepts and tools for effective working in a dynamic, competitive environment.

Strategic Management Overview and SME in Globalized World

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in each economy. Some of them even became market leaders from an international perspective. This stands in stark contrast to the fact that scientific and strategic management research up to date has only rudimentarily covered the field of strategic management of SMEs. Globalization is not a trend, a fad, or an isolated phenomenon. It is an inescapable force. If anticipated and understood, it is a powerful opportunity. If not, it can swiftly destroy businesses and drown organizations. Meanwhile the concern for globalization and its effect on SMEs has grown tremendously over the recent decade. Hence, strategic management becomes critical and deserves more attention due to the threats and opportunities globalization exposes and offers SMEs to at the same time. This chapter intends to make a contribution to this research gap by means of raising the question whether strategic management is feasible and/or necessary for SMEs, identifying suitable concepts of strategic management and their applicability for SMEs so that they can maintain their independence and at the same time blossom to their fullest extent.

Effects of Business Managers' Skills

In this chapter, the authors introduce the key ideas related to strategic alignment and ICT in SMEs. They present the ERP strategic alignment in SMEs as an important investment but more problematic, discussing the challenges of ERP systems implementation in Arab SMEs by introducing the main studies conducted in the area. This literature review helps to understand the main enablers of ERP strategic alignment in this context. The intent of the chapter is to provide readers with a theoretical framework linking business managers' skills and interaction between business managers and IS managers to ERP strategic alignment as main chosen variables. This framework was tested in previous research conducted in Tunisian context and retested for this study in a Saudi context. Within this context, the authors hope the chapter can be helpful for researchers in ERP strategic alignment, mainly for students and professors in their academic activities.

Entrepreneurship as a Survival-Seeking Strategy for Indigenous Communities

The aim of this chapter is to offer an alternative to the emigration and marginalization currently experienced by indigenous Latin American communities by creating ecotourism ventures in their home territories. By fostering profitable and environmentally sustainable economic activities enabling them to remain in their settlements, it is possible to alleviate the problem of socio-economic marginalization which they currently face whilst helping conserve the environment and their ancient culture. Qualitative research has therefore been conducted by means of a multiple case study. This is an introductory work and the authors' preliminary findings highlight the importance not only of social networks in the creation of indigenous SMEs but also of the culture, values, uses and customs of such communities in the identification of the profile of the indigenous entrepreneur.