...Review the process of implementing cloud computing of SMEs in UK - an Exploratory Study 1. Introduction Information technology (IT) plays an important role in increasing innovation and competitiveness and performance for small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs). Cloud computing or on-demand computing is IT infrastructures that empower SMEs with various capabilities to store, share and access information, data and resources in third-party data center. Cloud computing when implemented strategically will help enterprises to improve their performances, processes and efficiency. Despite the importance of cloud-based computing, limited research has done to study about the implementation and usage of cloud-based computing in the SMEs within the UK context (Shiels et al., 2003). The objective of the research reviewed in this proposal is to contribute to the valuable research on cloud solutions by studying the implementation of SMEs. UK was selected for this research as in UK, SMEs accounts for the vast mojarity of all companies and it is home of innovation companies that develop with the development of information and communication technologies. The relevant literature are referred and the theoretical framework is used in this research are discussed in the next part of the paper. 2. Literature Review According to Sultan, N. A. (2011) small- and medium-sized enterprises can take a lot of advantages from embracing cloud solutions. Because no matter of what type of business...
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...influencing the adoption of e-business technology by SMEs. To this end, the paper draws on a range of literatures on the diffusion of new information and communication technologies (ICTs), many of which have hitherto been treated as separate. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, e-business technologies are the latest in a line of new ICT technologies. When exploited successfully, ICTs have increased firm competitiveness either by raising the efficiency of internal communication and organisation and/or supply chain relationships, or by facilitating the development of new/improved products and services. Second, it is hypothesised that many of the factors affecting the successful adoption of new technologies are generic in nature. With regards to SMEs specifically, consideration of earlier research may assist us in identifying a set of enablers and barriers to e-business adoption. Hence, by explicitly acknowledging the context and prior history of research in the area, we are able to map out the dimensions of future theoretical and empirical research in e-business adoption by SMEs. In addition to drawing together factors identified by existing research, the paper highlights the implications of network externalities for the timing of technology investments and the returns that accrue to early and late adopters. It also draws attention to a number of problems associated with the analytical concept of ‘the SME’ when it is applied to this area. The research proceeds...
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...Company Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage Terry Pilcher Assistant Director – Department of Trade and Industry UK Before undertaking a benchmarking study a company must be aware of the different types of benchmarking that exist. One of the major reasons for misunderstanding is the tendency to call a wide variety of different activities Benchmarking. The most simplistic form of benchmarking could be one person talking to another and deciding if they have similar areas of interest. At this level people undertakes benchmarking every day. Before listing the different types of benchmarking that exist it might be useful to present some definitions of benchmarking to set the scene. There are many definitions around but it is not so much the differences that matter but the similarities. This can be best illustrated using the following definitions: ‘A continuous systematic process for evaluating the products, services and work of organisations that are recognised as representing best practices for the purpose of organisational improvement’ (Spendolini, 1992) ‘Benchmarking is an external focus on internal activities, functions, or operations in order to achieve continuous improvement’ (McNair and Leibfried, 1992) ‘A disciplined process that begins with a thorough search to identify best practice organisations, continues with the careful study of one’s own practices and performance, progresses through systematic site visits and interviews, and concludes with an analysis of results...
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...Management Articles of the Year January 2013 With a foreword by Sir Paul Judge In association with Contents Page Foreword Introduction About the articles Article 1 Improving the Quality of Working Life: positive steps for senior management teams Article 2 Failure, Survival or Success in a Turbulent Environment: the dynamic capabilities lifecycle Article 3 A New Role Emerges in Downsizing: special envoys Article 4 Only a Click Away? – What makes virtual meetings, emails and outsourcing successful Article 5 Closing the Needs-to-Offer Gap: customer relationship management in retail SMEs Acknowledgements 3 4 6 7 13 20 25 31 38 Copyright Chartered Management Institute © First published 2013 Chartered Management Institute 2 Savoy Court, Strand, London WC2R 0EZ All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this report is available from the British Library ISBN 0-85946-458-x Foreword The way that people in positions of authority exercise leadership and management has a decisive influence on the performance of their own organisations and therefore of the wider economy. It has been estimated that...
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...Paper Topic: The challenges of lean applications in SMEs Written by Sundara Pavan Kumar Raavi Department of Industrial Management University of Central Missouri Submitted to Ms. M. Joleen Byerline Department of Industrial Management UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI Abstract The prime objective of this paper is to find out the lean manufacturing adaptation hurdles in SMEs. In this study, a few SMEs are consider for experimental study and we can understand the overall idea about the ideology of SMEs functioning. Lean manufacturing is based on the principle of getting the same result with less human interference as well as less machine and material involvement. The scope of lean implementation is not only restricted to automotive industry but also has recognition in manufacturing industries in US. The in information in this study is collect from the professionals who have implemented and those who did not implemented the lean manufacturing tools in business. The research speaks some of the barriers, which came across while adopting manufacturing technique. Keywords: SMEs, Lean-manufacturing implementation, General view about...
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...European Management Journal (2008) 26, 429– 440 journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/emj Cooperative internationalization of SMEs: Self-commitment as a success factor for International Entrepreneurship Matthias Fink a, Rainer Harms b, Sascha Kraus a c,* Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Augasse 2-6, A-1090 Vienna, Austria b University of Twente – NIKOS, Dutch Institute for Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship, Postbus 217, NL-7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands c ¨ University of Liechtenstein, Furst-Franz-Josef-Strasse, LI-9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein & Utrecht University, Janskerkhof 12, NL-3512 BL Utrecht, The Netherlands KEYWORDS Internationalization; SME; Trust; Cooperation; Entrepreneurship; Austria; Czech Republic; Slovenia Summary Self-commitment is the willingness of individuals to commit to cooperation with a partner without the safety net of controls or sanction mechanisms. This article shows the unique performance contribution of self-commitment in the context of cooperative internationalization of SMEs in several ways: First, we use a multiparadigmatic approach to cooperation theory to argue why self-commitment as a coordination mechanism is particularly relevant in the context of cooperative internationalization. Second, we develop a new operationalization of self-commitment which takes the context of international cooperations into account. Third, we show...
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...African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5(4), pp. 1266-1276, 18 February, 2011 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM ISSN 1993-8233 ©2011 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Challenges and opportunities of Tanzanian SMEs in adapting supply chain management Sama Hamisi Procurement and Supplies Department, College of Business Education, Dodoma Campus, Dodoma, P. O. Box 2077, Tanzania. E-mail: samakicheche@yahoo.com. Tel: +255 755 292 850. Fax: +255 026 232 2121. Accepted 19 November, 2010 Around the globe, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have acquired a significant and pivotal position in the entire economic development process. Over the years, this sector had played a critical role in developing Tanzanian economy through creation of employment opportunities, income generation, equitable distribution of income whence contributing towards poverty alleviation. However, this sector suffers a number of challenges in domestic and global market competition, though, varieties of opportunities in adapting supply chain management exists. In today’s context of fast changing and dynamic economy and dominance of global supply chain systems, the SMEs in Tanzania, besides facing traditional hardships in finance, they misalliance the phenomenon of supply chain management thus fails to find proper place in the domestic and global supply chain leaving TNCs and MNCs to have a greater dominance. As Tanzania’s economic policy is about-turn...
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...also called small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits. These are the most common businesses found across most of the world’s economies. The World Bank Review on Small Business Activities establishes the commitment of the World Bank Group to the development of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector as a core element in its strategy to foster economic growth, employment and poverty alleviation. In the context of Bangladesh, the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be considered as a vital instrument for poverty alleviation and ensure the rapid industrialization. So we can say that the role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is indispensable for overall economic development of a country particularly for developing countries like Bangladesh. It has drawn a lot of interest among policy makers, academics, businessmen and people in general. Government of Bangladesh has highlighted the importance of SME in the Industrial Policy-2005. SMEs have been identified by the Ministry of Industries as a ‘thrust sector’. As the SME sector is labor intensive, it can create more employment opportunities. For this reason government of Bangladesh has recognized SME as a poverty alleviation tool. As a result they will enhance the standard of living in rural areas. SMEs (Around the world) : Although the definition of what an SME is varies across nations, the most widely used...
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...FACTA UNIVERSITATIS Series: Economics and Organization Vol. 5, No 1, 2008, pp. 17 - 29 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL FACTORS АFFЕCTING THE PRODUCT AND BUSINESS PROCESS INNOVATION UDC 001.895:658.62 Nebojša Zakić, Ana Jovanović, Milan Stamatović Faculty of Entrepreneurial Business, Union University, Belgrade Abstract. The competitive advantage of a company strongly depends on its possibility to benefit from innovational activities. Understanding the factors that affect product and process innovation and their effects is necessary for deciding on an innovation strategy that is one of the core factors of an innovation success. We research the influence of nine external and internal factors on product and business processes innovation. For the analysis of important relations and conclusions, beside theoretical literature, we use the results of several studies. Key Words: product innovations, business processes innovation, industry maturity, customer needs, demand, technological opportunity, investment attractiveness, company size, export orientation INTRODUCTION Innovations are one of the main sources of a competitive advantage and they are essential for a company growth. Fast technology development, combined with the globalisation and fast changes in customer demand, implies that a competitive advantage of a company can be only temporary. Companies put great effort in beating the competition and improvement in the market game by introducing innovations. On the macro level, innovations...
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...of contents 1. Open innovation for SMEs in developing countries - An intermediated communication network model for collaboration beyond obstacles....................................................................................................................... 1 2. Model of Thai Small and Medium Sized Enterprises' Organizational Capabilities: Review and Verification 15 3. SMALL BUSINESSES AND INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE ECONOMIC HARD TIME: A GLOBAL STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE............................................................................................ 33 Bibliography...................................................................................................................................................... 48 24 September 2014 ii ProQuest Document 1 of 3 Open innovation for SMEs in developing countries - An intermediated communication network model for collaboration beyond obstacles Author: Vrgovic, Petar; Vidicki, Predrag; Glassman, Brian; Walton, Abram ProQuest document link Abstract: Although there is increasing interest in exploring open innovation in developing countries, the conceptual and potential applications of using open innovation in the small to medium enterprise sector are rarely explored. Since SMEs often have a dominant impact on national economies, their innovative potential should not be neglected. While SMEs in developed countries have learned how to innovate, SMEs in developing countries face a range...
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...The Reality of Quick Response (QR) in the Japanese Fashion Sector and the Strategy Ahead for the Domestic SME Apparel Manufacturers Nobby (Nobukaza) Azuma School of Management Heriot-Watt University UK E-mail: nobukaza@aol.com N.Azuma@hw.ac.uk Fax: +44-(0) 131-451-3498 Abstract Quick Response (QR) has long been perceived as the essential survival strategy of the textile and apparel (T-A) manufacturers in the developed economies against offshore competition. However, the regionalization of global economies and active governmental investment in the T-A industry in the offshore countries has allowed the offshore QR to become increasingly feasible. This changing facet of QR may spell out more lucrative opportunities for Japanese "apparel firms", which have predominantly in-house creative and marketing functions, to widen the scope and the scale of their fashion business operations, since the economic upgrading in the Pacific Rim will create a huge consumer market that shares similar fashion trends as in the Japanese market. However, the apparel firms' production shift offshore has, on the other hand, threatened the existence of the domestic SME apparel manufacturers that have traditionally served their apparel firms customers, now that QR is no longer the sustainable competitive advantage of domestic manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to explore the levels of QR implementation, identifying the potential pitfalls and drawbacks of the current QR initiatives in the Japanese...
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...Marketing Strategies and the Difference Level of Sales and Profits Performance of the Batik SMEs in Malaysia. Mohd Zulkifli Mokhtar & Wan Nur Syahida Wan-Ismail Faculty of Management and Economics, University Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia Correspondence: Mohd Zulkifli Mokhtar, Faculty of Management and Economics, University Malaysia Terengganu, Mengabang Telipot, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. E-mail: zulkifli@umt.edu.my Abstract In this research, the business owners of batik SMEs were analyzed on their marketing strategies. The objective is to examine if the marketing strategies of high performance batik SMEs differently from low performance batik SMEs. The high and low performance batik SMEs were categorized based on their annual sales and profits for three consecutive years. For this purposes, the questionnaires were distributed among 186 batik business owners in Malaysia. The data collected were then analyzed using Mann-Whitney U Test and Chi-Square Test. The result found that the high sales and profits performers are not only focused in local market, but they expand their sales out-of their states. For high sales performers, they are frequently advertised their businesses and using various promotional tools. Hence, efforts should be made by the low performers to find and expand their sales outside of their states, advertise their businesses more frequently and not only depends on personal network as promotional tools. Using various promotional...
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...European Journal of Business and Management ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol 4, No.8, 2012 www.iiste.org The Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development: The Nigerian Perspective Dr. Mrs Ann Ogbo AGU CHIDIEBERE NWACHUKWU Dept. Of management, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. PMB 011 *E mail of the correspondence author: annogbo@yahoo.com brightchidi@yahoo.com Abstract The aim of the paper is to develop and analyse the contributions of entrepreneurship in the economic development through SME development in Nigeria. A total of 100 SMEs were randomly selected from a cross section of a population of all SMEs spread around some states of Nigeria and covering virtually all forms of enterprise. Participants were selected through a simple random sampling. The responses to the questionnaires were complemented with personal interviews of some SMEs operators. The responses of the participants were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), which generated the frequency distributions, means, standard deviations, chi-square statistics, analyses of variance, etc of the responses. The hypotheses of this research which were tested at 0.05 level of significance using chi-square statistics hinged on identifying the greatest problem which SMEs face in Nigeria, the identification and ranking of the top ten problems or challenges of SMEs in Nigeria and the relationship between the form and nature of the business enterprise and its sources of funding...
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...Disclosures About CSR Practices: A Literature Review Kavitha W * and Anita P ** Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now prominent and evident more than ever due to the emphasis laid on businesses regarding environmental, social and ethical issues. The level of CSR activities of the firms is made known to public only through the disclosures. This paper reviews the literature on CSR disclosures and the effect of these disclosures. There are various factors which determine the extent of disclosures like the size of the firm, industry, high visibility, etc. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now prominent and evident more than ever due to the emphasis laid on businesses regarding environmental, social and ethical issues. This is because over the recent years, there have been social, political and economic pressures on corporate management to pay attention on social and environmental consequences of corporate activities. These pressures motivated the corporate management to actively participate in a wide range of social welfare activities. CSR now-a-days covers almost all issues like the use of child labor; inequality of employment; environmental impact; involvement in local community; products’ safety; company cultures; brand image and reputation. Apart from this, companies are now disclosing these activities in their annual reports, and one of the parameters to judge the performance of a company is CSR reporting. Corporate Social Responsibility ...
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...European Journal of Business and Management ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol 4, No.8, 2012 www.iiste.org The Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development: The Nigerian Perspective Dr. Mrs Ann Ogbo AGU CHIDIEBERE NWACHUKWU Dept. Of management, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. PMB 011 *E mail of the correspondence author: annogbo@yahoo.com brightchidi@yahoo.com Abstract The aim of the paper is to develop and analyse the contributions of entrepreneurship in the economic development through SME development in Nigeria. A total of 100 SMEs were randomly selected from a cross section of a population of all SMEs spread around some states of Nigeria and covering virtually all forms of enterprise. Participants were selected through a simple random sampling. The responses to the questionnaires were complemented with personal interviews of some SMEs operators. The responses of the participants were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), which generated the frequency distributions, means, standard deviations, chi-square statistics, analyses of variance, etc of the responses. The hypotheses of this research which were tested at 0.05 level of significance using chi-square statistics hinged on identifying the greatest problem which SMEs face in Nigeria, the identification and ranking of the top ten problems or challenges of SMEs in Nigeria and the relationship between the form and nature of the business enterprise and its sources of...
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