中小会计师事务所发展的理性思考

中小企业是我国国民经济中的一支重要力量,中小企业的存在为中小会计师事务所提供了广阔的发展空间。本文从发展优势、存在的问题等方面对中小会计师事务所进行了分析,在此基础上,提出我国中小会计师事务所的发展对策。     

The interactions between person–organization fit and leadership styles in Asian firms,an empirical testing

This paper presents a study that examines the use of human resource management (HRM) practices and factors influencing the adoption of HRM practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using a multiple-case study method, HRM in SMEs was explored by comparing 12 small and medium-sized and 12 large semiconductor design firms. The findings show that there is considerable homogeneity across the firms in relation to their use of human resources (HR) practices providing support for the insights based on the new institutionalism. The factors leading to the homogeneity HRM are discussed. It is argued that theory-based empirical research on HRM in SMEs within the same industry enable us move towards a systematic understanding and explanation of HRM in SMEs.     

Interplay between reputation and growth: the source,role and audience of reputation of rapid growth technology-based SMEs

Abstract

Drawing on resource-based view and signalling theory, this paper presents a comparative case of four (young vs. old; small vs. medium-sized) business-to-business firms to examine how (i.e. through which sources), why (i.e. for which managerial purposes) and for whom (i.e. for which audiences) do technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises build their reputation along the process of rapid growth? The results indicate that in the pre-growth stage product awards as well as technological and financial partners are important sources of reputation for demonstrating technological capabilities and firm sustainability to potential customers especially for young firms. Older firms, in turn, rely on technology partners and acquisitions in the rapid growth stage to convince existing customers that the firms’ can keep up with their customer’s changing needs. Moreover, the reputation gained from the first well-known customer and a focused clientele appear to be two critical antecedents of rapid growth whereas patents do not seem to have a significant reputational role in rapid growth. Our study informs the theory of reputation development of growing technology-based firms by abstracting a more nuanced understanding of stakeholder- and stage-contingent reputation that fosters rapid growth, and provides new insight into the literature on small firm growth.     

Are entrepreneurial foreign activities of Peruvian SMNEs influenced by international certifications, corporate social responsibility and green management?

Given the crucial role of entrepreneurial foreign activity as a source of corporate profits and competitive advantage, it is of interest to investigate which factors may help promote it. This paper evaluates whether entrepreneurial foreign activities of small and medium-sized multinational enterprises (SMNEs) of Latin American developing countries are affected by international certifications, corporate social responsibility and green management. To that aim, we use a sample of 100 Peruvian exporting firms from several sectors and a methodology consisting of partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results reveal that, while acquiring and holding international certifications as well as the investments carried out in actions related to corporate social responsibility do not have positive effects on the performance of entrepreneurial foreign activities of Peruvian SMNEs, green management exerts a positive influence. Therefore, environmental management is revealed as an effective tool to help firms from developing countries compete successfully in the markets and, in turn, improve the economic situation in those regions.     

Internationalization of private firms: environmental turbulence and organizational strategies and resources

Profiles of exporting and superior-performing private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are presented. Multivariate regression evidence suggests that SMEs focusing upon an offensive and market differentiation strategy of product/service protection is associated with the propensity and the intensity of exporting. Exporting SMEs are also associated with younger and manufacturing firms as well as firms with product or service quality and/or technology resources. The perceptions by SMEs of external environmental turbulence were not significantly associated with the exporting-dependent variables. Most notably, variables associated with exporting SMEs are not the same as those associated with superior firm performance. Moreover, exporting firms did not report superior levels of performance. Implications for policy-makers, practitioners and researchers are discussed.     

Inside the high-tech black box: A critique of technology entrepreneurship policy

Promoting new technology-based firms is the cornerstone of technology entrepreneurship policies in advanced industrial economies. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence from the UK, this paper provides a critique of these policy frameworks. The aggregate analysis shows that vast majority of these firms are micro firms, a small minority of whom grow rapidly. The paper then highlights the incongruence between the nature of these firms and the public sector technology policies designed to support them. The qualitative data reveals that typically these firms are corporate rather than university spin-offs; most do not undertake large amounts of in-house R&D; most do not have protected IP; and only a small minority are VC-backed. Most derive their main competitive advantages from open innovation sources such as relationships with end-users and customers. The paper offers suggestions for how policy could be recalibrated to better reflect the requirements of local entrepreneurial actors and the types of support required by most high-tech SMEs.     

Research collaboration and R&D outsourcing: Different R&D personnel requirements in SMEs

The literature on ‘open’ innovation emphasises the need to engage in external knowledge relations in order to innovate. Particularly for SMEs, research cooperation and R&D outsourcing can offer possibilities to complement the often limited internal research resources. However, they also bring in their wake requirements in terms of absorptive capacity and managerial skills of the internal R&D personnel.The paper focuses on the different requirements in terms of availability and training of research managers and R&D experts for research cooperation versus R&D outsourcing in SMEs. An empirical analysis of micro-level data provided by the OECD business R&D survey for Belgium reveals that the relation between R&D personnel requirements and research collaboration and R&D outsourcing depends upon the SME size. Therefore, to study this subject appropriately a distinction between very small, small, and medium-sized firms is relevant. Very small firms engage significantly less in research cooperation than medium-sized firms and the propensity to engage in research cooperation is positively associated with the share of PhD holders among the research managers and R&D experts. For R&D outsourcing a lower involvement is noted in medium-sized firms, and the propensity to outsource increases with the formal qualification level of the R&D personnel and with R&D training. Among the SME, small firms are most engaged in research cooperation and in R&D outsourcing. In the case of research cooperation they rely on highly qualified experts. For R&D outsourcing activities both the presence of research managers and R&D experts is important.     

Sustainable development of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises in the European Union: A taxonomy of circular economy practices

This paper focuses on the implementation of circular economy (CE) practices in small‐ and medium‐sized firms in all 28 European Union (EU) countries. The analyses take into account the hierarchical nature of the collected data as firms are nested within EU countries, that is, the heterogeneity between different types of firms and countries according to practices and attitudes towards CE. The multilevel latent class model identifies groups of firms and groups of EU countries that are homogeneous in terms of CE, that is, how the homogeneous groups of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are distributed across the groups of EU countries. These results, together with the fact that firms with similar CE attitudes and practices have different demographic and business profiles across groups of countries, shed further light on the topic of green behavior in the EU with implications for businesses' environmental policies. Moreover, indications emerge that European policies favoring the implementation of CE practices should be targeted at least for subgroups of European countries, considering the different composition by typology of SMEs operating in their territories and that, at the same time, policies should be defined within each group of countries to account for the specific features of each of the four classes of SMEs.     

Mergers between local public firms

We consider a country made up of two regions, where each region owns a local public firm and a domestic private one. A national authority decides whether or not to merge the two local public firms. The result depends on whether the goods produced by the firms are homogeneous, substitutes or complements. We find that if the two local public firms produce the same good, the national authority is indifferent as to whether to merge or not. When local public firms produce different goods two cases arise. First, if the firms in each region produce homogeneous goods the national authority merges the two local public firms when the goods are complements, independent in demand and weak substitutes. Second, if the firms in each region produce heterogeneous goods the national authority merges the two local public firms only when the goods are close complements. Therefore, there is greater scope for mergers in the former case than in the later.     

Using web mining to explore Triple Helix influences on growth in small and mid-size firms

While broad “Triple Helix” frameworks of industry, government and university collaborations have the potential to enhance innovation and economic development at macro-levels, at the micro-level of the firm it should not be assumed that such relationships are uniform in character or outcomes. Each firm will negotiate and develop its own set of relationships with other innovation system actors based on its capabilities and strategies. To better understand these dynamics, particularly from the perspective of small and medium-sized enterprises, this study probes the micro-level characteristics and impacts of external enterprise relationships. Novel website-based Triple Helix measures are introduced that extend the analytical scope beyond customary indicators (such as patent analysis or entropy measures) to include communication and coordination among all three helices at the micro-level of individual firms. This approach is used to explore the micro-level characteristics and impacts of industry, government and university relations for small and medium-sized enterprises by analyzing a subset of 271 U.S. green goods small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. We compare the website-based measures with case study results to authenticate the method. A panel data regression model is then employed to analyze the simultaneous impacts of various combinations of industry, government and university links on firm sales growth (2008–2011), with controls for region, scale, and application domains. The ability of website-based indicators to distinguish the impacts of different mixes of Triple Helix relations is demonstrated. While relationships with all three helices have a positive total marginal effect on firm sales growth, local relationships and relationships that emphasize links with government and industry make particularly notable contributions to growth in the sample green goods enterprises. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Networking,trust and embeddedness amongst SMEs in the Aberdeen oil complex

Over the last decade or so, networking has become a ‘vogue concept’ in small business research, connecting with wider debates on learning and regional development. Participation in inter-firm networks is seen to provide small firms with access to a broader pool of resources and knowledge, helping them to overcome size-related disadvantages. In particular, the role of such networks as channels for innovation and learning within regions and localities has been emphasized in the context of an apparent shift towards a knowledge-driven economy. In this paper, we provide an empirically-grounded analysis of networking, trust and embeddedness amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Aberdeen oil complex. Drawing upon survey and interview data, it is argued that connections to extra-local networks play a crucial role in providing access to wider sources of information and knowledge. At the same time, an Aberdeen location still matters to oil-related firms because of the access it offers to crucial forms of industry-specific information and expertise. In concurring with recent calls for more empirically-grounded research which seeks to ‘test’ theoretical propositions against relevant data, we suggest in conclusion that a combination of firm surveys and face-to-face interviews provides an appropriate way forward.     

Localized capabilities and the internationalization of manufacturing activities by SMEs

In this paper it is argued that the internationalization of production through foreign direct investment (FDI) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is influenced by local level idiosyncracies. Although SMEs suffer from inherent constraints to international growth (due to the scarce availability of financial and managerial resources), the presence of qualified localized capabilities strengthen and complement their competitive/ownership advantages, thus favouring their internationalization. These capabilities are related to the advanced specialized services available to the firms, the existence of a ‘marshallian atmosphere’, and an environment conducive to innovation and learning. However, it is argued that negative externalities stemming from protectionism-oriented public intervention discourage the international growth of firms and negatively influence the propensity of SMEs to internationalize. Empirical support for these premises is provided by this study of the Italian case over the decade 1986–1995.     

完善我国中小企业融资环境的思考

文章指出我国政府对中小企业的重视程度日趋增强,已陆续出台了一系列扶持中小企业发展的措施,但是目前我国中小企业融资难的问题并没有从根本上解决,资金缺乏仍旧是制约我国中小企业进一步发展的首要问题,其重要原因是我国中小企业融资的法律、政策、中小企业信用担保体系和其自身的组织管理体系仍不完善,且缺乏相应的融资社会服务体系,所以,当前加紧建立和完善我国中小企业融资环境已迫在眉睫。     

The emergence of the Big Five in Sweden

The accounting profession is dominated by the Big Five, which in 1999 and in order of revenue size were PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Arthur Andersen. A specific feature of the profession in Sweden is that three firms dominate the market –; PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG – while Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche are of less relative importance compared with their standing in other countries. The objective of this paper is to explore the development of the auditing profession in Sweden 1912–99, in order to find the growth strategies that generated today's structure. Particular attention will be paid to the gradual emergence of the Big Five. The Big Three auditing firms in Sweden in 1999 engaged 55% (1,105 authorized public accountants) of the total population of authorized public accountants. However, the proportion of ‘sole practitioners’, i.e. firms with no more than one authorized public accountant, was 81% in the same year. An overwhelming part of the auditing firms in Sweden are thus very small. It seems quite obvious that the activities within these small firms in many important ways differ from the activities within the medium-sized and big firms. A common feature of the firms that subsequently became the Big Three in Sweden is that they were established at a very early stage. There seems to have been a first-mover advantage in the auditing profession. The Big Three firms have adopted different growth strategies. They have increased in size by organic growth, by establishing or buying branch offices in different parts of Sweden or by merging with large firms.     

从中小会计师事务所角度看会计师事务所的专业化经营

随着社会的需要,政策的放开,环境的改善,中小会计师事务所如雨后春笋般涌现。但大多数中小事务所经营惨淡,顾此失彼,在营销上不注重策略或走入误区,严重地制约了事务所的持续发展。本文主要分析了从专业化经营角度改善营销,培育事务所的竞争力,以期使事务所步入良性发展轨道。     

Marketing in SMEs: the role of entrepreneurial sensemaking

Marketing literature has emphasized the factors hampering marketing planning and strategizing in small firms, in particular resource scarcity, lack of specialized structures and competences. Recent streams of literature in entrepreneurial marketing have nonetheless shown that small firms do engage in peculiar marketing strategies and activities that do not necessarily reflect codified processes observed in large organizations. Within this line of research, the article aims at contributing to extant theory in entrepreneurial marketing placing under scrutiny the generative moments of marketing strategies in small firms. Through the integration of literature in entrepreneurial marketing and in entrepreneurship and through the analysis of four case studies, the article proposes a conceptual framework that emphasizes the centrality of entrepreneurial sensemaking in small and medium-sized enterprises?? marketing strategies. We posit that entrepreneurs are engaged in the construction of interpretive frameworks that, when explicated and made accessible to consumers and stakeholders, legitimate novel business ideas and logics. These interpretive frameworks structure the content and processes of marketing activities. Theoretically, the article aims at contributing to the debate on marketing in small businesses shedding light on the processes underlying the formation of marketing strategies. Propositions are offered to guide future empirical research based on the proposed conceptual framework.     

The variable effects of dynamic capability by firm size: the interaction of innovation and marketing capabilities in competitive industries

Although investments in marketing and innovation capabilities theoretically help firms to compete in dynamic markets and enhance performance, company size has a strong influence on whether this is the case. In a test of a proposed conceptual model, this study of 692 small, medium, and large enterprises found that large firms prospered from building dynamic capabilities under conditions of high industry competitiveness, while investments in innovation and marketing individually diminished small firms’ performance. The effect was mixed for medium-size firms. In small enterprises, however, dynamic capability proved to be crucial in order to withstand competition. Therefore, taking into account these firms’ limited resources, managerial efforts should be focused on the integration of marketing and innovation capabilities, because each capability alone does not have a significant positive impact on performance. In medium-sized enterprises, the support of marketing capability is required to raise profitability under conditions of high industry competitiveness; otherwise, innovation would not lead to actual profits. For large enterprises, industry competitiveness was found to be a less serious threat to performance, and instead is a catalyst to the development of capabilities, suggesting that managers of such firms should focus on building long-term strategic advantages.     

中小企业财税风险防范策略

在全球经济不断复苏的背景之下,我国的中小企业改革也开始提上日程。在如今的财税政策之下,很多的企业财务开始逐渐面向透明化方向转变,一旦企业不按照规章制度办事,那么面临的将会是巨大的经济风险,而对于中小企业来说简直就是灭顶之灾。那么如何在日益严格的财税政策中生存下去,则是现在每个中小企业面临的难题。为此,论文针对现在中小企业财税风险防范方面面临的问题出发,给予意见以及建议,希望能够对相关工作人员有所帮助。     

Assessing the adoption of HRM by small and medium-sized manufacturing organizations

This paper reports on exploratory research which uses a comparative case-study approach with sixteen organizations to study the extent to which HRM has been adopted in traditional brownfield-site, small and medium-sized UK manufacturing organizations. The paper begins with a comparison of HRM practices across the sixteen organizations. It is argued that the most common HRM practices in these firms appeared to relate more to a traditional small firm approach than to any proactive attempt to adopt HRM. The analysis shows that very few of the organizations adopted a strategic approach towards HRM with an integrated set of policies related to corporate strategy being put forward. Instead, the dominant approach seemed to be one of reactive, opportunistic pragmatism, showing little development from the standard modern approach identified as most common in the early 1980s. On the other hand, three organizations are shown to approximate quite closely to the model of strategic HRM and contextual analysis is undertaken to attempt to differentiate these from the other organizations. A comparison is also made between the findings of this research and a telephone survey that was conducted to assess the use of HRM in Leicestershire. The results of this show that a certain degree of caution should be exercised when accepting reports of organizational practices which do not involve researchers actually entering the organizations. Finally, the paper concludes that in order to get a better understanding of the situation facing these and other organizations we need to broaden our scope and consider the impact of changing economic, social and political conditions on management worker relations.     

Small high technology firms: some regional implications

Small high technology firms are often regarded as a vehicle for economic growth. This paper considers theories of small firm innovation and the evidence from sectoral, regional and national case studies. Small innovative firms appear to have some common needs; an environment conducive to entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial and technical ability to translate new technologies into products for which a market exists; pleasant locations where R&D activity is concentrated and where there are clusters of skilled craftsmen and local suppliers of ancillary goods and services. Current policies to stimulate the generation and growth of small high technology firms are evaluated and some alternatives are suggested.