The Brand Personality of Nonprofit Organizations and the Influence of Monetary Incentives

This article contributes to the limited literatures on small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using an institutional theoretical framework, we analyzed fieldwork interviews with twenty SMEs and perspectives of 165 SME managers and workers in textiles, garment, and footwear industries, the most important wage-earning sector in Vietnam. Having understood in the context of a developing “market economy with socialist orientation” (thus a “Southern perspective”), we find that socially responsible practices and expectations developed long before the arrival of CSR as a western concept and an MNC agenda. While identifying and contributing ideas concerning forms of “informal” CSR practices—influenced by social and cultural expectations—to the CSR/SME literature, we are conscious of the mixed effects of these practices and the ongoing nuanced negotiations between workers and managers in these SMEs. In our research, we found that it takes both domestic and international stakeholders to improve labor conditions in Vietnam under the banner of CSR.     

Export behaviour of SMEs in transition countries

Melitz’s dynamic model of export participation is the basis of our empirical specification that accounts for a wide range of internal and external factors affecting the export behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Transition Countries (TCs). Using firm-level data, our estimates highlight the particular importance of the human and technology-related factors to the export behaviour of SMEs in TCs. Other important factors for SME exporting activities are productivity-enhancing spillovers from industry—especially vertical—linkages, firm size, ownership type, type of activity, the availability of external finance, networking through business associations, and market share. In addition, significant period and country differences are identified. This paper contributes to the transition literature by filling an important gap in the understanding of the SME internationalisation process and by identifying a comprehensive set of variables to explain firms’ export behaviour in TCs.     

Women's Perceived Empowerment in Entrepreneurial Efforts: The Role of Bricolage and Psychological Capital

Women's entrepreneurial empowerment—perceived competence, self‐determination, and ability in managing a firm as an entrepreneur—is important to women's entrepreneurship in developing countries. Drawing on a sample of 369 women entrepreneurs from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in Gujarat, a western state in India, we find that women's entrepreneurial empowerment is positively associated with firm revenues. Gains from empowerment could be further enhanced for women entrepreneurs managing resource constraints—through bricolage—and meeting the challenges of self‐employment—through psychological capital. The present study contributes to literature on women's entrepreneurial empowerment and SME performance. Women's empowerment and the bolstering effects of bricolage and psychological capital could help government agencies and non‐government organizations devise programs and policies to improve the performance of women‐owned SMEs in developing countries.     

Rigidity in SME export commencement decisions

In an increasingly globalised world, firms generally have become more internationalised utilising a range of different modes of operation. In the case of small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), exporting is the favoured mode of international market entry, at least in the early stages of internationalisation, and many governments have supported SME exports through export promotion policies because of the importance of SMEs in employment creation. However, in spite of this policy focus, in most countries, the proportional involvement of SMEs in exporting remains low, which raises an important question as to what factors are inhibiting firms that are successful domestically from exporting. In addressing this question, much scholarly research has focused on the broad concept of ‘export barriers’. These barriers, for example, tariffs, quotas and administrative obstacles, are seen as a primary source of export reluctance. This paper takes a different approach to previous studies and proposes that a firm's resistance to exporting can be better understood through an analysis of the behavioural decision process of firms in line with the Uppsala internationalisation model. We propose ‘lateral rigidity’, first introduced in the literature in the 1970s, as an important concept in export commencement. By applying factor analysis to a survey of Australian SMEs, we provide a measurement model for lateral rigidity, revealing its important factors and thus strengthening understanding of firms' export commencement decisions. We conclude by drawing implications for internationalisation theory, practice and public policy and suggesting ways to extend this work through future research.     

Credit Risk Assessment and Relationship Lending: An Empirical Analysis of German Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises*

We estimate a logit scoring model for the prediction of the probability of default by German small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) using a unique data set on SME loans in Germany. Our scoring model helps SMEs to gain knowledge about their default risk, which can be used to approximate their risk adequate cost of debt. This knowledge is likely to lead to a detection of hold‐up problems that German SMEs might be confronted with in their bank relationships. Furthermore, it allows them to monitor their bank’s pricing behavior and it reduces information asymmetries between lenders and borrowers. Finally, it can influence their future financing decisions toward capital market‐based financing.     

The Internationalisation of Small to Medium-Sized Retail Companies: Towards A Conceptual Framework

The internationalisation of large multinational retailers is well documented and much research attention has been given to their processes, motives and strategies for expansion. However, a successful international retailer does not necessarily have to be a large retailer. Dynamic smallerretailers with strong concepts, formats and products have shown themselves capable of rapid international growth. To date there has been a distinct lack of research on the internationalisation of small to medium-sized companies (SMEs) operating in the retail sector. Any discussion of SME internationalisationwithin the retail industry should recognise that research on large multinational corporations is not directly transferable to small and medium-sized firms who by their very nature and characteristics embrace a very different set of opportunities in the international market. To address thisgap in research, this paper draws upon broader established international SME and entrepreneurship literatures to provide a framework for examining some of the key aspects of the internationalisation of retail SMEs.     

SMEs and regional economic growth in Brazil

This paper examines the relationship between the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector and economic growth for an annual panel of Brazilian states for the period 1985–2004. We investigate the importance of the relative size of the SME sector measured by the share of SME employment in total formal employment and the level of human capital in SMEs measured by the average years of schooling of SME employees. The empirical results indicate that the relative importance of SMEs is negatively correlated with economic growth, a result that is consistent with previous studies examining developing countries. In addition, our results show that the human capital embodied in SMEs may be more important for economic growth than the relative size of the SME sector.     

Social and Symbolic Capital and Responsible Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation of SME Narratives

This paper investigates links between social capital and symbolic capital and responsible entrepreneurship in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The source of the primary data was 144 ‘Business Profiles’, written by the owner-managers of small businesses in application for a Small Business Awards competition in 2005. Included in each of these narratives were claims relating to the firms’ contributions to wider society, relationships with customers, employees and stakeholders. These narratives were coded and classified in a framework drawn from Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998, Academy of Management Review 23(2), 242–266) categorisation of social capital. The analysis revealed a range of strategic orientations towards the development of social and symbolic capital, along a conceptual continuum ranging from being responsible for oneself to being responsible for others. Overall, the evidence demonstrates the significance of the power inherent in the social relations of SMEs as a force for ethical behaviour, and suggests that normative theories of the development of social capital may provide ‘competitive advantage’ through responsible behaviour for small business in the global economy.Ted Fuller is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Foresight, and Head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and SME Development, Teesside Business School, University of Teesside.Yumiao Tian is a postgraduate research student in the Centre for Entrepreneurship and SME Development, Teesside Business School, University of Teesside.     

中小制造企业供应链管理运作流程探讨

我国的中小制造企业在供应链中担当了重要角色,长期以来却缺乏供应链流程管理的机制。根据目前我国中小制造企业供应链管理流程的现状及其在供应链中所处的位置,SCOR供应链运营参考模型的五个基本流程,适合于我国中小制造企业供应链管理流程。并以某文具制造企业重构供应链管理流程的实例,说明了只有充分利用信息系统这样的平台,供应链的整体流程才能够得以顺利地进行。     

Innovation in family and non-family SMEs: an exploratory analysis

This study provides an exploratory analysis of differences between family and non-family firms in innovation investment, product and process innovation outcomes, and labor productivity. Using data from the Community Innovation Survey on 2,087 German small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we observe significant disparities at each stage of the innovation process. Whereas family SMEs have a higher propensity to invest in innovation at all, conditional on investing in innovation, these companies do so less intensively than their non-family counterparts. Family SMEs further tend to outperform non-family SMEs in terms of process innovation outcomes when controlling for innovation investment. Given the level of product and process innovation, however, family SMEs underperform regarding labor productivity in comparison to non-family SMEs. These findings complement previous empirical research by illustrating how the presence of a dominant family relates to innovation inputs and outputs of SMEs in Europe’s largest economy and its innovative SME sector.     

Testing trade-off and pecking order theories financing SMEs

This paper explores two of the most important theories behind financial policy in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), namely, the pecking order and the trade-off theories. Panel data methodology is used to test empirical hypotheses on a sample of 3,569 Spanish SMEs over a 10-year period dating from 1995 to 2004. Results suggest that both theoretical models help to explain SME capital structure. However, despite finding clear evidence that SMEs follow a funding source hierarchy (pecking order model), our results reveal that greater trust is placed in SMEs that aim to reach target or optimum leverage (trade-off model). This remains true even when SMEs take a long time to reach this level, due to the high transaction costs they have to face. Non-debt tax shields (NDTS), growth opportunities and internal resources all seem to play an important role in determining SME capital structure. Both size and age are also found to be significant factors. Moreover, the empirical evidence obtained confirms that SMEs clearly behave differently to large firms where financing is concerned.

Internationalisation of SMEs from the perspective of social learning theory

Internationalisation is seen as an important issue for the globalised economy. Therefore, it has been widely investigated among multinational enterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Even though earlier work acknowledges that internationalisation consists of entrepreneurial actions (e.g. discovery and exploitation of an international business opportunity) and learning from the market, detailed understanding of the process of social learning in internationalisation is still lacking. In this study, we use the cycle of expansive learning as a conceptual framework. It shows that entrepreneurial actions between SMEs construct international business opportunities. More specifically, entrepreneurial actions are about learning that constructs and co-creates knowledge. The cycle of expansive learning assumes that such knowledge is social in nature making the very nature of knowledge the basis of claims to explicate what the process of social learning entails. In the context of international entrepreneurship, there is also a by-product of that type of co-created and object-oriented action: the internationalisation of SMEs. The purpose of this study is to explore the internationalisation of SMEs through the cycle of expansive learning to better understand how such a by-product can be created. In examining a story of collaboration between two entrepreneurs, we found the start of the cycle to be more significant than the later stages. From the perspective of social learning, this suggests that entrepreneurs create meanings rather than exploit international opportunities in the business-sense alone. That said, internationalisation happens as a by-product of social acting.     

Applying asset-based community development as a strategy for CSR: a Canadian perspective on a win–win for stakeholders and SMEs

In the December 2006 edition of Harvard Business Review , Michael Porter and Mark Kramer argue that by approaching corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on corporate priorities, strengths and abilities, firms can develop socially and fiscally responsible solutions to current CSR issues, which will provide operational and competitive advantages. We agree that an effective approach to CSR includes a mapping of strategy, risk and opportunity. However, we also caution that the identification of these to the exclusion of societal input may not be to the corporation's advantage. Instead, an investment in both strategic analysis and social capital can pay off from a social and an organizational standpoint. Compared with their larger counterparts, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) frequently have stronger relationships with their internal and external stakeholders that foster the development of social capital. As such, we believe that the sector offers a unique opportunity to identify additional models and frameworks in order to approach a strategic CSR model as espoused by Porter and Kramer. This paper explores a case study of one Canadian SME that uses a community development framework called Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) for its CSR programming. Because ABCD relies heavily on the development and maintenance of social capital and can be utilized to attain set objectives, we propose that it provides a supplementary framework through which the arguments of Porter and Kramer can be expanded. In applying the ABCD framework for CSR, we can begin to establish a programme that supports strategy, integrates employees and stakeholders towards a common vision, and creates unique and sustainable alternatives towards the resolution of social and corporate goals.     

The international market selection of Chinese SMEs: How institutional influence overrides psychic distance

The purpose of this research is to contribute to the ongoing debate about whether psychic distance still plays a vital role in the internationalisation of SMEs from emerging markets. Drawing on the prior research which suggests the salient impact of institutional factors on internationalisation, we investigate the role of home country institutions in international market selection. Adopting a multi-case methodology, we collected semi-structured interview data from six small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in China. Our findings suggest that while psychic distance is still important in some circumstances, both formal institutions, such as government support, and informal institutions, such as business and political guanxi, enable Chinese SMEs to choose psychically distant markets. Our findings also indicate that informal institutions interact with formal institutions to further influence SMEs’ international market selection. This research contributes to SME internationalisation studies by revealing how formal and informal institutional factors override psychic distance in influencing international market selection.     

Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility

While Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has traditionally been the domain of the corporate sector, recognition of the growing significance of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) sector has led to an emphasis on their social and environmental impact, illustrated by an increasing number of initiatives aimed at engaging SMEs in the CSR agenda. CSR has been well researched in large companies, but SMEs have received less attention in this area. This paper presents the findings from a U.K. wide study of socially responsible SMEs. The 24 companies studied were chosen as “exemplars” of␣CSR in SMEs. The aim of this study therefore is to progress understanding of both the limitations on and opportunities for CSR in SMEs through the exploration of exemplary characteristics in the study companies. Key areas of investigation were CSR terminology, the influence of managerial values, the nature of SME CSR activities, motivation for and benefits from engaging in CSR, and the challenges faced. The results of this study demonstrate some of the exemplary goals and principles needed to achieve social responsibility in SMEs, and begin to provide knowledge that could be used to engender learning in other SMEs. In particular, there is evidence that stakeholder theory may provide a framework in which SMEs and CSR can be understood. SMEs prefer to learn through networking and from their peers, so this is a possible avenue for greater SME engagement in CSR. This would require strong leadership or “championing” from individuals such as highly motivated owner–managers and from exemplary companies as a whole.Heledd Jenkins is a Research Associate at The ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society based at Cardiff University. She holds a degree in Geography from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and a Masters degree in Sustainability, Planning and Environmental Policy from Cardiff University. Heledd's research areas of interest include Corporate Social Responsibility, Small to Medium sized Enterprises, Stakeholders, the mining industry, business ethics, and social entrepreneurship.     

Innovation as an internationalisation determinant of Brazilian technology-based SMEs

The general objective of this article is to analyse innovation as a determinant of the internationalisation patterns of Brazilian technology-based SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in different sectors and with different technological features. The theoretical background of this article centres on the typologies of innovation, SMEs’ internationalisation patterns, and innovation as an internationalisation determinant. The main theoretical contributions of this qualitative study are its analysis of innovation of the firm, focusing on the type of innovation, the degree of novelty, and the degree of control over the innovation process as determinants of their internationalisation patterns, and the influence of the external organisational environment on innovation and internationalisation. In terms of managerial implications, we highlight the effect of these factors on the competitiveness of case firms in international markets. Finally, our suggestions for future studies include the need for research replication in other emerging markets, the inclusion of both mature and young technology-based SMEs in the sample, the use of longitudinal data for case studies, and the validation of this qualitative study through a quantitative study that includes a larger sample of technology-based SMEs.

     

Trust and SME attitudes towards equity financing across Europe

The decision by a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) to take on equity requires trust, due to reliance on the good intentions of the parties involved. Drawing on a social capital perspective, we argue that national interpersonal and institutional trust positively influences SME attitudes towards equity financing. We also hypothesize a substitution effect between interpersonal and institutional trust. Through a large survey of European SMEs in 26 countries, we confirm the presence of these direct and interaction effects. By making explicit the link between trust and attitudes to equity financing we extend the theory on institutional drivers of SME financing.     

Using the “best‐fit” approach to investigate the effects of politico‐economic and social barriers on SMEs' internationalization in an emerging country context: Implications and future directions

The way this study has used the “best‐fit” approach has facilitated the investigation of how three hypothesized constructs of political, economic, and social barriers can deepen our knowledge of their impacts on small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs)' internationalization within a small developing country context. Based on a quantitative analysis of the three hypothesized barriers, we used the “best‐fit” approach to measure the extent to which the SMEs' internal variables like people, products, services, and practices might best fit some of the people and non‐people factors external to the businesses. The application of the “best‐fit” approach onto the three hypotheses—politics (H1), social (H2), economics (H3), helped us in explaining the major social and politico‐economic barriers faced by a developing economy' (Bangladeshi) SMEs' internationalization despite previous literatures' emphasis on the impacts of globalization, market drivers or their oversight. Based on the findings, we point to future research trajectory. This study used primary survey data from 212 Bangladeshi SMEs and successfully validated an HR model by using Smart PLS3 software. The results from the hypotheses were used to produce the HR model to help SMEs identify the significance of people and economic factors and propose these aspects for inclusion in the “best‐fit” approach, SME, and globalization research.     

The evolution of inter-organisational social capital with foreign customers: Its direct and interactive effects on SMEs’ foreign performance

Taking a longitudinal approach, we analyze how the evolution of different dimensions of social capital between an SME (Small and Medium enterprise) and its key foreign customers directly influences the firm’s foreign performance growth. Moreover, we utilize a contingency approach by introducing two dyad-specific characteristics into the analysis: psychic and geographic interorganizational distances. Our findings contribute to the international business literature on social capital and suggest that while an investment in social capital with distant foreign customers always reinforces SMEs’ foreign performance development, relational and cognitive social capital have the same positive effects only for low levels of interorganizational psychic distance.     

Small shop survival – The financial response to a global financial crisis

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many of which are small retail shops, remain the largest employer in the western world. Yet the financing of their fixed and working capital investments remains under-researched. This study focuses on this topic by examining Eurozone wholesale and retail SMEs enterprises at the peak of the 2008 financial credit crisis. In order to do this, an innovative analysis of existing theories in retail finance and policy research using generalised multilevel structural equation modelling is performed to establish how retail SMEs sourced capital during this period. This analysis, a first of its kind in wholesale and retail SME research, finds that pecking order theory, the independence of investment and financing, as well as the contest for financial resources between fixed and working capital do not hold for wholesale and retail SMEs. Moreover, it is found that government grants and subsidised loans were not used by SMEs in this sector of the Eurozone as primary sources of finance during the aftermath of the 2008 global credit crisis. Crucially, it is posited that a business environment characterized by stronger legal rights and deeper credit information did not improve SMEs’ access to external finance. The authors recommend that further research should be pursued in this field in order to improve current understanding of the resilience of retail SMEs for future global financial crises.