Typology Analysis of Performance Models of Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs)

A number of firm performance models are available. Reviewing these models and pointing out their individual strengths and weaknesses, would help both academic researchers and professional users to understand and appreciate how and when to use these various models. The theoretical models for Small and Medium-size Enterprise (SME) performance can be divided into two categories: firm dynamics theories and performance prediction models. In the first part of this paper we review, in a condensed manner, the most relevant firm dynamic theories, i.e. SME's performance models. These include: Stochastic Theories, Learning Model Theories and Hazard Modeling Theories. In the second part of this paper, we examine the performance prediction models of SMEs, which include Z-Scores, ZETA-Scores, Neural Networks (NN) and the SIV® models, among others. The strengths and weaknesses of each of these models are exposed and discussed.     

浅析我国中小高科技企业管理的融资策略

随着我国市场经济的迅速发展,高科技企业对社会经济的增长起着越来越重要的作用,但融资难的问题依然制约着高科技企业的发展。目前,我国中小高科技企业的融资由于自身、银行和社会等方面的原因,还存在很多问题。解决中小高科技企业融资难问题,企业自身应不断完善自身管理,政府应该为非银行金融中介机构的发展大力创造条件。同时,在多个方面对企业给予政策支持,帮助企业有效解决融资难的问题,促进其持续健康发展。     

The Characteristics and Performance of Affiliates of Small and Medium-Size Multinational Enterprises in an Emerging Market

Little has been reported on the characteristics and performance of affiliates of small and medium-sized multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in emerging markets. The paper has two research objectives: to assess characteristics of Korean affiliates of small and medium-sized MNEs, and identify the determinants of performance. Seven hypotheses were formulated and tested on a sample of Korean subsidiaries of small and medium-sized MNEs by using a bootstrap method of regression analysis. We found that: affiliates of small and medium-sized MNEs in Korea favored joint ventures with local firms rather than wholly-owned subsidiaries; ownership rate was directly related to the degree of control from the parent firm; and performance was determined significantly by the degree of control exercised by parent firms and their exporting levels. Age, size, and R&D expenditures had no relationship with the performance of affiliates of small and medium-size MNEs in Korea.     

进入模式、区域产业环境以及经营特性对中小企业跨区域经营绩效影响——基于浙商的实证研究

文章以238家总部设在浙江赴异地投资的中小企业为实证对象,通过多变量变异数分析、以及GLM回归分析等方法进行实证研究,探讨进入模式、区域产业环境以及经营特性对浙商在国内异地市场经营绩效的影响。研究结果显示：中小企业进入异地市场时,在综合绩效上以多数股权表现最好、独资次之、等额股权第三、少数股权最差;区域产业环境对异地经营绩效存在显著性影响。在具有供应链优势、成本优势或营销密集度优势的产业环境中,企业容易获得更佳的绩效表现,而在高研发密集度的区域,则呈现无差异表现;企业经营特性对其异地经营绩效存在显著性影响。具有良好控制能力和营销能力的企业容易获得更好的绩效。     

促进小微企业成长的营商环境研究

小微企业是促进我国经济发展不可缺少的中坚力量,营商环境是决定区域经济发展的基础和保障。只有在优良的营商环境里,小微企业才能得到健康、稳定的发展。本文通过研究当前辽宁省某市小微企业的营商环境现状以及该市小微企业目前发展面临的一些问题,结合问卷调查结果选取合适的营商环境评价指标对该市小微企业的营商环境进行评价,并基于评价结果对进一步优化营商环境提出政策性建议,以稳定该市目前的营商环境,促进该市小微企业健康成长。     

Relational Capital: Strategic Advantage for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs) Through Negotiation and Collaboration

Collaborative entrepreneurship research suggests that organizations will soon pursue more collaborative relationships throughout a worldwide network of firms, driving a strategy of continuous innovation, specially small- and medium-size firms (SMEs). Tapping into a body of literature that focuses on the importance of human capital in driving long-term success, we merge ideas of collaborative research with a growing body of work on human capital or human resource management in SMEs. Our paper states that it is not the human, per se, that is the real asset but the relationships those humans have that are the most inimitable and important capital. We will discuss how companies use relational capital as the basis for collaborative entrepreneurship. Consistent with our hypotheses, our exploratory study suggests that smaller firms place more value on relational capital than do larger firms. We also have some indication that the key capital that differentiates low vs. high performance, regardless of firm size, is the relational capital aspect. To sum up, relational capital is a fundamental asset for firms, but especially for SMEs, and high performing companies are those that are able to negotiate with others and develop collaborative agreements, thus placing a high value in relational capital.     

Product Innovation in Small and Large Enterprises

Innovation networks, establishment characteristics and the regional environment are likely to play different roles in product innovation in enterprises of different size. This paper focuses on the influence of the regional environment on the early adoption of micro-electronic components in product development in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises (LEs). Drawing upon existing literature we compare the role of enterprise characteristics, innovation networks and, in particular, the regional environment for an early use of micro-electronic components in product development in SMEs and LEs using a tobit model. Our central hypothesis is that SMEs are more dependent upon their regional environment than LEs for an early adoption. However, this hypothesis is rejected by our empirical results that show that location in a large, dense region has a significant positive effect on product innovation in LEs, while it has a negative but non-significant effect on product innovation in SMEs. Our results imply peripheral regions are able to provide an innovative environment for SMEs, whereas LEs need the richer environment offered by the core regions. The results are also interesting from a policy point of view because they indicate that SMEs can be early users of new technologies even if they are located outside the large urban areas.     

Innovation and the Operational Performance of Newly Established Small and Medium Enterprises in Taiwan

New Enterprises have been sprouted out prosperously in Taiwan. According to business income tax data, 143 thousand new enterprises were established between 1996–1998, which accounts for about 25% of total number of enterprises, and 98.68% of these new enterprises are SMEs.In this research, a randomly sampled 1,047 new enterprises which established after 1996 were surveyed through telephone. The survey discovered that three-quarters of these new enterprises adopted at least one out of nine types of innovative activities which were listed in the questionnaire.The logistic regression results of this study show that three main areas of innovation which were grouped from the nine activities by principal component analysis all had a positive relationship with operational performance of new enterprises. Innovative action had the biggest impact on sales growth, whilst the cultivation of an innovative atmosphere and the ability to innovate within the organization had the biggest impact on profits. In short, entrepreneurs in Taiwan are actively innovating, and this innovation is reflected in the performance of their enterprises.     

Purpose and Performance of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is one of the most successful public programs designed to support small firm innovation. The purpose and structure of the program, however, are often misunderstood. This paper clarifies the goals and rationale for the SBIR program and reviews recent findings regarding the program's impact. The paper identifies five dimensions of the innovation capital gap and outlines a possible extension of the program to better address this finance gap.     

Small Firms,Social Capital and the Enhancement of Business Performance Through Innovation Programmes

The paper explores the extent to which social capital is advantageous to small and medium enterprise (SME) growth. Social capital is a communal property involving civic engagement, associational membership, high trust, reliability and reciprocity in social networks. It is capable of being identified in social, political and economic contexts, often associated with strong communities. However, not all strong communities exert the effects of social capital in respect of business activities. This paper assesses government programmes to promote collaboration amongst SMEs for improving innovation capacity by increasing social capital through networking. It shows that, for a sizeable proportion of programme-funded firms in Denmark, Ireland and Wales (U.K.) social capital building was associated with enhanced business, knowledge and innovation performance. Of particular importance was the opportunity afforded to firms for linkage with external innovation networks, and the build-up of embeddedness, or the institutional basis for the enhancement of social capital. As a consequence of discovering the advantages of social capital, over a third of respondents planned to continue to develop it in future, in many cases funding such activities privately rather than calling on the public purse.     

Antitrust,Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Small Business

The purpose of this article is to discuss a few aspects of antitrust enforcement that are directly related to small businesses. The first point concerns how the antitrust laws work as an economic "charter of freedom" by protecting our economy from the misuse of market power by dominant firms, or from anticompetitive collusion by groups of firms, or from anticompetitive mergers, all of which can blunt the mainspring of our economic success – competitive markets. Second is an expansion on the first theme which focuses on how antitrust enforcement helps preserve two freedoms that I think small businesses care about very much: the freedom to engage in entrepreneurship, and the freedom to innovate. A final discussion involves a few recent cases recently seen at the Antitrust Division that illustrate the many ways in which antitrust enforcement has helped the small business marketplace.     

Effects of Concentrated Ownership and Owner Management on Small Business Debt Financing*

Using unique data and a new powerful Monte Carlo-based statistical tool, we examine the effects of concentrated ownership and owner–management (CO-OM) on the creditor–shareholder agency conflicts in small firms. A significant CO-OM effect from the small business owner's view, but insignificant from the commercial lenders' perspective, is found. Special features of informational asymmetry problems in small firms with CO-OM are also highlighted. Theoretical and empirical contributions are made to the small business management and corporate governance literature. Findings obtained from this research have important implications for small business practitioners as well as researchers, and this study can serve as a reference for policymakers and institutional lenders to assist small firms in successfully raising money through debt financing. In addition, a new powerful methodology is introduced to deal with various potential statistical biases and can be further applied to this line of research.     

Marketing Innovation in Rural Small Food Industries in Iran

Marketing innovation is essential for small industries to transform products into profit; therefore, understanding its nature and determinants is of utmost importance. This study aimed at understanding marketing innovation and its determinants in the 60 small food industries in the rural areas of Tehran province, Iran. Using a census sampling method, 111 managers of these firms were interviewed. Results showed that the firms’ performance in marketing innovation is generally weak, and a higher level of radical innovation in marketing is perceived compared to the incremental innovation. Also, a cause-and-effect relationship exists between both product and organizational innovations and marketing innovation. Furthermore, while incremental marketing innovation was negatively influenced by formal R&D unit, product diversification, and the manager’s years of experience, radical marketing innovation was affected by the capacity of production, product diversification, and managers’ age and education. The study concluded that in order to boost marketing innovation, innovation should be made also in products and organization. In addition, in order to facilitate the process of marketing innovation, practical and updated training for managers encouraging incremental innovation in marketing, product diversification, and improving R&D activities in the studied firms should be regarded.     

Radical Product Innovation in the Dutch Food Industry

Abstract

This paper examines the adoption of radical food production systems in the Dutch food industry. It is argued that radical innovations are of major importance to contribute to the increase of growth and competitiveness. A model was developed to test which factors influence the adoption of radical product innovations, in particular health enhancing food products. It includes organizational and environmental factors derived from literature that influence the adoption of radical innovations. Results indicate that differences in firms' organizational factors determine the adoption of radical product innovations. Implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

论中小企业理财模式的创新

我国中小企业主普遍存在重经营而轻管理的现象,企业管理者对理财重视程度不高,企业内部理财状况不佳,外部理财环境较差。推进中小企业理财模式的创新,加强中小企业管理者理财风险意识是前提,科学配置资本结构是手段,设置专门的金融服务机构是关键。     

基于负债的中小企业经营策略

由于我国金融市场体系不健全和中小企业自身的原因,中小企业在发展过程中仍面临着较多问题,尤其资金短缺成为制约中小企业发展的瓶颈,负债更成为维持中小企业发展的一条捷径。中小企业应充分结合自身的特点、所在的外部融资环境、融资成本以及企业对资金的需求等要素,进行适度负债经营,选择适合自己的筹资方式,有效利用负债经营的有益之处,最大限度地提高经济效益。     

Co-opetition and Technological Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Multilevel Conceptual Model

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) face tremendous challenges in their attempt to pursue technological innovations. This paper argues that co-opetition strategy—simultaneous pursuit of competition and collaboration—helps SMEs to develop their ability to effectively pursue technological innovations. We developed a multilevel conceptual model consisting of factors at the industry, dyadic, and firm level to understand the drivers of co-opetition and discuss benefits and costs of co-opetition for SMEs. We believe that this paper will stimulate future conceptual and empirical research on this important topic and has implications for SME managers and policymakers.     

Entrepreneurial Characteristics,Strategic Choice and Small Business Performance

Notions of entrepreneurship are central to accepted explanations of small business performance. The majority of studies exploring the growth implications of different entrepreneurial characteristics tend, however, to be partial or lack any formal structural framework. This leads to uncertainty concerning the mechanisms by which different entrepreneurial characteristics influence firm performance and the size of any effect.This paper develops a structural model of the relationships between entrepreneurial characteristics, firms' strategic choices and performance. The determinants of firms' strategic choices are then subjected to extensive empirical analysis. The results suggest a marked difference between the determinants of strategic initiatives related to management and control and those related to products, markets or managerial systems. Firms' propensity to make management and control initiatives depends almost exclusively on the characteristics of the entrepreneur. Firms' propensity to undertake initiatives related to new products, markets or management systems depends partially on the background of the entrepreneur but also reflects the firm's strategic targets, its market position and the likely operating environment.     

Strategies,Uncertainty and Performance of Small Business Startups

Personal strategies of owners/founders of small business startups are related to performance and to environmental uncertainty. This is done using a longitudinal data set. Personal strategies are operationalized by a behavioral measure of the manners in which small business founders deal with situations. The results suggest a dynamic process between strategy and performance. Business owners that perform poorly employ a Reactive Strategy, with poor performance leading to increased use of reactive behavior. High performing business owners start out focussing on the most crucial issues (Critical Point Strategy), with high performance leading to a more top-down (Complete Planning) approach. These relations are controlled for characteristics of the environment of the firm. Strategy use is dependent upon the type and level of environmental uncertainty. Complete Planning strategy is used less frequently in a fast changing environment and more often in a complex environment. Use of Opportunistic Strategy is negatively related to the complexity of the environment, while the Reactive Strategy is used more frequently in a non-munificent environment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

我国第三方物流产业环境驱动下的中小型物流企业合作联盟

本文从对我国第三方物流产业的产业分析入手,介绍了在目前物流产业环境下中小型物流企业面临的竞争格局,并提出,基于物流企业各自核心竞争力基础上的价值链合作联盟是一种改变竞争劣势的有效方法.