Analysis of the Critical Aspects of the Generational Turnover in Family Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises （SMEs）

Family businesses, which aim at surviving today, have to deal with a precise modality： To ensure their continuity, entrepreneurs have to ensure the transfer of leadership from one generation to another inside of them. We do believe that this matter is worth being analyzed, since the succession, from one generation to another, can be considered as a crucial variable in maintaining family small- and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） over time. Therefore, after investigating the main features, problems, and factors leading to the succession processes, in the second part of this article, an empirical analysis will be carried out, by comparing several European countries on the basis of data from the European Commission. This article contributes to enriching, from a theoretical point of view, the conceptual framework used for investigating the dynamics in the continuity of SMEs. Moreover, empirically, it contributes to the increasing literature on family businesses by comparing several European countries in order to understand what originates the longevity of family SMEs.     

The Perception of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises （SMEs） on the Importance of a Proper Accounting System： Malaysian Evidence

This paper examines the relationship between small- and medium-sized enterprises＇ （SMEs） entrepreneurs＇ perceptions towards a proper accounting system with the level of accounting staff recruited, preparation of final accounts, meetings with accounting staff, and entrepreneurs＇ ranking of accounting according to their priority. The methodology used to gather the data is survey questionnaire. It has been distributed to SMEs based on simple random sampling method. Three hundred businesses were selected from the total of 3,390 businesses listed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia area obtained from Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation （SMIDEC） website and a few random selected from Ampang and Cheras areas. Regression analysis has been used to analyze the data. The results of the study reveal that there was a significant relation between SMEs entrepreneurs＇ perceptions on the importance of a good accounting system and the level of professional accounting staff recruited. Furthermore, findings of this study also found that there was an insignificant relationship between SMEs entrepreneurs＇ perceptions on the importance of a good accounting system and preparation of final accounts of the company and frequency of meetings with accounting staff.     

Organizational Learning （OL） and Organizational Innovation （OI）： The Case of Information and Communication Technology （ICT） Industry in Malaysia

The progression through which a person acquires ,;kills, understanding, and opinions regarding a particular organization or company is called organizational learning （OL）. In this study, the connection between organizational innovation （OI） and OL within the inf3rmation and communication technology （ICT） industry in Malaysia is surveyed. These relationships are examined, because various previous inquiries have shown that an imperative precursor to firm performance is OL. Two hundred and seventy-eight surveys were completed by small and medium organizations across Malaysia. The connections existing between the causes of OL and the causes of OI were ascertained by using structural equation modeling （SEM）. Amongst the Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） that participated in fire study, OI and OL are considerably linked.     

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises （SMEs） in Personal Services

Entrepreneurship has become an attribute of the current growth without business activities. Entrepreneurship is a global world. It is not possible to think about economic driving force of technological development and scientific research. It materializes knowledge and involvement of people and society. Expansion of business activities is a source of individual country＇s economic performance. It contributes to the development of people＇s living standards. In every market economy, it represents an irreplaceable role for small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）. A strong representation of＂micro-enterprises＂ can be found in the field of personal services. Companies within the course of their existence go through particular stages of their development--from their foundation through the stage of steady development. After this stage, there comes their decline that can develop even into their termination. We indicate this process as a company life cycle. The aim of the submitted project is to map the life cycle of particularly chosen companies providing accommodation and catering services and to find a mutual relation among observed quantities and their stable economic positions in the market. The analysis is based on the data of macro-economic character, the data about development of receipts in the sector, development of inflation, tempo of economic growth, and development of consumer prices. Out of a company, non-financial factors will also be considered. The core of the analysis is the stage of sustainable stability of the assessed companies. The point of the findings is revelation of the causes of risks of possible transition into the stage of termination due to the decline of services volume, decline of profitability, and long-lasting payment insolvency. The contribution of the project is to draw our attention to possible risks of critical situation development and to propose how to avoid them so that the company will not occur in financial straits. Achieved information could assist the company managem     

Trade Credit in the Crisis： Selling or Financing？

The work investigates the use of trade credit in Italy for reasons of a financial nature. The analysis considers Italian small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） and investigates, over the years of 2009-2011： the existence of functional relationships between the incidence of trade receivables and payables and corporate profitability; the existence of interdependencies between trade credit policy and trade debt policy; and the coexistence of interchangeable and complementary conditions between trade debts and bank loans and other sources of funding. To verify the research hypotheses, linear regression models on a yearly basis are used and these models are put under observation over the years of 2009-2011. We can conclude that there are interdependencies between trade credit policy and trade debt policy and that trade credit is a source of flexible way of financing, also available in periods of crisis, which has a positive effect on the profitability of SMEs and can be utilized as a complementary and substitute source of financing to bank loans.     

科技型中小企业融资困境及金融支持政策研究

当前,我国科技型中小企业普遍面临着融资困境,究其原因,市场失灵和政府失灵是导致当前我国科技型中小企业陷入融资困境的主要原因,而银企信息不对称以及科技型中小企业信号发送障碍是导致科技型中小企业信贷市场失灵的关键,政府在金融市场体系建设过程中的职能错位是导致政府失灵的根源。因此,要降低银企之间的信息不对称程度和更好地发挥政府职能,应该大力发展关系型贷款、积极尝试互联网股权众筹融资、完善信用担保体系、完善知识产权和企业经营管理权“权”压融资服务体系、发行知识产权金融支持证券、成立政策性科技银行、发展小额贷款担保公司和区域性中小商业银行等,以缓解科技型中小企业的融资困境。     

河南省科技型中小微企业发展体制机制研究

科技型中小微企业是科技创新活动的主力军和生力军。在认清科技型中小微企业的特点、发展特征、运行机制及河南省科技型中小微企业的发展情况及存在问题的基础上,为促进科技型中小微企业的发展,需要有更切合实际的政策措施。     

我国中小企业信用担保体系存在的问题与对策

融资难一直是制约中小企业发展的瓶颈。解决的关键是建立中小企业信用担保体系。我国目前中小企业信用担保体系处在初级阶段,功能十分有限。在进一步规范、做强、做大信用担保机构的基础上,尽快建立体系完善、功能强大的中小企业信用担保体系,提供更多的融资支持,提升中小企业竞争力和发展活力,带动国民经济发展,已成为当务之急。     

中小微企业融资问题及对策探析

随着经济不断发展,我国中小微企业占据了越来越大的比重,但中小微企业因其自身问题,造成融资较难。本文从中小微企业自身及其外部环境进行分析,并对解决中小微企业融资难的问题从企业外部环境及自身进行了对策探析。     

中小微集成电路设计企业成本核算的优化方法探讨

近年来,企业之间的竞争日趋激烈,企业要想获得长远发展,除了需要不断地开发新产品来创造更多的价值,还需要有效控制企业各个环节的经营成本。论文对目前大部分中小微集成电路设计企业在材料成本核算与产品成本核算方面存在的问题进行了探讨,重点分析了材料流转各环节与各类成本核算方法存在的问题,对存货流转环节的成本核算与产成品的成本核算的优化对策进行了探讨,以期为中小微集成电路设计企业高质量开展存货流转环节的成本核算与产成品的成本核算提供帮助。     

Markteintritts- und Marktbearbeitungsstrategien kleiner und mittlerer Personalberatungen im Ausland

This article presents the results of an empirical research concerning the strategies of foreign market entry of small- and medium-sized Executive Search Firms from a resource-based perspective. The results show that they tend to mainly use cooperative forms of market entry, although not exclusively. In addition to this, they also opt for export strategies or the establishment of wholly-owned offices. The choice of a specific strategy is highly dependent on the social and human capital of an Executive Search Firm as well as on the experiences and attitudes of the management. The study is embedded in and broadens the existing knowledge of the internationalization of Professional Business Services as well as the internationalization of both small and medium-sized enterprises.     

Privatization And Economic Restructuring in Poland: An Assessment of Transition Policies

A bstract . Poland was among the first of the Central European countries to attempt to transform its economy from a centrally planned socialist system to a market-oriented one. Although its International Monetary Fund-inspired "shock therapy" approach sought to transform the economy quickly, Poland's implementation of privatization of state enterprises , a keystone of the reform strategy, lags seriously behind other economic changes. Poland's experiments with privatization were derailed by economic, political, social and administrative problems. The lessons of experience from Poland's transitional period during the early 1990s are that the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises and the spread of entrepreneurial activity were far more important than privatization of state enterprises in moving Poland toward a market system.     

Human resources and SME performance in services: empirical evidence from the UK

We investigate the relationship between human resources (HR) and superior firm performance, as well as the role of business strategy as a key mediating factor, for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK Tourism Hospitality and Leisure (THL) sector. Our results suggest that high-performing SMEs in the THL sector are managed by more experienced entrepreneurs. We also find that more profitable SMEs combine a highly skilled workforce with technological and know-how-based firm differentiation strategies, and/or product differentiation strategies, which are based on quality of service and personal attention to customers, alongside generous compensation and attention to employee development.     

Open innovation in SMEs: Trends,motives and management challenges

Open innovation has so far been studied mainly in high-tech, multinational enterprises. This exploratory paper investigates if open innovation practices are also applied by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on a database collected from 605 innovative SMEs in the Netherlands, we explore the incidence of and apparent trend towards open innovation. The survey furthermore focuses on the motives and perceived challenges when SMEs adopt open innovation practices. Within the survey, open innovation is measured with eight innovation practices reflecting technology exploration and exploitation in SMEs. We find that the responding SMEs engage in many open innovation practices and have increasingly adopted such practices during the past 7 years. In addition, we find no major differences between manufacturing and services industries, but medium-sized firms are on average more heavily involved in open innovation than their smaller counterparts. We furthermore find that SMEs pursue open innovation primarily for market-related motives such as meeting customer demands, or keeping up with competitors. Their most important challenges relate to organizational and cultural issues as a consequence of dealing with increased external contacts.     

企业社会责任前移视角下小微企业人力资源管理对策

当前对于企业社会责任的主流研究主要是针对大中型成熟企业。但是,小微企业内外部环境的变化促使企业社会责任前移,小微企业也应该像大中型成熟企业一样承担相应的社会责任。企业社会责任的大部分内容都与人力资源管理有关,对企业人力资源管理提出了新的要求。本文首先分析了社会责任前移对小微企业人力资源管理的影响,进而指出小微企业人力资源管理现状与基本要求的差距,在此基础上以建设性的、不损害其经济活力并在企业的承受能力和承担社会责任之间寻求平衡的方式提出了应对策略。     

Institutional distance and international networking

We focus on how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adapt to differences in institutional logics (values, beliefs, and rules) in their networking when they enter an institutionally distant market. We address gaps in the literature, relating to the role of institutional logics in SME internationalization, and how institutional distance affects the formation of network ties. We show how the social interaction involved in internationalization is embedded in the institutional logics followed by partnering actors. Specifically, we demonstrate how institutional distance may constrain the networking activities of SMEs and identify practices that may support successful internationalization.     

Electronic supply chain management applications by Swedish SMEs

The Internet has become an integral part of business activities of most corporations today. Electronic supply chain management (SCM) can improve the operational efficiency of the firm by streamlining processes between the company and its suppliers, business partners, and customers. This research explores the extent and the degree of Internet application in Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The analyses of the data show that the Swedish SMEs use the Internet in their supply chain activities to a large degree. The study establishes some differences between smaller and larger organizations as well as between manufacturing and service companies.     

Proactive environmental strategy and firm performance at the bottom of the pyramid

This paper utilizes insights from the natural resource-based view to examine the conditions under which proactive environmental strategy (PES) drive firm performance. Using data collected from 266 small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in Ghana, the results suggest that the impact of PES on firm performance is more pronounced in firms that do not purse bottom of the pyramid orientation but not significant for firms pursuing the bottom of the pyramid orientation. Besides, the findings show that the influence of PES on firm performance is amplified for firms adopting imitation orientation but not significant for nonimitation-oriented firms. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Industrial clusters,shared resources and firm performance

Drawing upon the resource-based view, this paper examines the relationships between various types of cluster-based shared resources and cluster firm performance in the Chinese context. Using survey data from a sample of 294 small- and medium-sized enterprises from industrial clusters in Zhejiang Province, we find evidence to support arguments that cluster firms in comparison with non-cluster firms demonstrate significantly higher perceptions of shared resources and that shared resources exclusively available to cluster firms link to better cluster firm performance. The findings of our research suggest that cluster policy needs to attend to the constituents of shared resources in order to enhance firm performance.     

Accounting for Heterogeneity in Network Formation Behaviour: An Application to Vietnamese SMEs

Network formation is often characterized by homophily, i.e. the tendency of agents to connect with others who have similar attributes. However, while most agents are homophilous, others could be heterophilous; they aim to create ties with dissimilar agents. This study provides empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis by applying a random coefficient approach to data on the information-sharing networks of small- and medium-sized Vietnamese enterprises. In particular, we find that firms tend to form heterophilous links with respect to business type and gender ratio. One possible reason for the heterophily is that firms can obtain useful and performance-improving information from such dissimilar partners.