Comparing Innovation Capability of Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: Examining the Effects of Organizational Culture and Empowerment

This study analyzes the impact of organizational culture and empowerment on innovation capability, and examines the peculiarities of these effects. The study's hypotheses are tested by applying both individual and firm‐level analyses to survey data collected from 743 employees from 93 small and medium‐sized firms located in Turkey. For medium‐sized enterprises on both the individual and firm level of analysis, results suggest that collectivism and uncertainty avoidance are positively associated with empowerment, whereas power distance is negatively related to empowerment. Assertiveness focus has no relations with empowerment and innovation capability, yet among cultural dimensions, only uncertainty avoidance is related to innovation capability. For small‐sized enterprises, findings suggest that both power distance and uncertainty avoidance are linked to both empowerment and innovation capability on the individual level, whereas two new paths between collectivism and innovation capability and between assertiveness focus and empowerment are found on the firm level. Also, empowerment is found to be positively related to innovation capability for both small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) on both the individual and firm level. In terms of managerial practice, our study helps clarify the key role played by cultural dimensions in the process of shaping an empowering and innovative work environment. Findings also reveal that managers should focus on participative managerial practices (e.g., empowerment) to promote innovation capability of SMEs.     

Uncovering Barriers to Complex Incremental Product Innovation in Small and Medium‐Sized Financial Services Firms*

Developing new products is of the highest importance for the survival of firms. This not only refers to really new products, but firms also need to invest in modifying their existing products. Small and medium‐sized companies are no exception to this rule. The present study focuses on the innovative activities of small and medium‐sized financial service companies and aims to answer how small and medium‐sized financial services firms organize their product innovation processes and what the main barriers during these innovative attempts are. Data from 30 financial small and medium‐sized enterprises were collected to address these issues. The data showed that the firms in our study experience problems in terms of resources, project‐based working, incentives, and information technology, despite the fact that the innovative efforts are aimed at modifying existing services. Although these issues may not be totally unexpected, the results from this study do point at some interesting distinctions with the previous literature. Furthermore, it is suggested that the impact of the barriers may be of lower importance than is often assumed in the innovation literature.     

Analysis of SMEs partner proximity preferences for process innovation

This paper explores small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) proximity preferences when selecting partners for collaborative process innovation. Drawing on a survey of 362 Danish SMEs, we address four partner proximity characteristics: geographic, cognitive, organizational, and social. The results show that SMEs prioritize geographic openness over regional clustering. Furthermore, to simultaneously facilitate collaboration and ensure innovation, firms tend to collaborate with partners that are characterized by cognitive similarity at a technological level and knowledge distance at a market level. Technological proximity is also found to be more relevant than social proximity when it comes to bridging the potential geographic and market distance between the collaborative partners. Finally, the results indicate that the tendency of organizational proximity to facilitate informal interactions with partners enhances process innovation only at two of four process innovation levels. Thus, the results highlight the fact that the value of partner proximity characteristics change with the level of process innovation considered.     

Socioemotional Wealth and Innovativeness in Small‐ and Medium‐Sized Family Enterprises: A Configuration Approach

What makes small‐ and medium‐sized family firms (family SMEs) innovative? Some family firm dynamics promote, yet others hinder innovation. It remains unclear whether combinations of family firm dynamics increase innovativeness. Our configurational perspective of socioemotional wealth (SEW) unravels determinants of family SMEs' innovativeness. We conduct a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis with 452 Swiss family SMEs. We categorize SEW dimensions into configurations of necessary and sufficient conditions. We contribute to theory on family SMEs' innovativeness because we reveal that the interplay of SEW dimensions leads to innovativeness. This offers practitioners a better framework to choose between SEW configurations.     

对中小企业技术创新的思考

中小企业作为我国经济体系中的重要组成部分，在国民经济发展中起着重要的作用。但随着我国加入WTO，我国市场进一步对外开放，中小企业面临的竞争也越来越多。本文在分析我国中小企业技术创新的必要性及存在问题的基础上，阐述了中小企业进行技术创新应采取的对策。     

Fueling Innovation through Information Technology in SMEs*

This paper describes a study that investigates the mediating effects of information technology (IT) on the relationships among product and process innovations and firm performance (measured in multiple profitability and growth rate metrics). Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 397 small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), we find evidence that (1) increases on the strategic emphasis placed on innovation, both product and process, positively impact the prominence managers place on IT; (2) the impact of innovation (both product and process) on performance (both profitability and growth) is primarily indirect, felt via the mechanism of the importance managers place on IT; and (3) an increased emphasis on IT abets managers' perception of their firms' performance, as compared with that observed among peer firms (other SMEs).     

Influence of Innovativeness,Environmental Competitiveness and Government,Industry and Professional Networks on SME Export Likelihood

The purpose of this study is to examine how small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in different industry segments utilize government, industry, and professional networks and to test the influence of SME innovativeness, environmental competitiveness and network type for SME export likelihood. Previous studies on networks and exports tend to be qualitative and based on small samples. This study adds to previous scholarship by investigating a large database consisting of 2,263 Australian SMEs. Results indicate SME innovativeness contributes positively to export likelihood while contrary to extant studies, no significant relationship is observed between environmental competitiveness and export likelihood. Moreover, a significant, positive relationship exists between government networks and export likelihood, and a positive though weaker relationship between industry networks and export likelihood. On average, the likelihood of SMEs receiving export income increases by 47 percent if all three network types are accessed between one and three times a year, controlling for other factors. Further analyses of industry sub‐segments indicate a stronger relationship between industry networks and export likelihood.     

An Investigation of Entrepreneurial Orientation,Perceived Environmental Hostility,and Strategy Application among Chinese SMEs

Little is known about how Chinese small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) respond to their competitive environment. We predict that when industry competition is intense, entrepreneurial Chinese SMEs tend to perceive more environmental hostility than do their nonentrepreneurial peers. The perceived environmental hostility further drives these firms to choose marketing strategies but not cost control or innovation strategies. Data from 170 Chinese SMEs confirm our hypotheses, indicating that though some entrepreneurial orientation (EO) effects transcend different economy types, other EO effects differ significantly as the environment changes.     

Responsible family ownership in small‐ and medium‐sized family enterprises: an exploratory study

The concept of responsible ownership was originally developed with reference to large, publicly held firms. However, the relevance of small‐ and medium‐sized closely held firms, such as family firms, in all economies and the specific governance and organisational characteristics of these firms require further examination of the responsible ownership concept and its operationalisation. Based on the existing literature, we define the construct of responsible family ownership to fill this gap in responsible ownership theory. We propose a scale that can be used to assess the responsible family ownership construct in small‐ and medium‐sized family enterprises. The data used in this exploratory study were collected in an ad hoc survey answered by a representative sample of 84 small‐ and medium‐sized family enterprises. The study contributes to the responsible ownership literature by presenting the responsible family ownership construct, a key driver of balance in family and firm systems that is therefore critical to the health of small‐ and medium‐sized family enterprises. In addition, a scale is proposed as a means to operationalise the construct and to derive practical implications for the governance of this kind of firms.     

Small Business Borrowing and the Owner–Manager Agency Costs: Evidence on Finnish Data

This study investigates the impact that managerial ownership has on loan availability and credit terms. We find that managerial ownership is common in a sample of small and medium‐sized Finnish firms. Our results suggest that an increase in managerial ownership decreases loan availability. The results on loan interest rates suggest that though an increase in managerial ownership initially increases interest rates, the effect is reversed at higher levels of ownership. Collateral requirements increase monotonically with managerial ownership. Overall, the results suggest that banks view that there are agency costs involved with managerial ownership even in small and medium‐sized firms and that this is taken into account when lending to these firms.     

In Good Company: When Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises Acquire Multiplex Knowledge from Key Commercial Partners

This study explores the specific conditions under which key strategic alliances of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) with commercial partners can become multiplex in knowledge exchange. Using survey data from a sample of 150 Spanish SMEs in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, we find that trust creates an appropriate context for the concurrent acquisition of technological, market, and managerial knowledge. When the SME and its key commercial partner exhibit significant strategic, technological, and market differences, however, the SME's ability to acquire different types of knowledge diminishes considerably, reducing the positive impact of trust on knowledge multiplexity.     

Relinking Cross‐functional Collaboration,Knowledge Integration Mechanisms,and Product Innovation Performance: a Moderated Mediation Model

Previous research shows that knowledge integration mechanisms (KIMs) mediate the cross‐functional collaboration‐product innovation performance relationship; however, this mediating effect seems to be rather weak. This study, in contrast, develops a moderated mediation (MOME) model to argue that such a mediating effect is moderated by product innovativeness. A sample comprised of 106 manufacturing firms is utilized in the analyses. A moderated‐mediation approach shows that the mediating effect of KIMs in the linkage between cross‐functional collaboration and product innovation performance varies by different perspectives of product innovativeness. From an industry (macro‐level) perspective, product innovativeness positively moderates the mediating effect of KIMs on product innovation performance; in contrast, such a moderating effect is not significant under a firm (micro‐level) perspective. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基子资源的知识型中小企业技术创新能力评价研究

知识型中小企业的技术创新能力是与其获取和开发资源的能力严格相关的，通过对企业在其生命周期内经营的特定资源的种类和数量的分析就可以评价企业的技术创新能力。与此同时，构建基于资源的知识型中小企业技术创新能力评价指标体系和模糊综合评价模型，以便对知识型中小企业技术创新能力进行综合评价。     

When marketing and innovation interact: The case of born-global firms

Previous research on born-global firms (BGs) has emphasized their strong dependency on establishing a competitive positioning from the early days of their existence. While many researchers emphasized BGs’ innovativeness as a driver of their competitiveness, the capabilities underlying BGs’ innovativeness are still under-researched, specifically, marketing, and innovation-related capabilities. Based on a preliminary stage of in-depth interviews with senior managers, we identified three capabilities, market intelligence generation, marketing adaptability, and team cohesion, that underscore the interaction between innovation and marketing. We then performed a SEM analysis based on data collected from 127 BGs. Our findings indicate that marketing intelligence and team cohesion directly and positively impact BGs’ innovativeness. Marketing adaptability was found to be moderated by environmental conditions—economic development and technological development. When economic development is high, salesforce adaptability enhances BGs’ innovativeness, while product adaptability or communication adaptability decreases BGs’ innovativeness. When technological development is high, product adaptability enhances BGs’ innovativeness, while salesforce adaptability decreases BGs’ innovativeness.     

Market Orientation, Innovativeness, Product Innovation, and Performance in Small Firms

Most research on market orientation, innovation and performance is related to big enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this study a model is developed to investigate the combined effect of market orientation and innovativeness on product innovation and company performance, for small firms. A specific feature of our research is that we use an objective measure for product innovation in contrast to the self-reported measures commonly used in research on innovation. To test our model data from 152 rose growers were used. This study's results show that the owner's innovativeness permeates all variables in the model and has a positive influence on market orientation, innovation, and performance. An interesting research result is also that customer market intelligence influences product innovation positively or negatively, depending on whether the innovativeness of the owner in the new product domain is weak or strong.     

The impacts of network relationships on SMEs' internationalization process

In today's globalization era, more and more firms are striving to have an international presence, even though they face many challenges. Based on a multisite case study method, this article examines how indigenous Malaysian small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) use their network relationships to facilitate their internationalization process. The evidence from the case of three software firms and one control firm in this study support the firms' internationalization process in the ways that network relationships trigger and motivate them to internationalize, influence their marketselection decision and mode‐of‐entry decision, help them gain initial credibility, allow access to additional relationships and established channels, help in lowering cost and reducing risk, and influence their internationalization pace and pattern. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

中小企业技术创新金融支持体系中外比较

中小企业是技术进步的重要媒介。但是,由于中小企业自身资产较少,又很难从银行和资本市场获得资金,政府对其支持的力度也不够,使中小企业缺乏进行技术创新的资金。实践证明,资金不足是中小企业技术创新的最大障碍。所以,各国都在积极采取各种措施,完善金融支持体系,促进中小企业的技术创新。     

创建中小企业服务体系的必要性、问题与框架分析

中小企业量大面广,数量众多,在促进市场竞争、增加就业人数、推进技术创新、推动经济发展和维持社会稳定等方面发挥着重要的作用。然而由于中小企业自身的原因和竞争环境的影响,使得中小企业在与大型、超大型企业的竞争中处于明显的弱势地位,中小企业需要借助中小企业服务体系的扶持,实现自身的良性发展。     

Examining the Link between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Learning Processes in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises

The present study unravels how small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) learn and determines the role that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) plays in how they learn. Adopting a multilevel perspective on learning and the unique role of the management team in SMEs, the study empirically examines the “feed‐forward” learning process initiated by the intuition and interpretation of individual managers, advanced by integration on the management team level, and brought to the organizational level by institutionalization. It also identifies firm‐level EO as an antecedent to this process on all three organizational levels, highlighting the relevance of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk‐taking with respect to learning in SMEs.     

Trade Credit,Bank Credit,and Flight to Quality: Evidence from French SMEs

This paper investigates the impact of the global financial crisis on the allocation of credit to small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Using samples of French SMEs from four industries, we found support for the prediction of the flight‐to‐quality hypothesis that in bad times, credit flows away from smaller constrained firms to larger, higher grade firms. We also examined the relation between bank credit and trade credit in terms of two hypotheses: the substitution hypothesis and the complementary hypothesis. The results of fixed effects panel regressions showed that trade credit for small firms during periods of tight money acts generally as complement rather than substitute to bank credit, thus providing empirical support for the redistribution view of trade credit.