How Small And Medium Sized Enterprises Smes Can Be Competitive

The environmental analysis is an important instrument for the SMEs, and it can contribute to their success through the globalization process. This book mainly focuses on the environmental analysis of the SMEs by analyzing three layers of environment under eight sub-categories: macro; potential competitors; substitutes; customers; competitors; suppliers; assets; and competencies. This book explains the relationship of the SMEs with their environments under this perspective, and gives sectoral examples for clarification. Each part is written by different academicians to reflect different points of view. (Series: International Economics, Vol. 5) [Subject: International Economics, Business Studies]

This book is a timely guide for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) researchers, policy makers and strategists. SMEs are the most important sources of job creation and local development especially in knowledge-based economies. As turbulence in the globalized economies expands SMEs will have to learn to sustain competitiveness by developing their ‘dynamic capabilities’. Based on the findings of a 4-year European and Latin American research project, this book provides a theoretical framework, practical instruments and cases on how SMEs in diverse economic, social and cultural contexts can develop crisis resilience, increase agility, innovate and thus successfully compete in turbulent times.

Globalization has jarred the traditional role and competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises. This masterful volume comprises leading scholars, policy makers and business leaders who have new insights and strategies for SMEs creating opportunities rather than being victims of globalization. The result is a breakthrough in our understanding of entrepreneurship in the global context. David B. Audretsch, Indiana University, Bloomington, US and WHU, Germany Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often have difficulty competing in the global economy unless they collaborate with domestic or foreign partners or with public sector organizations. This book addresses the resource leverage and innovation challenges that increased global trade represents for SMEs. In doing so, it explores how SMEs can become more competitive at home and in foreign markets as stand-alone firms or as members of supplier and customer networks. SMEs are turning increasingly to innovation as a source of competitive advantage in order to protect their home markets and participate in expanding foreign markets. The contributors to this volume leading experts in entrepreneurship, innovation, and international business provide in-depth coverage of the most compelling issues facing SMEs. These include: innovation as a competitive strategy, network dynamics, ways to leverage technology, internationalization, and the role of the public sector in helping SMEs to overcome resource deficiencies. This comprehensive look at SMEs in the global marketplace will be of great interest to academics who study entrepreneurship, innovation, or international business, officials from public sector agencies with responsibility for helping SMEs to internationalize and become more innovative, and senior executives of SMEs or executives of larger companies who are considering collaboration with SMEs.

The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2021 analyses how small businesses can rebuild from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic so they are better prepared to face the looming crisis of climate change. It provides a 20-point Green Recovery Plan to foster competitive, resilient and environmentally sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The report finds that firms owned by women and young people were hurt more by the pandemic and are more vulnerable to future shocks, such those brought by a changing climate. It shows how business support organizations, governments, lead firms in value chains and international organizations can enable SMEs to strengthen competitiveness, build resilience to climate hazards, and contribute to safeguarding the planet.

Competitive Advantage in SMEs draws on up-to-date empirical evidence to illustrate how SMEs can become more innovative through the introduction of new products and services. Discusses the effective and efficient use of information technology by broadening management skills and knowledge.

This book is about using information in small businesses to compete; it is about strategy and information systems. It examines problems that these businesses face and suggests some solutions. It looks at how strategie planning takes place and how information systems should be designed and developed in line with strategy, from a business rather than a purely technical point ofview. The main contribution made is proposing an approach to crafting strategy, designing new business processes and information systems planning that could realistically be used by the average small business, that is one without great knowledge of strategy or information systems, and one that cannot afford to buy in this knowledge. The approach differs from others suggested in the literature in that it emphasises the important role of creativity in the process of creating strategy and in information system design and illustrates where this creativity may come from, it emphasises the importance of getting staff involved and it attempts to lessen the communication problems that exists between business people and information system developers, something that historically has caused problems.

The arrival of Information and Communication Technology may play a role in restoring competitiveness, since these technologies are also a factor in relaxing the constraints specific to SMEs. ICT makes a number of services possible in a large range of processes and transactions within and between companies. Internally, ICT applications can improve knowledge and information management practices; they can also allow more rapid and more reliable transactions between businesses (B2B) and between businesses and consumers (B2C). They are equally quite effective in improving external business communications and service quality for both new and existing clients. They also appear to be a source of competitive advantage for SMEs under certain conditions. Few studies have focused on the ways that SMEs can use ICT to improve and defend their competitive positions. This book provides a synthesis of the advantages of ICT for SMEs. Seven chapter illustrate the technologies used in such companies. Each of these chapters provides a theoretical and/or practical view of the way that SMEs can use ICT. This book is an indispensable reference for both academics and for practitioners.

Electronic business plays a central role in the economy, facilitating the exchange of information, goods, services, and payments. It propels productivity and competitiveness and is accessible to all enterprises, and as such, represents an opportunity also for SME competitiveness. E-Business Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs: Driving Competitiveness discusses the main issues, challenges, opportunities, and solutions related to electronic business adoption, with a special focus on SMEs. Addressing technological, organizational, and legal perspectives in a very comprehensive way, this text aims to disseminate current developments, case studies, new integrated approaches, and practical solutions and applications for SMEs.