Strategic Management In Small And Medium Enterprises

As the global economy continues to develop and new entrepreneurs take advantage of emerging markets, the small business sector plays a greater role of economic development in the international arena. The Handbook of Research on Strategic Management in Small and Medium Enterprises contributes new research to the current array of literature on small business management under diverse geographic, economic, and socio-cultural conditions. By exploring existing theories in tandem with fresh viewpoints, this book will serve as a valuable reference to students, lecturers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers investigating the use of strategic management in various scenarios and situations.

In most countries, statistics show that 99% of businesses are classified as 'small businesses'. In the UK alone, 99.8% of businesses employ less than 250 staff and these companies contribute more than a half of the UK's turnover. This new textbook goes where other strategic management texts have not and focuses on these small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), rather than focussing on large corporations and the actions of their CEOs. The authors consider how managers of small firms perceive the processes associated with strategic management, what decisions and actions they adopt to ensure competitive advantage, how business strategies are formulated and implemented in SMEs, and what the strategic role of entrepreneurship within small businesses is. They also discuss how SMEs should act for maximum competitive advantage, and consider the 'gap' between ideal theory and practice. This unique textbook will be essential for students on Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise modules at undergraduate and Masters level, and will also be useful on core modules in Strategy, Business Policy and Strategic Management at all levels.

Due to the vital importance of SMEs in developed economies worldwide, this book aims to provide a unique and much-needed investigation into the underlying mechanisms and practices of management within these companies by collecting a wide range of original conceptual and empirical research in the topical area of management in SMEs and new ventures. Collecting work from dozens of leading scholars in fields ranging from management and entrepeneurship to human resource management and strategy, this book aims to supply readers with an overview of the field of research in management of SMEs and new ventures as well as in depth knowledge on a variety of related topics. The essays collected here are focused and practical, offering a variety of explicit and pragmatic recommendations for action and developing new tools and strategies useful to scholars and students as well as practitioners working in the field of SME and new venture management and consulting.

The majority of businesses throughout the world are small firms and they play a crucial role in the economic growth of the world's economies. The authors offer a conceptual framework supported by their own original case study data to explain how and why a small firm should approach strategic planning.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been widely acknowledged to be an important agent of development because of their potential for addressing unemployment, inequality, and poverty, as well as promoting inclusiveness in economic development. The sector is critical for achieving the country’s sustainable growth. However, there is a lack of research on the adaptations SMEs are making in today’s technologically driven market. Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs in Industry 4.0 is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of modern business development and innovative strategies for small and medium enterprises in the age of smart industrialism. This book features a wide range of topics including business intelligence, collaborative manufacturing, and organizational networking. This reference source is ideally designed for managers, policymakers, economists, entrepreneurs, strategists, researchers, industrialists, academicians, educators, and students.

Business sustainability is becoming increasingly difficult amongst the demands of today’s markets. By implementing new and dynamic practices, organizations can optimize their day-to-day operations and improve competitive advantage. Optimal Management Strategies in Small and Medium Enterprises is a key source on the latest innovations in enhancing all main management functions, such as working capital and marketing, and examines how to implement sustainable business management practices. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives and topics, such as human resources development, market orientation, and knowledge management, this book is ideally designed for business managers, professionals, graduate students, and researchers working in the field of smaller-scale business development initiatives.

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Operations Research, , course: PhD Commerce, language: English, abstract: This research was carried out with the objective of establishing the challenges faced by small and medium scale entrepreneurs in their efforts to adopt strategic management in their value chains. A review of relevant literature revealed that strategic management is a very important approach that all businesses need, no matter their size, in order to enhance effectiveness. It is known to support professionalism, profitability and sustainable value addition when applied according to best practice. Quantitative and qualitative approaches to data gathering were applied to enable the researcher to establish a richer picture of the exact situation on the ground. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of 292 respondents while qualitative data were obtained from a sample of 127 key informants and stakeholders. Drawing inspiration from the survival strategies of the chameleon, the researcher postulated the Chameleon Survival Strategy Model for small and medium-scale enterprises. The model was then used as a benchmark in the analysis of quantitative data, which were treated using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and qualitative data, which were content analysed. The chameleon survival strategy was used as the standard to assess the extent to which small and medium scale enterprises were compliant with the fundamentals of strategic management as exhibited by the chameleon in its environment. The key findings were that SMEs failed the Chameleon Survival Strategy Model test, based on the overall value of the model’s index obtained after data analysis. It was observed that SMEs did not practice strategic management and were therefore not consistent with the chameleon survival strategies, outlined in the model’s seven attributes. The conclusions drawn, recommendations and implications of the study on Government policy, the work of stakeholders and entrepreneurs, are presented in this document. The conclusions point to the need for Government and stakeholders to revisit their interventions and support programmes targeting entrepreneurs, to include strategic management capacity development. The lack of knowledge and exposure was found to be the key reason for entrepreneurs’ failure to embrace strategic management in their operations. It is also recommended that Government and stakeholders carry out constant needs assessment to establish the exact needs of entrepreneurs, which tend to be quite dynamic.