Search results for "Enterprises"
showing 10 items of 150 documents
Successful SME web design through consumer focus groups
2011
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to pursue two major objectives. First, to identify the key design variables for building successful transactional SME (Small Medium Enterprises) websites. Second, the transactional relevance of each key design variable is tested in order to establish priorities.Design/methodology/approach – The present paper is developed through seven consumer focus groups. Two approaches were used: an ethnographic summary of each focus group (qualitative approach) and a systematic coding procedure (quantitative approach).Findings – The findings indicate that a transactional website should have three main strong points: it must be secure; price information should be…
ERP System Implementation in Make-to-Order SMEs: An Exploratory Case Study
2011
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issue of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation in the context of Make-To-Order (MTO) Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs). No prior study has investigated the whole ERP implementation process in MTO SMEs. Because of the special requirements of both the SME and the MTO context, ERP implementations under these conditions are challenging. We investigate how these organizational characteristics influence the implementation of an ERP system. This study is part of a larger research project to investigate ERP implementation issue in SMEs. We present the empirical findings from an exploratory case study of an ERP implementation …
The Politics of Explanatory Nationalism and the Evolution of the United Nations Agenda on Multinational Enterprises
2020
The contemporary world continues to suffer from a number of social problems that are global in scope but impact the Global South disproportionately. While broad and coordinated policy responses to overcome these problems exist, such policies are not shaped solely by the political will to address the problems. On the contrary, their content largely depends on how societies in general and the social problems in particular are routinely explained and conceptualized. We refer to these as explanatory tendencies or paradigms of explanation. As complex problems always have multiple root causes with long causal chains, explanations of these causes necessarily involve some assumptions about relevant…
Manager gender, entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs export and import propensities: evidence for Spanish businesses
2022
This paper investigates the role of manager gender in SMEs’ decisions to get involved in exporting and importing activities, using a sample of 1,405 Spanish SMEs. We borrow insights from international entrepreneurship theories and feminist theories to set testable hypotheses regarding how managerial gender and entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness) may influence SMEs export and import propensities. Using a bivariate probit model and controlling for other managerial and business characteristics, results reveal that there are not significant disparities in exporting propensities between men- and women-run businesses. However, female-led SMEs show a lower i…
Pequeña y mediana empresa en el mundo rural medieval. Formas de organización de la producción. Ejemplos del País Valenciano (s. XV)
2020
El presente estudio analiza el concepto empresa aplicado al periodo medieval, e intenta un mínimo recorrido historiográfico por aquellos autores que se han acercado a la «Business History». Además intenta una reconstrucción de los distintos tipos de empresa manufacturera en un ámbito rural que se nos muestra cada vez más dinámico, pero poco estudiado todavía por parte de los historiadores interesados en el mundo del artesanado y de la industria. Se estudian las distintas formas de organización de la producción que condicionan los diferentes modos de gestión de la empresa manufacturera tomando como referencia el espacio valenciano. This article analyses the concept of «enterprise» as applied…
Subsidizing technology: how to succeed
2011
Examining the database of applications to the Regional Government of Valencia's Institute for Small and Medium-sized Industries (Spain) for subsidies to aid technological development in small and medium-sized enterprises, this study seeks to explain the approval or rejection and the success or failure of projects that look to receive state funding. The independent variables in the database are particularly concerned with reliance on path dependence. The variable length of membership of the Institute, the number of previous applications, technology level, or belonging to a particular geographical area relate to the accumulation of experience and correspond to the study hypotheses. The study …
Small and medium enterprises web page design: a qualitative study
2012
The present paper is based on the results of seven consumer focus groups developed in Spain. The results are interpreted using an ethnographic summary of each focus group (qualitative approach) and a systematic coding procedure (quantitative approach). The research pursued two major objectives. Firstly, to identify the key design variables for building a successful transactional small and medium enterprises (SME) website. Secondly, the transactional relevance of each key design variable was tested in order to establish priorities according to Spanish online buyers’ preferences. The findings indicate that a SME transactional website should have three main strong points: 1 it must be secure 2…
Internationalization pathways among family-owned SMEs
2012
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the internationalization of family firms; to investigate how the framework by Bell et al. on the internationalization patterns of firms could explain the internationalization pathways taken by family‐owned small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs); and to identify typical patterns and features in the various pathways taken by family‐owned SMEs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports findings from an in‐depth multiple case study with eight Finnish family‐owned SMEs.FindingsThe ownership structure had the most important role in defining the internationalization pathways followed by the family‐owned SMEs: a fragmented owners…
Do firms implement work–life balance policies to benefit their workers or themselves?
2016
Abstract The purpose of this article is to enhance scholars' understanding of work-life balance (WLB) policies in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study explores whether SMEs display a common pattern of behavior when implementing WLB policies. The benefits of implementing WLB policies either improve conditions for the workers themselves or improve the firm's productivity. Empirical evidence on the effects of WLB, however, is scarce. This empirical study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings fail to show an association between a particular combination of factors and the implementation of WLB policies. Nevertheless, the firm's decision to implement WLB poli…
The effect of high performance work systems on small and medium size enterprises
2015
Abstract This study analyzes the processes that explain high performance work system (HPWS) effect on company performance in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). This study tests this relationship in SMEs by selecting three high performance work practices (HPWP) and an outcome variable based on the return on investment. A regression model with a sample of 78 companies tests the hypothesis. Results confirm the positive effect of HPWP on the performance of SMEs.