Search results for "Small and medium enterprise"
showing 10 items of 17 documents
Structural and Static Prerequisites for the Internationalization of Small and Medium – Sized Enterprises in the Baltic States
2014
Abstract The pace and extent of internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is the result of the interaction of various factors and preconditions. This article examines one of these prerequisites - the currently established structure of SMEs in the Baltic States. The relationship between the different components of SMEs or the SMEs structure is the slowly varying parameters of the functioning of the economy. However, as an integral element of the economic system, the SME structure affects its development, including internationalization of business. Based on statistical data, the opportunities for small firms to outsource business activities as a perspective form of int…
Role of alternative food networks in Sicilian farms
2014
Today the short supply chain can be carried out through several typologies which are called as alternative food networks (AFNs). In fact, according to some studies, it is an 'alternative' response to the dominant agro-food system, which offers the possibility to produce food products through supply chains that are opposed to long, complex and rationally organised industrial chains. In the last years many European farmers adopted short supply chain to commercialise their agro-food products and Italy is one of the EU members in which AFNs are developed, thanks to its numerous typical an local products. The aim of this paper has been to analyse the role that AFNs play in Sicilian farms and how…
Innovation in Traditional Food Products
2016
International audience; Innovation is widely accepted as one of the keys to being successful. However, companies can innovate and still fail if markets fail to accept the innovation. In most cases, the acceptance of an innovation depends on the innovation itself and also on the product to which it is applied. In this chapter acceptance of different innovations in traditional food products is investigated, thus focusing on the definition of the "traditional" and "innovation" concepts from the consumer's perspective. Qualitative and quantitative approaches are combined to better understand and predict the possibilities of success when applying different generic and specific innovations in tra…
Entrepreneurship and SMEs Innovation in Romania
2014
Abstract The aim of this article is to present some theoretical connections between entrepreneurship, innovation and small and medium medium-sized enterprises highlighting the role of these business for the economic recovery. It will provide a brief overview of the CNIPMMR study pointing out data about Romanian SMEs innovation activities and use of information technology in such enterprises. Some recommendations for public policies are presented at the end of the paper.
Pecking Order Versus Trade-off: An Empirical Approach to the Small and Medium Enterprise Capital Structure
2003
In this paper, we explore two of the most relevant theories that explain financial policy in small and medium enterprises (SMEs): pecking order theory and trade-off theory. Panel data methodology is used to test the empirical hypotheses over a sample of 6482 Spanish SMEs during the five-year period 1994?1998. The results suggest that both theoretical approaches contribute to explain capital structure in SMEs. However, while we find evidence that SMEs attempt to achieve a target or optimum leverage (trade-off model), there is less support for the view that SMEs adjust their leverage level to their financing requirements (pecking order model). En este trabajo, exploramos dos de las teorías má…
INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SICILIAN WINERIES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY BASED ON THE RBV APPROACH
2014
Strategies of internationalization, such as export, have a central role as well to safeguard the market position and survival for many enterprises, including small and medium ones. The aim of this study is to investigate, through a resource-based view (RBV) approach, the main firms' internal factors that affect the export propensity of sparkling wines producers in Sicily and their ability to insert into foreign market. Based on review of extant literature we have identified the main factors, related both to the firms and to the managers characteristics, that affect the firm performance in the export market. Using survey data of 94 Sicilian small and medium wineries export oriented, this pap…
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…
Growth and sustainability of agricultural systems: the case of Sicilian wine-growing farms
2016
International audience; The Sicilian wine-growing sector is characterised by the presence on the one hand of many small enterprises that limit their activity to the first stage of the supply chain (field production) and on the other of few enterprises that adopt a strategy of total vertical integration, from the production to the sale of wine. The first group of enterprises operates in a competitive market and in many cases with marginal revenues that are lower than marginal costs, leading entrepreneurs to abandon the activity of grape production. The second group operates in an oligopolistic market and it is able to compete in an international market. Findings reveal that competitive advan…
EMPRESA FAMILIAR, EQUIPOS DIRECTIVOS, DIVERSIDAD Y AMBIDIESTRÍA EN LAS PYMES
2015
RESUMEN El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el papel del carácter familiar en la ambidiestría de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PyMEs). Proponemos que las capacidades asociadas al carácter familiar de la empresa y a las características demográficas de sus élites directivas, específicamente su diversidad, afectan a los procesos de toma de decisiones. Dichas características facilitan la percepción de los cambios en el entorno y la respuesta ante ellos con alternativas que, implicando conflictos o tensiones, permiten aprovechar dichos cambios y, además, promueven la habilidad de reconfigurar los recursos para conseguirlo. En una muestra de 132 PyMEs demostramos que la ambidiestría se ve…
El préstamo participativo, ¿tiene el mismo impacto que el capital riesgo en el crecimiento de la pequeña y mediana empresa?
2014
ResumenEl préstamo participativo y el capital riesgo tienen distinta naturaleza, pues mientras el primero es un recurso ajeno, el capital riesgo es un fondo propio. Sin embargo, los profesionales de ambos sectores no encuentran, desde una perspectiva cualitativa, diferencias entre estos instrumentos.Con el objetivo de sustentar cuantitativamente esta percepción, el presente trabajo aborda el análisis estadístico comparativo del efecto que cada uno de estos recursos tiene en 11 variables representativas del crecimiento empresarial, de modo que podamos determinar las posibles analogías entre el impacto que ejercen el préstamo participativo y el capital riesgo sobre el crecimiento de la pequeñ…