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Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to identify the entrepreneurial competencies that women SME owners perceive to be important to the success of their business, and the competencies that women with high turnover growth rate deem important, and makes a comparison between the two sets of competencies. Design/methodology/approach -- A questionnaire-based survey of female entrepreneurs in England and Wales collected data on those entrepreneurial competencies that women perceived to be important for their business, alongside key business performance measures, such as turnover growth rate. A ranking of the top ten competencies that women thought were important for success was generated; this ranking was compared with a list of four competencies identified as being important by those women whose businesses exhibited high business growth. Findings -- All of the competencies perceived by the whole group to be important to the success of their business were personal and relational competencies. This is in stark contrast to the findings from logistic regression, which shows that high-growth businesses can be differentiated from low-growth businesses regarding the importance assigned to the following four competencies by their owners: pro-activeness, strategic planning and implementation for opportunities, acquiring finance, and risk-taking. Originality/value -- This study suggests that women business owners' prioritisation of the key competencies for their business may impact on business growth, and raises the question as to whether women business owners are able to identify the competencies that will drive the growth of their business. The particular contribution of this study is this gap, which poses challenges for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women entrepreneurship has been recognized as an important source of economic growth. However, they still represent a minority of all entrepreneurs. Looking into the reason of the minority representation, this study aims at determining the factors affecting the growth of Women Entrepreneurs. The study is descriptive in nature, factor analysis was used to find out various determinants influencing the success of Women Entrepreneurs in MSE's of Dharavi, Mumbai and results of the factor analysis were put through the Cronbach's Alpha reliability test. The analysis indicates that economic factor is the principal factors affecting the growth of women entrepreneurs, other factors which play important role in the success of women entrepreneurs are social and personal factors, followed by legal and administrative factors. The findings of the study will give right direction to Government and other Institutional networks and support agencies to design effective programmes and policies to help these women entrepreneurs flourish in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TEC Empresarial is the property of Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Administracion de Empresas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Worldwide, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been accepted as the engine of economic growth, especially in the emerging economies, and for promoting equitable development their contribution as a component to nation's infrastructure is relatively high. Global competition forces SMEs to improve their competitiveness by enhancing their manufacturing performance. Hence, they have to pay attention to the reliability of their production processes as well as their commitment to quality management practices. In present times, because of automation and large-scale mechanization, higher plant availability, better product quality and longer equipment life had assumed considerable significance among the SMEs. In order to meet the above challenges, adoption and practice of proactive maintenance strategies along with execution of best management practices, i.e. lean Six Sigma (LSS), has become essential for organizations to bring down maintenance and production costs. As evident from literature, both total productive maintenance (TPM) and Six Sigma are key business process strategies employed by SMEs to enhance their manufacturing performance. However, whilst there is significant research information available on implementing these systems in an independent manner, there is little information available relating to the integration of these approaches to provide a unified and highly effective implementation framework. The purpose of this paper is thus to develop an integrated model based on Six Sigma and TPM framework focusing on adding performance indicators. The goals of the study were achieved by utilizing various tools such as 'brainstorming sessions, pareto analysis fish-bone diagrams, histograms, FMEA, box plots, control charts and process capability plots for analysis'. While implementation of such twin framework requires greater management commitment in terms of training, resources and integration, they are also expected to provide higher levels of equipment and plant performance as evident from the results. The results show significant improvement in OEE level (Before 50, 54 and after 76, 83 for M/C -I and M/c-II), reduction in rework (from 22% to 10%), reduction in maintenance versus operation cost (from 30% to 10%) and reduction in defect rate (from 24.82% to 5%) and average outgoing quality level (from 30% to 5%). The substantial improvement in sigma level from 2.16 and 2.64 to 4.01 and 4.12 for M/C -I and M/C-II resulted in financial savings of approximately $2 m per annum. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SMEs will continue to represent, in the following decades, the most active, dynamic and performant part of a country's economy. In this respect we have tried an approach of some aspects of extreme importance for the role of the SMEs in Romania in the present economic context of the knowledge-based economy, and we have started by presenting the main advantages and disadvantages of the SMEs in Romania as compared with large enterprises, and later we have analyzed the institutional framework which shall ensure the development and growth of the SMEs, as well as the main factors which influence competitiveness in the current economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forum Empresarial is the property of University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

All countries of the Western Balkan aspire to be an integral part of the European Union, among which is Macedonia. In order to fulfill the membership's conditions, the government of Macedonia has made a series of changes in its legislation and institutional system. That is, in last ten years, a variety of measures was implemented so as to improve the country's political, social and economic status. The changes in the economic sector mostly refer to the creation of a free and competitive market, the support of the entrepreneurship, and the development of the private sector with an emphasis on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A crucial aspect with respect to the size of the SME's sector in Macedonia is the positive business environment. In fact, a friendly business climate and better competitiveness will motivate enterprises to meet the new market challenges, develop and expand their production, create jobs or, ultimately, to survive different situations. In this paper, the main research goal is related to the analysis of the effectiveness of the policies implemented in order to create an entrepreneurial environment in Macedonia. Therefore, the following research question is posed: whether the main regulatory reforms have made a better investment environment in Macedonia. The data for the research is taken from official web sites and the Doing Business Report. The results obtained show an improvement in regulatory environment. Finally, conclusions and some recommendations for policymakers are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciencia y Sociedad is the property of Ciencia y Sociedad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Ibero-Americana de Estratégia (RIAE) is the property of Revista Ibero-Americana de Estrategia/UNINOVE and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This work represents the incursion into the ground at the confluence of mobile phone communication and advertising. The study focuses on measuring the knowledge, use and utility of mobile advertising for small and medium business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TEC Empresarial is the property of Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Administracion de Empresas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our convergence analysis illustrates the usefulness of Eurostat's Economic sentiment indicators system for monitoring economic developments in the EU regions and for identifying the emergence of the waves of optimism and pessimism in the current economic and financial crisis. Analysing Service Confidence Indicator we provide evidence of the positive impact of economic integration on EU regions' business cycles convergence with analysing two regions i.e. CEE-5 and EU-5. Econometric evidence suggests that the existence of convergence of regions is explaining a substantial proportion of regional business cycles. Results confirm that convergence occurred at the rate of 0,6% during the whole period 2003-2011, 2,2% and 0,9% during the sub periods 2003-2007 and 2009-2011, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intangible Capital is the property of Omnia Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: In order to identify, assess and operate risks in early stages, risk management practices are essential in innovative projects. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) are still lacking empirical models, metrics and tools to manage project risk, which must be overcame. For this purpose, this paper briefly exhibits an application that can enable SME's to engage with risk management practices through an existing online platform - Spotrisk®. However, in this work is showed that it's important to control potential bias that can prevail in this or similar tool, whenever surveys are employed. So, throughout the gathering of a literature review, this paper aims to lift a framework intended to correct potential biases, caused by different risk attitudes among users, and draw conditions to render a concise model to assess project risks within SME's. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this research is to assess Romania's competitiveness, by analyzing the aggregated Global Competitiveness Index and correlate it with the innovation factor, and particularly with the eco-innovation factor. As it is included in the efficiency-driven stage, Romania needs to implement some regulatory measures addressing the 12th Pillar of Innovation, in order to boost its overall competitiveness and achieve sustainable development. Tackling the eco-innovation local needs by focusing on SME's can be an option, as their creativity is enhanced by the lack of extensive internal rules and regulations and their response time is lower, due to a centralized decision making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide globalization processes as well as rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) significantly determine modern business operations in each and every organization. The basic concept of mass customization as a new trend is to increase the variety of individually tailored products/services to meet customer needs without a large increase in production costs. It requires a highly flexible production technology though. Developing such technologies can be expensive and time-consuming. Clouds enable delivery of mass customized services/information in the "Data to Information to Knowledge" chain. The aim of this paper is to introduce the way how the mid-market can utilize Public Cloud computing in conjunction with a secure Private Clouds and further more to propose a framework for mass customization and its collaboration in Clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main economic purposes of state administration in every country is to ensure an enabling business environment. The study has two main objectives: first, to reveal and analyze the perceptions of Romanian SMEs -- 99.9% of economic companies -- regarding the quality of business environment, its main opportunities and difficulties; second, to evaluate the capacity of the Romanian government to face economic crisis and its consequences. The analysis is based on the interviews of 1723 SMEs entrepreneurs and managers in 2011. We have identified a predominantly unfavorable Romanian business environment and a low capacity to face the complex elements associated with economic crisis. Conclusions are grouped at three levels of state administration -- national, local and sectorial -- and followed by a set of recommendations regarding the improvement of business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers that inhibit the development of innovation and innovative culture within enterprises in AP Vojvodina as a north part of Republic of Serbia. A study was conducted to explore and define the barriers to innovation perceived by entrepreneurs with special direction on three groups of barriers: organizational, formal and informal. The questionnaire that was created for the purpose of this analysis and research consists of 24 questions covering up three groups of barriers to innovation. The survey was designed to capture information on the perceived barriers from the aspect of age and gender of entrepreneurs. Data collected are processed using the software package for statistical analysis -SPSS. Specifically, independent samples T-test were used to explore differences between these two groups of entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When we talk about development of SMEs we know that there are many positive factors that contribute to our goal but we must also have in mind the negative influence of the same factors, if they are not properly dimensioned. In this paper we showed the influence of human resources and ICT to the development of the SMEs. Working method was based on the responses received from 221 SMEs to a questionnaire release by email, to a sample of 384 SMEs in the 3 South- Muntenia Region (Dambovita and Teleorman).The abstract should present the objectives and results of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to set up the main features of a possible grant sub-scheme designed for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in the crossborder area Romania-Ukraine-Republic of Moldova. The research is focusing on four main aspects: the actual European economic framework with target on the legal European frame concerning the SMEs, the economic background of the target area, existing cross border cooperation grant schemes for the target area designed for different beneficiaries and the specificity of the financial instruments dedicated to SME's. The analyze of the mentioned aspects shows the the most important features that should be included in a grant subscheme proposal and the necessary steps for action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in supporting Indonesia's economic growth and provide employment for people. Nevertheless, SMEs are most vulnerable when there is a flood. Small and medium sized enterprises are worse off especially after the flood, because they are relatively limited in resources and less resilient. The study aimed at identifying the vulnerability level to floods and analysing the economic valuation of flood mitigation. The population in this study were SMEs located in flood-prone areas in Klaten Regency, Central Java province, Indonesia. This research used a purposive sampling technique with 152 respondents. Data collection was carried out using a direct interview method to business actors with the help of a questionnaire. There were two analytical tools used in this research, including vulnerability index and economic valuation. The results showed that Klaten Regency is located in the upper area vulnerability category of moderate flood. The economic valuation of flood mitigation is IDR 100 000 (USD6.99) to IDR 149 999 (USD10.49). Most SMEs perceive that flood mitigation is the responsibility of the government., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article., (© 2022. The Authors.)

Abstract: At the European level the European Commission is aware that the smallest firms face the greatest costs complying with regulation, including accounting regulation. Compliance with legislation stemming from the regional, national or European level will always be more burdensome for the smaller enterprise. The process of reduction of accounting and financial reporting requirements for micro-entities in order to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens is presented in this paper. We outline the concept of “Micro-entity” and how the reduction of excessive and unnecessary administrative burdens was analysed at European level. The Romanian case is presented further. The evolution of Romanian companies in the last years will present the economic reality of our country. The modification of European accounting directive can and will affect all accounting regulations through European countries. Considering the fact that more then 92% of the Romanian companies could be classified as “Micro-Entities” we believe that a differential accounting reporting will be the future in order to comply with the EU''s strategy for the coming decade. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SME's) are significant part of the world economy but a tiny one of the PLM marketplace. The usual approach of the product lifecycle management (PLM) industry to this sector is to try to sell "PLM Light" product, in the belief that smaller companies simply need a stripped-down version of what works for large corporations. In this paper, the comparative study of conventional PLM model and Cloud PLM is given. For SME's more than any other group, costs, flexibility and performance are the key requirements when considering a Cloud computing solution as an IT infrastructure optimization alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economía, Sociedad y Territorio is the property of El Colegio Mexiquense and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Ciencias Estratégicas is the property of School of Strategic Studies - ECE and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In conditions of limited access to traditional sources of funding when lending a privilege of the largest and most creditworthy companies, contemporary, alternative ways of funding, including the leasing are increasingly gaining importance. They are particularly attractive for small and medium enterprises that grow rapidly and are facing a shortage of funds. In terms of general illiquidity of the Macedonian economy, on the one hand, and restrictive credit policies of banks on the other hand, creating a business climate where will apply and promote alternative modes of financing in the Republic of Macedonia is a very importance for the operation and development of small and medium enterprises [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study attempts to contribute to the scarce knowledge on how eco-design, and to broad extent sustainability, is connected to innovation driven companies. In particular, this cross sectional research verifies i) perception and knowledge of eco-design of the professionals from innovation driven companies in Spain, ii) specific eco-design strategies towards sustainability that innovation driven companies are integrating in their strategic plans and their application in the supply chain and iii) the companies’ future predictions on innovation and eco-design linkage. The methodology of this paper is based on a survey, developed defining measurable proxies for both eco-design and innovation approaches and conducted on 10,000 multidisciplinary professionals from Spanish innovation driven companies. The study shows that sustainability is a cardinal driver for innovation and that responses have specificities regarding company size, activity or respondent position. Innovation and eco-design strategies for the future aim to use materials with a lower environmental impact and to develop new concepts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Conference Journal of Social Policy / Sosyal Siyaset Konferanslar Dergisi is the property of Journal of Social Policy Conferences/Sosyal Siyaset Konferanslar Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper provides a quantification of the short and long-run impacts of the recent credit guarantee scheme agreed by the regional policy maker in Sardinia (Italy) in support of local SME's. Specifically, taking the expected value of several hypothesized economic scenarios, we first calculate the credit additionality to be ascribed to the implementation of the policy. Then, by exploiting previous findings referring to the specific Italian case (Zecchini and Ventura, 2006), we are also able to calculate the expected reduction in the cost of capital provision enjoyed by the targeted firms. Finally, starting on these two direct effects, the "economic additionality", in terms of higher Investments, Value Added and Labour Units, is also calculated. Simulations concern both annual and cumulated values till the 2020 and refer to a suitable ATECO sectorialization of the regional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes the theoretical framework of Raisch and Birkinshaw (2008: 381) to investigate the performance implications of three strategic adaptation approaches (exploitation, exploration, and organizational ambidexterity) in 94 small firms supplying tools and materials to the U.S. - based furniture industry. We measured four organizational antecedents to strategic adaptation as well as the performance outcomes associated with adaptation choice. Results demonstrate that organizational deftness, group potency, elements of communication and cooperation within the firm, and low centralization were significantly related to organizational ambidexterity, and that ambidexterity was positively related to revenue and profit growth. The implications focus on steps that organizational leaders can take to improve the ambidextrous posture of their organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial crisis in Romania has been obvious and, accordingly, it has brought about serious negative consequences such as the external factors generated by the beginning of the financial crisis in Romania in October 2008 and the internal factors for the society which fundamentally influenced the finance reductions in 2009-2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution orients to the conceptual plan about a model cooperation between Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) in this way that act like a encouraging practise about the local development of the province of Misiones, Argentina, on the basis to the strengthen the management SME's networks by means association. As principals characteristics of the model it's appropriate to underline its intersectoral (contains SME's of different sectors) and multirelation (it should consider multiple alternatives of cooperation among SME's) and it's based on the active participation of the actors on the region. It was created to strengthen the companies works like a independent group, to encourage the development of small network of SME's and establishing a "virtuous circle" favourable to the local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]