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Management has a large effect on the productivity of medium and large firms. But does management matter in micro and small firms, where the majority of the labor force in developing countries works? We develop 26 questions that measure business practices in marketing, stock-keeping, record-keeping, and financial planning. These questions have been administered in surveys in Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka. We show that variation in business practices explains as much of the variation in outcomes--sales, profits, and labor productivity and total factor productivity--in microenterprises as in larger enterprises. Panel data from three countries indicate that better business practices predict higher survival rates and faster sales growth. The association of business practices with firm outcomes is robust to including numerous measures of the owner's human capital. We find that owners with higher human capital, children of entrepreneurs, and firms with employees employ better business practices. History: Accepted by Toby Stuart, entrepreneurship and innovation. Funding: The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Knowledge for Change Trust fund, as well as the funders and authors of the underlying surveys that are used. Supplemental Material: Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org.10.1287/ mnsc.2016.2492. Keywords: business practices * small enterprises * productivity * management, 1. Introduction Management has long been recognized to be an important determinant of firm productivity in large firms. There has been a recent surge in quantitative measures of management, with [...]

This article is a commentary on primary research conducted in 2014 on the SME sector in Brazil. Its purpose is to provide broad policy recommendations for M SME development and [...]

This study compares and contrasts Chinese firms with internationally active value chains that started their internationalization efforts by engaging in international revenue generation or downstream value chain activities (defined as market-seeking firms) versus those that began through international sourcing or upstream value chain activities (defined as resource-seeking firms). Face-to-face survey interviews conducted with firm managers during the autumn of 2011 yielded complete data for 308 Chinese firms. Our findings suggest firms that start their internationalization process by engaging in 'market-seeking' behavior showcase better performance than those that begin by engaging in 'resource-seeking' activities. In addition, financial indicators are found to be strong factors that discriminate between market-seeking and resource-seeking Chinese firms., 1. Introduction This study contributes to the understanding of the stages and patterns of the internationalization of mainly privately owned small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) headquartered in Hong Kong and [...]

The entrepreneurial orientation (EO) scale has become the most widely used scholarly measure of entrepreneurial behavior. Additionally, it is frequently used in studying entrepreneurship in non-Western cultures. In the current [...]

During the last decade, pressure on companies to transcend the Focus on economic success and technological innovation in order to address more ecologically and socially desirable outcomes has increased. Commitment [...]

In the wake of increased globalization, more small and medium construction companies (SMCCs) are expanding into the global market. However, the international construction industry is different from the domestic with respect to resource, regulations, culture, entry strategies, and risk levels among other factors. This paper explores various ways and modes of internationalization for SMCCs under 13 key hypotheses that are relevant to the issues of internationalization from the perspective of SMCCs. To verify these hypotheses, this study used actual data from 560 cases of SMCCs' overseas projects performed between 1990 and 2007. It was found that SMCCs' entry scheme as prime contractors was more rewarding than in the case of subcontractors. Moreover, SMCCs are likely to evolve from subcontractors engaged with home-country contractors to subcontractors engaged with foreign contractors. Also, cultural distance is positively related to performance, but the effects of cultural properties are not as strong compared to the international manufacturing industry. The results are expected to help SMCCs build internationalization strategies by determining promising entry modes, proposing possible evolutionary paths to enter overseas projects, and assessing cultural effects in reference to SMCCs' successful performance. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000237 CE Database subject headings: International factors: Construction companies; Construction industry; Social factors. Author keywords: Internationalization: Small and medium construction companies: Entry mode; Evolutionary paths; Foreign experience: Cultural effects.

The paper explores the adoption of information and communication technology-enabled alliance modes of operation by small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction sector. It argues that SME alliance modes of operations promote business process innovation and allow SMEs to compete in new ways, get better reward for their work, and gain greater financial strength, which in turn, will give them the financial capability to move forward and develop their products and services. Findings from the multiple case study approach used to conduct the research are discussed, including: (1) the concept of an SME alliance and its key features; (2) business relationships management in an SME alliance; (3) SME alliance viability and sustainability; (4) the role of information and communication technologies in an alliance; and (5) technical innovation management in an alliance regime of peers. Recommendations for future research in the form of open questions to the research community are given. CE Database subject headings: Information technology (IT); Communication; Construction industry; Change management. Author keywords: Information technology; Construction; Virtual teams; Change management. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000150

The evolution of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) competitive strategies during economic transitions is analyzed using data from 135 SMEs in 1993 and 2000 SMEs in 2001. Results show that managerial networking intensity is significantly related to the growth of the firm during the early stage of the transition process. The role of market-based strategies is also examined.

The shortage of younger employees to replace retiring baby boomers necessitates the cultivation of capable management executives to assure suitable leaders are ready for appointment. This research study specifically focuses on SMEs in Malaysia to investigate if owner-managers' personal culture would have an impact on the degree of sophistication of succession planning system. Based on the data collected from 105 SMEs and analyzed with SPSS, key findings are that individual culture namely stimulation and conformity have significant relationship with the degree of sophistication of succession management plans. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed., INTRODUCTION With baby boomers coming to an age of retirement and shortage of younger employees stepping up in replacement, business succession planning is vital in cultivating capable management executives who [...]

The method of entropy has been useful in evaluating inconsistency on human judgments. This paper illustrates an entropy-based decision support system called e-FDSS to the solution of multicriterion risk and decision analysis in projects of construction small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is optimized and solved by fuzzy logic, entropy, and genetic algorithms. A case study demonstrated the use of entropy in e-FDSS on analyzing multiple risk criteria in the predevelopment stage of SME projects. Survey data studying the degree of impact of selected project risk criteria on different projects were input into the system in order to evaluate the preidentified project risks in an impartial environment. Without taking into account the amount of uncertainty embedded in the evaluation process; the results showed that all decision vectors are indeed full of bias and the deviations of decisions are finally quantified providing a more objective decision and risk assessment profile to the stakeholders of projects in order to search and screen the most profitable projects. CE Database subject headings: Artificial intelligence; Construction industry; Decision support systems; Entropy; Risk management. Author keywords: Artificial intelligence; Construction industry; Decision support systems; Entropy; Risk. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3801(2010)24:1(81)

How social networks are used by privately owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China when making strategic, competitive, and marketing decisions is discussed. A sample of Chinese SME entrepreneurs has revealed that cultural and ethnic factors play an important role in their successful internationalization. Insights on the managerial implications are also given.

During recent decades, the varieties of capitalism approach has provided one of the most important contributions on the analysis of advanced capitalism. However, there are national experiences that seem to be hard to explain from this theoretical perspective. In this article we underline that this is particularly true for countries that are characterized by a high degree of internal diversity, such as the Italian case. For this reason we propose to combine the national and regional dimensions, studying what can be defined as a 'regionalized capitalism': a complex and heterogeneous system that entails both remarkable dysfunctions and elements of strength. Analysing the Italian case, we show the importance of centre-periphery relations, which produce a mix of local economic dynamism and national public disorder (public deficit and debt, inefficient policies). At a local level, SMEs and their networks cooperate in a flexible and neo-voluntaristic way to produce territorial competitive advantages: a networked economy based 'on relational capacities. However, the success of local economies has delayed the adjustment of public policies at a central level. In the last decade, this process has endangered economic development, while Italian firms were challenged by increasing globalization. Drawing attention to the regional dimension, this research approach offers not only useful insights for understanding a single national case stud)', but also holds broad theoretical implications for the analysis of change and restructuring of advanced economies. Keywords: Italy; local development; varieties of capitalism. DOI: 10.1080/03085140903190367

The article examines internal diversity within national models of capitalism in Europe, with a particular concern with firm financing and corporate governance patterns. It is suggested that a relatively small number of firms have shifted to a new institutional context consisting of common international institutions and practices, while the large majority of firms continue to operate in a more slowly evolving set of domestic institutions or rules. Examining changes since the early 1990s in firm financing and corporate governance, the article finds preliminary evidence to support the thesis of increasing diversity, but also that national patterns of firm finance are still distinct. Rising diversity challenges the long-term viability of coordinated market economies in Europe. Keywords: SME; finance; corporate governance; varieties of capitalism; financialization. DOI: 10.1080/03085140903190359