Report of the workshop in Caribbean small and medium-sized enterprises and trade liberalization: challenges of clusters and network initiatives

Includes bibliography

Final report: the Chilean support policy for small and medium enterprises in the areas of technology, quality and financing

Includes bibliography

Final report: national and state policies for micro, small and medium enterprises in Brazil

Includes bibliography

The export potential of small-and medium-sized enterprises of some selected countries of Latin America to the European Economic Community (EEC): summary

Estudia los problemas referentes a la relación con el mercado internacional, de capacitación de personal en distintas áreas productivas, de transporte y de financiamiento de las empresas encuestadas de Ecuador, México, Uruguay, Chile, Perú y Paraguay, en sus políticas de promoción de exportaciones.

Fact Findings and Lessons Learned from the Comparative Study on Information Techonology (IT) Usage by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and Asia

ECLACs International Trade and Integration Division (DCII) will launch the book titled Information Technology for Development of Small and Medium-sized Exporters in Latin America and East Asia in the end of September 2005. The report provides an overview of the present condition of Information Technology (IT) and its use to promote international trade. It focuses on the experiences of IT usage by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American and Asian-Pacific regions, with a special focus on SME exporters in the 13 researched countries, that were selected from the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) member countries. This issue of the FAL bulletin is produced based on the executive summary of the book.

New product development in brazilian technology-based small and medium enterprises

This article examines new product development (NPD) in small and medium-sized Brazilian enterprises (SMEs) in two technology-based industries: medical devices and process control automation devices. A conceptual model that categorizes factors that contribute to the success of a new product was established. The data were collected from a sample of 62 Brazilian SMEs. The conceptual model was tested to examine the relationships between NPD practices and new product success. Data analysis reveals that new product success in medical device companies is related to organizational characteristics such as NPD proficiency and marketing skills; while in process control automation device companies, they deal in a large degree with product differentiation, innovation and capability to analyze the targeted market. Due to the relatively small sample size, caution should be exercised when interpreting the results.

Birth, Survival and Growth of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Poland: 1990-1994

This research is based on a unique and extensive database which tracks the employment, payroll and sales of individual Polish firms for the period 1990 to 1995. This allowed the authors to calculate the birth, survival and growth rates for different categories of enterprises (state-owned, cooperative, private, foreign-owned and privatised after 1990) and regions. These data match data collected in the United States, making it possible to compare the Polish situation with that of the state of Michigan. Analysis of the data and lessons from the Poland-Michigan comparisons provide a solid basis for the formulation of new policy recommendations for Poland. Allowing for certain important differences, Poland would still seem to need a higher rate of births of new companies. New small private companies and companies with foreign capital can be seen as the main source of job creation and economic revitalisation. To strengthen positive trends in the economy, Poland should create a model of institutional support for both potential entrepreneurs and foreign investors.

eLEARNING - A CHANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES

eLearning through its flexibility and facility of access is seen as a major enabler of lifelong learning (LLL), as a catalyst of change and a chance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their business and to integrate into European market. But so far the eLearning in the context of vocational educational training has been mainly adopted by large enterprises, while only little activity can be observed in SMEs. The question arises what the chances and challenges for SMEs are and what is the experience with its usage. In this paper after a presentation of key issues in eLearning chances and challenges of eLearning for SMEs are discussed and experiences are exemplified by three EU-funded eLearning projects. The focus lies on the ongoing project ARIEL - Analysing and Reporting the Implementation of Electronic Learning in Europe - coordinated by the Institut Arbeit und Technik (IAT).

How did the crisis affect small and medium-sized enterprises? -- from a field study of the metal-working industry in Java

This paper focuses on the impact of Indonesia's economic crisis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It shows how the performance of SMEs during the crisis varied widely even in the same industrial subsector, and found that the factors most affecting performance have been market orientation and the linkages that the SMEs have formed with the buyers of their products. Well-performing SMEs were found to have utilized putting-out linkages with wholesalers which enabled them to switch to products having better markets. On the other hand, the SMEs which had subcontracting linkages with assemblers or contracting linkages with user-factories (with the exception of SMEs having export-oriented linkages) suffered badly in the crisis because of specificity of products with little room for switching. The paper also found that exposure to debt due to borrowing for investment has been another factor affecting performance, but that enterprise size has had no linear correlation with performance.

Unlocking the Potential of Zambian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises "Learning from the international best practices - the Southeast Asian Experience"

This paper examines the SMEs performance in Zambia and attempts to identify some practical lessons that Zambia can learn from Southeast Asian countries (with reference to Malaysia) in order to facilitate industrial development through unlocking the potential of its SMEs sector. Malaysia and Zambia were at the same level of economic development as evidenced by similar per capita incomes but Zambia has remained behind economically and its manufacturing sector has stagnated as if both countries did not have similar initial endowments. It therefore, becomes imperative that Zambia learns from such countries on how they managed to take-off economically with a focus on SME development. Training (education), research & development, market availability and technological advancement through establishment of industrial linkages coupled with cluster formation were some of the outstanding strategies identified that Zambia could use as a “key” to unlock its SMEs’ potential as it strives to meet the UN MDGs in particular halving its poverty levels by 2015 and also realizing its vision of becoming a middle income earner by 2030.

Financing Small and Medium Enterprises in Myanmar

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) share the biggest part in Myanmar economy in terms of number, contribution to employment, output, and investment. Myanmar economic growth is thus totally dependent on the development of SMEs in the private sector. Today, the role of SMEs has become more vital in strengthening national competitive advantage and the speedy economic integration into the ASEAN region. However, studies show that SMEs have to deal with a number of constraints that hinder their development potential, such as the shortage in power supply, unavailability of long-term credit from external sources and many others. Among them, the financing problem of SMEs is one of the biggest constraints. Such is deeply rooted in demand and supply issues, macroeconomic fundamentals, and lending infrastructure of the country. The government’s policy towards SMEs could also lead to insufficient support for the SMEs. Thus, focusing on SMEs and private sector development as a viable strategy for industrialization and economic development of the country is a fundamental requirement for SME development. This paper recommends policies for stabilizing macro economic fundamentals, improving lending infrastructures of the country and improving demand- and supply-side conditions from the SMEs financing perspective in order to provide a more accessible financing for SMEs and to contribute in the overall development of SMEs in Myanmar thereby to sharpen national competitive advantage in the age of speedy economic integration.

A software process improvement solution for small and medium-size enterprises

The focus of this paper is to outline the main structure of an alternative software process improvement method for small- and medium-size enterprises. This method is based on the action package concept, which helps to institutionalize the effective practices with affordable implementation costs. This paper also presents the results and lessons learned when this method was applied to three enterprises in the requirements engineering domain.