Impacts of flooding on SMEs and their relevance to chartered surveyors:

This is the final report of the RICS Education Trust funded “Developing Flood Expert Knowledge in Chartered Surveyors – DEFENCES” research project. The UK has endured a number of major flood events in recent years, and the UK Environment Agency (2009a) identified that about 5.2million properties in England, amounting to one in six, are at risk of flooding. The impacts of flooding include direct and indirect impacts and can be particularly devastating for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are generally more vulnerable to such events than larger business organisations. Recent flood events have established how costly flooding can be to the SME sector (Pitt, 2008, ABI, 2010), which has given greater impetus to the need to improve the resilience of at-risk SMEs. A lack of professional advice on flood protection and adaptation measures represents a potential barrier to the uptake of such interventions by SMEs. A recent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey, as quoted in Defra (2008) notes that, although a majority of chartered surveyors would like to work in this area of practice (flood risk assessment and adaptation), they are conscious of gaps in their competency, knowledge and understanding. The research project sought to contextualise this broader issue and investigate how chartered surveyors can bridge the gap in providing professional flood advice to SMEs. Further, a shift in the UK government policy on flood risk management is evident, where at-risk communities are urged to adapt to flooding. This places greater emphasis on property-level flood adaptation, providing further impetus for Chartered Surveyors to be involved. Findings of the research will be of interest to the RICS, the RICS Flood steering Group, practicing surveyors generally, SMEs, business support and policy making organisations.

Coping with extreme weather:strategies of construction SMEs

Weather extremes have created a considerable impact on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK during the recent years, especially on SMEs in the construction sector. Evidence in relation to the recent weather extremes have demonstrated that SMEs are some of the worst impacted by the Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) and have confirmed them as a highly vulnerable section of the UK economy to the impact of extreme weather. This is of particular importance to the construction industry, as an overarching majority of construction companies are SMEs who account for the majority of employment and income generation within the industry. Whilst construction has been perceived as a sector significantly vulnerable to the impacts of EWEs, there is scant evidence of how construction SMEs respond to such events and cope with their impact. Based on the evidence emerged from case studies of construction SMEs, current coping strategies of construction SMEs were identified. Some of the strategies identified were focused at organisational level whereas others were focused at project level. Further, some of the strategies were general risk management / business continuity strategies whereas others have been specifically developed to address the risk of EWEs. Accordingly, coping strategies can be broadly categorised based on their focus; i.e. those focused at project or organisational level, and based on the risks that they seek to address; i.e. business / continuity risks in general or EWE risk specifically. By overlapping these two aspects; their focus and risks that they seek to address, four categories of coping strategies can be devised. There are; general risk management strategies focused at business level, general risk management strategies focused at project level, EWE specific strategies focused at business level, and EWE specific strategies focused at project level. It is proposed that for a construction SME to effectively cope with the impact of EWEs and develop their resilience against EWEs a rich mix of these coping strategies are required to suite the particular requirements of the business.

The association between the use of IP by UK SMEs in 2001 and subsequent performance in 2002 to 2004

This report analyses the 2001 cohort of UK SMEs. The specific focus is on the link between IP activity in 2001 and subsequent performance (to 2004). The 2001 cohort contains 130,082 SMEs of which 3,123 were IP active (2.4%). Specifically, 1,872 SMEs had at least one UK trade mark publication; 697 had one or more Community trade mark registrations; 646 SMEs had one or more UK patents; and 443 had one or more EPO patent publications. The outcome and financial performance of the SMEs is analysed in various ways. Initially, we look at the determinants of survival to 2004. We then look at growth of assets and turnover for the period 2001 to 2004.

Development of a digital tool to overcome the challenges of rural food SMEs

It has been recognised that throughout the UK, rural economies have a significant potential for growth but despite the potential for growth, many rural businesses face barriers that prohibit their expansion. In this study, we focus on one particular group of rural small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): food and drink producers. Through user engagement activities, we identify the issues and needs associated with distributing products to the market, in order to understand the main issues which prevent rural food and drink SMEs from expansion, and to establish the requirements for a digital solution to this challenge.

Regional growth and SMEs in Brazil:a spatial panel approach

Cravo T. A., Becker B. and Gourlay A. Regional growth and SMEs in Brazil: a spatial panel approach, Regional Studies. This paper examines economic growth for a panel of 508 Brazilian micro-regions for the period 1980-2004, using spatial econometrics and paying particular attention to the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The findings indicate the presence of spatial dependence in the process of economic growth and the existence of two spatial regimes in Brazil. The human capital level of the whole population is an important growth determinant, but does not generate positive spillovers. Furthermore, human capital embodied in SMEs is more important than the size of this sector for regional growth and SME activity generates positive spatial spillovers. © 2014 © 2014 Regional Studies Association.

An investigation into the factors affecting e-commerce adoption decisions by SMEs:a study in Saudi Arabia

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become an increasingly important initiative among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as both a great opportunity and as a source of competition. The factors affecting adoption decisions of e-commerce by SMEs have been well documented, but there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce in the Arab world. The aim of this chapter is to provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. This chapter investigates the state of e-commerce adoption and analyses the factors that determine the extent to which SMEs in Saudi Arabia are inclined towards deploying e-commerce technologies. This research was designed using a qualitative approach through exploratory case studies selected from firms in Saudi Arabia. The findings contribute towards a better conceptual and practical understanding of the main factors driving SMEs to adopt e-commerce. The study has found that the level of e-commerce implementation has yet to mature and customer readiness for Internet shopping has to improve before e-commerce reaches the levels of maturity seen in other regions of the world. This study highlights several directions for future inquiry and implications for policymakers and managers who are involved in efforts to introduce complex innovations such as e-commerce into their organisations or are interested in expanding their e-commerce applications and generating more revenue.

An investigation into the adoption of electronic commerce among Saudi Arabian SMEs

Despite the proliferation of e-commerce adoption by SMEs and the world-wide growth of e-commerce, in general there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in the Middle East. In this paper, the authors provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian SMEs. This research was designed using a qualitative approach through in-depth case studies selected from firms in Saudi Arabia. The findings contribute toward a better conceptual and practical understanding of the main factors driving SMEs to adopt e-commerce. The authors find that the level of e-commerce implementation has yet to mature and customer readiness for Internet shopping must improve before e-commerce reaches the levels of maturity seen in other regions of the world. This study highlights directions for future inquiry and implications for information and technology managers and policymakers in developing Arab nations.

A conceptual framework for understanding resilience of construction SMEs to extreme weather events

Purpose Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which form a significant portion in many economies, are some of the most vulnerable to the impact of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs). This is of particular importance to the construction industry, as an overarching majority of construction companies are SMEs who account for the majority of employment and income generation within the industry. In the UK, previous research has identified construction SMEs as some of the worst affected by EWEs. Design/methodology/approach Given the recent occurrences of EWEs and predictions suggesting increases in both the intensity and frequency of EWEs in the future, improving the resilience of construction SMEs is vital for achieving a resilient construction industry. A conceptual framework is first developed which is then populated and expanded based on empirical evidence. Positioned within a pragmatic research philosophy, case study research strategy was adopted as the overall research strategy in undertaking this investigation. Findings Based on the findings of two in-depth case studies of construction SMEs, a framework was developed to represent EWE resilience of construction SMEs, where resilience was seen as a collective effect of vulnerability, coping strategies and coping capacities of SMEs, characteristics of the EWE and the wider economic climate. Originality/value The paper provides an original contribution towards the overarching agenda of the resilience of SMEs, and policy making in the area of EWE risk management by presenting a novel conceptual framework depicting the resilience of medium-sized construction companies.

Identifying the configurational paths to innovation in SMEs:a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study investigates the conditions leading to a higher level of innovation. More specifically, the study explores the impact of inter-organisational knowledge transfer networks and organisations' internal capabilities on different types of innovation in Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in the high-tech sector. A survey instrument was used to collect data from a sample of UK SMEs. The findings show that although individual factors are important, there is no need for a company to perform well in all the areas. The fsQCA, which enables the examination of the impacts of different combinations of factors, reveals that there are a number of paths to achieve better incremental and radical innovation performance. Companies need to choose the one that is closest to their abilities and fits best with their resources.

Understanding inter-firm networks and types of innovation in SMEs:a social network perspective

Innovation is one of the key drivers for gaining competitive advantages in any firms. Understanding knowledge transfer through inter-firm networks and its effects on types of innovation in SMEs is very important in improving SMEs innovation. This study examines relationships between characteristics of inter-firm knowledge transfer networks and types of innovation in SMEs. To achieve this, social network perspective is adopted to understand inter-firm knowledge transfer networks and its impact on innovation by investigating how and to what extend ego network characteristics are affecting types of innovation. Therefore, managers can develop the firms'network according to their strategies and requirements. First, a conceptual model and research hypotheses are proposed to establish the possible relationship between network properties and types of innovation. Three aspects of ego network are identified and adopted for hypotheses development: 1) structural properties which address the potential for resources and the context for the flow of resources, 2) relational properties which reflect the quality of resource flows, and 3) nodal properties which are about quality and variety of resources and capabilities of the ego partners. A questionnaire has been designed based on the hypotheses. Second, semistructured interviews with managers of five SMEs have been carried out, and a thematic qualitative analysis of these interviews has been performed. The interviews helped to revise the questionnaire and provided preliminary evidence to support the hypotheses. Insights from the preliminary investigation also helped to develop research plan for the next stage of this research.

Development of a technological innovation capability assessment model:a case study of manufacturing SMEs in Sialkot, Pakistan

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important part in the economy of any country. Initially, a flat management hierarchy, quick response to market changes and cost competitiveness were seen as the competitive characteristics of an SME. Recently, in developed economies, technological capabilities (TCs) management- managing existing and developing or assimilating new technological capabilities for continuous process and product innovations, has become important for both large organisations and SMEs to achieve sustained competitiveness. Therefore, various technological innovation capability (TIC) models have been developed at firm level to assess firms‘ innovation capability level. These models output help policy makers and firm managers to devise policies for deepening a firm‘s technical knowledge generation, acquisition and exploitation capabilities for sustained technological competitive edge. However, in developing countries TCs management is more of TCs upgrading: acquisitions of TCs from abroad, and then assimilating, innovating and exploiting them. Most of the TIC models for developing countries delineate the level of TIC required as firms move from the acquisition to innovative level. However, these models do not provide tools for assessing the existing level of TIC of a firm and various factors affecting TIC, to help practical interventions for TCs upgrading of firms for improved or new processes and products. Recently, the Government of Pakistan (GOP) has realised the importance of TCs upgrading in SMEs-especially export-oriented, for their sustained competitiveness. The GOP has launched various initiatives with local and foreign assistance to identify ways and means of upgrading local SMEs capabilities. This research targets this gap and developed a TICs assessment model for identifying the existing level of TIC of manufacturing SMEs existing in clusters in Sialkot, Pakistan. SME executives in three different export-oriented clusters at Sialkot were interviewed to analyse technological capabilities development initiatives (CDIs) taken by them to develop and upgrade their firms‘ TCs. Data analysed at CDI, firm, cluster and cross-cluster level first helped classify interviewed firms as leader, follower and reactor, with leader firms claiming to introduce mostly new CDIs to their cluster. Second, the data analysis displayed that mostly interviewed leader firms exhibited ‗learning by interacting‘ and ‗learning by training‘ capabilities for expertise acquisition from customers and international consultants. However, these leader firms did not show much evidence of learning by using, reverse engineering and R&D capabilities, which according to the extant literature are necessary for upgrading existing TIC level and thus TCs of firm for better value-added processes and products. The research results are supported by extant literature on Sialkot clusters. Thus, in sum, a TIC assessment model was developed in this research which qualitatively identified interviewed firms‘ TIC levels, the factors affecting them, and is validated by existing literature on interviewed Sialkot clusters. Further, the research gives policy level recommendations for TIC and thus TCs upgrading at firm and cluster level for targeting better value-added markets.

Determinants of Firm Growth with respect to Exporting and Innovation Activities: Evidence from Egyptian SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the driving engine for employment growth, source of innovation and technological progress. Moreover, the success of small exporters is critical for economic growth and is considered as an important development stage for many SMEs. However, their competitive advantage lies within the firm’s ability to innovate. This thesis contributes to the above literature by examining two main factors believed to promote firm growth namely ‘exporting’ and ‘innovation’ activities. Growing interests on the relationship between exporting, innovation and growth have recently been tackled. However, there remains a gap in literature on the relationship between exporting, innovation and firm growth for SMEs in emerging economies. Previous studies are conducted in developed counties such as UK, Ireland, USA, Germany, and Switzerland, which leaves the gap for those developing countries. Thus, this thesis addresses the gap by examining the importance of innovation and exporting activities in the growth of SMEs in Egypt. It is also the researcher’s intent to recognise the unique contribution of innovation on firm exporting activities covering all sectors. gypt, one of the countries that were tremendously affected by the so-called ‘Arab Spring revolution’, is suffering from slow economic growth, high unemployment and poverty rate. Thus, the government must ensure economic growth and job creation. Programmes to encourage and develop SMEs should be part of inclusive growth strategy. Meanwhile, exporting is regarded as a key factor to help the economy recover from recession and stimulate economic growth. On the other hand, innovation leads to better performance in terms of growth, exporting and productivity. Therefore, SMEs and their exporting and innovation activities should be an integral part of any recovery and growth strategy for the economy. Moreover, Egypt is suffering from the so-called ‘Missing Middle’, which is problematic as medium firms tend to provide better employment growth and productivity. Therefore, more light is to shed on the importance of exporting and innovation in the growth of firms. The research design was quantitative in nature, testing the proposed hypotheses. The study was conducted in 2013 based on questionnaires of 406 Egyptians SMEs. The results of the empirical study suggest that both exporting and innovation activities are important in firm growth. However, the results show that, after controlling for endogeneity, innovation does not affect exporting activities in SMEs.

Determinants of firm growth with repect to exporting and innovation activities:evidence from Egyptian SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the driving engine for employment growth, source of innovation and technological progress. Moreover, the success of small exporters is critical for economic growth and is considered as an important development stage for many SMEs. However, their competitive advantage lies within the firm’s ability to innovate. This thesis contributes to the above literature by examining two main factors believed to promote firm growth namely ‘exporting’ and ‘innovation’ activities. Growing interests on the relationship between exporting, innovation and growth have recently been tackled. However, there remains a gap in literature on the relationship between exporting, innovation and firm growth for SMEs in emerging economies. Previous studies are conducted in developed counties such as UK, Ireland, USA, Germany, and Switzerland, which leaves the gap for those developing countries. Thus, this thesis addresses the gap by examining the importance of innovation and exporting activities in the growth of SMEs in Egypt. It is also the researcher’s intent to recognise the unique contribution of innovation on firm exporting activities covering all sectors. Egypt, one of the countries that were tremendously affected by the so-called ‘Arab Spring revolution’, is suffering from slow economic growth, high unemployment and poverty rate. Thus, the government must ensure economic growth and job creation. Programmes to encourage and develop SMEs should be part of inclusive growth strategy. Meanwhile, exporting is regarded as a key factor to help the economy recover from recession and stimulate economic growth. On the other hand, innovation leads to better performance in terms of growth, exporting and productivity. Therefore, SMEs and their exporting and innovation activities should be an integral part of any recovery and growth strategy for the economy. Moreover, Egypt is suffering from the so-called ‘Missing Middle’, which is problematic as medium firms tend to provide better employment growth and productivity. Therefore, more light is to shed on the importance of exporting and innovation in the growth of firms. The research design was quantitative in nature, testing the proposed hypotheses. The study was conducted in 2013 based on questionnaires of 406 Egyptians SMEs. The results of the empirical study suggest that both exporting and innovation activities are important in firm growth. However, the results show that, after controlling for endogeneity, innovation does not affect exporting activities in SMEs.

A hazai kis - és középvállalatok teljesítményét befolyásoló stratégiai orientációk (The effect of strategic orientations on the performance of Hungarian SMEs)

A szerzők 300 magyar kis- és középvállalatot (KKV) tartalmazó mintán vizsgálják a különböző stratégiai orientációk teljesítményre gyakorolt hatását. Ismeretes, hogy a gazdasági környezet változása erősítheti (stimulálhatja), illetve korlátozhatja e kapcsolat szorosságát. Az eredmények alapján elmondható, hogy a modellben alkalmazott stratégiai orientációk közül elsősorban a vállalkozói orientáció és mérsékelt módon az ügyfélkapcsolati orientáció hat pozitívan a KKV-k teljesítményére. Megerősítést nyert az a sejtés, hogy a piaci és az innovációra irányuló orientáció akkor értékelődik fel, ha a környezetben turbulens (gyakran előre jelezhetetlen) erők hatnak. / === / The authors examine the effect of different strategic orientations on business performance on a sample of 300 small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in Hungary. It is widely known that the competitive environment might stimulate or hinder the relationship between strategic orientations and business performance. The results show that out of six strategic orientations the entrepreneurial orientation has the strongest effect on SME performance. Customer relationship orientation is also responsible for the performance development of SMEs, although to a lesser extent. Furthermore, it has been reinforced that market and innovation orientation takes its importance if there are turbulent forces in the environment.

A kutatási és fejlesztési tevékenység lehetőségei és korlátai a kkv szektorban = Opportunities and constrains in the r&d activities of the smes: description of the research design and the analyzed cases

Ezen kutatási tanulmány módszertani összefoglalója a Kutatási és fejlesztési tevékenység lehetőségei és korlátai a KKV szektorban című kutatási műhely tanulmányainak. A kutatók feltáró, kvalitatív kutatás végeztek, azon belül pontosabban kvalitatív mélyinterjúkon alapuló esettanulmányos kutatást. A kutatók 14 kis- és középvállalkozás vezetőjével készítettek mélyinterjút annak érdekében, hogy feltárják a kis- és középvállalkozások adaptációs és növekedési lehetőségeit és korlátait, valamint az innovációs tevékenységének lehetőségeit és korlátait. Jelen tanulmány röviden bemutatja a vizsgált 14 esetet is. / === / This research paper is the methodological summary of the research working papers entitled Opportunities and constraints in the R&D activities of the SMES. The researchers carried out an explorative, qualitative research, to be more exact a case study research based on qualitative interviews. The researchers conducted interviews with CEOs of 14 SMEs in order to explore the opportunities and constraints in the adaptation and growth potential and in the innovation activities of the SMEs. This paper introduces in brief the analysed 14 case study, too.