A ANÁLISE DAS CAPACIDADES DE SOBREVIVÊNCIA DE PEQUENOS NEGÓCIOS NAS CIDADES DE ITANHAÉM E MONGAGUÁ: ESTUDO MULTICASO DE PEQUENAS EMPRESAS

O presente trabalho traz uma análise das capacidades de sobrevivência de três micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) do ramo alimentício de doces de banana, estabelecidas na Região Metropolitana da Baixada Santista, especificamente nas cidades de Itanhaém e Mongaguá. Essas capacidades se construíram fundamentadas em dois pressupostos: efeito do gestor e o efeito da localidade, que podem ser determinantes para a sobrevivência e o desempenho de MPEs. A pesquisa tem por objetivo geral identificar as características do gestor e os fatores da localidade que influenciam a sobrevivência das três MPEs estudadas. Para alcançar o objetivo geral foram traçados os seguintes objetivos específicos: identificar as características da gestão que foram propulsoras da sobrevivência das três MPEs estudadas; identificar os recursos da localidade que foram propulsores à sobrevivência das três MPEs; verificar a existência de outros fatores da gestão e da localidade que possam ter influenciado a sobrevivência das MPEs no longo prazo. O estudo teve como expectativa contribuir para o aprofundamento da reflexão sobre o tema concernente às capacidades de sobrevivência dos pequenos negócios. A pesquisa bibliográfica esteve centrada no encadeamento de tópicos teóricos de forma a construir fundamentos necessários sobre as influências do gestor e da localidade na sobrevivência das pequenas empresas, noções necessárias para se atingir o objetivo geral. Para alcançar os objetivos propostos, a investigação, de caráter descritivo e indutivo, foi desenvolvida por meio de estudo multicaso, compreendendo pesquisa documental, observações e entrevistas semi-estruturadas, preliminar e de profundidade, tendo como sujeitos os gestores, os funcionários, os fornecedores e os clientes das três MPEs. Os resultados indicam que há fatores importantes do efeito gestor e do efeito localidade influenciando a sobrevivência das empresas locus da pesquisa. Os resultados apontaram fatores como acesso ao amplo mercado, atitude frente à tecnologia, a presença de laço forte e laço fraco, entre outros considerados importantes influenciadores na sobrevivência das empresas estudadas. Os resultados abrem perspectivas de estudos mais aprofundados que possam proporcionar e criar alternativas e programas para melhorar o desempenho e a sobrevivência das MPEs.(AU)

ANÁLISE DA INFORMALIDADE: uso de crédito e crescimento perante a pesquisa da Ecinf

Este trabalho procura entender um pouco mais e discutir, partindo dos dados disponíveis do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), através de sua pesquisa de economia informal urbana (ECINF) gerada em 2003 (ultima disponível), aspectos ligados à informalidade, crescimento e uso do crédito. Procura explorar, neste contexto, aspectos relevantes ao crescimento e continuidade da micro e pequena empresa. Para atingir este objetivo, procura-se entender inicialmente conceitos sobre estes aspectos (informalidade, crescimento e uso de crédito) e suas características, e através de dados secundários e com o uso de software estatístico, procurar entender as suas relações, através de ANOVA e regressões, bem como optimal scaling contribuindo para o conhecimento deste cenário. Os dados levantandos e comparados com a teoria apontam as relações entre empregador e trabalhador por conta própria indicando dos fatores adotados no estudo quais mais contribuem e os que indicam pouca contribuição dentro deste contexto. Em conclusões acena para uma tendência onde o individamento através do uso de crédito tende a gerar um maior crescimento até um determinado ponto e a partir desta inflecção tende a dificultar a atividade bem como acena dificultar a formalização.(AU)

A AUTOAVALIAÇÃO INSTITUCIONAL NO ENSINO SUPERIOR: A PERSPECTIVA E ESTRATÉGIA DISCENTES

O Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Superior (SINAES) inclui, como um de seus indicadores, a Autoavaliação Institucional, de responsabilidade das próprias Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) e promovida, em seu âmbito, pelas Comissões Permanentes de Avalição (CPA). Essas avaliações devem gerar ações internas nas IES com o intuito de qualificar seus serviços, instalações e profissionais. A avaliação cumpre funções que envolvem relações de poder e estratégias desenvolvidas por seus usuários para atingir seus objetivos. É relevante, portanto, identificar esses mecanismos que influenciam diretamente o preenchimento das ferramentas de avaliação e que impactam os resultados auferidos e as ações decorrentes desse processo. Com este trabalho, pretendemos verificar quais são os mecanismos, as estratégias e as relações de poder envolvidos na realização da avaliação institucional a partir das representações dos respondentes, incluindo professores e alunos. O objetivo é analisar, por meio de uma pesquisa qualitativa, a autoavaliação institucional no ensino superior e os mecanismos presentes em sua realização, buscando identificar as relações de poder e as estratégias desenvolvidas decorrentes de depoimentos de uma amostra composta por alunos e professores participantes do processo.

Observatorio de salud y seguridad en el trabajo OSST - SOANDES LTDA, modelo piloto para la implementación y desarrollo

Introducción: Contar con un diagnóstico de las condiciones en seguridad y salud en el trabajo en el país permite crear estrategias para minimizar los problemas de la población trabajadora. En Colombia existe el observatorio del Instituto Nacional de Salud, sin embargo, no cuenta, en ninguno de sus tópicos, con información y análisis sobre la salud y seguridad de la población trabajadora. Objetivo: Determinar las condiciones de salud de la población atendida en la IPS SALUD OCUPACIONAL DE LOS ANDES LDTA en la ciudad de Bogotá, durante el año 2015. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó una prueba piloto del observatorio de salud y seguridad en el trabajo mediante un estudio de corte transversal, donde se tomó una base de datos de pacientes evaluados en la IPS SALUD OCUPACIONAL DE LOS ANDES LDTA, de la ciudad de Bogotá D.C. que contiene información de exámenes médicos ocupacionales realizados en el 2015 en la plataforma ISISMAWEB con una muestra representativa de 1923 registros. Se incluyeron variables sociodemográficas y laborales, los paraclínicos registrados como alterados más prevalentes, los diagnósticos y dictámenes emitidos en la población estudiada y las recomendaciones personales dadas por el sistema de gestión de la empresa. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo y para el estudio de las interacciones se empleó el Chi-cuadrado. Resultados: El 62,1% de la población fueron hombres con edad promedio de 34.8 años (DE 10,521). El 41.5% tuvieron estudios secundarios. La evaluación médica más realizada fue el examen de ingreso en el 30.5% de los casos. El cargo operadores de instalaciones y máquinas y ensambladores represento el 27.9% y en última medida los profesionales de nivel medio en operaciones financieras y administrativas con el 0.5%. El diagnostico CIE 10 emitido más frecuente fue con el 15,8% el código Z100 (Examen de salud ocupacional), seguido del Trastorno de la refracción no especificado (H527) con el 9,0%. En cuanto a las recomendaciones generales la que más se repitió fue examen periódico con un 30%. La recomendación preventiva más frecuente fue osteomuscular con el 36,5%. Las recomendaciones SVE de mayor prevalencia fueron ergonómicas con un 40,7%. Se encontraron asociaciones (p<0.05) entre las variables escolaridad, género y estrato. Conclusiones: Se deben optimizar los mecanismos de recolección del dato para ser más viable su evaluación y asociación. Hay un subregístro importante de segundos diagnósticos asociado al no registro de los paraclínicos. Este estudio plantea un modelo a seguir para poder desarrollar el observatorio nacional de salud y seguridad en el trabajo.

The innovation potential of living-labs to strengthen small and medium enterprises in regional Australia

The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector has been the major source of well-being and employment opportunities in regional Australia. Consequently, fostering the innovative capacity of SMEs in regions that are struggling to grow their economies and distribute the growth fairly while not degrading the environment has never been more important. While SMEs generally face more uncertainties in relation to resources (e.g. financial, human and social capital) when compared to larger businesses, collaborative, cuttingedge mechanisms to enhance innovation capabilities of regional SMEs are lacking. This paper responds to this gap and proposes a Living Laboratory – an open, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder action research platform where innovations can be co-created, tested and evaluated in the every-day environment of SMEs – as a way to strengthen the SME sector in regional Australia.

Application of Open Innovation Paradigm in Small and Medium Enterprises in Russia

The objective of this study is to explore how the Open Innovation paradigm is applied in by small and medium-size enterprises in Russia. The focus of the study is to understand how the processes of research and development and commercialization proceed in these kind of companies and to which extent they apply open innovation principles. Russian leadership makes certain steps for transition from the export of raw materials to an innovative model of economic growth. The research aims to disclose actual impact of these attempts. The closed innovation model and the erosion factors which lead to the destruction of an old one and emergence of new model are described. Features of open innovation implementation and intellectual property rights protection in small and medium enterprises are presented. To achieve the objective, a qualitative case study approach was chosen. Research includes facts and figures, views and opinions of management of studied companies related to innovation process in the company and in Russia in general. The research depicts the features of Open Innovation implementation by SMEs in Russia. A large number of research centers with necessary equipment and qualified personnel allow case companies to use external R&D effectively. They cooperate actively with research institutes, universities and laboratories. Thus, they apply inbound Open Innovation. On the contrary, lack of venture capital, low demand for technologies within the domestic market and weak protection of intellectual property limit the external paths to new markets. Licensing-out and creation of spin-off are isolated cases. Therefore, outbound Open Innovation is not a regular practice.

Barriers Faced By Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises In Raising Finance

Worldwide, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been accepted as an engine of economic growth and for promoting equitable development. In developing countries including India, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector constitute an important part in its development. In spite of this importance, this sector face number of constraints like absence of adequate and timely supply of bank finance, difficulties in procuring raw materials, marketing and distribution challenges and non availability of suitable technology. Review of literature found that there exists problem in accessing finance from banks and financial institutions and this problem may differ from region to region, between sectors, or between individual enterprises within a sector. This paper tries to identify the various barriers faced by these units in raising finance and also try to identify the various sources of finance other than banks. The study is based upon the primary data collected from the 200 MSMEs owners in Kozhikode District of Kerala. The data has been analysed with the help of percentage. The study attempts to submit some recommendations to enhance the overall credit accessibility to MSMEs sector

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

Includes bibliography

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.

Improving innovation and performance of Social Enterprises: Knowing what they know

Social Enterprises (SEs) are normally micro and small businesses that trade to tackle social problems, and to improve communities, people’s life chances, and the environment. Thus, their importance to society and economies is increasing. However, there is still a need for more understanding of how these organisations operate, perform, innovate and scale-up. This knowledge is crucial to design and provide accurate strategies to enhance the sector and increase its impact and coverage. Obtaining this understanding is the main driver of this paper, which follows the theoretical lens of the Knowledge-based View (KBV) theory to develop and assess empirically a novel model for knowledge management capabilities (KMCs) development that improves performance of SEs. The empirical assessment consisted of a quantitative study with 432 owners and senior members of SEs in UK, underpinned by 21 interviews. The findings demonstrate how particular organisational characteristics of SEs, the external conditions in which they operate, and informal knowledge management activities, have created overall improvements in their performance of up to 20%, based on a year-to-year comparison, including innovation and creation of social and environmental value. These findings elucidate new perspectives that can contribute not only to SEs and SE supporters, but also to other firms.

A model for the uptake of E-business by building small and medium enterprises

The adoption of e-business by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in construction lags from other service and product businesses within the building sector. This paper develops a model to facilitate the uptake of electronic business, especially in relation to SMEs within the Australian construction sector. Ebusiness is defined here as “the undertaking of business-related transactions, communications and information exchanges utilising electronic medium and environment”, the elicited model highlights significant changes needed including skills development, social, economic and cultural issues. The model highlights barriers for SMEs to migrate towards e-transactions, e-bidding, e-tendering and ecollaboration and provides learning and skills development components. The model is derived from case study fieldwork and is to inform diffusion and awareness models for best practice. Empirical techniques included ‘focus group’ interviews and one to one ‘interviews’. Data was transcribed and analysed using cluster analyses. Preliminary results reveal that current models for e-business adoption are not effective within the construction context as they have emerged from other service and product industries - such as retail or tourism. These generic models have largely ignored the nature of the construction industry, and some modifications appears to be required. This paper proposes an alternative adoption model which is more sensitive to the nature of the industry – particularly for e-business uptake in building SME’s.

Who needs it? An exploratory investigation into the reaction of small and medium enterprises to mobile data technologies

The technological environment in which contemporary small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operate can only be described as dynamic. The seemingly exponential nature of technological change, characterised by perceived increases in the benefits associated with various technologies, shortening product life cycles and changing standards, provides for the small and medium-sized enterprise a complex and challenging operational context. The development of infrastructures capable of supporting the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)and associated 'wireless' applications represents the latest generation of technological innovation with potential appeal to SMEs and end-users alike. The primary aim of this research was to understand the mobile data technology needs of SMEs in a regional setting. The research was especially concerned with perceived needs across three market segments; non-adopters of new technology, partial-adopters of new technology and full-adopters of new technology. Working with an industry partner, focus groups were conducted with each of these segments with the discussions focused on the use of the latest WP products and services. Some of the results are presented in this paper.

Challenges of knowledge integration in small and medium enterprises

This study attempts to develop a better understanding of the challenges of knowledge integration (KI) within the innovation process in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Using several case studies, this study investigates how knowledge integration may be managed within the context of innovation in SMEs. The research places particular focus on identifying the challenges of knowledge integration in SMEs in relation to three aspects of knowledge integration activities, namely knowledge identification, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge sharing. Four distinct tasks emerged in the knowledge integration process, namely team building capability, capturing tacit knowledge, role of knowledge management (KM) systems, and technological systemic integration. The paper suggests that managing knowledge integration in SMEs can be best managed by focusing on these four tasks, which in turn will lead to innovation.

On cloud computing service considerations for the small and medium enterprises

The concept of cloud computing services is appealing to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with the opportunity to acquire modern information technology resources as a utility and avoid costly capital investments in technology resources. However, the adoption of the cloud computing services presents significant challenges to the SMEs. The SMEs need to determine a path to adopting the cloud computing services that would ensure their sustainable presence in the cloud computing environment. Information about approaches to adopting the cloud computing services by the SMEs is fragmented. Through an interpretive design, we suggest that the SMEs need to have a strategic and incremental intent, understand their organizational structure, understand the external factors, consider the human resource capacity, and understand the value expectations from the cloud computing services to forge a successful path to adopting the cloud computing services. These factors would contribute to a model of cloud services for SMEs.