Bizonytalanság, stratégia és teljesítmény – Kvalitatív kutatás innovatív kis- és középvállalatok vezetői körében (Uncertainty, strategy and performance – Qualitative research in innovative SMEs)

A szerző kvalitatív kutatási módszerekkel vizsgálja a kis- és középvállalatok (kkv-k) innovatív tevékenységeinek korlátait és lehetőségeit. A vizsgálat tárgyai (legalább) Magyarország szintjén új terméket vagy szolgáltatást nyújtó kkv-k, melyek határozott növekedési szándékkal rendelkeznek. Az eredmények egységes vizsgálati keretben, 41 vezető véleménye alapján születtek meg, három területre fókuszálva: (1) a környezeti bizonytalanság megítélése, (2) a szervezet követett stratégiája, kettős képessége, kiaknázó és felderítő tevékenysége, és (3) a versenyképes teljesítménycélok, konfigurációk. A cikk a kutatás lépéseit részletesen bemutatja, fontos eredményének tekinthető, hogy rámutat arra, hogy a kutatási és fejlesztési, valamint az innovatív tevékenységek legfontosabb gátja leginkább a vezetési és szervezési képességek és a stratégiai gondolkodás hiányára vezethető vissza a kis- és középvállalkozásokban. ______ The author conducted a qualitative research on the innovation potential of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). SMEs with new products and services and with growth orientation are in the focus of the research. The standardized research design is based on 41 owner managers’ responses. It is focusing on 3 main areas: (1) environmental uncertainty, (2) the strategy followed by the organization, its ambidextrous capability, exploitative and explorative behavior, and (3) competitive performance and configurations. The paper describes a qualitative research design in detail. The main finding of the research is that the lack of managerial skills and strategic thinking inhibit SMEs to conduct innovation as well as to engage in research and development activities.

The regulatory environment of the section of the non-standardized goods market - The findings of an interview research on Hungarian construction industry small enterprises

In this paper the behavior of economic actors shown in the uncertain quality goods markets is examined from the perspective of the sociology of markets. The analysis uses the findings of in-depth interviews conducted in 2011 and 2012 respectively amongst small and medium size entrepreneurs working in construction industry. In the Hungarian construction industry neither formal rules, nor vocational chambers, are able to create a safe environment for entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, networks created as a result of micro-selection steps might be able to enforce the quality of services, observe deadlines and what is more, ensure payment discipline. In this market, the typical high risk can be reduced by relationships. Networks reduce also the cost of transactions, since the important part of the services in this field could only be standardized at significant costs.

"Lájk első látásra?" – Mi inspirálja a márkák kedvelését az online térben, kis vendéglátóhelyek esetében? ("Like at first sight?" – What inspires liking brands in online social media in the case of small catering establishments?)

A márkatulajdonosok számára elsődleges fontosságú, hogy feltérképezzék saját márkaközösségüket, ezáltal is elősegítve a közösségi fókuszú kommunikációs tevékenységüket. Különösen igaz ez a jellemzően kis- és középvállalati formában működő vendéglátóhelyek számára, ahol a közösségi média sokszor az egyetlen rendelkezésre álló marketingkommunikációs eszköz. Empirikus kutatásunkban fogyasztói narratívákat (n=151) elemzünk a tartalomelemzés módszertanával. A válaszadókat arra kértük, hogy írjanak kedvenc vendéglátóhelyükkel való kapcsolatukról az online térben. Elemzésünkben arra keressük a választ, hogy a márkaközösségek tagjai milyen belső indíttatásból kerültek kapcsolatba kedvenc vendéglátóhelyeikkel a közösségi platformokon. Az elsősorban fogyasztási élményekhez kötött kapcsolat online közösségi térbe való kiterjesztésére olyan belső motivációkat tártunk fel, mint a pragmatikusabb információközpontú indíttatások (pl. kizárólagos információk, naprakészség, vállalati ajánlatok, közösségimédia-specifikus tartalmakhoz való hozzáférés igénye), az érzelmi kötődés kifejezése (pl. nosztalgia, ismerősöknek való ajánlás, személyes érintettség), a társas befolyás (oldalak kedvelése mint kommunikációs tartalom, konformitás, önkifejezés), valamint a vállalati alapképességeken túlmutató egyéb tematikus kapcsolódások. ____ It is of primary importance for brand owners to map their own brand community, in order to stimulate their social-focused communication activity. This is especially true for typically small and medium-sized catering enterprises, where in most cases, social media is the only available marketing communications tool. In our empirical research, we analyze consumer narratives (n=151) with the methodology of content analysis. We asked the respondents to write about their relationship with their most preferred catering establishments in the online social sphere. In our research, we search for the inner intention by which members of brand communities got connected with their most preferred catering establishments on social platforms. We revealed such inner motivations for users extending a primarily experience (an consumption) based relationship to the online social sphere like rather pragmatic, information-focused intentions (e.g. exclusive information, timeliness, company offers, access claim for social media -specific contents), the expression of emotional binding (e.g. nostalgia, reference for acquaintances, personal involvement), social influence (the like as communication content, conformity, self-expression), and other thematic linkages beyond core company competences.

The financial stability and access to financing of SMEs in Hungary

The present study was prepared within the framework of cooperation between the Competitiveness Research Centre, operating within the Institute of Business Economics of Corvinus University of Budapest, and the National Association of Entrepreneurs, based on a commission from the latter. Th e goal of the study was to survey the self-financing capabilities and borrowing opportunities of majority Hungarian-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to identify potential problems. The results of the research revealed that the high proportion of owner’s equity in the financing structure is not due to difficulties with borrowing, but because enterprises that cover their fi nancing primarily from their own resources have other financing opportunities at their disposal. Although general satisfaction with banks shows a diminishing tendency, it can still be interpreted favourably. The majority of companies have not encountered serious borrowing difficulties. With regard to the system of competitive tenders, company managers have sensed some improvement, but general satisfaction is still lacking. Although the research results suggest that the primary obstacle to growth in 2013 was not the lack of credit or external funding, it is important to emphasize that start-ups, young enterprises and micro-enterprises, which struggle the most with financing worries, were not represented in the analysed database.

Wind Resource Mapping Using Landscape Roughness and Spatial Interpolation Methods

Energy saving, reduction of greenhouse gasses and increased use of renewables are key policies to achieve the European 2020 targets. In particular, distributed renewable energy sources, integrated with spatial planning, require novel methods to optimise supply and demand. In contrast with large scale wind turbines, small and medium wind turbines (SMWTs) have a less extensive impact on the use of space and the power system, nevertheless, a significant spatial footprint is still present and the need for good spatial planning is a necessity. To optimise the location of SMWTs, detailed knowledge of the spatial distribution of the average wind speed is essential, hence, in this article, wind measurements and roughness maps were used to create a reliable annual mean wind speed map of Flanders at 10 m above the Earth’s surface. Via roughness transformation, the surface wind speed measurements were converted into meso- and macroscale wind data. The data were further processed by using seven different spatial interpolation methods in order to develop regional wind resource maps. Based on statistical analysis, it was found that the transformation into mesoscale wind, in combination with Simple Kriging, was the most adequate method to create reliable maps for decision-making on optimal production sites for SMWTs in Flanders (Belgium).

D6.6 – Summary, Analysis, Road-mapping and Production of Training materials

This deliverable summarizes, validates and explains the purpose and concept behind the RAGE knowledge and innovation management platform as a self-sustainable Ecosystem, supporting innovation processes in the Applied Gaming (AG) industry. The Ecosystem portal will be developed with particular consideration of the demand and requirements of small and medium sized game developing companies, education providers and related stakeholders like AG researchers and AG end-users. The innovation potential of the new platform underlies the following factors: a huge, mostly entire collection of community specific knowledge (e.g., content like media objects, software components and best practices), a structured approach of knowledge access, search and browse, collaboration tools as well as social network analysis tools to foster efficient knowledge creation and transformation processes into marketable technology assets. The deliverable provides an overview of the current status and the remaining work to come, preceding the final version in month 48 of the RAGE project.

Towards a Contingency Theory perspective of Quality Management in Enabling Strategic Alignment

The aim of this paper is to explore the role of Quality Management (QM) theory and practice using a contingency theory perspective. The study is grounded in the role of QM in improving strategic alignment within Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) using Contingency Theory rather than adopting best practice approaches. An inductive theory building research methodology was used involving multiple case analyses of five SMEs, involving repeat interviews (n=45), focus groups (n=5) and document analysis. From the findings, it was found that Contingency Variables (strategy, culture, lifecycle and customer focus) and their respective typologies were found to interact with QM practices in helping to shape strategic alignment between the SMEs and their environments. This shaping process based on contingency approaches occurred in a manner unique to each SME and their respective environments rather than in an overarching best practice manner.

Manifestation of Colossal Thermoelectric Power by Charge Ordered Small and Intermediate Bandwidth Manganites

Thermoelectric materials are revisited for various applications including power generation. The direct conversion of temperature differences into electric voltage and vice versa is known as thermoelectric effect. Possible applications of thermoelectric materials are in eco-friendly refrigeration, electric power generation from waste heat, infrared sensors, temperature controlled-seats and portable picnic coolers. Thermoelectric materials are also extensively researched upon as an alternative to compression based refrigeration. This utilizes the principle of Peltier cooling. The performance characteristic of a thermoelectric material, termed as figure of merit (ZT) is a function of several transport coefficients such as electrical conductivity (σ), thermal conductivity (κ) and Seebeck coefficient of the material (S). ZT is expressed asκσTZTS2=, where T is the temperature in degree absolute. A large value of Seebeck coefficient, high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity are necessary to realize a high performance thermoelectric material. The best known thermoelectric materials are phonon-glass electron – crystal (PGEC) system where the phonons are scattered within the unit cell by the rattling structure and electrons are scattered less as in crystals to obtain a high electrical conductivity. A survey of literature reveals that correlated semiconductors and Kondo insulators containing rare earth or transition metal ions are found to be potential thermoelectric materials. The structural magnetic and charge transport properties in manganese oxides having the general formula of RE1−xAExMnO3 (RE = rare earth, AE= Ca, Sr, Ba) are solely determined by the mixed valence (3+/4+) state of Mn ions. In strongly correlated electron systems, magnetism and charge transport properties are strongly correlated. Within the area of strongly correlated electron systems the study of manganese oxides, widely known as manganites exhibit unique magneto electric transport properties, is an active area of research.Strongly correlated systems like perovskite manganites, characterized by their narrow localized band and hoping conduction, were found to be good candidates for thermoelectric applications. Manganites represent a highly correlated electron system and exhibit a variety of phenomena such as charge, orbital and magnetic ordering, colossal magneto resistance and Jahn-Teller effect. The strong inter-dependence between the magnetic order parameters and the transport coefficients in manganites has generated much research interest in the thermoelectric properties of manganites. Here, large thermal motion or rattling of rare earth atoms with localized magnetic moments is believed to be responsible for low thermal conductivity of these compounds. The 4f levels in these compounds, lying near the Fermi energy, create large density of states at the Fermi level and hence they are likely to exhibit a fairly large value of Seebeck coefficient.

Financial Inclusion of The Small and Marginal Farmers by the Banking Sector in Kerala

Financial inclusion for inclusive growth is central to the developmental philosophy of most of the nations over the past decade. It has been a priority for policy makers and regulators in financial sector development for improving access and usage of financial services to achieve comprehensive financial inclusion. The initiatives taken towards financial inclusion can promote a more effective and efficient process to achieve significant improvements in financial inclusion are to establish and achieve shared and sustainable development and growth. Realising this, an increasing number of countries are committing to promote financial inclusion, encouraged by the growing body of country level experiences (World Bank, 2012). Financial inclusion basically means, broad based growth through participation as well as sharing the benefits from the growth process along with the under privileged and marginal segments of the economy. Evidence suggests that it has substantial benefits for equitable and sustainable growth. Inclusive growth ensures that while economy grows rapidly, all segments of society are involved in this growth process, ensuring equal opportunities, devoid of any regional or sectoral disparitiesIt is widely acknowledged that the objective ofinclusive growth is accomplished through the process of financial inclusion. Financial inclusion envisages bringing everyone, irrespective of financial status, into the banking fold for the individual progress and development and thereby achieving comprehensive growth with equity

Social media to support collaboration in the product life cycle of SMEs

Abstract : The use of social media tools to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to support their business activities throughout the product life cycle (PLC) phases represents an interesting opportunity. SMEs operate in very competitive environments, and face significant challenges primarily caused by their size disadvantage. By nature, social media tools and platforms can enable them to overcome some of these challenges, as they are often very inexpensive, familiar and easy to use, allowing them to reach large audiences they would not be able to reach with traditional and expensive marketing initiatives. To provide solutions to this problem, this research identified three main objectives. The first objective was to draw a picture of the existing academic literature on the use of social media tools in the PLC context to better understand how these tools were studied and used in businesses, and for what purpose. Second, this research aimed at understanding how SMEs actually use social media tools to support their different business activities to identify the gap between academic research and actual business practices. Finally, based on the findings highlighted from the previous objectives, this research aimed at developing theory on this topic by proposing a conceptual framework of customer engagement enabled by social media. The conceptual framework aimed at answering general questions that emerged from the initial two objectives: Why do some SMEs use social media to support customer engagement, while others do not? Why do firms use different social media tools to support their customer engagement initiatives? Why does the scope of customer engagement initiatives (i.e., across different PLC phases) vary between SMEs? What are the potential outcomes of conducting customer engagement initiatives for the organizing firms? In order to achieve these research objectives, the methodology employed for this research is threefold. First, a systematic literature review was performed in order to properly understand how the use of social media tools in the PLC context had been studied. The final results consisted of 78 academic articles which were analyzed based on their bibliometric information and their content. Second, in order to draw the contrast between the academic publications and managerial reality of SMEs, six semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand how these firms actually use social media to support different activities in each of the PLC phases. Third, five additional semi-structured interviews were performed to gather a deeper understanding of this phenomenon and generate theory to support the proposed conceptual framework. The conceptual framework focuses on the degree of customer engagement, which is comprised of the scope (PLC phases) of customer engagement and the technology (social media tools) employed to support these initiatives. Two sets of antecedents were examined, firm motivators and firm impediments, as they could both potentially affect the scope and the social media tools used to support customer engagement initiatives. Finally, potential customer engagement outcomes for SMEs developing these initiatives were also examined. The semi-structured interviews lasted approximately 25-35 minutes, and were performed using an interview grid consisting of 24 open-ended questions. The interview grid was developed based on the findings of the systematic literature review, and this qualitative approach allowed for a rich understanding of the interviewed SMEs’ use of social media tools to support and engage customers in their different PLC activities. The main results highlighted by this project demonstrate that this field is relatively recent and sees constant increase in research interest since 2008. However, most of the academic research focuses on the use of social media tools to support innovation activities during the new product development process, while the interviewed firms almost exclusively used the tools to engage customers in the later phases of the PLC, primarily for promotion, customer service support, and business development activities. Interestingly, the interviewed firms highlighted several benefits of using social media tools to engage customers, some of which could help them overcome certain size disadvantages previously mentioned. These firms are in need of further guidelines to properly implement such initiatives and reap the expected benefits. Results suggest that SMEs are far behind both large companies and academic research in their use of social media to engage customers in different business activities. The proposed conceptual framework serves as a great tool to better understand their reality and eventually better support them in their social media and customer engagement efforts. However, this framework needs to be further developed and improved. This research project provides a 360-degree view of the phenomenon of the use of social media to support customer engagement for SMEs, by providing both a thorough systematic review of the academic research and an understanding of the managerial reality of SMEs behind this phenomenon. From this analysis, a conceptual framework is then proposed and serves as a stepping stone for future researchers who are interested in developing theory in this field.

A internacionalização de empresas pela AIDA para os PALOP e/ou Brasil-Ceará

O presente trabalho tem como propósito responder a questão "qual o interesse estratégico de empresas do distrito de Aveiro se internacionalizarem para os Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP) e/ ou Brasil - Ceará?". O objeto de estudo surgiu após a integração num estágio curricular na AIDA - Associação Industrial do Distrito de Aveiro - e levou à revisão da literatura dos temas estratégia e internacionalização, assim como ao trabalho de campo (6 entrevistas a colaboradoras da AIDA), proporcionando as componentes conceptual e empírica. Verificou-se que o setor de atividade é fundamental para o sucesso das empresas nas missões. Designadamente, bastantes empresas ligadas ao setor metalomecânico, que tendem a recorrer a estes mercados dos PALOP e/ ou Brasil - Ceará, alcançaram, em muitos casos, o sucesso - isto é, a concretização de negócios com novos clientes e / ou o investimento direto nesses países. O contributo do presente trabalho reside também na perspetiva, resultante de um inquérito desenvolido no âmbito do estágio no Gabinete de Relações Exteriores da AIDA, de que ainda que se verifique uma janela de oportunidade para algumas das empresas nos referidos mercados (PALOP e Brasil - Ceará), entende-se que, para o sucesso efetivo destas empresas, outras formas de empreender poderiam ser colocadas em prática, nomeadamente alianças estratégicas entre pequenas e médias empresas (PME) de setores semelhantes, a nível local (Portugal), para competirem a nível internacional com os respetivos líderes de mercado. Desta forma, sugere-se lutar pela competitividade não só nos PALOP mas também nos mercados desenvolvidos, tais como Alemanha, Estados Unidos da América e/ ou países escandinavos - pois somente com clientes exigentes e com a pressão de concorrentes fortes poder-se-ão criar indústrias desenvolvidas e capazes de competir ao mais elevado nível e pelos melhores clientes, com poder de compra e fontes de inovação (Porter, 1990). Estas lições parecem, por ezes, esquecidas, mas segundo Gibbs (2007) um dos propósitos da investigação é também o de lembrar o que foi esquecido e/ ou ignorado. As entrevistas realizadas ofereceram contributo na medida em que proporcionam a compreensão dos motivos para as empresas portuguesas escolherem estes mercados, das razões para o sucesso ou insucesso nos PALOP e/ ou Brasil - Ceará, do investimento e esforço por parte das entidades não-governamentais portuguesas em internacionalizar empresas do setor da metalomecânica, das forças e fraquezas das missões empresariais, de que aspetos fazem da AIDA um agente de mudança e das áreas em que poderia haver maior diligência por parte da AIDA.São também sugeridas recomendações a associação, entre outras, a inclusão das questões culturais de cada país nos estudos de mercado não só sobre PALOP e Brasil - Ceará, mas também nos estudos de mercado do distrito de Aveiro, assim como de Portugal, para fazer divulgação a potenciais importadores; melhoria de processos, implementando-se um software de gestão/ partilha de conhecimento das várias oportunidades de negócio, rentabilizando o processo de estabelecimento de interesse em realizar negócio, no âmbito do EEN (Entelprise Eumpe Netwrk); intervenção na plataforma do IAPMEI por informáticos habilitados; e armazenamento de dados em cloud storage - um serviço do género da Dropbox, de modo a rentabilizar o tempo dispendido, assim como a tornar as pastas acedidas via intranet mais pequenas.

Debriefing in simulation conducted in small and large groups : nursing students’ experiences

The debriefing phase in human patient simulation is considered to be crucial for learning. To ensure good learning conditions, the use of small groups is recommended, which poses a major challenge when the student count is high. The use of large groups may provide an alternative for typical lecture-style education and contribute to a more frequently and repeated training which is considered to be important for achieving simulation competency. The purpose of the present study was to describe nursing students’ experiences obtained during the debriefing conducted in small and large groups with the use of a qualitative descriptive approach. The informants had participated in a human patient simulation situation either in large or small groups. Data was collected through the use of five focus-group interviews and analysed by content analysis. The findings showed that independent of group-size the informants experienced the learning strategies to be unfamiliar and intrusive, and in the large groups to such an extent that learning was hampered. Debriefing was perceived as offering excellent opportunities for transferable learning, and activity, predictability and preparedness were deemed essential. Small groups provided the best learning conditions in that safety and security were ensured, but were perceived as providing limited challenges to accommodate professional requirements as a nurse. Simulation competency as a prerequisite for learning was shown not to be developed isolated in conjunction with simulation, but depends on a systematic effort to build a learning community in the programme in general. The faculty needs to support the students to be conscious and accustomed to learning as a heightened experience of learning out of their comfort zone.

Involving individuals in the manufacturing strategy formation : Strategic consensus among workers and managers

Decisions made and actions taken by individuals in the operations function impact the formation of a company’s manufacturing strategy (MS). Therefore, it is important that the MS is understood and agreed on by all employees, that is, strategic consensus among the individuals in the operations function is essential. This research contributes to the current body of knowledge by including a workers’ perspective on MS formation. It is the workers on the shop floor who bring the MS to life in the actual operations through their daily decisions and actions. The MS falls short if the priorities outlined do not materialise in practice as intended. The purpose of this research is to investigate how the individuals in the operations function perceive the MS in order to understand how these individuals are involved in the MS formation. The research is based on five studies, differing by evidence, as follows: one theoretical, three qualitative in the setting of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and one quantitative at a large company. Based on the findings presented in the six appended papers, the results show that empirically and conceptually, workers have been overlooked or given a passive role in the MS formation. Empirically, it is seen that workers and managers do not have a shared understanding of the underlying reasons for strategic priorities; hence, the level of strategic consensus is low. Furthermore, the level of strategic consensus varies among the different MS dimensions depending on their organisational level. Moreover, the empirical findings reveal that internal contextual factors influence the individuals’ perceptions of the MS and the possibilities for strategic consensus. Regarding the external context, the results show that major customers’ strategies influence the subcontractor SMEs’ MS formation. The usage of means of communication in the operations function has also shown to be of importance for how the MS is perceived. Conceptually, the findings indicate that the MS literature tends to treat individuals in the operations function in a deterministic manner; individuals on the shop floor are regarded as manufacturing resources. To ensure a successful MS formation process, where the patterns of the decisions made by the individuals in the operations function forms the MS, the view on human nature within the MS requires a more voluntaristic approach. This research suggests to view the MS formation as an iterative “patterning process” which builds on a reciprocal relationship between workers and managers. The introduction of the patterning process contributes to the research on MS formation by explaining the perception range within the hierarchical levels, by re-defining the hierarchical levels included in the MS formation and by detailing the activities in the MS formation.

Art-Map: concept of moving curatorial project and its practical realization in Aveiro

In this dissertation, I present the results of a project which aim was to find out and try an effective model of independent curatorial project executable in small and medium cities in Portugal. The concept of Moving Curatorial Project ARTMAP is a result of theoretical research and reflection about municipal exhibition spaces and possibility of presentation of the contemporary art in these spaces. To test if this curatorial project is realizable and if there are conditions to continue it, a first trial was implemented in Aveiro. A curated international exhibition, entitled “A Poética do Visual" occupied two municipal and two private gallery spaces and brought together 111 artists from 25 different countries. The art event was carried out in collaboration with the Municipality of Aveiro and the University of Aveiro, and involved several private cultural spaces in the city. This first experience showed that there are all conditions for the presentation of contemporary art in small and medium size locations in Portugal, and for this project to be replicated in other regions of the country.

Käyttöpääoman hallinnan vaikutus suomalaisten pk-yritysten maksuvalmiuteen

Tämän kandidaatintutkielman tavoite on tarkastella suomalaisten pk-yritysten maksuvalmiuden ja käyttöpääoman hallinnan välistä yhteyttä. Tarkoitus on selvittää, voidaanko suomalaisten pk-yritysten maksuvalmiutta parantaa käyttöpääoman hallintaa tehostamalla ja onko siitä saatava hyöty toimialariippuvaista. Toimialavertailuun valittiin rakentaminen, koneiden ja laitteiden valmistus sekä jälleenmyynti. Aineisto tutkimukseen hankittiin Amadeus-tietokannasta. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnetään tilastollisia menetelmiä. Tilastolliset analyysit suoritetaan SAS Enterprise Guide -ohjelmistolla. Muuttujien välisiä suhteita tarkastellaan regressioanalyysin avulla, jotka suoritetaan jokaiselle toimialaluokalle ja kaikista toimialoista koostuvalle otokselle erikseen. Tutkimustulosten mukaan toimialasta riippumatta pk-yrityksen maksuvalmiutta voidaan parantaa käyttöpääoman hallintaa tehostamalla. Vaikutuksen suuruus riippuu kuitenkin toimialasta. Tutkimustulokset huomioiden pk-yritysten johdon tulisi resurssien niukkuudesta huolimatta kiinnittää huomiota käyttöpääoman hallintaan, erityisesti silloin kuin yrityksen maksuvalmius on uhattuna.