How do Australian small and medium enterprises communicate their environmental improvement activities online?

There have been calls in the IS/eBusiness literature for research on "green" IS/IT in a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) context. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature has neglected the issue of how SMEs can use websites to communicate their environmental improvement activities. This paper links these two previously separate disciplines by reporting on a content analysis of 443 Australian SME websites from four industry sectors to identify if and how they use websites to communicate their environmental improvement activities. The study found that 47 websites were communicating such activities in some form. A detailed analysis was undertaken of these 47 websites to identify emergent themes relating to how these SMEs were communicating their environmental improvement activities. These themes resulted in a reconceptualisation of the traditional "4 Ps" of marketing for online communication of environmental improvement activities by SMEs: profile; product; process; and prominence.

Multi-market industrial organizational economic models for the internationalization process by small and medium enterprise construction design service firms

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are critical to strategic initiatives in an economy; however, their contribution to foreign trade is not as significant. SMEs are one of the principal driving forces in economic development. One of the greatest challenges is the internationalization process for longevity rather than seeing the process as initial market entry. The internationalization process research has typically involved four key constructs: market selection, decision to enter, entry modes and factors affecting entry modes. Past research has focused on large manufacturing firms. The export of architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms has undergone growth, yet there is still significant opportunity for further growth. The majority of AEC firms are SMEs. Notwithstanding assistance provided through international trade missions, organized export firm support networks and information packages by a burgeoning number of government agencies, there are still perceived barriers to market entry and long-term economic sustainability for SMEs. There are a number of problems faced by SMEs acting in foreign trade. This investigation explores the successful initial internationalization process constructs and identifies unique project-oriented sector characteristics. The study identified similarities and differences between two firms that have been exporting to various localities, including Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, UK, Asia and South America, for more than two decades. The similarities and differences were identified within eight major constructs: purpose, firm type, market image and design philosophy, entry mode strategy, institutional arrangement, factors affecting mode of entry, market selection and firm strategy in relation to project selection. The primary reasons for internationalization were associated with the firms' motivations related to growth and financial viability. This article discusses the various internationalization processes and strategies intrinsic to each case study and establishes a detailed set of empirical observations from which to develop further a grounded theoretical model of reflexive capability for the internationalization process. This study contributes to the body of knowledge around the SME AEC design service firm's internationalization process, as a dynamic, evolving and continuously adaptable construct for project-based sectors.

A method for examining corporate social responsibility descriptions on SME websites

There is growing IS research concerning SME use of websites and limited but growing research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by SMEs. However, to-date these two bodies of literature have remained largely separate. This paper links these fields by presenting an SME website content analysis method. Melville in his seminal MIS Quarterly article called for such methods which provide a nexus of IS, organisations and environment (which we extend to CSR). The method involves four steps: 1) identifying sources of SME websites; 2) determining if websites are describing CSR (based on the literature CSR by SMEs); 3) archiving website content for analysis; and 4) coding the website content using a structured framework (combining the literature on IS and CSR in an SME context). The paper also provides suggestions on how IS researchers can apply the method for quantitative and qualitative/exploratory objectives for future research.

Benchmarking the implementation of continuing professional development in the Victorian construction industry

In the state of Victoria, the state government has taken a leadership position on the potential benefit of introducing voluntary continuing professional development (CPD) for registered building practitioners (RBPs) in the construction industry. Benefits are believed to accrue to the Victorian community through a more highly skilled and managed SME construction sector, improved quality buildings with fewer defects and greater efficiencies gained by a reduction in industry internal and external operating costs. This research has identified appropriate industry and community benchmarks to enable a quantification of the costs and benefits that result from this policy. These benchmarks will enable the policymaking body of Victoria, the Building Commission (BC) to evaluate the effects of the implementation of its policy and contribute to informing the debate about the merits and possible drawbacks of such a policy in the construction industry in Victoria.

The proposed Victorian CPD policy will affect a whole industry sector. This pioneering policy approach is already being viewed as a touchstone for other jurisdictions in Australia and abroad. Consequently, this research project is considered by our industry partner to be pivotal in the leadership position that they are taking in Victoria. This investigation is being conducted by the research team under the auspices, guidance and with the cooperation of the Building Commission (BC) and the Building Practitioners Board (BPB) of Victoria. This policy research evaluation is necessary to assess the proposed implementation of CPD in the Victorian construction industry. The identification and creation of agreed and significant industry benchmarks are crucial to evaluating this policy initiative. These benchmarks will serve as independent yardsticks for assessing the impact of the new policy and are described and discussed in this paper.

Explaining the levels of innovation and R&D in New Zealand's small and medium-sized enterprises : too many small firms?

This paper is concerned with explaining the levels of innovative activity in New Zealand's SMEs. It is arguable that New Zealand provides a special case where innovation and R&D levels are comparatively low in SMEs, yet, paradoxically, it is also a nation of high rates of entrepreneurial activity. This paper seeks to examine the factors that affect innovation levels in New Zealand SMEs from an analysis of panel data set of 1500 SMEs. We test research propositions based on existing theory and literature on innovation levels in SMEs and discuss our findings. Firm size is found to be significant; we argue that New Zealand has too few growth firms rather than too many small firms and we suggest that barriers to innovation, such as access to finance, remain an issue which should be a focus for government support.

Economic accountability in the context of local governance in the Philippines : a structural equation modelling approach

This study posits that by virtue of the enabling role of local governments, the economic development of their locality must be at the core of their public accountability, which is referred to here as “economic accountability”. Grounded on this idea of accountability, along with enabling theory and institutional theory, the study presents empirical evidence supportive of the argument that the enabling role of local governments, as manifested in a capacity to establish or adhere to formal institutional arrangements, has a direct impact on the entrepreneurial strategic posture and performance of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are key players in local economic development.The results of the structural equation modelling support the view that institutional arrangements as manifestations of the enabling role of city governments are positively associated with an entrepreneurial strategic posture of local firms, which consequently improves the firms’ overall economic performance. Therefore, SME development in particular, and local economic development in general, should be part of the economic accountability of local governments in the Philippine context of local governance.

Social capital for knowledge management : the case of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Asia-Pacific Region

This article proposes a conceptual framework that explains that the social capital of a community shapes the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through knowledge management within the firm. The study's significance stems from the unprecedented effort in explaining how community social capital matters in the innovation performance of SMEs, a departure from previous studies that have typically examined market-related or hierarchical social capital in the form of formal networks and directly linked them to a firm's innovation performance without due regard for knowledge management within the firm as an antecedent of organisational innovation performance. The aim is to stimulate further thinking and empirical research on the subject of social capital of a community in the SME and/or entrepreneurial context.

The relevance and irrelevance of the brand for small and medium wine enterprises

Given the proliferation of wine brands, developing a brand without understanding its impact on wine choice is a risky business; particularly for SMEs with limited financial resources.

This paper fills an important gap in the wine marketing literature, particularly as it relates to SMEs in the sector, by investigating the effect of the brand on wine choice. Surveying a range of wine consumers, it was found that while the brand was relevant in wine choice the weighted importance of the brand elements changed across consumption situations. This novel finding should assist SMEs to grow their businesses beyond the traditional cellar door.

What drives the adoption of electronic markets in Australian small-and-medium sized enterprises? – an empirical study

This paper reports a study of the critical determinants for adopting electronic markets (e-Market) in Australian small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) within the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. Structural equation modelling and logistic regression are used for identifying the critical determinants for the adoption of e-Markets by Australian SMEs through testing a proposed conceptual model and proposing an alternative model. This study contributes to existing research by enriching an understanding of the critical determinants of adopting an e-Market in Australian SMEs and by providing a validated model for the interrelationships of the determinants in technology adoption.

Implementation of six sigma in Australian manufacturing small and medium enterprises

The present study discusses the status of quality management practices in manufacturing SMEs in Australia and investigates the reasons why they are not implementing the Six Sigma methodology. This study emphasises that Six Sigma can be implemented in manufacturing SMEs. Moreover, this study identifies the motivation for adopting Six Sigma by Australian manufacturing SMEs. A Six Sigma implementation framework is developed and presented.

Factors affecting SME owner-managers' willingness to share knowledge online in rural local business networks

This article integrates typically separate SME research on e-commerce, business networking, and knowledge management into a model explaining factors influencing the willingness of SME owner-managers to share knowledge online in business networks in rural districts. This is important because e-commerce can assist owner-managers, often dispersed in rural districts, to share knowledge between face-to-face networking events. The main factors associated with willingness to share knowledge online were their willingness to share knowledge face-to-face and their intensity of Internet use. Entrepreneurial factors such as owner-managers' expectations of rapid growth, trading outside the district, and seeking information about customers/competitors were indirectly associated with online sharing via intensity of Internet use only. The model suggests network coordinators could encourage online knowledge sharing by assisting owner-managers to see the business value of e-commerce and by ensuring that networking events are suitable for owner-managers, whether or not they have entrepreneurial goals, to facilitate face-to-face knowledge sharing.

An empirical study of the influence of different organisation cultures on e-commerce adoption maturity

Drawing on Cameron and Quinn’s organisational cultures typology that defines four types of organisational culture (i.e., clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy), and Daniel et al.’s four-stage model of e-commerce adoption, this paper empirically examines the influence of different organisational cultures on e-commerce adoption maturity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka. The result indicates a positive correlation between adhocracy culture and e-commerce adoption. However, those firms with hierarchy cultural characteristics indicate a negative correlation in relation to e-commerce adoption. The organisational culture differences explain these issues.

Brand management in small to medium-sized enterprises

Although an impressive body of literature has emerged focusing on the critical activities involved in brand management for larger organizations with well-established brands and substantial marketing budgets, no research has been undertaken to examine branding within small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The present study therefore seeks to assess the nature and scope of brand management within an SME context. Findings show significant differences between small and large organizations along 9 of the 10 brand management dimensions reported in Keller's brand report card. Moreover, different brand management practices are associated with business performance in SMEs. Implications of the study are highlighted, limitations noted, and directions for future research outlined.