Finding innovation opportunities in SMEs through futures and foresight learning: an action learning approach

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been particularly challenged by the Covid pandemic, the climate crisis, war and political tensions including the fuel price crisis. Strategic responses to crisis including cost-cutting as retrenchment in the short run, debt financing to preserve the status quo and exit. However, perhaps the most positive is to innovate for renewal. The paper considers how working with an approach to futures and foresight learning, three different SMEs during the Covid pandemic and beyond formed action learning groups and were able to find future opportunities from which innovation ideas for action in the present could be undertaken. The paper considers the meaning of innovation including what Revans saw as an 'Innovation Paradox' as a gap between invention and innovation. In SMEs, the importance of informal innovation and an innovation orientation are identified. The meaning futures and foresight learning is considered and the focus on the identification of new opportunities for products and services, delivered by a process of action learning. Findings from three SMEs are presented from meetings that took place during 2021 to 2022, when Covid restrictions were partly in place. They show how each programme begins with opportunity questions for the future which then lead to ideas after a consideration of trends and patterns. Further methods of futures thinking are presented which allow further ideas to be developed for innovation. In each case, ideas are selected for business planning after approval. Discussion of the findings considers the importance of futures and foresight learning combined with action learning for SMEs to become more strategic, future-oriented and creative in seeking opportunities for innovation.

Factors influencing small and medium size enterprises development and digital maturity in Latin America

The Covid-19 pandemic has made digital transformation no longer an option but a necessity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to succeed in a highly globalized market. The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of digital maturity factors on the level of development of SMEs in Latin America. The data for this study was collected using an online survey from the representatives from 490 SMEs from Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay, using structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression for the analysis. There were several results found in the study. First, the results suggested that commitment to digital maturity (CDM) does not influence participants' training and digital skills (TDS) and development level (DL) directly but does have a positive indirect influence on the development level of participants if they are provided training in digital skills. Second, digital maturity experience (DME) directly influenced TDS and positively impacted DL directly and indirectly. Third, training in digital skills does influence the development level of participants. However, CDM alone was not enough to affect the DL of SMEs and was only significant when TDS acted as a mediating variable. Few studies have been conducted to address this critical issue in Latin America, especially to determine which variables impact the development of SMEs the most. Hence, this study provides a novel contribution to the literature. The results of this study are expected to support SMEs in increasing their competitiveness in this era of accelerated digital transformation.

Policies to Stimulate Industrial Innovation by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Lessons Learned from the Public Procurement of Innovation during Emergencies

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have faced a heavy economic burden and uncertainty due to a contraction in resources and markets. As the world returns to normal conditions, we aim to synthesise key lessons from the pandemic and discuss which emergency actions should become routine to prevent or minimise the negative economic impact of future crises on SMEs and their innovation power. This paper reviews academic and non-academic literature on how governments can stimulate industrial innovation in SMEs based on experiences from public procurement of innovation during the pandemic. Our findings indicate that public procurement of innovation is a crucial tool to stimulate both the economy and new ideas. Against this backdrop, we propose the implementation of three related procurement policies: inter-agency and inter-governmental collaboration in the public procurement of innovation, cooperation partnerships between the government and firms, and the adoption of practices that encourage SME participation in the procurement of public innovation contracts. © 2023, Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. All rights reserved.

Empowerment of Cross-Border E-Commerce Platforms for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Evidence from China

Purpose: Although the important role of cross-border e-commerce platforms in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has continuously attracted scholarly attention, existing research overlooks the perspective of value chain processes, which have become more crucial when facing a dual shock from resurgent protectionist policies and the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper deconstructs strategic flexibility from the perspective of value chain processes and further explores the mechanism of cross-border e-commerce platform empowerment on SME export performance. Methodology/approach: A total of 425 SMEs participating in cross-border e-commerce platforms were used as the research sample for this empirical study, subsequently analyzing the multiple mediating effects. Findings: The results show that strategic flexibility plays a partial mediating role between the empowerment of e-commerce platforms and SMEs' export performance. Specifically, market flexibility shows a relatively weak significance unlike delivery flexibility, which shows the strongest significance. Originality/Value: Following the overall perspective of the platform ecosystem, this study expands and integrates traditional empowerment theory and value chain theory into one analytical framework. It investigates the mechanism through which e-commerce platform empowerment influences a firm's export performance. Practical implications: Managerial suggestions for collaborative innovation of cross-border e-commerce platforms and SMEs in China are proposed. SMEs should actively integrate into platforms according to their business characteristics, fully exploit the platform resources, and focus on improving their responsiveness to export markets. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Reimagining survival under COVID-19: A micro-business perspective of navigating constant disruption in Zimbabwe

The article investigates the impact of COVID-19 on micro-business enterprises (MBEs), establishing the coping strategies used to mitigate the impact and build resilience. A practical framework for building resilience is recommended for use by the enterprises as part of contributing to the entrepreneurial revolution agenda. An online survey using Survey Monkey was used to collect data from MBEs from a national sample in Zimbabwe. Key findings from the study include overwhelming evidence of the negative financial impact of COVID-19 on the MBEs and its impact on supply chain disruption and customer service. Practical recommendations include the need for MBEs to utilize creative resourcefulness by identifying tangible and nontangible resources in their ecosystem and utilizing their learning curve experience in dealing with precious disruptions to develop coping strategies for new challenges. MBEs should invest in the well-being of their employees and communities to foster collaboration for resilience building. © 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The effects of COVID-19 on small and medium-sized enterprises: empirical evidence from Jordan

PurposeThe ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in sudden changes in the macro environment and market behaviour, making most enterprises urgently reconfigure their business models to cope with changes following the COVID-19 outbreak. This paper aims to present empirical data on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), highlighting the initial conclusions regarding their crisis management. It presents factual data on how SMEs in Jordan can use entrepreneurship to combat uncertainty and promote new opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThis study involves an exploratory qualitative research design, drawing from 32 semi-structured interviews of key informants from Jordanian SMEs in different stages of the crisis. The different coping strategies of the SMEs and their effectiveness in the first six months of the pandemic are then compared.FindingsThe findings show how Jordanian SMEs have adapted to cope with the changes in the business environment because of COVID-19. These strategies include modifying their operations that is moving from an ordinary business model to more tentative digitalisation, improving internal communication and restructuring ad hoc organisational culture.Originality/valueThe study presents important and timely implications for managers of Jordanian SMEs and policymakers by increasing the sensitisation and awareness of SMEs' coping mechanisms. It is the first study in management that empirically analyses the impact of COVID-19 on Jordanian SMEs.

Does historical data still matter for demand forecasting in uncertain and turbulent times? An extension of the additive pickup time series method for SME hotels

Demand forecast accuracy is critical for hotels to operate their properties efficiently and profitably. The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive challenge for hotel demand forecasting due to the relevance of historical data. Therefore, the aims of this study are twofold: to present an extension of the additive pickup method using time series and moving averages;and to test the model using the real reservation data of a hotel in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study shows that historical data are still useful for a SME hotel amid substantial demand uncertainty caused by COVID-19. Empirical results suggest that the proposed method performs better than the classical one, particularly for longer forecasting horizons and for periods when the hotel is not fully occupied. © 2023, The Author(s).

[Initiatives, Outcomes, and Facilitating Factors to Changing Workplace Environments in Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interviews with Employers and Human Resource Managers].

OBJECTIVES: This study identified changes in the work environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent initiatives and outcomes, and facilitating factors from the perspective of company officials in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). METHODS: In 2021, semi-structured interviews were conducted with employers or human resource managers of SMEs with less than 300 employees regarding changes in the work environment due to the pandemic, initiatives, outcomes, and facilitating factors. Thereafter, codes were extracted from verbatim transcripts or interview notes and categorized based on similarities in content. RESULTS: Based on interviews with 16 companies, the following four major categories of changes in the work environment were identified: "conflict and anxiety about infection when employees were forced to attend work despite the rapid transmission of the infection," "unfamiliarity and loneliness with the new working style that was suddenly imposed on them," "loss of emotional ties with workmates and opportunities for mood changes," and "future anxiety, feelings of alienation, and mental illness." The following seven initiatives were implemented to address these issues: "a hands-on approach to infection prevention and physical healthcare," "urgent introduction of telework for business continuity," "development and promotion of online information sharing," "establishment of a place and opportunity to maintain emotional connections within the company," "economic and management measures to protect employees and ensure company continuity," "support for employees for health maintenance," and "measures to respond to employees' needs and ideas, and support the continuation of activities." Four major categories of outcomes were: "increased efficiency of information sharing and enhanced performance," "maintenance and promotion of emotional ties and a sense of solidarity," "increased independence and sense of health among employees," and "adaptation of employees to novel situations." The initiatives were facilitated by factors classified into the following three major categories: "workplace culture wherein employees shared opinions and helped each other," "management's attitude and philosophy of valuing employees," and "proactive attitude toward information acquisition and resource utilization." CONCLUSION: The rapid introduction of teleworking as a new working style in response to the need to balance infection control and business continuity resulted in increased loneliness and other associated stressors. Many SMEs stated that they could maintain a sense of solidarity in the workplace and improve employee autonomy through their efforts to incorporate employees' opinions and maintain human connections.

Navigating a crisis: do exploration and exploitation help SMEs when they respond to COVID-19 disruption?

This study investigates the validity of exploitation and exploration when small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) navigate a highly uncertain time. Although balancing the two strategies has been thought to lead to improved firm performance in general, a combined approach appears to be problematic for SMEs due to a lack of feasibility. We theorise that the effectiveness may vary depending on a fit between the strategies and the environmental contingencies. In doing so, we considered two potential environmental contingencies of a crisis for SMEs: loss of demand and loss of supply. To put our theory to the test, we gathered 224 responses from business leaders and key individuals from Korean start-ups and tested the effectiveness of crisis management strategies. Our findings support the validity of both exploitation and exploration when firms face a loss of demand, but not a loss of supply. It implies that the effectiveness of exploration and exploitation is contingent upon a specific form of crisis experienced at the firm level. © KOSIME, ASIALICS, STEPI 2023.

Internationalization strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises: bibliometric analysis of national and international scientific productions in the last ten years

The objective of this research was to map the profile of scientific production on the internationalization strategy of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), both nationally and internationally, from 2012 to 2021, through a bibliometric study with a quantitative approach, with with the intention of presenting a comparative analysis and identifying how Brazil is compared to other countries. The Scopus database (CAPES) was used, plus the VOSviewer tool. Internationalization is an important and complex achievement for companies and has become a widely studied topic in the field of SMEs;however, Brazil has little prominence. This study presents a broad view of thematic publications, allowing a current investigation of their transmission in scientific productions, aiming to fill the gap observed in the literature, especially that produced in Brazil. The results meant that exploratory, qualitative research and case studies were predominant, and that publications on the subject of research grew, with 2020 being the peak of publications, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, which cause negative economic and financial impacts, mainly on SMEs, thus arousing greater interest for the researcher. Despite the growing interest in the subject in the period surveyed, Brazil had only 1.8% of the publications. Note in the research that there is a predominance of good Qualis concepts (A1 and A2). It was also noticed that the co-citation network among the 10 most cited authors revealed a thematic, methodological and/or conceptual proximity between them, revealing lines of thought or seminal research that influenced the other authors of the researched journals. Finally, this research aims to serve as a stimulus for future work related to and/or involving this topic that is so important for small and medium-sized organizations, in addition to being able to serve as a source for further research, mainly in Brazil.

A Mixed-Methods Study of Low-Code Development Platforms: Drivers of Digital Innovation in SMEs

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) have intensified their digitalisation initiatives. However, in many cases these measures only include enabling remote work. The lack of IT skills or expertise is often a strong barrier for pursuing a holistic digital strategy. In this context, Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDP) are seen as a forward-looking technology that facilitates the rapid and agile development of software applications. Accordingly, low-code programming is designed to empower non-programmers to create digital innovations by developing customized business applications in their own departments. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 65 % of all companies will be developing their applications in a LCDP. But will this be true? We investigate the gap between hype and reality. Our research results show that a more in-depth investigation of low-code concepts is needed to conclusively clarify key issues such as data protection or vendor lock-in. © 2022 IEEE.

No Resilience Without Partners: A Case Study on German Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Context of COVID-19.

Much research has been conducted on the effects of COVID-19 on company and supply chain resilience. However, few contributions have focused on small and medium-sized enterprises. These companies are claimed to be the drivers of economic growth but often lack access to resources and alternatives when interruptions occur, making them a bottleneck for supply chains. Using a multiple case study approach, this paper links resilience theory to the design of the relationships between eight German small and medium-sized enterprises and their suppliers and customers. It analyzes the way in which these companies combine contractual and relational investments across their supply chain flows of product, finance, and information in order to improve resilience. Company representatives were interviewed on three occasions between June 2018 and December 2020, that is, before COVID-19 and during the lockdowns. The results of the case study explain why and how companies of this type have been able to anticipate and manage the crisis. The interviews revealed that those companies that made the largest investments in the relational aspects of their partnerships while safeguarding product and financial flows through contracts performed best. In principle, contractual investments are higher in partnerships with suppliers. However, the precise combination of contractual and relational investments depends on the business model, the business philosophy of the CEO, and the allocation of power within the supply chain. These findings indicate that, when collaborating with small businesses, supply chain partners should focus on building relationships in order to create resilience in the supply chain.

The Nexus between Smart Sensors and the Bankruptcy Protection of SMEs.

Transportation, logistics, storage, and many other sectors provide a wide space for applying Industry 4.0. This era, with its components, represents the equipment necessary to obtain a unique competitive advantage. Being smart through sensors, big data, and digitalization corresponds not only to evolution but also provides protection for businesses in the face of depression. The COVID-19 pandemic caused collapses and defects for very large enterprises and large enterprises, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article focuses on SMEs and their profits from using smart sensors. Thus, the aim was to expose the striking effect of Industry 4.0 on earnings during the crisis in the Visegrad Four. The Mann-Kendall trend was used to map the consequences contrasting the period of 2016-2021. The investigation involved samples from 1221 Slovak, 259 Czech, 855 Polish, and 2156 Hungarian enterprises. The results showed that more than 80% of businesses did not have a negative trend in how their earnings changed over time. This fact was confirmed by a z-test for the comparison of one proportion for each analyzed country. The adaptation to Industry 4.0 strengthened the muscle for bankruptcy resilience during the crisis. In addition, it may encourage enterprises to be smart in the same or different sectors.

Measures Supporting Entrepreneurship in Slovak Smes in the Most Vulnerable Industries in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The anti-pandemic measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has slowed down the economic activities of many businesses. Particularly vulnerable are SMEs in industries hardest hit by the crisis. These are SMEs which, due to the nature of their activities, have seen their operations severely restricted or even had to shut down during the pandemic. Key to ensure their survival are government support measures. The aim of the paper is to find out whether there is a dependence between the industry in which SMEs operate and measures to support entrepreneurship in most vulnerable industries during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia and to assess whether the measures adopted by the government correspond to those proposed by SMEs in these industries. For the analysis, data from a survey conducted by the Slovak Business Agency in November 2020 on a sample of 1,109 Slovak SMEs were used. We identified the dependence of the above two characteristics, i.e., the industry and the support measures (distinguishing between measures implemented and measures proposed by SMEs) using the statistical analysis. To verify the correlation between the implemented measure and industry, the chi-squared test of independence was used. To determine whether the support measures adopted by the Slovak Government correspond to those proposed by SMEs, we used the correlation analysis, comparison and synthesis. The results confirmed no major differences between the type of industry and measures proposed by SMEs. Some minimal differences were identified in the most vulnerable industries (accommodation and catering). SMEs negatively assess that their views were not sufficiently taken into account when the measures were adopted by the Slovak Government and that they contain a number of exceptions and conditions under which the aid is provided. Irrespective of the type of industry, SMEs particularly call for the reduction or partial remission of levies, increase in the fixed cost allowance and in flat-rate aid calculated on the basis of the decrease in sales.

The discrepancies in the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on electricity consumption in China: Is the short-term pain worth it?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe economic contraction and paralyzed industrial activity. Despite a growing body of literature on the impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures, scant evidence currently exists on the impacts of lockdowns on the economic and industrial activities of developing countries. Our study provides an empirical assessment of lockdown measures using 298,354 data points on daily electricity consumption in 396 sub-industries. To infer causal relationships, we employ difference-in-differences models that compare cities with and without lockdown policies and provide quantitative evidence on whether the long-term gain of lockdowns outweighs the short-term loss. The results show that lockdown policies led to a significant short-term drop in electricity consumption of 15.2% relative to the control group. However, the electricity loss under the no-lockdown scenario is 2.6 times larger than that under the strict lockdown scenario within 4 months of the outbreak. Discrepancies in the impacts among industries are identified, and even within the same industry, lockdowns have heterogeneous effects. The impact of lockdowns on small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries is seriously underestimated, raising concerns about the distributional impact of subsidy measures. This study serves as a crucial reference for the government when facing public health emergencies and shocks to support better policies.

Responding to Business Succession Issues and Crises by Converting to Cooperatives: Canadian Realities and Possibilities

Most of Canada’s 1.2 million small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been affected by the pandemic, com-pounding serious issues facing Canada’s economy, including the potential for large-scale business closures due to the growing number of retirement-aged owners without a formal succession plan. One social economy option in Canada to save businesses and the jobs they provide is to sell them to employees or community members and convert them to co-operatives. The Conversion to Co-operatives Project set out to better understand business conversion to cooperatives (BCCs) in Canada and help the country’s co-op movement build BCC capacity. This article outlines the project’s key findings to date. © 2021, University of Alberta Library. All rights reserved.

The COVID-Enforced Adoption of Technology for Reluctant Entrepreneurial Businesses: A Systematic Literature Review

This article presents a systematic literature review aiming to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic enforced reluctant entrepreneurial businesses to adopt technology into their business. A total of 32 academic literature articles published after 2004 in English were identified and analysed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) principles. This article focuses on five main discussion points, namely COVID-19 effect on business, cause for technology adoption, hesitancy towards technology adoption, reasons for technology adoption, the government’s role in technology adoption, and the outcome of forced technology adoption. COVID-19 is a relatively recent and developing topic;however, based on the outcome of the discussion, it was found that from a business continuation and survival perspective for entrepreneurial businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has in many ways enforced the adoption of technology for reluctant entrepreneurial businesses. There is a need for further studies at a later stage to understand the effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on entrepreneurial businesses in conjunction with the adoption of technology. These studies should aid in understanding the effectiveness of technology adoption in response to business disruption. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

An optimization-based approach for managing downstream logistic operations: A real application in pandemic outbreak conditions

One of the most destructive effects of pandemics and epidemics outbreak is the severe deficiency of basic goods needed by society, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. Therefore, designing an efficient managerial model for making operative modifications in logistics networks beside the governmental financial support policies is considered as one of the most important managerial challenges in the critical situation of the prevalence of infectious diseases that is not investigated in the literature. In this paper, an optimization-based approach is developed to design the supply, production, and distribution channels of basic goods using the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under direct supervision of the government in order to increase both the agility and resilience of logistics networks. Since the NP-hardess of the discussed problem, an iterative two-step heuristic based on local search (ITbLS) is developed to solve the proposed problem. According to the numerical results, it can be observed that the proposed algorithm has a good performance to obtain near-optimal solutions for the case study. Moreover, the numerical analyses indicate that the percentage of the active capacity of suppliers, transportation fleet, SMEs, and distribution centers, is specifically dependent on the amount of demand and the number of the established SMEs. In general, managerial results of the proposed model make supply chains more efficient by exploiting the capacity of SMEs and improve the government finaical resources allocation to the private sector to supply basic goods in critical situations.

The COVID-19 pandemic's effects on SMEs and travel agencies: The critical role of corporate social responsibility.

This study is based on the system resilience framework, which outlines the aspects of community behavior, employees, the environment, history, and corporate social responsibility. We used a partial least squares structural equation model to evaluate a sample of 300 Vietnamese SMEs and travel agencies. We discovered that SMEs' strategies positively influence performance and are co-created with corporate social responsibility. The dependability of internal integrity was then determined. The empirical results showed that the overall confidence index for all facilities ranged from 0.70 to 0.95, with values ranging from 0.809 to 0.931. Furthermore, the A and Cronbach's alpha reliability values ranged from 0.70 to 0.90. As a result, the reliability of internal consistency was established. The convergence validity of the configurations was assessed by comparing the extracted mean values of variance (AVE), which, for all configurations, exceeded the limit of 0.50. This approach emphasizes the impact of corporate social responsibility practices on communities, the environment, and heritage.

Are private equity and venture capital helping small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from China.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 worldwide since 2020 has, undeniably, negatively influenced the global economy and environment. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are among the worst-hit victims of COVID-19, particularly in developing countries. As primary channels financing SMEs, what roles have private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) played in this crisis? Using the 2010-2021 data of 4462 listed companies, we aimed to assess the impact of PE/VC on financial risk among Chinese SMEs. We constructed a capital structure selection model to assess the risk preference of PE/VC and explored the roles of PE/VC in the financial risk management of enterprises during COVID-19. Based on both theory and empirical evidence, PE/VC negatively impacts the financial risk of enterprises, implying that intervention by the management of PE/VC can aggravate the financial risk. However, in reality, PE/VC positively impacted enterprise financial risk during COVID-19. Thus, the government should implement some easing policies to stimulate access and investment policies of PE/VC as well as provide more practical policies to support investment institutions in China and other counties.