4,097 research outputs found

    A Synthesis of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Entrepreneurial Marketing to Enhance the Effectiveness of Approaching the Market by SMEs in Periods of Economic Transition

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    Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) make a significant contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in every economy. However, in transition economies (TEs) they often struggle to approach the market effectively. This study extends theoretical understanding of the interface between entrepreneurship and marketing. The study identifies Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Entrepreneurial Marketing (EM) as key to the success of these SMEs. It proposes a synthesis of the two concepts, and the practices they describe, as a basis for better understanding and improving SME approach to market in economies experiencing the disruption of transition. The overall aim of the study is to assist SMEs in approaching the market more effectively, especially in TEs. Its specific objectives are threefold. First, to identify the antecedent behaviours that underlie EO. Second, to scope the components that interlink the concepts of EO and EM. Third, to propose marketing strategies that are especially applicable to SMEs in general and, in particular, to SMEs operating in a TE context. These objectives are informed by phenomenologically oriented analysis of twenty-nine (n29) semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs who manage or own an SME in Saudi Arabia in various sectors including SME consultants. Their reports of their lived experience suggest seven antecedents of EO ordered according to their perceived importance. In addition, two elements that interlink EO and EM are identified; these are human capital and access to market information. Thus, and contrary to previous academic practice, this study treats EO and EM as essentially interrelated nature and explores how market engagement is more effective when SMEs embrace both in their practice. Finally, the study evaluates different marketing strategies and tools generated at the EO-EM interface, that can be most effective for SMEs in TEs. The study concludes with managerial implications, suggestions for policy makers and directions for further research

    WiMax technology adoption by SMEs in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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    This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research focuses on developing a framework for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) technology adoption by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). WiMax has emerged as a technology to overcome the limitations of traditional and existing broadband technologies and support a great number of organisations and consumers/citizens in providing a higher speed over substantial distances i.e. in areas that are difficult for wired infrastructure to reach. Despite all the interest in the types of broadband adoption as demonstrated by SMEs in several countries, there seems to be slow progress and lack of information supporting the decision making process for WiMax technology adoption by SMEs specifically in the context of KSA. This may illustrate that SMEs adopt WiMax technology solutions at a slower pace and make them characterised as laggards in terms of new technologies adoption. This research takes into consideration this literature gap and makes a step forward and investigates on WiMax technology adoption by SMEs in KSA with an organisational cultural view, vendors’ commercialisation strategies and government policies by analysing the normative literature related to this research. The data collection of this study was carried out in two phases including quantitative and qualitative approaches. The first phase of the research provided results indicated that, the Saudi SMEs who participated in this research are strongly dominated by clan culture and adhocracy culture. These cultures also have a positive impact on the Internet technologies adoption such as WiMax by SMEs. It is found that, the combination of clan and adhocracy cultures in Saudi SMEs is making them more likely to adopt latest Internet technologies. In the second phase, the results showed a wide difference in views among SMEs, WiMax vendors and government agencies involved in WiMax technology diffusion to SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Although WiMax technology started as an innovation that has the potential to be disruptive and could replace the widely diffused fixed wire line Internet connection, the research findings showed an interesting deviation from this path. In particular, the WiMax technology market analysis in Saudi Arabia highlighted the vendors’ tendency to treat WiMax technology as a sustaining innovation. Research findings also indicated that, the Saudi government provided funds for Information and Communications Technology‘s diffusion in the country. However, the level of awareness displayed by SMEs is persistently low. Knowledge deployment, mobilisation, innovation directive and subsidy have been emphasised by SMEs as the most important government interventions that might have an impact on WiMax adoption by them. Finally, further important issues have been uncovered by the research such as taxation, experience exchange, herd culture/bandwagon, consumer right protection and customer service in relation to the adoption of WiMax by SMEs. The perceived future prospect of these additional issues has been considered as an influence on adoption of WiMax technology by SMEs. The findings of this research can be useful to guide analysts and researchers in determining critical aspects of the complex issues involved in technologies adoption, and lead to suggestions for further valid research

    The Behavioral Intention’s Role:Facilitating Condition and Use of E-Government Services among SMEs in Saudi Arabia

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    Saudi government plan to digitize all governmental services, but that may encounter several issues such as the familiarity of citizens with electronic version of services.This study was conducted to identify the factors that influence the use behavior of e-government service among employees of SMEs in Saudi Arabia.This article addresses the effect of behavioral intention as a mediation factor between facilitating condition and the use of e-government services among SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected from SMEs operating in Riyadh region and SEM-AMOS software was used for data analysis.It was found that the behavioral intention mediates the relationship between Facilitating condition and the use behaviorThe results provide the importance of facilitating condition which linked with the output of the use behavior

    Social commerce as a business tool in Saudi Arabia's SMEs

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    Factors That Predict the Adoption of Online Shopping in Saudi Arabia

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    Despite the increased numbers of online consumers, e-commerce growth is slow in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this correlational study, the technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework to examine whether perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms could predict consumers\u27 intention to adopt shopping online. A pre-existing TAM survey instrument was used to collect data from consumers (N = 95) who live in a City and have shopped at least once online. The regression analysis confirmed a positive statistically significant relationship between perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping. The results showed that perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms were statistically significant in predicting consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping, with F(2, 92) = 241.630, p \u3c .001, R2 = .840, and adjusted R2 = .837, and accounted for 84% of the variance in consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping. The correlation between perceived ease of use and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping was (PEOU) r= .916, p \u3c .001 and the correlation significance between perceived usefulness and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping was (PU) r= .591, p \u3c .001. Using study results, retailers may be able to develop improved strategies to increase profitability via online shopping. The implications for positive social change include the potential for improved quality of life for consumers in Saudi Arabia

    ALIGNING THE APPEAL OF ENTREPRENEURS TO INVESTORS: WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR AN OPTIMAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING MODULE IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TO BETTER ENGAGE ENTREPRENEURS WITH INVESTORS

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    Little of the available funding reaches entrepreneurs and SMEs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This lack of financing ability, known as credit rationing, is mainly due to information asymmetries and is a pressing issue in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government is relying on the entrepreneurship and SMEs subsector to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from the dominance of oil and to create jobs for young Saudis who are underemployed. This study aims to answer a question that hypothesizes that entrepreneurs need an optimal training module to understand the types of information that investors utilize in investment decisions and the type of “signals” from entrepreneurs that inspire confidence in investors. The human capital theory suggests that a quality training program can establish a skill base that will improve return on investment. The signaling theory suggests that the challenge of imperfect information can be largely overcome by training entrepreneurs to send more accurate and more targeted signals to investors regarding their character, skills, and the viability of their projects. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods in data collection. The research was conducted within the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, where most of the entrepreneurial activities and SMEs development are located. It suffered some limitations due to access to data and the conservativeness of the Saudi population in responding to academic studies that affected the sample size The findings reveal that entrepreneurs with an in-depth understanding of investors’ due diligence process are more likely to invest adequately to assemble appropriate skill sets and learn to signal the characteristics that investors appreciate while tailoring their ventures and business plans to meet investors’ ideals. A training module that includes these components can be vital in overcoming credit rationing in the Kingdom. Universities, mainly business schools, may play a significant role in providing the optimal training module, with collaboration from investors. This study contributes to the literature by representing the history of the entrepreneurship and SMEs development in the Kingdom through three main periodical stages. Also, it identifies the assessment studies that international management consultants prepared to several Saudi government agencies in the subject field. This contribution is more likely to help future researchers in having more practical information about the entrepreneurship and SMEs ecosystem in the Kingdom. Furthermore, the study has implications on entrepreneurship and SMEs development stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, investors, training institutes, and regulators. Few recommendations are proposed. The study concludes with suggestions for research in related subject areas in Saudi Arabia and potentially other countries with similar economies

    Investigating e-procurement barriers within six Saudi Arabian SMEs

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    Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Bedfordshire.This study aims to investigate factors affecting the adoption of e-procurement in Saudi Arabian SMEs. The study adopted the Gunasekaran and Ngai (2009) model as a theoretical framework and foundation for the research to investigate current status and readiness, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived critical success factors and perceived future organisational performance. Through an extensive literature review and detailed data analysis, the study extended the model to incorporate perceived cultural and external factors that were found to be necessary for the adoption of e-procurement in Saudi Arabian SMEs. Through case studies and AHP analysis, the proposed model elements were validated and prioritised in the Saudi Arabian context. Three different methods were adopted for data collection. First, an exploratory study was conducted to understand the current status of e-procurement and provide an overview of the factors that affect the adoption of e-procurement using the Gunasekaran and Ngai (2009) model.Second, a detailed survey was conducted to find the relative importance of various factors related to each of the five elements of the Gunasekaran and Ngai (2009) model. Third, detailed interviews were conducted across four selected SMEs to gain an insight into the factors that affect the adoption of e-procurement. The results of the exploratory study were helpful in identifying perceived factors that affect the adoption of e-procurement. Detailed survey analysis using AHP validated the theoretical framework and the relevance of the factors of the Gunasekaran and Ngai (2009) model. However, some of the factors were found to be more important than in the Gunasekaran and Ngai (2009) model, while others were less important. Results of the qualitative study (interviews) found additional factors that were relevant to each of the five elements of the GN model. They further suggested that “Current e-procurement activities” was an additional factor in the “current status and readiness” element and “Increased transparency” was an additional factor in the “perceived benefits” element. Similarly, the analysis of the qualitative results found two additional factors in the “perceived barriers” element (i.e. absence of e-procurement specific laws and regulations and lack of trust in the electronic transfer of funds), three additional critical success factors (i.e. cost-benefit analysis of the solution, technical maturity of the marketplace and user-friendliness of the solution) and two additional factors in perceived future organisational performance (i.e. strategic alliance and networking and knowledge management and data warehousing). Further, analysis of the qualitative findings revealed two additional elements (i.e. perceived external and perceived cultural factors). The study thus suggests that organisational culture, cultural inertia and business culture of the country are three important cultural factors that are perceived to affect the adoption of e-procurement, while government support, having one’s own postal addresses and delivery services, providing secure and trustworthy online payment options, low cost and high speed internet connection, suppliers’ willingness and readiness, pressure from competitors, policy and regulations are the seven important perceived external factors that affect the adoption of e-procurement in Saudi Arabian SMEs. The results of the qualitative data analysis led to the development of an extended Gunasekaran and Ngai (2009) model to incorporate perceived culture and perceived external factors. The study has significant implications in terms of further e-procurement research for SMEs in Saudi Arabia and also its adoption in the developing world in general

    Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works

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    Considering the education-to-employment system as a highway with three critical intersections -- enrolling in postsecondary education, building skills, and finding a job -- this research has determined places where students take wrong turns or fall behind, and why. With increased data and innovative approaches, employers, educators, governments and youth can create a better system
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