Assessments of Information Systems at Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Agri-food Sector

Integrated information systems under large-scale company conditions have become widespread over the past decades. Information, data management and systematic information produced from these data and arranged according to needs, however, are required by not only large-scale companies but small- and medium-sized enterprises as well in the agri-food sector. The improvement of information and communication technologies continuously influence the development of information systems, the introduction of different solutions in architecture and the application of new business models. Our research goals was to analyse the evolution of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), functional analysing of SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) information systems and developing decision support tools for selection, comparison of ERPs and economical evaluation of ERP investment. This tools are partly developed and usable for SMEs in the agri-food sector

DSS for selection and evaluation of information system in SMEs

In the agri-food sector the SMEs demand more efficiences in marketing, logistics, production planning and controlling, bookkeeping and information services. For these tasks they need correct information in any time and anywhere. The best solution can be an integrated information system, an ERP system. The tendency is that these types of organization introduce ERP system successfully. It can give a flexible solution, enabling us to meet and exceed our business requirements. The introduction of a computerized information system, similarly to any other investment requires pre- and post calculations for the economic efficiency, repayment and efficacy of the fixed assets and if possible for its profitability as well. In small enterprises human resources are restricted. For this reason project analyse are neglected in most of the cases. The SMEs and ERP dealer need tools for selecting the right system and evaluate the investment

A Framework for the Planning and Management of Cybersecurity Projects in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Cybersecurity remains one of the key investments for companies that want to protect their business in a digital era. Therefore, it is essential to understand the different steps required to implement an adequate cybersecurity strategy, which can be viewed as a cybersecurity project to be developed, implemented, and operated. This article proposes SECProject, a practical framework that defines and organizes the technical and economics steps required for the planning and implementation of a cost-effective cybersecurity strategy in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). As novelty, the SECProject framework allows for a guided and organized cybersecurity planning that considers both technical and economical elements needed for an adequate protection. This helps even companies without technical expertise to optimize their cybersecurity investments while reducing their business risks due to cyberattacks. In order to show the feasibility of the proposed framework, a case study was conducted within a Swiss SME from the pharma sector, highlighting the information and artifacts required for the planning and deployment of cybersecurity strategies. The results show the benefits and effectiveness of risk and cost management as a key element during the planning of cybersecurity projects using the SECProject as a guideline

The Use of Hosted Enterprise Applications by SMEs: A Dual Market and User Perspective

YesThis deliberately dual perspective paper seeks to deepen our understanding of the engagement of SMEs in hosted enterprise applications in the UK. The emergence and development of the ASP sector has attracted much interest and highly optimistic forecasts for revenues. The paper starts by considering ICT adoption by SMEs in general before reviewing the provision of hosted enterprise applications in the US and UK (market perspective). The study is extended by qualitative empirical data collected by semi-structured interviews with SME users of hosted enterprise applications (user perspective) and subsequent analysis in order to develop the key findings and conclusions. From an SME user perspective the key findings to emerge from the study include: i) confirmation that ICT infrastructure was no longer a barrier to adoption, ii) the pragmatic approach taken to security issues, iii) the use of both multiple information systems and multiple service providers, iv) the financial attractiveness of the rental model and v) the intention to continue or extend the use of hosted applications. It also highlights the opportunity for gaining competitive advantage by using hosted enterprise applications to reduce costs. There are very few empirical studies of hosted applications which take deliberately market and SME user perspectives - this paper makes an important contribution in this emerging field

An appropriate tool for entrepreneurial learning in SMEs? The case of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme

The 20Twenty Leadership Programme was developed by Cardiff Metropolitan University as an executive education programme to be delivered within South Wales to small businesses. It is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and administered by the Welsh European Funding Office and has the key aim of developing SME’s growth potential via a range of leadership and management skills, including a focus on ‘soft’ skills. The focus of this paper is to place the 20Twenty Leadership Programme within the wider context of entrepreneurship policy and SME training initiatives in particular, and then to examine the rationale and delivery methods of the Programme in relation to these. It also reflects on the Programme’s success (or otherwise) to date where possible. Finally, the paper seeks to suggest fruitful areas of further research both in terms of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme itself, but also with regard to evaluation in relation to other parallel programmes, and to SME training initiatives more generally

SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Their continued growth is a major subject for the economy and employment of any country. Towards that end, virtual research and development (R&D) could be a viable option to sustain and ease the operations of SMEs. However, literature shows there has not been a great deal of research into the diverse characteristic of virtual R&D teams in SMEs. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R&D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the literature review is to provide an outline on the structure and dynamics of R&D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the rationale and relevance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R&D team for SMEs and new product development (NPD) has been examined. It concludes with identifying the gaps and feebleness in the existing literature and calls for future research in this area. It is argued to form of virtual R&D team deserves consideration at top level management for venturing into the new product development within SMEs

Virtual R&D teams in small and medium enterprises: a literature review

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Towards that end, research and development (R & D) aspect deserves particular attention to promote and facilitate the operations of SMEs. Virtual R & D team could be a viable option. However, literature shows that virtual R & D teaming in SMEs is still at its infancy. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R & D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the state-of-the-art literature review is to provide an overview on the structure and dynamics of R & D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the foundation and importance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R & D team and SMEs has been examined. It concludes with the identification of the gaps in the existing literature's and calls for future research. It is argued that setting-up an infrastructure for virtual R & D team in SMEs still requires a large amount of engineering efforts and deserves consideration at top level management

Google online marketing challenge and research opportunities

The Google Online Marketing Challenge is an ongoing collaboration between Google and academics, to give students experiential learning. The Challenge gives student teams US$200 in AdWords, Google’s flagship advertising product, to develop online marketing campaigns for actual businesses. The end result is an engaging in-class exercise that provides students and professors with an exciting and pedagogically rigorous competition. Results from surveys at the end of the Challenge reveal positive appraisals from the three—students, businesses, and professors—main constituents; general agreement between students and instructors regarding learning outcomes; and a few points of difference between students and instructors. In addition to describing the Challenge and its outcomes, this article reviews the postparticipation questionnaires and subsequent datasets. The questionnaires and results are publicly available, and this article invites educators to mine the datasets, share their results, and offer suggestions for future iterations of the Challenge

MICEP : a methodology for digital business in SME

The World Wide Web technology, which is supported on the Internet, is transforming all business activities into information-based activities, where one can see a radical change of the traditional theoretical models and organizations. The small and medium enterprises are the type of enterprise that can benefit more using the Internet for digital business. We have found out that current methodologies present gaps that make them not good enough to help small and medium sized enterprises define such a strategy and follow an implementation path. Thus, we propose a methodology to support the complete implementation lifecycle of digital businesses in small and medium sized enterprises.peerreviewe