Key Factors of Small Business Success: Literature Review

The success of small businesses sector is crucial for national economies of all countries around the world. This is why the constant analysis of determinants responsible for small firm success is necessary. It allows for a quickreaction to changingbusiness conditionsandthe continuous improvement ofmanagement methods. Literature reviewindicated that theanalysis of key success factorsof smallbusinesses is a commonlyundertakensubject, although it is difficult tofind acomprehensivestudy, completely classifying the determinants ofsuccessaccording to certain criteria

Model for the Benefit Analysis of ICT

The ratio between success and failure in ICT projects suggests a need for improved understanding of the ICTimplementations. New methods to evaluate the ICT projects are sought. While process modeling has been under way inorganizations for decades, this paper presents a new approach to analyzing benefits based on the introduction of ICT services.In our approach the success of ICT projects is evaluated by analyzing the productivity benefits they enable in the businessprocesses of the users. In its novel way, this paper points out the significant role of interacting processes and related actors.With the help of the Three Viewpoint Model (3VPM) and skill-matrix approaches the critical factors related to improvementbenefits can be found. Our tool allows analyzing and evaluating the output at the time even when the ICT project is notcompleted, also taking into account the dynamic nature of processes

A multi-agent based approach for change management in manufacturing enterprises

© 2013, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Change management becomes an unavoidable necessity for manufacturing enterprises. Since change in business processes carries significant impact on the performance of manufacturing companies, a change management model is definitely required to remain competitive. Moreover, utilizing agent based systems will provide computational provision and integrity to manage and measure the capabilities to follow the change in a progressive approach by employing the cooperation and collaboration properties of various agents helping for retrieval of the required information in a rapid way. Therefore, in this paper, a multi-agent based change management model is proposed to handle the changes in manufacturing enterprises. The model is validated through a case study done to measure the performance of change management capabilities in a manufacturing company. A sensitivity analysis on the results of this case study is also conducted to reveal the system reactivity to various parameters

IT-enabled Process Innovation: A Literature Review

The importance of Information Technology (IT) is growing, and in a hypercompetitive market IT must be used as a strategic asset for companies to succeed. In order to gain strategic benefits from IT, companies need to be innovative when deploying IT. This can be achieved by reengineering business processes to take advantage of the possibilities IT provides. In 1993 Thomas H. Davenport presented a framework describing the role of IT in process innovation . Based on this framework, the purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review to answer the following research question: What kind of opportunities does IT provide for process innovation? . Davenport\u27s framework is used as an analytical lens to review articles from the top 20 IS and management journals. The paper provides an overview and an in-depth analysis of the literature on IT-enabled process innovation and suggests avenues for future research as well as recommendations for practitioners. Our analyses reveal five distinct themes related to opportunities for IT-enabled process innovation, all of which offer guidance to practitioners and highlight gaps in our current knowledge about how to leverage IT for innovation purposes

Critical success factors and challenges for individual digital study assistants in higher education: A mixed methods analysis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of online higher education programs and tools has grown rapidly. One example is an individual digital study assistant (IDSA) for students, which provides functionalities to train self-regulation skills, to engage with own educational goals and to offer automated, first-level support to higher education institution (HEI) units and employees. An IDSA further can guide students through HEI and their administration. But, what are the critical success factors (CSF) and challenges for an IDSA? We deduce these using a mixed methods approach with one quantitative student survey, two rounds of interviews with various HEI experts, and a literature review. We classified our results according to the information system (IS) success model of DeLone & McLean (2016). Our results and findings show, e.g., that skilled and reliable HEI personnel, well-organized and useful content, cross-platform usability, ease of use, and students’ social factors are essential. Attractive IDSA functionalities are a major challenge because students use many apps, daily. Based on our CSF and challenges, we deduce theoretical and practical recommendations and develop a further research agenda

Why do Process Improvement Projects Fail in Organizations? A Review and Future Research Agenda

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the Critical Failure Factors (CFFs) linked to various types of Process improvement (PI) projects such as Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and Agile. Proposing a mitigation framework accordingly is also an aim of this study. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This research undertakes a systematic literature review of 49 articles that were relevant to the scope of our study and that were published in four prominent databases including Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO. Findings: Further analysis identifies 39 factors that contribute to the failure of PI projects. Among these factors, significant emphasis is placed on issues such as "resistance to cultural change," "insufficient support from top management," "inadequate training and education," "poor communication," and "lack of resources", as primary causes of PI project failures. To address and overcome the PI project failures, we propose a framework for failure mitigation based on change management models. We present future research directions that aim to enhance both the theoretical understanding and practical aspects of PI project failures. Practical Implications: Through this study researchers and project managers can benefit from well structured guidelines and invaluable insights that will help them identify and address potential failures, leading to successful implementation and sustainable improvements within organizations. Originality: This paper is the first study of its kind that examine the CFFs of five PI methodologies and introduces a novel approach derived from change management theory as a solution to minimize the risk associated with PI failure

The Role of Intrapreneurship for Sustainable Innovation through Process Innovation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: A Conceptual Framework

A focus on innovation alone is not sufficient for sustainability in the current hostile business environment. Environment awareness and social impact as well as economic place demands on firms to contribute to sustainable development. As such, there is increased interest in sustainable innovation. On the other sides, intrapreneurship spirit of internal initiative of a firm as firm-specific capabilities is proposed to facilitate this. In the manufacturing firms, process is considered as critical and source to be innovative. Hence, process innovation is utilized to translate intrapreneurship capability for sustainable innovation. To face new circumstances in the business environment for the sustainability of SMEs, the role of intrapreneurship in transforming process innovation under existing technology for sustainable innovation achievement is another interesting view to be explored. This paper discusses the role of intrapreneurship in attaining sustainable innovation through process innovation in SMEs and develop it into an integrated framework. The framework shows that the elements of proactiveness, risk taking and autonomy in intrapreneurship provides a leverage for sustainable economic, environmental and social innovation. The study further suggests empirical investigation in the firms for future research. Keywords: Sustainable innovation; Intrapreneurship; Process innovation JEL Classification: Q5

9Solutions product quality system

Abstract. Quality management (QM) is an important managerial tool in production and service environments. It covers the social and technical factors affecting quality of products and services within an organization. Global competition and increasing customer demands emphasize the importance of QM in different organizations. If applied correctly, QM can be a success factor for a company, by increasing customer satisfaction and profitability of the company. The thesis is a constructive research in nature and performed in a case company. The objective of the study is to examine the current state and the biggest challenges regarding QM in the case company and to suggest improvement proposals based on theory and empirical findings. The study addresses QM and its utilization in the case company in the form of a quality management system (QMS). The literature review familiarizes with the concept of quality the QM principles, and its involvement in company’s functions, such as product development (PD). The empirical part of the research examines the current state of QM at the case company with the use of theme interviews. Also, three benchmarking interviews contribute to empirical study, highlighting the best QM practices from technology companies of similar magnitude. The empirical part of the study demonstrates that in the case company quality is managed with several procedures, but systematic and documented system, as well as clear, strategy-based quality policies and objectives, are missing. The lack of systematic QM complicates detecting problems in PD and other organizational functions, leading to both direct and indirect quality costs. Thus, the existing literature’s perception of reactive QM applies to the case company for the most part. The study aims to solve QM related challenges in the company by utilizing the key points of existing literature and benchmarking observations. Existing literature emphasizes the concepts of quality planning and continuous improvement as the most important factors for an organization to move towards preventive QM, including planning for the quality management system. The QMSs of the benchmarking companies differ, but their unifying factors were observed to be process management, clear documentation of the system, clear objectives, and systematic QM in PD processes. Evaluating the theory and empirical findings demonstrates, that QM at the case company can also be developed with the implementation of a process-based QMS. The proposed improvement model covers those basic QM methods, that the case company should assimilate to develop a QMS. The development proposals include quality planning, measuring organizational performance and process management, which together create a body for the QMS. Also, recommendations for QMS documentation procedures and audits are presented. Together, the improvement proposals offer the case company a concrete model for initiating quality work and developing the quality of products and services.Tiivistelmä. Laadunhallinta on tärkeä johtamisen apuväline sekä tuotanto- että palveluympäristöissä. Se kattaa ne organisaation sosiaaliset ja tekniset tekijät, jotka vaikuttavat tuotteiden ja palveluiden laatuun. Nykyinen globaali kilpailu ja asiakkaiden kasvavat laatuvaatimukset korostavat laadunhallinnan tarvetta erilaisissa organisaatioissa. Oikein sovellettuna laadunhallinta voi olla menestystekijä yritykselle, parantaen asiakastyytyväisyyttä ja yrityksen kannattavuutta. Tämä diplomityö on luonteeltaan konstruktiivinen tutkimus, joka suoritettiin kohdeyrityksessä. Työn tavoitteena on selvittää kohdeyrityksen laadunhallinnan nykytila ja suurimmat haasteet, sekä esittää kehitysehdotuksia kirjallisuuden ja empiiristen havaintojen pohjalta. Tutkimus käsittelee laadunhallintaa ja sen hyödyntämistä kohdeyrityksessä laatujärjestelmän muodossa. Kirjallisuuskatsaus perehtyy laadun käsitteeseen, laadunhallinnan periaatteisiin sekä sen merkitykseen yrityksen funktioille, kuten tuotekehitykselle. Empiirinen osa tutkimuksesta tutkii laadunhallinnan nykytilaa kohdeyrityksessä teemahaastattelujen avulla. Myös kolme benchmarking-haastattelua ovat osana empiiristä tutkimusta, tuoden esiin parhaita laadunhallinnallisia käytäntöjä vastaavan kokoluokan teknologiayrityksistä. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osa osoittaa, että laatua hallitaan kohdeyrityksessä eri toimintamallien avulla, mutta järjestelmällinen ja dokumentoitu laatujärjestelmä sekä selkeät, yrityksen strategiaan perustuvat laatulinjaukset ja -tavoitteet puuttuvat. Systemaattisen laadunhallinnan puute vaikeuttaa ongelmien havaitsemista niin tuotekehityksessä kuin muissakin organisaation toiminnoissa, johtaen sekä suoriin että epäsuoriin laatukustannuksiin. Täten kirjallisuuden käsitys reaktiivisesta laadunhallinnasta pätee suurin osin myös kohdeyrityksessä. Tutkimus pyrkii ratkaisemaan laadunhallinnallisia haasteita yrityksessä hyödyntämällä olemassa olevan kirjallisuuden pääkohtia sekä havaintoja benchmarkingista. Olemassa oleva kirjallisuus korostaa laatusuunnittelun ja jatkuvan kehittymisen konsepteja tärkeimpinä tekijöinä organisaation kehittyessä ennakoivaan laadunhallintaan, sisältäen myös laatujärjestelmän suunnittelun. Benchmarking-yritysten käyttämät laatujärjestelmät poikkeavat toisistaan, mutta niiden yhdistävinä, laatua edistävinä tekijöinä havaittiin prosessijohtaminen, selkeä järjestelmädokumentaatio, selkeät tavoitteet sekä järjestelmällinen laadunhallinta tuotekehitysprosesseissa. Kirjallisuuden ja empiiristen havaintojen vertailu osoittaa, että myös kohdeyrityksen laadunhallintaa voidaan kehittää prosessipohjaisen laatujärjestelmän toteuttamisen avulla. Ehdotettu kehitysmalli kattaa ne perustavanlaatuiset laadunhallinnan menetelmät, jotka kohdeyrityksen tulee sisäistää laatujärjestelmän kehittämiseksi. Kehitysehdotukset sisältävät laatusuunnittelun, organisaation suorituskyvyn mittaamisen ja prosessijohtamisen, jotka yhdessä luovat rungon laatujärjestelmälle. Myös suositukset laatujärjestelmän dokumentaatiomenetelmistä ja auditoinnista on esitetty. Yhdessä kehitysehdotukset tarjoavat kohdeyritykselle konkreettisen mallin laatutyön aloittamiseksi, sekä tuotteiden ja palveluiden laadun kehittämiseksi

The critical success factors of business process management

a b s t r a c t Although business process management ('BPM') is a popular concept, it has not yet been properly theoretically grounded. This leads to problems in identifying both generic and case-specific critical success factors of BPM programs. The paper proposes an underlying theoretical framework with the utilization of three theories: contingency, dynamic capabilities and task-technology fit. The main premise is that primarily the fit between the business environment and business processes is needed. Then both continuous improvement and the proper fit between business process tasks and information systems must exist. The underlying theory is used to identify critical success factors on a case study from the banking sector

Investigating the relationship between software process improvement, situational change, and business success in software SMEs

While we have learned a great deal from Software Process Improvement (SPI) research to date, no earlier study has been designed from the outset to examine the relationship between SPI and business success in software development small- to- medium- sized companies (software SMEs). Since business processes are generally acknowledged as having an important role to play in supporting business success, it follows that the software development process (a large and complex component of the overall business process) has an important contribution to make in supporting business success in software development companies. However, to date we have very little evidence regarding the role of SPI in supporting business success, especially for software SMEs. The need for SPI is dependent on the extent of situational change in a software development setting, and therefore any examination of the relationship between SPI and business success would be deficient if it did not also examine the extent of situational change. Therefore, this thesis describes a novel approach to examining SPI, situational change and business success in software development companies. Furthermore, having discharged this new approach to 15 software SMEs, this thesis makes the important new discovery that the amount of SPI implemented in a software SME is positively associated with the extent of business success – especially when the degree of situational change is taken into account. This thesis describes the first published study to examine the relationship between SPI, situational change and business success in software SMEs. The findings suggest that there are business benefits to implementing SPI in software SMEs, with the degree of situational change being an important factor informing SPI initiatives. Furthermore, this research has yielded valuable new insights into the nature of SPI, situational change and business success in software SMEs