Influence of E-Commerce on Enterprises’ Brand in Developing Countries. A Case Study of Small to Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in Zimbabwe

Currently, most small businesses use e-commerce as a marketing tool and attach great importance to exchanging information and information about products and services. This study shows that improving internal efficiency and increasing communication are the main benefits of e-commerce for small businesses. By increasing the exchange of information, companies can cover a much larger customer area and attract new customers. Because they are aware of product characteristics, customers are happier and ready to give orders. This study shows that companies are changing a new way of finding customers that will allow them to reduce their advertising costs. At the same time, businesses are experiencing cost savings through better stagnated business. The main obstacles for small businesses are the lack of innovative culture and knowledge. Although some companies still consider the most important cost factor, this is due to the lack of understanding of e-commerce and positive effects. This in turn will lead to an end to the lack of conformity or innovation process. Another major obstacle is the lack of customer demand. In addition, the study shows that many small businesses do not benefit from these improvements, given the nature of the companies or markets that do not promote the innovation process. The results of the study showed that although access to finance could have a positive impact on SME performance, it was not fully exploited for Zimbabwe SMEs. Banks should therefore improve their lending conditions, collateral requirements and the number of years in order to improve performance. The survey results showed that management skills can have a positive and significant impact on the performance of SMEs, but only a small proportion of companies have embraced them. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-20-10 Publication date:October 31st 202

Search Patterns and Absorptive Capacity: A Comparison of Low- and High-Technology Firms from Thirteen European Countries

Searching for externally available knowledge has been characterised as a vital part of the innovation process. Previous research has, however, almost exclusively focused on hightechnology environments, largely ignoring the substantial low- and medium-technology sectors of modern economies. We argue that low- and high-technology firms differ in their search patterns and that these moderate the relationship between innovation inputs and outputs. Based on a sample of 4,500 firms from 13 European countries we find that search patterns in low-technology industries focus on market knowledge while they are built around differences in technology sourcing activities for high-technology industries. --Absorptive capacity,search strategies,low-,medium- and high-technology sectors,open innovation

Web Analytics: Best Practices for an Organization’s Successful Performance; A Preliminary Analysis

This research presents an exploratory study concerning organizations’ best practices of Web analytics for a successful performance and the factors influencing the companies’ successful adoption of Web analytics. A qualitative research methodology was used engaging a comprehension of Web analytics adoption using the Diffusion of Innovation theory (Rogers, 1995) and the theory building approach (Eisenhardt, 1989). Interviews with five companies from different industries were conducted. Findings suggest that for a successful performance, companies should consider: • Data for better decision making. • Web analytics barriers • Selecting the right KPIs and metrics based on the company’s goals. • Web analytics trends A mixed-method approach comprising other extensive methods of data collection should be conducted. Investigation of the use of specific metrics and KPIs within companies from different industries, as well as the strategies for working past the barriers that impede companies from adopting Web analytics should be considered

Outward FDI and Knowledge Flows: A Study of the Indian Automotive Sector

In recent years developing countries have emerged as significant participants in the OFDI (outward foreign direct investment) activities having the strategic asset seeking motive. Such OFDI which is assets exploiting cum augmenting involves potential two way cross border knowledge flows. This study examines these issues for the Indian automotive industry that is currently transnationalizing at a rapid rate in terms of both exports and OFDI. The study traces the technological capability building and several dimensions of OFDI in this industry. The case studies of two major automotive Groups highlight their competence building, and knowledge seeking operations. This study undertakes a quantitative analysis of the influence of OFDI activities on the in‐house (domestic) R&D performance of Indian automotive firms during 1988–2008. As expected, the favourable impacts on R&D intensity appear to be stronger for developed vs. developing host nations, and for joint venture vs. wholly‐owned ownership OFDI. The study concludes with suggestions to promote particularly the strategic asset enhancing OFDI.OFDI; Strategic Assets‐seeking FDI; R&D; Automotive Industry

Outward FDI and Knowledge Flows: A Study of the Indian Automotive Sector

In recent years developing countries have emerged as significant participants in the OFDI (outward foreign direct investment) activities having the strategic asset seeking motive. Such OFDI which is assets exploiting cum augmenting involves potential two way cross border knowledge flows. This study examines these issues for the Indian automotive industry that is currently transnationalizing at a rapid rate in terms of both exports and OFDI. The study traces the technological capability building and several dimensions of OFDI in this industry. The case studies of two major automotive Groups highlight their competence building, and knowledge seeking operations. This study undertakes a quantitative analysis of the influence of OFDI activities on the in‐house (domestic) R&D performance of Indian automotive firms during 1988–2008. As expected, the favourable impacts on R&D intensity appear to be stronger for developed vs. developing host nations, and for joint venture vs. wholly‐owned ownership OFDI. The study concludes with suggestions to promote particularly the strategic asset enhancing OFDI.OFDI; Strategic Assets‐seeking FDI; R&D; Automotive Industry

Developing distributed manufacturing strategies from the perspective of a product-process matrix

In today’s highly competitive global business landscape, customers demand personalised products and responsive distribution systems, hence fuelling the concept of Distributed Manufacturing (DM) as a paradigm that suggests the geographical distribution of manufacturing systems adjacent to the markets to enable ‘production on demand’. To this end, the objective of this research is to explore the DM concept to inform firms about the dynamically changing manufacturing environment, along with the emerging opportunities, and support business stakeholders in implementing DM-oriented strategies to achieve digitalisation, personalisation, and localisation. More specifically, the present research builds upon the Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT) and conducts semi-structured interviews with a panel of 16 experts from the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, Automotive, and Engineering industries to develop 12 exploratory industry cases. Our analysis highlights that companies can adopt three strategies to implement DM and realise shorter lead times and personalised product offerings, namely: (i) small-scale DM; (ii) in-house decoupled manufacturing; and (iii) outsourced decoupled manufacturing. However, the economic viability of the DM concept is identified as a significant barrier to relinquish the traditional centralised economies-of-scale. This research contributes by applying the DCT to the DM concept to advocate the viability and sustainability of manufacturing systems in the era of Industry 4.0. Pertaining to the originality of this research, limited work is available on the applicability of DM in industries, from the DCT perspective, to accomplish competitive advantages in the dynamic environment of manufacturing.his research has received funding from the EPSRC under Reference No. EP/K02888X/1, Project Title: “Engineering Driven Sustainable Supply Networks – A UK/India Collaborative Study”

Supply Chain Management Practices in Thai SMEs: Antecedents and Outcomes

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to both local and global economic development. They are a crucial business sector for all nations’ economies. In developed countries, SMEs typically account for 60 per cent of employment, and the figure is even higher in developing countries. In 2011, Thai SMEs employed 83.9 per cent of the Thai workforce. Thai SMEs, like all other firms, face the challenge of satisfying customers by offering quality products at low prices. Furthermore, it is generally argued that, in this increasingly aggressive business world, competition arises between integrated supply chains rather than at the firm level. Therefore, effective supply chain management (SCM) is a key driver of sustainable competitive advantage. However, Thai SMEs have issues in adopting supply chains in their organisations. They have doubts about whether SCM will improve firm performance. Therefore, this study aims to reveal whether SCM practices could help Thai SMEs to improve their performance, and if so which ones and how. To fill the gap in theoretical understanding, an initiation mixed method research design was specified using 20 semi-structured interviews and quantitative questionnaires distributed to 311 subjects. An SCM practices model with antecedents and consequences was identified using previous research. The measurements were evaluated, modified and analysed using several techniques, such as thematic analysis, regression and structural equation modelling. The study makes several notable findings. Firstly, the SMEs were found to implement SCM to reduce costs and improve productivity rather than to satisfy the customer. Secondly, the IT system and top management support were two key factors in helping SMEs to successfully apply SCM. Thirdly, the major barriers to SCM were employees’ lack of understanding and improper organisational design. Fourthly, firm size had no significant relationship to the level of firm performance. Finally, the firm’s performance and SCM practices were positively correlated. This work contributes to academia by expanding research into SCM practices in SMEs, of which there is a dearth in the literature (Quayle, 2003, Meehan and Muir, 2008), especially in the context of developing countries (Katunzi and Zheng, 2010). For practitioners, regarding SMEs in Thailand and other developing countries, this study confirms that SCM practice assists SMEs to gain higher performance. Furthermore, for policy makers, enhancing SCM practices in SMEs by developing SCM enablers such as IT systems and standard performance measurement and metrics, could help SMEs to achieve higher performance

How Foreign and Domestic Firms Differ in Leveraging IT-Enabled Supply Chain Information Integration in BOP Markets: The Role of Supplier and Client Business Collaboration

Although attractive to foreign and domestic firms, bottom-of-pyramid (BOP) markets pose unique challenges. Research suggests that IT-enabled supply chain information integration (IT-SCII) helps firms collaborate with suppliers and clients in broad business activities, operate in a unique context, and overcome salient challenges in BOP markets. Anecdotal evidence and research suggest that foreign and domestic firms have differing advantages: While foreign firms have considerable global experience, domestic firms have substantial local market knowledge. We draw on the ownership-location-internalization (OLI) framework to theorize that domestic and foreign firms leverage IT-SCII differently because of their differing ownership-based advantages in BOP markets. We hypothesize that the influence of IT-SCII on client business collaboration and the influence of client business collaboration on firm performance are stronger for domestic firms than for foreign firms. Conversely, we hypothesize that the influence of IT-SCII on supplier business collaboration and the influence of supplier business collaboration on firm performance are stronger for foreign firms than for domestic firms. We test our hypotheses in the automotive parts manufacturing BOP market comprising foreign and domestic firms in India. Partial least squares and econometric analyses of 172 firms reveal broad support for our hypotheses. By incorporating the OLI framework into IT-enabled supply chain literature, our study contributes to theory and practice by highlighting that IT-SCII has differing implications for foreign and domestic firms in BOP markets

Reducing the Scrap Rate in Manufacturing SMEs Through Lean Six Sigma Methodology: An Action Research

The aim of this project was to investigate operational benefits of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology to reduce the scrap rate in an automated production line of a first tier supplier of automotive sector. This is an action research case study using LSS methodology in fully automated sub-process of the manufacturers. The implementation of LSS methodology had an effective and significant impact on the scrap rate reduction with increased First Run Yield (FRY) and waste reduction leading to significant financial impact at this scale. The research investigation needs to be fully controlled by the team in order to correctly gauge the effect of any changes made to the process. This action research can be replicated in other sub- processes of the production line and other processes of the company. This project addresses novelty about effectiveness of LSS methodology to reduce scrap rate and add value to automated processes in first-tier manufacturing SMEs supplying automotive sector. The project had greater saving than expected by the managers at £98k per annum. The approach of this research project combines proven statistical tools with some basic but effective lean tools to be applied in an original sequence in order to design robust product and match manufacturing capabilities