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

Model of Enterpreneurship and Social-cultural and Market Orientation of Small Business Owners in Poland

In the development of SMEs in Poland crucial meaning is legislation, steadily adapted to EU regulations, especially to the European Charter for Small Enterprises. Research conducted in Poland by many authors provide data for doing so, to confirm the hypothesis that among small businesses a vital role in shaping their work situation did not continue to play the market mechanisms and orientations, but mainly socio-cultural factors.W rozwoju MŚP w Polsce podstawowe znaczenie mają również uregulowania prawne, systematycznie dostosowywane do regulacji unijnych, zwłaszcza zaś do Europejskiej Karty Małych Przedsiębiorstw. Badania prowadzone w Polsce przez wielu autorów dostarczają danych ku temu, by potwierdzić tezę, że wśród drobnych przedsiębiorców decydującą rolę w kształtowaniu ich sytuacji pracy odgrywają nadal nie mechanizmy i orientacje rynkowe, ale przede wszystkim czynniki społeczno-kulturowe

Green business behaviour, green technologies, and sustainability in SMEs

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the management and environmentally- friendly behavior of small-scale aquaculture businesses with emphasis on the institutional environment, entrepreneurial orientation, and green technology. Design/methodology/approach: The sample consists of 198 respondents in the aquaculturebased SMEs, analyzed with structural equation model (SEM) by using AMOS software. Findings: The findings show the role of management and business behavior in green business of aquaculture SMEs. This behavior affects the cost and resource efficiency. Practical implications: The results contribute for SMEs how to manage environmentally friendly businesses through process that encourages environmental governance. Originality/value: This finding is based on resource based view theory, by identifying and managing the potential resources through green business initiative in SMEs.peer-reviewe

The small and medium enterprises Act as catalyst for economic growth and development in Pakistan: Economic growth and development perspective

This paper explores the value of small and medium enterprises for the economic growth and development especially in Pakistan. Moreover, it assesses the usage of information technology in SMEs sector of Pakistan. According to the recent Census of Establishments conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) there are about 3.2 million economic establishments in Pakistan. Out of these Small & Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) (with employment base up to 99) constitute 90% of all private enterprises employing approximately 78% of non-agriculture labor force1. SMEs contributed over 30% to GDP, 25% in export earnings besides sharing 35% in manufacturing value addition2. The paper suggests that SMEs act as a catalyst to economical growth and development where IT embedded in their operations, planning and decisions like Hong Kong, Denmark and USA. Many other societies also place great value on the small and medium enterprises and encourage their activity. In fact, wealth and a high majority of jobs are created by small & medium businesses in the world. As a result, many experienced business people, political leaders, economists, and educators believe that fostering a robust small and medium business culture will maximize individual and collective economic and social success on a local, national, and global scale. It is recommended that SMEs may be offered access to inexpensive capital, tax exemptions and management advice & experiences and IT infrastructure which further leads toward the economical growth & development. The economical growth and development in a country can brings happiness and prosperity to its nation

Human Resource Management With Small Firms; Facts And Explanations

This study examines determinants of the formalization of HRM practices with small firms. We derive five hypotheses that identify possible determinants of the level of formalization, including firm size, family business, the availability of an HRM department or HRM manager, and the existence of a formal business plan. We test these hypotheses using data on more than 700 Dutch small firms. We find that, within this sample of small firms, larger firms apply more formalized HRM practices than smaller firms do. However, once we take certain contextual variables into account, the direct relation with firm size becomes substantially less. Indirect relations with firm size also exist: firm size is a determinant of the probability that an HRM department is present, which in turn is related to the formalization of all HRM scales. Finally, family businesses apply less formal HRM practices, as do businesses without a business plan.firm behavior;personnel management;labor relations;small and medium-sized enterprises

Sustainable business – a success story for small and medium sized enterprises?

In the last years not only large companies orientated themselves towards the goal of sustainable development - which is called sustainable business in the economic field. More and more small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) discovered the field of sustainable business hoping to achieve economic advantages compared to their competitors. In order to become a company according to the principles of sustainable business, many businesses in Germany applied for an “ÖKOPROFIT”-certification. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a survey of small and medium sized enterprises who achieved the ÖKOPROFIT-certification in the last four years. Questions that will be answered are for instance if these companies created more jobs than their competitors, or if the SME´s gained a better image by their costumers and purchasers. Furthermore it is intended to answer the question whether the ÖKOPROFIT-certification and of course sustainable business have an impact on the economic development of the companies or if cyclical trends overlay these effects.