21,629 research outputs found
Building virtual bridges: how rural micro-enterprises develop social capital in online and face-to-face settings
In rural UK, businesses are often isolated and have much to gain from healthy networks, yet studies show that many rural business owners fail to network effectively. Information communications technologies offer new ways to network that might benefit rural businesses by expanding their reach. This study looked at online and face-to-face networking behaviour among rural micro-enterprises in Scotland in relation to the development of bonding and bridging social capital. Given the challenges of remoteness faced by many rural businesses, online networking is particularly useful in developing bridging capital, but is an unsuitable context for building the trust needed to gain tangible benefits. The article therefore highlights the importance of face-to-face interactions in developing trust and bonding social capital. Rural business owners face distinctive challenges with respect to online communications, which are explored in this article
SME Development in Malaysia: Domestic and Global Challenges
The primary objectives of this paper are to analyze and discuss the development of Malaysian SMEs and their role, as well as various contributions, in the national economy. The paper goes further by reviewing extant literature to identify the major challenges facing this sector in Malaysia as well as government policies aimed at the development of SMEs. We find that, while the government has implemented many programs to strengthen the performance of SMEs in the economy, Malaysian SMEs still face many challenges, both domestic and external, which could hinder their resilience and competitiveness. A number of strategies which could assist them to access new markets, increase their revenues and expand their customer bases are identified.Malaysian economy, Malaysian SMEs, government assistance programs
SMEs, electronically-mediated working and data security: cause for concern?
Security of data is critical to the operations of firms. Without the ability to store, process and transmit data securely, operations may be compromised, with the potential for serious consequences to trading integrity. Thus the role that electronically-mediated working plays in business today and its dependency on data security is of critical interest, especially in light of the fact that much of this communication is based on the use of open networks (i.e. the Internet). This paper discusses findings from a 'WestFocus' survey on electronically-mediated working and telework amongst a sample of SMEs located in West London and adjacent counties in South-Eastern England in order to highlight the problems that such practice raises in terms of data security. Data collection involved a telephone survey undertaken in early 2006 of 378 firms classified into four industrial sectors ('Media', 'Logistics', 'Internet Services' and 'Food Processing'). After establishing how ICTs and the Internet are being exploited as business applications for small firms, data security practice is explored on the basis of sector and size with a focus on telework. The paper goes on to highlight areas of concern in terms of data security policy and training practice. Findings show some sector and size influences.WestFocus* under the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF 2
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Regional construction sector: sector implementation plan (SIP)
This Sector Implementation Plan (SIP) forms an integral part of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), acting as a high level plan for the regionâs construction sector, and providing an overview of the strategic actions and interventions which will deliver the outcomes required to achieve progress against each key challenge
Policy Issues of e-Commerce Technology Diffusion in Southeast Nigeria: The Case of Small Scale Agribusiness
The benefits brought about by the emergence of e-commerce, e-business and other Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) applications have not been fully explored in the developing economies of the world. The less developed economies are still struggling to catch up with ICT application as opposed to its heavy deployment in the developed economies. Empirical evidence suggests that ICTs and other related technologies are increasingly emerging in the communities of the developing economies such as Nigeria. Rural actors engaged in the Agricultural industries (Agribusiness) feel that the implementation of ICTs can influence the development of new business processes and the way existing processes are organised. In the Southeast of Nigeria, which is a typical example of a less developed community, the impact of e-business technologies has yet to be determined. This paper identifies two classical traditional agribusiness supply chains and hence reports on the impact of e-commerce technology diffusion along the equilibrium of the supply chains, focusing on the elimination of intermediary actors from the chain. It provides an assessment of the Governmentsâ policies and strategies on e-commerce adoption for the sustainability of small-scale agricultural businesses. The paper examines the politics surrounding ICT implementations by actors engaged in the agribusiness sector. This research has motivated The South East State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to give closer attention to their earlier policy of making Nigeria an ICT-enabled country
The critical role of innovation for the well-being of our society: a multilateral approach matters
The article analyzes the importance of innovation in promoting social well-being and its possible role in
driving prosperity and accelerating regional development. It elaborates on the paramount role of small
and mediium sized enterprises in generating jobs and spurring employment. International cooperation
must take these aspects into account in order to promote economic, environmental and social
sustainability and contribute to the reduction of inequalitie
An evaluation of the economic impact of broadband in Lincolnshire: updated final report
The Lincolnshire Broadband Initiative, âonlincolnshireâ, was launched in 2003 to bring a range
of broadband supply and demand stimulation activities to businesses across the county.
The initiative has used ÂŁ15 million of European funding, together with matched funding from
Lincolnshire County Council, to support a series of significant Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) interventions to provide support and financial assistance to eligible
Lincolnshire businesses.
The âonlincolnshireâ initiative has four long term strategic objectives. By 2010:
⢠Lincolnshire will be the foremost rural County in the UK, with regards to ICT usage and
skills and will have a commercial environment that embraces ICT;
⢠The main employment sites and premises will have attracted increased and more diverse
investment;
⢠ICT will have made a major contribution to business competitiveness, expansion and
diversification of the economy â measured through an increase in ICT related employment
and a range of ICT based activities;
⢠To have engaged individuals and employers in improving ICT skills to increase local
competitiveness, raise the standards, participation and achievement in ICT throughout the
County
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Aggregation and the Role of Trusted Third Parties in SME E-Business Engagement: A Regional Policy Issue
YesIt is against the background of low engagement by SMEs in e-business that this paper seeks to highlight the potential importance of aggregation and of the role of trusted third parties in facilitating higher levels of involvement. The paper is based on an ongoing SME e-business research programme and reports on some recent research on SMEs that were using high complexity e-business applications and explores the extent to which the research findings could address the core concern of low engagement. This qualitative case study based research includes analysis of data collected from 13 community intermediaries, acting as trusted third parties. It concludes that the role of community intermediaries appears to be central to the adoption of critical e-aggregation applications provided by service providers. For policymakers, this important role of critical e-aggregation applications in facilitating e-business engagement by SMEs has emerged as part of this research but there is limited evidence of policy initiatives that reflect this
Sustainability of Information Technology Therapy on Micro-enterprise Development.
The use of information technology in microenterprises has been shown to bring about improvements in accessing new markets, in achieving administrative efficiencies, increased productivity and competitiveness. To benefit from IT, micro-enterprises require specialized intervention and support. At the same time these micro-enterprises require skill sets that can translate their unique needs to IT solutions. This paper provides an IT Therapy approach to addressing micro-enterprise needs through IT. Following an action research approach to investigating micro-enterprises, this paper provides insights into how IT can bring about sustained improvements in micro-enterprises. The contribution of this paper is in guidelines of how IT can bring about development in micro-enterprises. This has implications for IT interventions to support microenterprises to achieve broader goals of sustainable development
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