Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Obtaining Public Procurement Contract Awards

The dominance of federal and state contracts by large enterprises reduces the share of contracts small and medium-sized enterprises\u27 (SMEs) business leaders obtain. As of the last census reading in 2016, SMEs received only 23% of contracts. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies of 3 small business leaders, operating in south Florida, for obtaining state contracts through public procurement. The thematic findings were in the context of the principal-agent theory as the conceptual framework. The participants answered 10 questions in semistructured interviews and provided organizational procurement documents for review. The methodological triangulation of multiple data sources and data analysis led to the identification of 3 primary themes: business performance, overcoming barriers, and strategic initiatives. Enabling proper business performance protocols for revenue, company reputation, pricing, and compliance benefitted the 3 participants as a strategy for successfully winning state contracts. The participants first identified the barriers they experienced, which included access, bargaining power, funding, and labels. The barriers encountered by the participants became less overwhelming with the implementation of strategic initiatives based on knowledge, relationship building, skilled personnel, and taking action. Findings included the importance of SME business leaders and personnel educating themselves on the public procurement process and building relationships with individuals in the various agencies. Application of the findings may lead to a social change of higher small business employment rates, increased revenue, and improved innovation for business leaders

Creating Business and Social Value: The Asian Way to Integrate CSR into Business Strategies

Businesses are crucial members of society, in fact, many are also significant social institutions. The decisions they make and the actions they take reverberate throughout society. Society depends on businesses in their provision of jobs, investment, goods and services produced, and development of new technologies. Thus, business has become a profound driver of employment, investment, and wealth creation within society. In addition, business may also impact society beyond its obvious economic influence.social value, CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, Asia

A legacy handbook for manufacturing

Legacy Handbook reviewing emda's experience of manufacturing activity. Identifies key achievements and draws out lessons learned that may be relevant to successor bodies active in this area

Medical Device Regulations, Industrial Capabilities, and Affordable Healthcare Technology Development: Case Studies from the United Kingdom and South Africa

This thesis concerns the influence of healthcare systems regulation on firm-level capabilities and affordable healthcare technologies. Regulatory change is highly contentious, critics arguing that regulatory changes interfere with the efficiency of the market, and advocates arguing that well designed regulatory changes make markets more efficient and ensure market outcomes are more equitable. To date, very few studies analyze the influence of regulatory change on the medical device industry, and its ability to manufacture and supply affordable healthcare technologies. To respond to this gap, this research employs the Sectoral Systems of Innovation (SSI) approach as a theoretical framework to analyze the influence of regulatory changes on industrial capabilities in medical device industries and affordable healthcare technologies in South Africa and the United Kingdom. A mixed-method approach, focusing on three cases of regulatory change, emphasised documentary analysis and questionnaire-guided interviews to collect primary and secondary data from different sources in the healthcare systems of the two study countries. Regulatory changes facilitated some firms to create new strategies and innovative capabilities. Regulatory changes enabled some firms to develop close collaborative linkages with external providers in search of competitive advantage and improved market positioning. One reactive regulatory change, in particular, illustrated negative influence on innovative capabilities. Smaller firms were at a particular disadvantage in adapting to regulatory change. In the South Africa case, the more stringent regulatory requirements made it hard for domestic suppliers to enter the supply chain and led to joint ventures mainly with multinational corporations. The thesis argues, with empirical evidence, that a more enabling and discriminating regulation that takes into consideration of firms’ technological capabilities can achieve intended goals more efficiently and effectively, than constraining and indiscriminate regulation

Design Supporting Business

This is a REF 2014 UOA34 portfolio submissionDesign Supporting Business – Research-through-practice by practice as research (Portfolio) This research investigates methods in which companies (Large Enterprises (LE’s) and Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SME’s)) can be supported effectively in utilising design in their New Product Development (NPD) strategies – thus benefitting the economy through efficient innovation. This represents a highly original body of work bringing together findings from over 180 design research projects across private sector commissions (LE’s and SME’s) and a number of Government funded design support schemes (Improving Business by Design, Manufacturing Advisory Service - Design Pilot Scheme, European Development Fund - SME Design Support) all proposed and implemented by the investigator. The research compares a number of combined design and funding support scenarios using the ‘success’’ of products to market (generating revenue, creating/securing jobs) as evidence of the relative efficacy of these methods. It proposes that companies who do not have design capability will have increased success when supported by a design capable body, that can manage and oversee all aspects of the design process from securing funding through to manufacture (activity that extends beyond design consultancy alone). The research identifies an 80% success rate for companies that utilise such support and a 90% failure rate for those that don’t. The research also indicates that there is little difference between projects which are 100% Government funded with those that are %50 Government funded or with those that are %100 Private sector funded. This has implications on how Governments can most cost effectively implement funding for SME’s in NPD. Dissemination includes: Guest speaker, Origin Oman’s Product Design and Packaging Workshop: Panel member for the PEIE 2009 (Oman): Guest speaker, opening event of the University of Pelita Harapan, 2010 (Malaysia) Be Transformed Festival. Findings culminated in a conference paper presented Boston 2012 and Antwerp 2012

Business of Fashion, Textiles & Technology: Summary Report: Mapping the UK Fashion, Textiles and Technology Ecosystem

The UK fashion, apparel and textiles industry is a globally competitive growth sector. The 2015 Value of Fashion report by Oxford Economics, commissioned by the British Fashion Council, found that the direct economic value of a flourishing sector including retail, manufacturing and textiles was £28.1 billion – and calculated its indirect impact at a further £22.6 billion, making a total contribution to gross domestic product of over £50 billion[3]. However, it is less well understood than other creative industries. The final product is generally perceived as catwalk-related in some way. In order to shift that perception, the Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology (BFTT) report considers the fashion, textiles and technology industry as a wide range of intersecting sectors, spanning – quite literally – from agriculture to advertising. To date, the industry has been constrained by lack of innovation in business strategy and the late adoption of technology. These structural factors have severely limited investment in research, development and knowledge exchange within the broader Fashion, Textiles and Technology (FTT) ecosystem. Currently, the industry lacks robust data and compelling evidence compared to other creative industries regarding research and development (R&D) opportunities, business growth options, job creation and investment. Official data sources on the fashion industry are limited to ‘designer fashion’, which is conflated with ‘other design’ activity, and focuses on established brands and large retailers, and unrelated textiles manufacturers. In response to this deficit and to concerns around R&D, identified through the development of the BFTT creative R&D partnership proposal (2017), the BFTT’s first task was to launch a UK-wide survey of the FTT ecosystem (2019). Approximately one year later, the survey consultation (the launch of which preceded Covid-19 and Britain’s exit from the EU) had engaged over 2,400 small, medium and micro businesses (SMEs) and over 100 stakeholders and intermediaries, including industry specialists, trade bodies and workspace providers. The consultation received 814 survey responses and led to 65 stakeholder interviews, making it one of the most extensive baseline studies to date on FTT SMEs. BFTT surveyed and interviewed across the entire UK fashion and wider apparel value chain. Therefore, this report for the first time positions the UK sector as not weighted toward fashion only. It illustrates the textile, materials and technology elements as key parts of this ecosystem and shows the industry is highly heterogeneous, made up of intersecting textiles and technology companies that inform an array of multiple sectors

The Business of Health in Africa: Partnering With the Private Sector to Improve People's Lives

Examines the investments needed to meet the healthcare demands of sub-Saharan Africa and the policy changes needed to leverage the private sector, such as enforcing quality standards, fostering risk-pooling programs, and mobilizing public and donor funds