What Makes Small and Medium Enterprises Competitive

: This paper aims at understanding the determinants of Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises competitiveness. Having in mind the fact that the Italian economic system relies substantially on small firms which have managed to stay competitive by adopting strategies such as the creation of well-integrated social and institutional clusters (the so-called industrial districts) or specialising in the production of quality goods (the so called made in Italy). However, the growing competing pressure coming from the Far East has rendered this production system vulnerable, challenging its internationally competitiveness. By developing a conceptual model we identify the sources of competitiveness of Italian SMEs. The model is tested using a unique database which collects data, for the year 2004, over a sample of 2,600 SMEs.SMEs, competitiveness, innovation, interval regression, ordered probit

Creative Business in Australia Learnings from the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, 2009 To 2015

As the largest ever Australian government investment in creative industries development, the Creative Industries Innovation Centre delivered tailored business services to more than 1500 creative businesses from 2009 to 2015 and provided industry intelligence and advice for public policy and peak sectoral activity. This collection gives an overview of the current ‘state of business’ in Australia’s creative industries – both as an industry sector in its own right and as an enabling sector and skills set for other industries – and reflects on business needs, creative industries policy and support services for the sector. With contributions from the Centre’s team of senior business advisers and from leading Australian researchers who worked closely with the Centre –including experts on design-led innovation and the creative economy – and case studies of leading Australia creative businesses, the book is intended as and industry-relevant contribution to business development and public policy

Adopting emerging integration technologies in organisations

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.A review of the innovation and diffusion literature indicates a considerable amount of research, where attention is given to a range of features which may support integration technologies adoption. However, some literature suggests that the findings derived from the study of large enterprises cannot be generalised and applied in SMEs due to the distinct characteristics of SMEs. Although the adoption of integration technologies is recognised as being different between large and small companies, the literature on its adoption by SMEs remains limited. Nevertheless, in existing work, there is a lack of studies emphasising the reasons why SMEs and large companies take the decision to adopt integration technologies, focusing specifically on the different factors. This thesis therefore identifies the significant differences in the way that SMEs and large companies approach integration technologies, based on the existing literature, theoretical diffusion theories, and resource-based theory. In doing so, the parameters that can be used to explain the adoption of integration technologies in SMEs and large firms are identified, as nature of organisations, company size, integration needs, adoption factors for SMEs and large organisations, and time. Additionally, adoption factors are found and classified into three categories: adoption factors explicit to SMEs, adoption factors explicit to large organisations, and common factors. Based on this, a conceptual model is introduced to explain the different factors that influence adoption between SMEs and large organisations. The empirical contexts of the research are one project on integration technologies adoption, and four case studies on a large firm and three SMEs, which are analysed using an interpretive and qualitative research approach. The evidence suggests that the empirical data complement the identified dimensions nature of organisations, integration needs, company size and time. The empirical data also confirm that the current integration technologies adoption factors reported in the literature can be classified into common factors, factors explicit to SMEs, and factors explicit to large firms, to support a more comprehensive view of this area. An additional factor perceived future prospect has been considered as an influence on adoption in large organisations. The findings of this research can be useful to guide analysts and researchers in determining critical aspects of the complex issues involved for integration technologies adoption, and lead to suggestions for further valid research

Supply Chain Management – A Critical Review of Its Impact on Competitive Potential

Supply chain management has been the focus area for every  manufacturing industry worldwide as a tool to gain competitive advantage in the globalized economic scenario. Subjects such as suppliers’ and customers’ management, integration, internal supply chain management; quality management, information management, logistics management and relationships management have been extensively discussed at various platforms world over. Concerns are frequently raised regarding gaps between theory and practices, effective implementation of practices and the success rate of such practices. Extensive literature is available on supply chain management in form of books, journals and conference proceedings. This research intends to explore the literature with an objective to assess the impact of implementing supply chain management practices on performance and competitive potential of manufacturing industry. It was concluded that though the companies taking initiative in implementing SCM practices face a number of hurdles at an initial phase, over a long term they are bound to benefit from effective implementation of such practices

Platform for open innovation and integrated solutions: the case of BT and its Next Generation Network (NGN)

This paper analyzes how innovation in services is being organised in the telecommunication industry after the bubble burst in the beginning of the 2000’s and how BT is applying the concept of ‘open innovation’ in order to sustain its competitiveness. After the bubble burst in the beginning of the 2000’s, the telecommunications industry is trying to find its way to growth. Internet services and broadband have changed the way customers perceive communication services. Traditional telecommunication companies, like BT, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have been urging to change in order to survive and sustain its competitiveness. One outcome of the industry was that the traditional PSTN (Public Switched Telecommunications Network) technology was not suitable anymore to deliver the multimedia services demanded by customers. The IP (Internet Protocol) has become an unprecedented agreement in the telecommunications industry and the traditional telecommunications companies started to transform its infrastructure based on this Internet-based technology. While this infrastructure transformation is under way, another huge challenge is to change the way these traditional telecommunications companies create, integrate and deliver new services. Service innovation on top of the IP platform is the ultimate challenge. The research was conducted through interviews and analysis of documents such as reports, newspaper articles and official Internet websites. The reports included annual reports of suppliers and incumbent service providers, and documents of regulators. The interviews were conducted with senior managers, managers and other practitioners of incumbent telecommunications service providers and suppliers, regulators, consultants and market research analysts. Initial findings suggest that incumbent telecommunications firms will be increasingly extracting value from platform and software sharing, exposing its ‘capabilities’ to third parties and developing business models to interoperate with other companies, co-creating new services. Thus, the ability to expose their capabilities in services, not to hide them, will be determinant of its success. Also important is the ability to offer integrated solutions to large firms as part of the service portfolio. And, in this context, the concept of open innovation and value innovation also find a fertile ground to be applied in services in the communication industry. Important dynamic capabilities identified in this context are strategic planning, project management, new product/service development (especially software development), supported by systems integration

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

E-Procurement as a Strategic Sourcing Tool in the Beverage Industry in Zimbabwe

This study evaluated the impact of e-procurement as a strategic sourcing tool in the Beverage Industry in Zimbabwe. A quantitative survey of 57 respondents drawn from the key players in the Beverage Industry in Harare, Zimbabwe was conducted using a questionnaire. In line with the research objectives, descriptive statistics were calculated and cross tabulations were also performed in SPSS to produce outputs that provided answers to the research questions. The results show that through the use of e-procurement, companies are able to move towards partnership or lean supply with a smaller number of more technically proficient suppliers. The study concluded that there is a significant positive association between e-procurement and improvement in procurement efficiency. The study recommends that organisations develop adequate business processes to support e-procurement and the alignment of existing procurement processes with e-procurement procedures