Background: Entrepreneurial marketing concentrates on the marketing for small and micro enterprises. It provides the tool to compete on the market with limited resources and thus innovative marketing strategy might be a good weapon and particular value for the micro and small sized entrepreneurs. Traditional marketing concepts are generally not appropriate for the small and micro enterprises, which creates a need for generating new solutions. Purpose: To investigate in the particular ways of practical application of the entrepreneurial marketing for small and micro enterprises. To understand the entrepreneurial marketing relevance for small and micro companies that operates in fast-changing environment. Method: The study is qualitative, with deductive approach, interpretivist epistemology and objectivist ontology. 4 micro and small entrepreneurs from Växjö have participated in the semi-structured interviews, and the results have been interpreted through an operationalization table, in a “cross-company case” model. Results, conclusion: The study aimed at helping the micro and small entrepreneurs to have a better understanding of the entrepreneurial marketing relevance. It has been done through the analysis of the seven dimensions which the concepts and theories have been confirmed most of the time by the empirical results. It gave the insurance that micro and small entrepreneurs have high interest to be aware of these dimensions, which may help them in their business.

The literature suggest that many young and small firms are discouraged borrowers, that is, they need finance but do not apply because they fear denial. This research aims to investigate demand-side financing differences between male and female-owned small and medium enterprises in Canada from the perspective of discouraged borrowers using secondary data from the "Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2004" conducted by Statistics Canada. Women-owned firms are found to be credit constrained according to some studies, but not so in others. To date, however, there remain a lack of studies examining if there is a relationship between gender and discouragement. The study uses multivariate research methods to examine such a relationship while controlling for various firm-specific (age, size, industry, etc.) and owner-specific characteristics (experience). The study finds that majority-female owned firms are more likely to be discouraged borrowers as compared to majority-male owned firms. The study also offers support to arguments that relationship banking is important in reducing the probability of discouragement in both young and established firms.

Internationalization is a topic of high actuality, and in this study the spotlights is on how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access foreign market opportunities and go international. There are a large numbers of studies of internationalization processes but most of them mainly focus on multinational enterprises. There is a need for studies on how SMEs internationalize, what barriers they face and what role immigrants play in the process of internationalization. In this study the purpose is to investigate the internationalization process of Swedish SMEs and the contributions of social networks in the process. Immigrants are introduced as a social network. Drawing on the Uppsala internationalization process model with the network approach, the literature on social network with a knowledge-based view, this study aims to fulfil the above mentioned purpose. For the empirical study, a qualitative method has been used and semi-structured interviews have been performed in six Swedish SMEs. The results of our study illustrate that the Swedish SMEs experience several barriers in the internationalization process due to the lack of financial resources and knowledge-related resources. They also gradually start the internationalization process in their neighbour countries. Moreover, the study shows that the immigrants contribute in the process of internationalization by providing the SMEs with market knowledge and through offering experiential learning.

No description available.

The factors affecting innovation have been largely investigated in the context of industrialized or large developing countries. Innovation is, however, equally important for small developing countries also. It is argued in this thesis that the context of innovation in such small economies is sufficiently different to justify research into the relative potency of factors influencing innovation and the practice of innovation management. These differentiated innovation practices will also have repercussions for the national innovation policy of a small developing country. The present research was conducted in Cyprus, a small developing country. A large number of manufacturing small and medium sized firms (n =140), were surveyed, during 1995, via a questionnaire administered during personal interviews with the firms' owners or managers. The survey was complemented with more extensive case studies of a subset (n = 25) of the survey sample of firms. A research model based on the antecedents approach was used in the survey research and the data were subjected to various statistical analyses including multivariate techniques. The results indicate that the SME owner/manager plays a central role in innovation, influencing directly and indirectly the main variables affecting innovation. From the multivariate analysis these factors include: strategy, expenditure on R&D, cooperation with external technology providers, use of technological information sources and overall performance of the firm. The case material supports in general these findings and also emphasizes the importance of government policies for innovation. The importance of networking for innovation was partially confirmed, in terms of the cooperation with technology and information providers. However contrary to expectations and literature claims, horizontal networking (cooperation within the sector) was not found important for innovation. Based on these results a number of practical suggestions are offered to both industrial managers and policy makers. It is believed that these suggestions are relevant, not only for Cyprus, but also for other small developing countries.

No description available.

The literature suggest that many young and small firms are discouraged borrowers, that is, they need finance but do not apply because they fear denial. This research aims to investigate demand-side financing differences between male and female-owned small and medium enterprises in Canada from the perspective of discouraged borrowers using secondary data from the "Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2004" conducted by Statistics Canada. Women-owned firms are found to be credit constrained according to some studies, but not so in others. To date, however, there remain a lack of studies examining if there is a relationship between gender and discouragement. The study uses multivariate research methods to examine such a relationship while controlling for various firm-specific (age, size, industry, etc.) and owner-specific characteristics (experience). The study finds that majority-female owned firms are more likely to be discouraged borrowers as compared to majority-male owned firms. The study also offers support to arguments that relationship banking is important in reducing the probability of discouragement in both young and established firms.

This study aims to explore how banks evaluate investment decisions towards SMEs, through a real option approach. After analyzing 9 interviews with business advisors from four different banks, illustrations show that banks indeed use a real option way of thinking, without being aware of it as well as put more weight in certain factors namely the repayment ability. Moreover, the relationship factor shows an interesting relevance during investment evaluation towards SMEs, as better relationships lead to lower demands on factors of evaluation. In brief, the study contributes to the theory of real options as well as of practical essentiality to banks and SMEs.

Internationalization is a key concept in today’s globalized world. Globalization has brought about a major shift in the way firms internationalize. Previously, large firms were thought to follow an incremental internationalization process. However, as a result of the rise of international new ventures, the internationalization process has seen a dramatic shift in the internationalization process of firms. Firms no longer follow the traditional models of internationalization. Instead, there are three general phases an international new venture may pass through which are identified by Leonidou and Katsikeas (1996, p. 524): namely: pre-engagement, initial, and advanced.   The change in the internationalization process of firms has led firms access networks to internationalize. The use of networks have been shown to help international new ventures to skip the traditional phases of internationalization  and expand rapidly by linking themselves to established networks (Coviello & Munro, 1995, p. 53). Participation in networks, among other benefits, includes acquiring the necessary knowledge for international operations.   Several important network forms have been identified by different authors. This raises the question what effect these network forms have at the phases of the internationalization process. Three major networks were identified, namely, social, business and intermediaries where each form has its own benefits in the internationalization process of an Small-to-Medium-Size Enterprise (SME). The forms of networks are often described as positive drivers for internationalization. We, however, think that there might also be negative aspects concerning the use of network for internationalization. This study sets out to find what the benefits of each form of network is and also how the networks are used in the internationalization process of an SME. We take into account the perspective of the entrepreneurs as to how they perceive network forms affecting SMEs’ performance at each phase of the internationalization process.  Along with that, we also aim to find out how the forms of networks interact with each other and how they evolve from one network to the other.   We use qualitative methods, in our study, by interviewing six SMEs located in northern Sweden. Multiple case studies were developed, in order to analyse the collected data from the semi-structured interviews. The collected data was transcribed and categorized in order to find the phases of internationalization, benefits of networks, interaction between networks and the negative aspects of networks. It was then analysed using the three predefined forms of networks: social, business and intermediaries.   The findings of the study show that business networks were the most widely used network form throughout the phases of the internationalization process. Social networks and intermediaries were used equally. However, social networks had a greater influence than intermediaries. Our research also identified three phases in the internationalization process. Networks were found to influence each other at all the phases of internationalization and therefore cannot be seperated from each other.

Titel: Tre Dimensioner av Benchmarking – En Studie inom SMEs i Gävleborg. Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Jenny Jonsson, Cecilia Karman Handledare: Tomas Källquist, Stig Sörling Datum: 2015 – juni Syfte: Tidigare forskning menar att SMEs inte använder sig av benchmarking. Vi ställer oss frågande till detta och menar att benchmarking kan användas på olika sätt, något som tidigare forskning förbisett. Vårt syfte är därmed att belysa hur benchmarking används inom SMEs, med utgångspunkt i de tre dimensionerna process, struktur och idé. Metod: Utifrån vårt hermeneutiska synsätt har vi utfört en kvalitativ fallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer, där respondenterna var ifrån tio olika små och medelstora företag (SMEs) i Gävleborg. Därefter jämförde vi det empiriska materialet med den teoretiska referensramen för att kunna utföra vår analys och finna vårt bidrag. Resultat & Slutsats: Enligt vår studie använder sig SMEs, till skillnad från vad tidigare forskning påstår, i stor utsträckning av benchmarking. Vi har sett att den strikta syn på benchmarking som beskrivs i tidigare forskning inte passar SMEs förutsättningar eller arbetssätt. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då vi utförde vår empiriska undersökning såg vi att det inom SMEs är vanligt med benchlearning. Det har forskats begränsat om detta och vi skulle gärna se en framtida studie med benchlearning inom SMEs som utgångspunkt. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår studie visar att det krävs en ny, mindre strikt syn på benchmarking än vad tidigare forskning erbjudit för att se hur SMEs använder sig av detta verktyg. Nyckelord: Benchmarking, SMEs, process, struktur, idé. / Title: Three Dimensions of Benchmarking – A Study within SMEs in Gävleborg Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Jenny Jonsson, Cecilia Karman Supervisor: Tomas Källquist, Stig Sörling Date: 2015 - June Aim: Previous research shows that SMEs do not use benchmarking. We question this and believe that benchmarking can be used in different ways, something that previous research has overlooked. Our aim is therefore to illustrate how benchmarking is used within SMEs, based on the three dimensions process, structure and idea. Method: Based on our hermeneutic approach we have chosen to conduct a qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews, where the respondents were from ten different small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Gävleborg. We then compared the empirical material with our theoretical references to conduct our analysis and find our contribution. Result & Conclusions: According to our study SMEs use benchmarking to a great extent, in spite of what previous research shows. We have found that the strict view on benchmarking that is described in previous research does not suit SMEs conditions or ways of working. Suggestions for future research: While conducting our empirical study we saw that benchlearning is common within SMEs. The research on this is limited and we would like to see a future study focused on benchlearning within SMEs. Contribution of the thesis: Our study shows a need for a new, less strict view on benchmarking than what is offered in previous research to see how this is used within SMEs. Key words: Benchmarking, SMEs, process, structure, idea.