<p>DateMay 29th, 2009LevelMaster Thesis in International MarketingAuthorsShahid Kalim Khan: Körsbärsvägen 4b, LAG 218, 11423 Stockholm, Sweden Mob: +46 700641495 Email: iamkalim@gmail.comAdeel Asghar: Rum 235, Kallgatan 1 B, 63226 Eskilstuna, Sweden Mob: +46 700783841 Email: adeel1031@gmail.comTutorDaniel TolstoyTitleHow can marketing research help innovative SMEs in exploitation of international opportunities in their early internationalization? A Swedish Case StudyPurposeSMEs are well known for their innovative and risk taking approach. This study aims at providing them with a strategic framework or method to analyze the marketability of their products or services and exploit internationalization opportunities. It also focuses on helping them in reducing their risks linked with cross border business opportunities.Methodology/DesignThis research is performed through case study method. A new conceptual model has been developed by integrating relevant standard approaches within field of research. This model has been further explained by implementing it on case company (Widforss).ConclusionsThis study claims to make a significant and creative contribution to the field of SMEs internationalization through two theoretical models named as International SME Model of Innovation Exploitation (ISMIE) and Proactive International Entrepreneurship model (PIE). Both of these models use marketing research as key success factor. However, sufficient empirical evidences could not be provided due to limitations. Whereas, the practical contribution for the case firm named as Widforss industries is very evident.</p>

DateMay 29th, 2009LevelMaster Thesis in International MarketingAuthorsShahid Kalim Khan: Körsbärsvägen 4b, LAG 218, 11423 Stockholm, Sweden Mob: +46 700641495 Email: iamkalim@gmail.comAdeel Asghar: Rum 235, Kallgatan 1 B, 63226 Eskilstuna, Sweden Mob: +46 700783841 Email: adeel1031@gmail.comTutorDaniel TolstoyTitleHow can marketing research help innovative SMEs in exploitation of international opportunities in their early internationalization? A Swedish Case StudyPurposeSMEs are well known for their innovative and risk taking approach. This study aims at providing them with a strategic framework or method to analyze the marketability of their products or services and exploit internationalization opportunities. It also focuses on helping them in reducing their risks linked with cross border business opportunities.Methodology/DesignThis research is performed through case study method. A new conceptual model has been developed by integrating relevant standard approaches within field of research. This model has been further explained by implementing it on case company (Widforss).ConclusionsThis study claims to make a significant and creative contribution to the field of SMEs internationalization through two theoretical models named as International SME Model of Innovation Exploitation (ISMIE) and Proactive International Entrepreneurship model (PIE). Both of these models use marketing research as key success factor. However, sufficient empirical evidences could not be provided due to limitations. Whereas, the practical contribution for the case firm named as Widforss industries is very evident.

The aim of this paper is to understand the roles knowledge and network play in the internationalization process of a small company in an emerging Kenyan market. The research is based on a qualitative approach using an embedded case study design where primary data was collected from Hydro Standard AB, Swedish Trade Council and two water companies in Kenya; Mombasa and Mavoko water companies. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were used in the project. Findings from the study show that the internationalization process of Hydro Standard AB was successful and mainly driven by building of networks. The study also found out that tacit knowledge is crucial for a firm to develop itself in the Kenyan market which is very informal. Through tacit knowledge, a firm is able to gain knowledge and handle challenges concerning business culture and other unwritten rules found in the market. Further, building relationships with politicians or local branch managers can enhance a firm's performance.

This study was a research on the effects of the change in the tax system on small medium sized enterprises. Its focus was in Swaziland. It concludes by giving recommendations on how the tax system can be improved in view of what have succeeded in other countries with an almost similar economy. It also recommends more research in this field.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to both local and global economic development. They are a crucial business sector for all nations’ economies. In developed countries, SMEs typically account for 60 per cent of employment, and the figure is even higher in developing countries. In 2011, Thai SMEs employed 83.9 per cent of the Thai workforce. Thai SMEs, like all other firms, face the challenge of satisfying customers by offering quality products at low prices. Furthermore, it is generally argued that, in this increasingly aggressive business world, competition arises between integrated supply chains rather than at the firm level. Therefore, effective supply chain management (SCM) is a key driver of sustainable competitive advantage. However, Thai SMEs have issues in adopting supply chains in their organisations. They have doubts about whether SCM will improve firm performance. Therefore, this study aims to reveal whether SCM practices could help Thai SMEs to improve their performance, and if so which ones and how. To fill the gap in theoretical understanding, an initiation mixed method research design was specified using 20 semi-structured interviews and quantitative questionnaires distributed to 311 subjects. An SCM practices model with antecedents and consequences was identified using previous research. The measurements were evaluated, modified and analysed using several techniques, such as thematic analysis, regression and structural equation modelling. The study makes several notable findings. Firstly, the SMEs were found to implement SCM to reduce costs and improve productivity rather than to satisfy the customer. Secondly, the IT system and top management support were two key factors in helping SMEs to successfully apply SCM. Thirdly, the major barriers to SCM were employees’ lack of understanding and improper organisational design. Fourthly, firm size had no significant relationship to the level of firm performance. Finally, the firm’s performance and SCM practices were positively correlated. This work contributes to academia by expanding research into SCM practices in SMEs, of which there is a dearth in the literature (Quayle, 2003, Meehan and Muir, 2008), especially in the context of developing countries (Katunzi and Zheng, 2010). For practitioners, regarding SMEs in Thailand and other developing countries, this study confirms that SCM practice assists SMEs to gain higher performance. Furthermore, for policy makers, enhancing SCM practices in SMEs by developing SCM enablers such as IT systems and standard performance measurement and metrics, could help SMEs to achieve higher performance.

Introduction –ISO 14001 is one of the environmental management systems (EMS) that are used in industries in order to deal with environmental issues. Many researchers point out that the adoption of ISO 14001 could help firms improve operational procedures and gain competitive advantages, increase their environmental performance, adopt management strategies in terms of energy consumption, materials and waste, cost efficiency and company reputation. Previous studies have focused on the connection between ISO 14001 and technology innovation. However, there are still some gaps in the literature between the effect of ISO 14001 and other types of innovation (product, production, position), especially in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Purpose – This paper studied the implementation of ISO 14001 in SMEs associated with the improvement and performance of different dimensions of innovation (product/process/position). Design/Methodology – This study had a phenomenological approach. A case study was used for examining the innovation actions and activities that were developed by the help of ISO 14001. Documents were used to collect secondary data, especially in firm performance in order to show the innovation performance before and after implementation of ISO 14001. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data from four employees among top management as well as staff who are related to ISO 14001 and each type of innovation in aluminium industry – FEAL AB in this case –  in Horndal, Sweden. Each interview session took around 20 minutes. Findings – The finding shows that the adoption of ISO 14001 led to incremental changes in product and process innovation. ISO 14001 led the company to innovate their products by using new chemical materials that are environmentally friendly, and ISO 14001 requirements were used when specifying requirements for new products. It also led the firm to develop a procurement process, waste management, and organization strategies. Yet, there was no positive impact of the implementation of ISO 14001 on position innovation. In terms of performance, ISO 14001 led to improved performance in product and process innovation. It led the firm to have better methodology, cost efficiency and waste reduction. It also changed behaviour and mind-set of employees and the process for developing new products. Research limitations and further study – Only one case – a 25-year-old SME in the aluminium industry in Sweden - was used in this research. It can be broadened to either comparative case studies or quantitative studies in order to compare the influences of ISO 14001 on innovation and performance among them. Practical implication –This study could provide a guideline for building innovation in SME firms with the help of ISO 14001 in order to create competitive advantages in highly competitive markets. It could improve innovation activities in order to have positive effect on a firm’s products and performance in a sustainable way. Moreover, firms could use innovation improvements and performance that are developed with the help of ISO 14001 as a manner for promoting company reputation. Theoretical contribution – This paper shows that SMEs which certified according to ISO 14001 tend to rapidly improve their innovations particularly in process and organization innovation. All in all, the perception of ISO 14001 is opposed by this study. The ISO 14001 is about not only environment but innovation as well.

The interest in business models has lately increased, which could be traced back to the dot-com burst during the 2000s. There exists no general definition of business models. Howev-er, researchers all agree that business models are used to illustrate the design and architec-ture of the value creation process of companies. Today’s research of business models has mainly been focused on e-commerce. This thesis contributes to the research of business models by extending the research to focus on SMEs in the biotech industry.In order to explore business models for SMEs in the biotech industry, a qualitative study with an abductive approach were conducted and the data was collected through in-depth interviews. The data was analysed and compared with existing research to find themes and patterns.All the participating companies in this study were so-called university spin-off, they were founded by a researcher or researchers still working within a university who created an idea and transformed it into a new venture.The SMEs, who involved the customers at an early stage, also seemed to be the ones most successful. By keeping the customer focus and capturing the demand, the SMEs were able to prioritise between features in the product development to please the consumers. Finally, the SMEs who were founded and still ran by a researcher seemed to lose the customers fo-cus.

The increasing importance of economic contributions of small and medium-sized sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world, especially in developing countries, motivated a better understanding of financial practices among SMEs. Financial support is among the factors affecting the success of SMEs. However, studies on the financial practices among successful SMEs in Malaysia are still limited. An understanding of the financial practices of this particular group of SMEs is essential in developing a supportive financial framework to achieve national agenda for improving SMEs sustainability and increasing the overall SMEs’ contributions to the Malaysian economy. This research investigates the financial practices among successful SMEs in Malaysia based on the list of Enterprise 50 award winners from 1998 to 2010. This specific database was chosen to serve the objective of this study. Investigations into SME managers’ level of preferences for various sources of financing, and their firms’ capital structure, are the main scope of financial practices under study. Electronic surveys among 444 SMEs were conducted with 120 responses, yielding a response rate of 29.6%. The results of analyses revealed that retained earnings and banking institutions were the most preferred sources of internal and external financing among SMEs managers. Generally, successful SMEs depend more on debt over equity-sources of financing with Debt-to-Equity ratio (DER) of 57 to 43. Furthermore, managers’ ownership status, highest level of education and level of experience are found to have a statistically significant association with their level of financing preferences. On the other hand, non-debt tax shields, tangibility and liquidity were found to have a statistically significant relationship with a firm’s capital structure. Managers’ levels of financing preferences were also found to be significantly associated with the proportion of their firm’s capital structure. Multivariate analyses revealed that managers’ levels of financing preferences were explained by their ownership status, highest level of education and level of experience, while the proportions of a firm’s capital structure are significantly explained by the manager’s levels of financing preferences. Finally, firms’ capital structures were found to be influenced by non-debt tax shields, tangibility and liquidity. This research enhances the existing body of knowledge of the financial practices of successful SME in Malaysia, by providing information on managers’ level of financing preferences and firms’ capital structure. This is the first study to focus on investigating the level of financing preferences among managers of SMEs in Malaysia. In addition, the firm’s capital structure was also investigated. This new knowledge will improve understanding and will enable further enhancement of knowledge in this area of financial practices among successful small businesses, in general, and particularly in the case of Malaysian SMEs.

Motivation: The IASB and the UK ASB have adopted different financial reporting rules for different classes of company. The IASB have IFRS and IFRS for SMEs. In the UK, currently companies follow IFRS (for public companies), UK GAAP (for medium-sized companies) or FRSSE (for small companies). Furthermore, some companies are exempt from audit. It is difficult to evaluate the efficacy of this approach to regulation since the ASB (and IASB) do not specify what consequences should follow. Do they expect public companies have higher accounting quality than medium and small companies? Or do they expect accounting quality to be the same across different groups of companies? Objective: The main objective of this study is to examine accounting quality in order to inform the future policy and discussion about the differential reporting framework. We examine the effects of accounting standards across public, medium and small companies. However, companies also face reporting discipline from market forces, and consequently we also examine the impact of debt-holders on reporting quality across and within medium and small companies. Methodology: We measure accounting quality from different aspects. For the assessment of differential accounting standards, we use: the level of accruals (ratio of cash flows to earnings), earnings smoothing, and target beating. For the assessment of any debt-holders effect, we use aspects that are suited to their needs, namely: earnings conservatism, and earnings persistence. Main Findings: Under the discipline of accounting standards, we find that the financial reporting behaviour of medium sized entities is significantly different from public and small companies. This suggests that accounting standards do not equalise accounting quality. The impacts of debt-holders on accounting quality are generally weak within medium and small companies. This implies that accounting standards are the main discipline for financial reporting for medium and small companies, which is consistent with the suggestions of Ball and Shivakumar (2005). However, we raise a few issues concerning the interpretation of the accounting quality measurements (earnings conservatism and earnings persistence) and provide theoretical and empirical support for the discussion. Recommendations: We suggest the accounting regulations for private companies may need to be further strengthened, especially for medium-sized companies.

The research question was offered by the sponsor of this Ph.D., The National Examining Board of Supervision and Management (NEBS Management). This research is a study of the First Line Management (FLM) role in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and China. Different culture background, management styles, and communication systems, can be expected to affect the roles of managers. The Chinese style of managing the organisation has long been a subject of interest to researchers and practitioners. Research studies on managerial work and managerial roles have been well established in Western countries. Until recently, the cultural and political climate in China was less conducive to research into areas that might have caused too much debate. As a result, those researching management in China tended, until relevantly recently, to be isolated from main stream academic debate. It is believed that this study is unique in focusing on the FLM in China as well as in the UK. In both countries research on the FLM in SMEs is limited. This research attempts to bridge this gap by trying to define, for the first time, the roles, functions and skills required of FLMs in SMEs in the UK and China. The study argues that it is crucial to understand the FLM's role and place it within the organisation. The FLM is a critical link in any organisation because it is at this level that managerial and non managerial employees meet face to face and work in a close relationship with each other. The evidence from the research suggests that the FLM's role in the SME is broader than that of equivalent FLM role in the large organisation. It was found that FLMs in SMEs were seen as 'non-specialist', expected to cope with whatever aspect of work came their way. The implication of this broad 'nonspecialist' role was that they were expected to be a 'master of many trades'. The skills required to perform the FLM role were not perceived, despite their breadth as specialist skills such as finance, quality, purchasing and so on. Rather they were perceived as underpinning generic key skills which could, and should, be further supported by improved training and development. The research revealed that FLMs in SMEs perform a unique and a valuable role.There has been some concern about the extent to which models and practices of supervisory management are capable of being transferred from one country to another. The UK and China have evolved supervisory management styles and systems which are rooted in their respective social, economic and political circumstances but which are now being shaped increasingly by external, international and global patterns, trends and models. The study revealed there was a surprising degree of consistency in certain aspect of the FLM role in both countries. In particular, responsibility for 'organising and managing' was perceived as the core element ·of the FLM role. Differences were reviewed in how this core role was delivered in the two countries. For example, FLMs in the UK favoured a team working approach which was not adopted to the same degree by their Chinese counterparts. Other examples of differences included greater involvement and responsibility for financial matters in China than in the UK. These and other examples arise from different social, cultural and political circumstances and help illuminate the detail differences in both countries. In conclusion, the influence of international and global trends is likely to reduce the level of difference in the future. Summarising the FLM role in the SME, the research suggests that the FLMs are both co-ordinators and human relations engineers.