The purpose of this study was to investigate how biotech SMEs structure their business model to deal with the industry’s challenges. The first step was to lay a theoretical foundation of the business model and clarify ambiguities surrounding the business model concept. This lead to the Business Model Canvas, which was used as tool of analysis for this thesis. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with companies, experts and cluster managers, following the nine building blocks of the Business Model Canvas.   The results showed that two typologies of business models could be seen, which we divided in pharmaceutical biotech SMEs and non-pharmaceutical biotech SMEs. Both business models face challenges of research and development process, but to different degrees. Pharmaceutical biotech SMEs deal with long, costly and risky research process, which results in a research-centered business model. During the research period, these companies don’t generate revenues through sales. Non-pharmaceutical biotech SMEs on the other hand, face less harsh research and development processes, which allows them to market their products faster and generate revenue from sales. This results in a more customer-centric business model than the pharmaceutical biotech SMEs.

Cette recherche propose d'étudier les facteurs qui influencent les responsables de PME dans leur choix d'internationaliser une activité. Partant de la littérature en science de gestion sur la décision, nous mettons en exergue l'influence séminale et néanmoins peu étudiée d'un déterminant de la décision : les Représentations Sociales. En contexte international, nous postulons que les décisions sont guidées par les Représentations Sociales de la mondialisation et de l'internationalisation. Ainsi, nous introduisons un modèle composé des différents déterminants endogènes de la décision d'internationaliser : les traits décisionnels internationaux (Représentations Sociales et attitude vis-à-vis de la mondialisation et de l'internationalisation) et les traits décisionnels classiques (tolérance à l'ambigüité, intuitivité et proactivité). Afin de valider ce modèle, nous adaptons une méthode originale permettant de mesurer les comportements décisionnels en concomitance avec les profils de répondants : la Méthode Des Scénarios. Celle-ci découle sur la conception, le test, et la validation d'un instrument de mesure évaluant les décisions et les profils de répondants. Le terrain est constitué de 33 participants, pour les phases qualitatives, et de 149 responsables de PME françaises, pour la phase quantitative. Nos résultats suggèrent qu'en contexte international les décisions sont guidées par les traits décisionnels internationaux et classiques. Nous montrons également que les traits décisionnels internationaux expliquent davantage la décision d'internationaliser une activité que les traits classiques / This research aims at studying the factors that influence people in charge of SME in their decisions to internationalize an activity. Starting from the literature about the decision in the management field, the authors highlight the seminal influence, though hardly studied, of one determinant of the decision: the Social Representations. In an international environment, the authors assume that Social Representations of globalization and internationalization influence on decision making. Thus, the authors introduce a model composed of the decision to internationalize endogenous determinants: international decision features (Social Representations and attitude towards globalization and internationalization) and classical decision features (tolerance to ambiguity, intuitivity, and proactivity). In order to validate this model, the authors adapt an original method to capture the respondents' decision behavior: The Scenario Method. It leads to design, test and validate a tool which measures decisions and respondents' profiles. The field is composed of 33 participants for the qualitative studies, and 149 top managers of French SME for the quantitative study. The results suggest that in an international context, decisions are both based on international and classical features. The authors show that international decisional features better explain decisions than classical decisions features. Furthermore, Social Representations contribute to better understand the origin of individual's position towards globalization and internationalization: for instance, respondents who are unfavorable to globalization perceive it as a source of threat and competition

This study examines the phenomenon of the usage of e-commerce in relation to firms’ internationalization process. Consequently, the study investigates risks and psychic distance in relation to prior research within International business, Internationalization and e- commerce, while focusing on the latest era of academia, namely “Internetalization”. The study investigates how e-commerce and its tools reduce perceived risks associated with firms’ internationalization process and what challenges Swedish SME’s identify while using e- commerce as a tool for internationalization. The study takes a qualitative, multiple case study approach focusing on Swedish SME’s operating in foreign markets within the retail industry. The findings indicate that e-commerce has the potential to generate international market expansion for Swedish SME’s. Further findings show that e-commerce and its tools are leveraged by Swedish SME’s to source, access and exchange valuable information whilst reducing perceived risk related to internationalization since it gives SME’s access to essential information needed for further expansion. Two main challenges are identified. Firstly, trustworthiness and secondly transforming gathered information into valuable information and knowledge. Consequently, the main challenge identified in the internationalization process of Swedish SME’s, resides in coping with the underlying presence of “psychic distance” or “virtuality trap”.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / In the Dominican Republic (DR) the development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas is of great importance because SMEs generate employment and increase local capacity in areas with the highest poverty rates in the country. Ultimately, SME development can contribute to poverty alleviation especially in rural areas. Micro-enterprise training as a form of capacity development initiatives aim at effective empowerment of entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs, which allow them to build capacities to develop their business. These capacities will enhance their ability to ensure sustainability of decisions that influence their quality of life. So far, very little research has been conducted on the precise effects and overall effectiveness of SME-related training in the Dominican Republic. Against this background, it is of great benefit to evaluate impacts of micro-enterprise training initiatives on the development of SMEs in rural DR, in order to find out which factors stimulate the creation and growth of enterprises and which factors hinder their development. This allows effective adjustments of future support initiatives in the development sector and it contributes to the existing empirical evidence base in this field. This study applies Human Capital Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour as theoretical frameworks to analyze impacts of micro-enterprise training on SME development. Secondary data for this study was drawn from the Dominican tourism-project La Ruta del Cacao, applying a mixed-method approach for the data collection. Quantitative research methods in the form of a semi-structured questionnaire helped to quantify the impacts of provided micro-enterprise training. Qualitative methods in the form of Focus Group Discussions allowed an in-depth analysis of training impacts on respondents, with the aim of identifying influencing factors, especially those which the theoretical framework may not have covered. The theoretical discussion of this study identified that entrepreneurial intentions are mediated by the attitude toward entrepreneurship, perceived subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. The empirical results show that the provided training is likely to have slightly improved the participants attitude towards enterprise creation. Perceived subjective norms have not decreased due to the training and appear not to have played a role in the participants decision to start or not start a business. The participants perceived behavioural control is not likely to have increased due to the training. On the other hand, results indicate that the training provided participants with useful entrepreneurship-related skills and knowledge. Overall, the participants entrepreneurial intentions slightly improved as a result of the training. However, the impact of these outputs on SME development was rather modest. Identified external factors which influenced the participants entrepreneurial behaviour were a lack of capital, job loss, having a family to take care of, being part of an entrepreneurial family and the existence of an entrepreneurial role model. Intrinsic characteristics were identified as the most influential in demonstrating successful entrepreneurial behaviour and SME creation. The findings of this research contribute firstly to the existing evidence base of micro-enterprise training impacts in rural Dominican Republic. In addition, the findings contribute to the literature base on applications of both Human Capital Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour in the field of entrepreneurship education.

Bakgrund och problem: Det som står klart tidigt i problematiseringen och bakgrunden är vikten av att utveckla adekvat ekonomistyrning när organisationer växer. Med utgångspunkt i att ekonomistyrning utvecklas i takt med att företag växer problematiseras kring ämnet och hur det påverkar SMEs i stark tillväxt. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att öka och fördjupa förståelsen för hur ekonomistyrningen utvecklas i snabbt växande företag. Syftet är därtill att identifierade kritiska händelser och faktorer som skett under tillväxtresan som gett upphov till förändringar i ekonomistyrningen. Metod: Studien är av en kvalitativ karaktär i form av en flerfallsstudie. Den primära datainsamlingen har skett med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuer har genomförts med såväl ledande befattningshavare som medarbetare för att skapa en uppfattning kring hur styrningen har utvecklats över tid i de båda fallföretagen. Slutsats: Det som karaktäriserar ekonomistyrningen i fallföretagen är dels en rad kritiska händelser som påverkat beslut och framtida utveckling av företagen. Därtill har både externa och interna effekter varit bidragande till de kritiska händelserna och utvecklingen av företagen. Avslutningsvis har företagen agerat för att anpassa ekonomistyrningen i takt med att de har haft en snabb tillväxt, ett arbete som genomgående präglats av en successiv utveckling för att möta de behov som uppstått. / Background: What is clear early in the problem discussion and background is the importance of developing adequate management accounting when organizations grow. Based on the assumption that management accounting develops as companies grow we problematize on the subject and how it affects SMEs in strong growth. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to increase and deepen the understanding of how management accounting develops in rapidly growing SMEs. The purpose is also to identify the critical events and factors that have taken place during the growth which have caused changes in their respecitive management accounting. Method: The study is of a qualitative nature in the form of a multiple-case study. The primary data collection has been made using semi-structured interviews. Interviews have been conducted with both leading people and employees to create an idea of how the management has developed over time in the two companies. Conclusion: What characterizes management accounting in the case companies is partly a series of critical events that has affected decisions and future development of the companies. In addition, both external and internal effects have contributed to the critical events and development of the companies. Finally, the companies have acted to adapt their management accounting as they have had rapid growth, a work that is consistently characterized by a gradual development to meet the needs that have arisen.

In today’s global society, organizations are facing the challenge of ever-increasing customer demands as a consequence of benefits posed by digital technology. Not only has it led to a market of fierce competition and the inevitable pursuit for competitive advantages, but it also has required actors to explore and exploit the agile development of digitization. Organizational initiatives to harvest the benefits of digital technology and address the challenges have been referred to as “Digital Transformation”. The concept is running rampant through all industries and sectors, and no firm is any longer immune to its impacts. In the context of small and medium-sized enterprises, they are commonly referred to as being in a predicament of inadequate resources and limited capabilities to digitally transform. This study aims to shed light on how leaders of small enterprises, with their current conditions of digital transformation, can address key challenges through the use of digital transformation strategies. More specifically, a multiple case study was conducted based on the small tech reselling market of Portugal. Both leaders and employees were interviewed and asked about their current challenges, what efforts are made to digitally transform the companies, and how the leadership contribute to that end. From this, the paper suggests ways of managing these challenges and at the same time incubate digital transformation through assessment and measurement models.

En los últimos años, el sistema financiero peruano ha logrado constituirse en uno de los pilares del crecimiento económico del Perú. Nuestro país ha superado todas las expectativas en Latinoamérica, puesto que los índices macroeconómicos han evidenciado una notable mejora respecto a décadas anteriores. Pieza fundamental del tejido empresarial de Perú, como de cualquier país desarrollado o en desarrollo, es la pyme, una organización de limitado tamaño que anhela el sólido desarrollo y la competitividad. En el sector agrícola, la pyme es el conjunto de pequeñas y medianas empresas que generan empleos y permiten abastecer la demanda de productos agrícolas en el mercado. La pyme realiza gestión administrativa, donde el proceso de planeación se ejecuta, de este modo, en todos los niveles define las funciones y responsabilidades de todos los involucrados en la organización y los administradores resultan ser gestores de campo y responsables de generar productos apropiados para su público objetivo. En el presente trabajo, el objetivo de evaluar la relación del acceso al crédito con el desarrollo y la competitividad de la pyme agrícola viene abordado desde tres aspectos: a) El acceso al crédito que permite a las pymes tener mayor capacidad de desarrollo, realizar nuevas y más eficientes operaciones y ampliar el tamaño de la infraestructura; b) El desarrollo de las pymes, apoyado mediante un marco de apoyo fiscal, permite que las empresas se mantengan, crezcan y progresen en un entorno dinámico, siguiendo estrategias que le permitan alcanzar sus metas. Las pymes constituyen un elemento importante en el esquema productivo nacional, jugando un papel primordial en el crecimiento económico del país; c) La competitividad de la pyme, como la capacidad de alcanzar una posición destacada y sostenida en el mercado, permite a la empresa una mejora en la calidad de sus productos, la eficiencia de procesos y un incremento en la producción de las empresas. Así, la pyme acrecienta sus beneficios y, bajo condiciones de libre mercado, un país puede producir bienes y servicios que pasen el test de la competencia internacional. De este modo y en concordancia con las características de las empresas seleccionadas para abordar el tema de manera específica, se llegó al planteamiento del siguiente tema para su desarrollo: el acceso al crédito y su relación con el desarrollo y la competitividad de las pymes del sector agrícola de Lima-Perú en 2015. La respuesta a este planteamiento se dará a través del alcance de objetivos puntuales detallados en los objetivos específicos, que permitirá brindar una mirada general al efecto del acceso al crédito en las pymes del sector agrícola. En el presente estudio se realizó una encuesta a una muestra de 120 pymes del sector agrícola de Lima - Perú. Los elementos de la muestra han tenido acceso al crédito en 2015. Durante 1 mes, se realizó la encuesta que tiene un cuestionario de 29 preguntas en escala de Likert y presenta 5 niveles (desde totalmente de acuerdo hasta totalmente en desacuerdo). La hipótesis general tuvo como método de análisis la correlación de Spearman. El resultado del análisis estadístico indicó que el acceso al crédito afecta positivamente en el desarrollo empresarial de las pymes (p=0.000). La relación es directa y de nivel bajo (Rho=0.372) con un tamaño de efecto de 13.8%. De igual modo, el resultado del análisis estadístico indica que el acceso al crédito afecta positivamente en la competitividad de las pymes (p=0.000). La relación es directa y de nivel bajo (Rho=0.329) con un tamaño de efecto de 10.8%. Sobre la base de los resultados obtenidos, podemos afirmar que el acceso al crédito se relacionó de manera positiva con el desarrollo y la competitividad de las pymes del sector agrícola de Lima – Perú en 2015. / In the last years, the financial Peruvian system has achieved to be constitute in one of the pillars of the Economical growth of Peru. Our country has exceeded all Latin America expectations, due to the remarkable improvement that has been evidence into the macroeconomic index to the previous years. One of the most important pieces in the Peruvian business, like in any other country is the SME (Small Medium Enterprise), it is a limited sized organization that longs for a solid growth and competitivity. In the agricultural sector, the SME is the group of small and medium businesses that generates jobs and allows to supply agricultural products to the market. The SME makes administrative management, where the planning process runs, thereby, in all the levels it defines the functions and responsibilities of the people involved in the organization and the administrators are field managers and responsible to generate appropriate products to target audience. In this present work, the objective is to evaluate the relationship of access to credit with the development and competitiveness that the agricultural SME comes from three aspects: a) the access to credit that allows the SMEs to have higher growth capacity to make new and more efficient operations, also to expand the size of infrastructure; b) the development of the SME, helping through a fiscal support, that allows the enterprises to maintain, grow and progress in a dynamic environment, following strategies that permit them to achieve their goals. The SME constitute an essential element in the national productive scheme, playing a key role in the country’s economic growth; c) the competitivity of the SME, like reaching the capacity of an outstanding and permanent position into the market, allowing the improvement of their products, the efficiency of the process and a raise in the production of the enterprises. Therefore, the SME increase their benefits under free market conditions. A country can produce goods and services that pass the test of international competition. In this way and in accordance with the characteristics of the selected companies to address the issue specifically, the approach to the following topic for its development is reached: the access to credit and its relationship with the development and competitiveness of the SMEs in the agricultural sector of Lima-Peru in 2015. The answer to this approach will be given through the scope of punctual objectives detailed in specific objectives which will provide a general overview of the effect of access to credit in SMEs in the agricultural sector. In the present study a survey was conducted on a sample of 120 SMEs of the agricultural sector in Lima – Peru. The elements of the sample have had access to credit in 2015. For one month, a survey of entrepreneurs was conducted. The survey has a questionnaire of 29 questions on Likert scale and has 5 levels (from Totally agree to Totally disagree). The general hypothesis was evaluated by the Spearman Correlation as a method of analysis. The result of the statistical analysis indicated that the access to credit positively affects the business development of the SMEs (p=0.000) the relationship is direct and low level (Rho=0.372) with an effect sized of 13.8%. In the same way, the statistical analysis result indicated that the access to credit positively affects competitiveness of SMEs (p=0.000) the relationship is direct and low level (Rho=0.329) with an effect sized of 10.8%. Based on the results obtained, we can assure that the access to credit is positively related on the development and competitiveness of SMEs of the agricultural sector in Lima – Peru in 2015. / Tesis

The aim for this study is to identify the critical factors for an implementation of Lean for a micro company in the start-up phase, as well as to identify which Lean practices that are most applicable for a distribution strategy in a micro company. The aim was divided into two research questions: • RQ1: Which factors of a Lean implementation is critical for a producing micro company in the start-up phase? • RQ2: How applicable are lean tools and practices for a micro company’s distribution strategy? The research approach used to answer the aim and research questions were a literature review and a case study. A solid literature review was performed to understand the subject in a broader context as well as to compensate for the empirical findings. The case study was conducted at a micro company in the construction industry in Sweden, which currently has no distribution strategy. Since there is limited information related to micro companies, the study has been expanded to also include SMEs. Several factors were identified as critical for an implementation for a micro company. The factors were categorized as critical, favorable, hindering and driving. The identified most relevant critical factors for micro companies was the leadership and management as well as financial capabilities. This was found to be in line with the theoretical framework. Furthermore, an identification was that the Lean tools and practices that were the most applicable for a micro company were those that focus on the internal processes and the involvement of the workforce, such as 5S, PDCA and visual management. These tools were the most applicable because of the financial aspects as well as the lack of influence that a micro company has over its supply chain. It is recommended to perform a similar case study in a micro company with a higher level of maturity and has started their distribution of goods to further analyze tangible empirical data. Lean concerning micro companies need further research if it should become attractive and achievable for micro companies.

During the times of fast phased global business, organizations must discover new ways to make functional strategies to survive, so the search for competitive advantage remains the main objective for companies. Intangible assets are increasingly essential for value creation for firms due to their valuable, rare, inimitable, non-substitutable nature. Particularly corporate reputation can be identified as an essential intangible asset possessed by a firm, due to its tacit nature. Hence, managing and understanding the antecedent of corporate reputation management is crucial for gaining competitive advantage. Moreover, focus on valuing and understanding the intangibles is essential for SMEs, which usually possess fewer resources for evaluating and managing these resources compared to large and more structured companies. Worldwide SMEs are in general representing over half of the economy, and enhanced business performance can further positively influence on the economic wealth. We were able to identify a research gap since there are no studies on how to utilize corporate reputation management in the SME context without a large scale of resources or the separate marketing department. We want to fill the gap by providing empirical evidence on the process of improving reputation management in Finnish SME setting. The purpose of this thesis is to gain more in-depth understanding of the prevailing corporate identity and communication in the SME and how to utilize these as an antecedent of corporate reputation by evaluating the internal managerial perceptions of the Finnish engineering installation company, Alpha Group. Furthermore, the aim is to give practical suggestions for managing corporate reputation by implementing an appropriate way to communicate the desired corporate identity both internally and externally. A framework has been created from the previous literature where a process for managing corporate reputation is compiled. Corporate identity represents an antecedent of corporate reputation, whereas corporate communication can be seen as a management tool to manage it. To fulfill the purpose of the thesis, a qualitative study was conducted, with eight semi-structured interviews with the top and middle managers of Alpha Group. Through the interviews, we gained a more in-depth understanding of the current condition of corporate identity as well as internal and external communications. From our findings, we could conclude that scarcity of resources is limiting the development of intangible resources in Alpha Group. Reputation of Alpha Group is based on the operational factors, rather than managed intentionally, so currently it is strongly associated only to serve their clients. Corporate identity was found unclear within the organization and the organization did not have strategy for corporate communications. This has caused unidentifiable corporate identity within organization, which has led to scattered corporate identity between different locations and business units. We will provide practical recommendations for managers of SMEs in general and for Alpha Group, on how to manage corporate identity and establish corporate communication systems.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} Inom redovisning är det viktigt att alla företag, stora som små, använder sig av de normer som bildats på internationell nivå. När investerare och andra externa intressenter går igenom de finansiella rapporterna som företagen producerar bör det vara så enkelt som möjligt att granska dem. Att använda sig av en internationell redovisningsstandard som IFRS/IFRSSE bidrar till en ökad jämförbarhet samt en större förståelse för finansiella rapporter. Det blir enklare för exempelvis externa intressenter att jämföra rapporterna mellan företag i olika länder. Det finns ett fåtal studier på implementering av internationella redovisningsstandarder för små företag. Vi valde därför att undersöka hur små företag resonerar kring valet av redovisningsstandard och hur en eventuell implementering hanteras. Vi valde även att ta reda på hur de kan få stöd av revisionsbyråer gällande planering av en implementeringsstrategi. Vi har gjort en litteraturstudie som främst är grundad på vetenskapliga artiklar som diskuterar valet av redovisningsstandard, implementering av internationella standarder och hur små företag kan få stöd av revisionsbyråer. Vi har också gjort en empirisk studie i form av kvalitativa intervjuer. Genom dessa studier har vi kommit fram till slutsatser som kan besvara uppsatsens forskningsfrågor och syfte. I en jämförelse av det empiriska och teoretiska underlaget kom vi fram till slutsatser om hur små företag resonerar kring valet av redovisningsstandard. Vi kom även fram till slutsatser om vad för typ av stöd revisionsbyråer kan erbjuda småföretagare. Valet av nationella GAAPs görs främst på grund av att små företag ofta inte har några internationella relationer. Det blir därmed inte kostnadseffektivt att välja en internationell standard. Om små företag vill expandera kan det vara klokt att introducera en internationell standard i företaget för att få en ökad jämförbarhet och harmonisering i de finansiella rapporterna. De kan då få stöd av revisionsbyråer som kan hjälpa till med att ta fram en implementeringsstrategi och genomföra denna tillsammans med företag. Revisionsbyråerna finns där för att både granska räkenskaperna så att det blir rätt för dem, men också för att ge stöd i form av rådgivning eller för att informera om nya regler och standarder.