Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:52:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SuelyXS.pdf: 2751671 bytes, checksum: 4c71733d0a50d2008a8f6ffed3f7cb14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-04-10 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / This work aims to promote design aspects into furniture Small and Medium Enterprises (SME s) at Rio Grande do Norte State. The final outcome will be an increasing on their competitiveness as well as consider design as key strategic aspect for their business. As a consequence, the results are based on two SME companies from the furniture sector located at Natal/RN. The study is based on a literature research followed by a management diagnosis for each company. The diagnosis was base don interviews with the entrepreneurs and their employees as well as meetings, participant observations and document analysis. Based on this analysis, specific aspects were implement in order to boost the production line as well as the product development process (PDP) and the development of a prototype. The results have indicated some limitation of these companies regarding their low technological on their production line, poor management and work skills as well as low perception of design as a competitive tool. Regardless these results, it was observed that design has brought an important contribution for cultural changes within companies as well as for the development of better quality and competitive products / O objetivo desta pesquisa consiste em realizar a inser??o do Design nas micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) de m?veis do estado do Rio Grande do Norte no intuito de torn?-las mais competitivas e difundir a cultura do design como ferramenta estrat?gica de neg?cios. Desta forma, o trabalho tem sua forma??o baseada em estudo de caso realizado em duas MPEs do setor moveleiro na cidade de Natal no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Visando atingir os objetivos, se fez uso de uma pesquisa explorat?ria atrav?s de levantamento bibliogr?fico em literatura pertinente. Em seguida foi realizado um diagn?stico organizacional nas duas empresas que foi norteado por algumas t?cnicas como por exemplo: entrevista com os empreendedores e com funcion?rios, reuni?es, observa??o participante e an?lise de documentos pr?-existentes. Atrav?s dos resultados do diagn?stico, se prop?s ? realiza??o de atividades pr?ticas atrav?s de a??es pontuais no ambiente produtivo, bem como a elabora??o de projeto de desenvolvimento de produtos (PDP), e fabrica??o de prot?tipo utilizando-se os conceitos de design, objetivando disseminar na cultura das empresas a import?ncia de se desenvolver produtos inovadores e orientados para o mercado. Os resultados demonstraram as limita??es dessas empresas quanto ? sua estrutura produtiva, ? baixa capacidade gerencial, baixa qualifica??o de m?o-de-obra e o pouco entendimento da import?ncia do design como diferencial competitivo. N?o obstante, verificou-se que a inser??o do design p?de contribuir para uma mudan?a cultural nessas MPEs, e conseq?entemente, para o desenvolvimento de produtos com mais qualidade e competitivos

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an understanding of how Swedish SMEs internationalize towards Russia and the barriers, challenges, and opportunities they encounter. In order to conduct this research, relevant aspects regarding the theme have been identified and analyzed. By conducting a qualitative research method a deeper understanding of the issue of how Swedish firms internationalize towards Russia can be provided. The thesis follows an abductive approach, mostly because of that the subject is quite unexplored and therefore a theory will arise, as our understanding of the subject will increase.   The literature review that has been recognized in this thesis includes theories that are related to internationalization, networks, barriers, culture, and sanctions. The literature review developed the conceptual framework. The framework works as a map that describes how the different theories are related to each other. The conceptual framework later served a purpose to analyze the obtained empirical data that was extracted from multiple case organizations. The following chapter consists of the empirical findings and what could be extracted from the interviews. The analysis chapter includes a discussion where the empirical findings are put against the theories in order to identify relations and similarities. The analysis chapter is structured in the same way as the conceptual framework. The final chapter will provide a conclusion that has been concluded from the analysis, empirical findings and it also contains an answer to the research question, theoretical implications, practical implications & recommendations, limitations and suggestions for future research.   The theoretical implications that the thesis resulted in includes fillings the research gap as well as identifying how Swedish SMEs internationalize towards Russia and the barriers, challenges, and opportunities they face. The main practical implication is that an understanding of these aspects is highly recommended for Swedish SMEs or organizations in general that wishes to penetrate the Russian market.   As the theme of this thesis is rather unexplored we find it of high relevance and that it could be of high value for Swedish SMEs or organizations in general that wishes to enter the Russian market.

This thesis aims to connect the fields of multilingualism and internationalisation by studying language strategies of SMEs located in Belgium. Thereby the access to foreign networks in relation to internationalisation theories and the role of language capabilities and multilingualism is examined. This combination of different academic fields in international business and linguistics has previously not been studied satisfyingly and this research thus furthermore provides theoretical and managerial implications in this matter. Hence, this study addresses the briefly presented knowledge gap by answering the research question: What effect does the multilingualism in Belgium have on an SME’s internationalisation? The two following sub-research questions have been raised additionally to ensure the ability to answer the main research question: 1. What is the impact of the multilingualism in Belgium on an SME’s liability of foreignness when going international? 2. How does a language strategy support an SME’s internationalisation process and create a multilingual capability? Empirical data is collected both qualitatively by interviewing three Belgian SMEs and quantitatively by analysing secondary data of 30 Belgian company websites and their vacancy job postings, to provide answers to these questions. The findings are analysed by applying a conceptual framework, which was created by the authors. The study’s findings summarise the presence of multiple individual language capabilities and highlight the lack and importance of institutionalising these in the SME. This step is vital to successfully access foreign networks and overcome liability of foreignness. Moreover, firm capabilities in relation to the SME’s industry are significant for the accurate implementation of a language strategy. Besides, the results show a crucial role of English in international business.

Background: The dramatic increase of the popularity of social media has affected in a large extent how SMEs reach and engage with their target customers to promote their products or services and to brand their firms. How SMEs incorporate social media for better business growth has gained huge attention from both academic and industrial sectors. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate the aspects that are incorporated by SMEs when implementing social media in order to gain knowledge how SMEs could incorporate those factors when implementing social media. Research questions: What are those aspects that SMEs are incorporating to implement social media? Methodology: This study adopts six semi-structured interviews with six case organizations to identify and evaluate the aspects that are incorporated by SMEs to implement social media in the context of Sweden. Three small size and three medium-size firms in Växjö, Sweden who use social media for business purposes have been selected. Conclusion: The findings of this research identified and evaluated several aspects that are incorporated by all SMEs to implement social media in the context of Sweden: decision making about platform(s) and their deploying; governance responsibility; value metrics; accessibility; risk management; online community followers growing; content creation and updating; incentive strategy; monitoring social media sites; comments utilizing for future development; message processing rules; customer feedback timelines and report creating and sharing. The result shows the new approach of social media implementation which brought by Culnan, McHugh, and Zubillaga (2010) can help the researchers to identify and evaluate the aspects that SMEs are incorporating to implement social media, and chose to acquire knowledge that they can take advantage of from those aspects to incorporate and reinforce their social media implementation. Equally by putting into practice these aspects SMEs foster their growth in a number of ways such as customer relations, external and internal communication and several other ways.

The increasingly significant role played by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship in national economies has attracted growing attention. Recent trends have increasingly emphasised the value of knowledge. The challenge within the 21st century is the importance of the productivity of service and knowledgeable workers, as well as strategic flexibility and innovation. It is suggested that high level of innovation, R&D and productivity are positively related. Technology-based SMEs are specifically selected as the object of this thesis since they exhibit most of the characteristics of the three terms, “SMEs”, “innovation” and “entrepreneurship”. SMEs may come across significant constraints because of their own limitations, such as financial constraints, human capital shortages, and weak market power. These constraints are even more serious for technology-based SMEs due to their industrial nature. As a consequence, technology-based SMEs tend to have a higher failure rate than non-tech SMEs and large firms. However, the benefits brought by them cannot be neglected. For example, the return of R&D on a social level is higher than the private level, which highlights the importance of technology-based SMEs for national development. Therefore, it motivates governments to increase support for technology-based SMEs. This thesis aims to examine the effectiveness of government policies on technology-based SMEs and entrepreneurship in Beijing, China. Some researchers have studied and examined the policies, but mainly focussed on the description of policy frameworks and policy dynamics. There is a lack of studies examining the effectiveness of policies from the perspective of entrepreneurs in this context. This thesis fills this gap. This thesis makes both a theoretical and methodological contribution to the entrepreneurship studies literature through the holistic case study approach. A mixed-method approach of document analysis, interview and a questionnaire are used to understand the interaction between policies and technology entrepreneurs. The key findings of this thesis are that policies have strong positive effects on the promotion of entrepreneurship and SMEs. But there are still some negative points when implementing policies, such as uneven filter criteria and supervision system between new and established firms.

Afin de faire face à la concurrence accrue dans leurs marchés, de plus en plus PMEs innovent dans des réseaux d'innovation collaboratifs (RICs). En effet, ces derniers leur permettent d'accéder à des connaissances complémentaires nécessaires pour mener à bien leurs projets innovants. La contribution d'une PME à un tel réseau nécessite une absorption des connaissances externes, apportées par les autres participants et éventuellement de connaissances externes au réseau constitué.L'objet de cette thèse est de construire un outil de maturité pour évaluer la capacité d'absorption des PMEs intégrées dans de tels contextes. Cette évaluation les aidera à contribuer efficacement au projet et favorisera ainsi le succès de l'innovation. Elle les guidera également vers les bonnes pratiques pour capitaliser sur leurs expériences dans des RICs et améliorer la performance de leurs propres organisations à la lumière des apprentissages issus de ce dernier.Une approche méthodologique mixte a été adoptée pour le développement de cet outil. Une première phase qualitative a permis d'identifier les pratiques d'absorption d'une PME dans un projet de co-innovation. Cette phase est principalement composée d'une revue de littérature approfondie, de 20 entretiens semi-directifs auprès de 13 PMEs dans les régions Rhône-Alpes en France et Yorkshire au Royaume-Uni et de deux demi-journées de travail avec des experts chercheurs et praticiens. Une seconde phase quantitative avait pour objectif d'évaluer la pertinence de ces pratiques pour chaque situation possible de participation d'une PME à un réseau d'innovation collaboratif. Dans ce sens, un questionnaire d'enquête a été d'abord testé auprès de 2 praticiens et 2 chercheurs, puis administré auprès de PMEs ayant opéré dans des contextes de réseaux similaires. Les données collectées ont été analysées suivant une approche PLS-SEM et ont permis de formuler, pour chaque pratique d'absorption, une équation de prédiction de sa pertinence en fonction du contexte de participation d'une PME à un réseau d'innovation collaboratif. Les pratiques issues de la phase qualitative et les équations déterminées suite à l'approche quantitative ont ensuite été opérationnalisées sous la forme d'un outil de grille de maturité. Ce dernier sera affiné itérativement au fur et à mesure de sa mise en œuvre avec des PMEs intégrées dans des RICs.Cette recherche comporte des contributions à plusieurs niveaux. D'un point de vue théorique, elle confirme la proéminence pour l'innovation du concept de capacité d'absorption, en le caractérisant pour le contexte d'une PME intégrée dans un RIC. D'un point de vue pratique, la mise en œuvre de cette caractérisation via un outil à l'usage de PMEs permet de favoriser le succès de leurs expériences dans ces réseaux, en les guidant vers les pratiques appropriées aux contextes de leurs participations à ces derniers. Enfin d'un point de vue méthodologique, l'adoption d'une démarche quantitative pour contextualiser une grille de maturité constitue une approche novatrice dans le champ de développement de tels outils d'amélioration de la performance. / In order to face the increased market competition, SMEs are joining collaborative innovation networks (CINs). In fact, these sturcutres enable them access to complementary knowledge that is necessary to conduct their innovation projects. The contribution of an SME to such a network requires an absorption of the knowledge brought by the other participants and eventually of knowledge external to the constituted network.The aim of this thesis is to develop a maturity tool to assess the absorptive capacity of SMEs operating in such contexts. This evaluation will help them contribute effectively to the project and foster the innovation success of this latter. It will also guide them towards the best practices to capitalize on their experiences within these networks and hence improve the performance of their own organizationsA mixed method has been adopted for the development of this tool. A first qualitative phase enabled the identification of absorption practices for an SME embedded in a CIN. This phase is mainly composed of an in-depth literature review, 20 semi-directive interviews with 13 SMEs in the Rhône-Alpes region of France and the Yorkshire region in the UK and two working sessions with expert researchers and practitioners. A second quantitative phase aimed at evaluating the relevance of these practices for each possible situation of an SME's participation in a CIN. To this end, a survey questionnaire was first tested with 2 practitioners and 2 researchers and then administered to a sample of SMEs who had operated in similar contexts. The collected data was analyzed according to a PLS-SEM approach and enabled formulating a prediction equation for each absorption practice, according to the context of the SME's participation within the network. The practices resulting from the qualitative phase combined with the formulas steming from the quantitative one were then operationalized through a maturity grid. The latter will be iteratively improved through successive applications with SMEs embedded in CINs.This thesis implies contributions at several levels. From a theoretical point of view, it confirms the prominence for innovation of the concept of absorptive capacity, through its characterization for the context of an SME embedded in a CIN. From a practical point of view, the implementation of this characterization through a tool for the use of SMEs helps them foster the success of their experiences within such networks. Finally, from a methodological point of view, the adoption of a quantitative approach to contextualize a maturity grid is a novel methodology in the development stream of such performance improvement tools.

This research aims at understanding how business networks influence the commercialization of emerging technologies. It focuses on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of nanotechnology in the UK and aims to identify what types of networks they use for commercialization. It also examines how different types of networks can explain success or otherwise in commercialization with respect to the position of the SME in the value chain and the type of resulting innovation. Various streams of literature including debates on SMEs and innovation, open innovation, the innovation systems literature, and the industrial networks approach are used to develop a conceptual framework that guides this research. Using a case study approach, 23 Nanotech SMEs in the UK are investigated. Secondary data on firms are gathered from various sources including company websites and the FAME database. Primary data are collected through 40 semi-structured interviews with SMEs’ senior managers and key informants. Data analysis is based upon thematic analysis. The findings present a typology of networks based on a combination of network structure and actor roles, including six network types: incumbent-oriented network with reactive SME, incumbent-oriented network with proactive SME, SME-oriented network, broker-oriented networks, hybrid networks and interrupted networks. The findings indicate that a reactive approach towards networking is less conducive to commercialization, regardless of the innovation type or value chain position. SMEs can proactively create incumbent-oriented, SME-oriented or broker-oriented networks to facilitate commercialization. Incumbent-oriented networks with proactive SMEs are conducive to commercialization of both nanomaterials and nano-intermediate products and can facilitate commercialization of moderately and highly radical nanotechnology. SME-oriented networks are also conducive to commercialization of moderately and highly radical nanotechnology, but have been used for commercialization of nano-enabled products. Broker-oriented networks can facilitate commercialization of technologies or products developed in the upstream part of the value chain and are more influential in the commercialization of moderately or highly radical nanotechnology. Some Nanotech SMEs are simultaneously involved in more than one network type, i.e. have hybrid networks, pursuing multiple strategies for commercialization. All SMEs with hybrid networks have broker-oriented networks in common and in some cases the broker-oriented network has caused formation of other network types. Finally, the findings show how interrupted networks pose the biggest challenge for commercialization. The thesis contributes to the debates on SMEs and innovation and the gap on how open innovation is implemented within the context of SMEs and emerging technologies. This research also informs SME managers' strategies and choices related to participation in business networks. It provides further insights for policy makers regarding the networking behaviour of SMEs and contribution of various network actors to commercialization and in this way assists with devising policies for encouraging and facilitating collaboration for commercialization.

La transmission des entreprises familiales d’une génération à l’autre est la principale difficulté à laquelle se heurtent les familles qui cherchent à assurer la pérennité de leur patrimoine. Il s’agit pourtant, pour ces organisations, d’un moment stratégique. La plupart des travaux consacrés à ce processus de succession intrafamiliale, se sont intéressés à des entreprises installées dans les pays anglo-saxons ou en Europe, et, dans une moindre mesure, en Asie. Les PME marocaines, familiales dans leur immense majorité, sont confrontées aujourd’hui à un phénomène de succession de grande ampleur, qui se transforme en enjeu national. Pourtant, les modèles de succession, élaborés à partir de la littérature existante, ne sont pas nécessairement en adéquation avec la culture nationale et le système familial dominant au Maroc, un système communautaire endogame (Todd, 1999), dont le fonctionnement est très différent de celui qui prévaut dans les sociétés anglo-saxonnes ou européennes. Cette recherche cherche à combler ce vide. A partir de neuf études de cas, construites sur la base de récits de vie de successeurs, elle élabore un ensemble de propositions, destiné à tenir compte des caractéristiques de ce système familial sur les dynamiques de succession, qu’il s’agisse du processus lui-même, de la gouvernance, de la gestion des émotions ou de la transmission de la propriété psychologique. Elle montre que l’autorité patriarcale, l’égalité entre frères et sœurs, et l’endogamie sont des dimensions critiques de la réussite du processus de succession. Cette recherche cherche à combler ce vide. A partir de neuf études de cas, construites sur la base de récits de vie de successeurs, elle élabore un ensemble de propositions, destiné à tenir compte des caractéristiques de ce système familial sur les dynamiques de succession, qu’il s’agisse du processus lui-même, de la gouvernance, de la gestion des émotions ou de la transmission de la propriété psychologique. Elle montre que l’autorité patriarcale, l’égalité entre frères et sœurs, et l’endogamie sont des dimensions critiques de la réussite du processus de succession. / Family firms’ transmission from one generation to the next is the main challenge families are facing as they intend to ensure the sustainability of their heritage. For such organisations, it is however a strategic turning point. Most of the research dedicated to successions within the family, deal with Anglo-Saxon or European companies, and to a lesser extend to Asian ones. Moroccan SMEs, most of which are family firms, are going through a large-scale succession phenomenon. Over there, this is becoming a national challenge. Nevertheless, the existing succession models, derived from mainstream literature, do not fit with the national culture and the Moroccan family system. This family system is communitarian and endogamous (Todd, 1999), and its dynamics are very different from the ones visible in Europe or in Anglo-Saxon countries. This research aims at filling this gap. Built upon nine case studies analysing successors’ life stories, it manages to define a number of proposals allowing to deal with the specific impacts of this family system during the succession process. The different steps of the succession process, the governance issues, the management of emotions and the transfer of psychological ownership are taken into account. It concludes that patriarchal authority, equality among siblings and endogamy are critical determinants of the succession process’ success.

BackgroundToday’s competitive market forces companies to focus on their core processes. As a result, the number of outsourcing arrangements has grown and especially transactional processes outsourcing, which is clearly evident in Sweden. The lack of expertise and resources that characterizes SMEs makes outsourcing of transactional processes many times a necessity. However, little attention has been given the possible internal control risks associated with outsourcing (Christ et al. 2015). Moreover, frameworks such as the COSO-framework has also neglected to provide guidelines as to how companies should handle outsourcing arrangements. Although the COSO-framework argues that it can be applied to all companies, no matter the size, organizational structure or the choices management makes (COSO 2013). AimThe aim of this study is to identify and analyze internal control risks within Swedish SMEs when outsourcing transactional processes. Moreover, the study will try to provide recommendations to the COSO-framework about how outsourcing arrangements should be handled in order to maintain an effective internal control. MethodThe study uses a qualitative method where a multiple cases study is conducted. The study consists of three case companies where a total of four participants were interviewed through semi-structured interviews, where all participants has a managerial position at their respective company. ConclusionThe findings within the study indicates that outsourcing transactional processes has made the case companies more effective. Moreover, the performance and relational risks identified within the case companies align with previous research where multiple risks were identified. The authors also highlights the possibility of a new risk when outsourcing transactional processes. Furthermore, the authors suggest that the COSO-framework should be modified such that the outsourcing company is a part of the control environment within companies.

Os administradores de pequenas e médias empresas (PME) buscam práticas de desenvolvimento de produtos e conhecimento que auxilie a permanência delas e o crescimento no mercado. Uma forma de incorporar práticas consagradas é através da sistematização do Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produto (PDP). A representação desse processo pode ser realizada por meio de modelos referenciais os quais incluem atividades, ferramentas, conceitos e melhores práticas. Apesar disso, no que se refere à estruturação do PDP, de um modo geral, as empresas não incorporaram facilmente essas práticas à sua realidade. Em decorrência desse fato, há a necessidade de um modelo de transição entre a prática atual e aquelas propostas pelos modelos de referência disponíveis na literatura. No caso das empresas do setor farmacêutico, essa realidade não é diferente. A maioria das empresas, principalmente pequenas e médias, não considera fácil a tarefa de entendimento e implantação de um modelo referencial para o PDP. Contribuindo com a resolução dessa problemática, esse trabalho objetiva a elaboração de uma proposta de intervenção em empresas farmacêuticas de pequeno e médio porte. Essa proposta apresenta etapas para guiar a implantação de um modelo referencial adaptado ao setor e à empresa. Para tal, a proposta desse trabalho incorporou as melhores práticas de intervenção encontradas na literatura, como aspectos concernentes à engenharia do método e ao PDP. Foram analisados o ambiente de aplicação dos mesmos, o contexto do setor farmacêutico brasileiro e a estrutura organizacional das empresas de pequeno e médio porte, através de revisão bibliográfica e estudos de caso. Um modelo preliminar de intervenção foi elaborado considerando esses aspectos e guiado pelas teorias de gestão da mudança e engenharia do método. O modelo foi aprimorado através da sua aplicação em uma empresa, através de pesquisa-ação. O modelo de intervenção resultante desse trabalho contempla as características de PME do setor para auxiliar como guia para a melhoria dos processos de desenvolvimento de produtos e apresenta os princípios norteadores do processo de intervenção contemplando ferramentas que podem ser utilizadas para a realização do mesmo, além dos passos e etapas a serem seguidas. / The small and medium enterprises (SME) managers search for best practices and knowledges that help growing on the competitive world. The product development process (PDP), systematization and organization importance are largely diffused. The reference models are the PDP representation and include activities, tools, concepts and best practices. Nevertheless, the corporations do not easily incorporate those practices on their routine to improve their PDP. Then, a transition model from the real practice to the proposed literature reference model is needed. The pharmaceutical companies’ reality is not different. The enterprise’s managers, especially small and medium ones, do not consider easy to understand and implement the reference models. This research considered the theory of Method Engineering dominium applied to the Organizational Engineering dominium to compose an Intervention Model for the Pharmaceutical SME’s PDP. The model incorporated the intervention’s best practices found in the literature. The method and PDP dominium was discussed. The review of Brazilian Small and Medium Pharmaceutical Industry and their enterprise’s organizational structure characterizes the environment of intervention. Case studies performed at a company with typical characteristics of the studied group complemented the information of literature review. Useful tools and practices for the Pharmaceutical PDP and Intervention were identified from literature. The consideration of Change Management and Method Engineering theory led to the elaboration of the Preliminary Intervention Model. This model was evaluated by its application in a medium-sized pharmaceutical organization by action-research. The researcher’s observation supported the model improvement. This improvement generated the Intervention Model. The Intervention Model considers the pharmaceutical small and medium enterprises characteristics and can guide to the Pharmaceutical PDP improvement. The Model presents the processes, practices, principles and tools for the intervention process.