Innovation of new technology and its adoption contributes not only increasing the businessvalues but as well facilities the business growth and agility to an organization. Cloudcomputing provides hiring, renting and provisioning exclusive use of IT services as ondemand,pay-per-use basis via Internet. This emergence technology has shifted the competitiveIT-landscapes by providing a new computational platform for effective, creativeand deliverable business value model. However, many small organizations are reluctantto deploy their IT platform to Cloud due to the diverse adoption barriers cloud suffers.Despite this the promising attributes CC offers such as of IT operational cost reduction,accessibility and instant deployment makes it a vital embarking point to adopt this technologyespecially small and medium base enterprises (SME). Since SMEs are exploringthe possibilities of adopting this technology, it is imperative for them to critically evaluatethe feasibility of this technology for their specific businesses. This paper aims to investigatecloud adoption factors which might pursue pertaining or embarking cloud integrationamong SME’s. An on line web based survey instrument using questionnaires was used toconduct the study. The conclusive findings of the study suggests that Cloud computinghas the potential to transform the existing business operation, increase the business valuesand agility, customer relationship also promote sustainable competitive business edgefor SMEs while reducing the IT capital expenditure investment cost. The findings willassist IT managers/Chief Technology and /or Information Officers(CTO/CIO) representsthe SMEs for considering a possible adoption approach to cloud services.

The Circular Economy is on the top of the corporate agenda and provokes the interest of the academic community, governments, and policymakers. The Circular Economy paradigm is seen as a better solution and more sustainable alternative to the current linear system. To realize the benefit of the CE, new thinking and new business models are required. So far, there is limited progress has been achieved regarding the implementation of the Circular Economy. Therefore, scholars strive to understand the phenomena, providing conceptualizations, new strategies, and new business models, lacking empirical testing. The purpose- this study is mainly conducted to test empirically a set of influencing factors that include drivers which stimulate SMEs to implement Circular Business Models and the barriers that prevent or complicate the implementation process. Methodology- in order to fulfill the research objective, qualitative research with a multiple-case study approach is employed, focusing on three Swedish SMEs that operate in three different sectors. Findings- the outcome empirically confirmed that organizational drivers related to leadership and organizational culture, resource availability including technology and knowledge, financial factors, product and process development, society, environment, and stakeholder pressure, geographical proximity, entrepreneurship, and bran strengthening are seen as driving and facilitating factors to implement Circular business model. While, the lack of supportive regulation and policies, consumer behaviors related to single-use culture, the nature of the product and material, and the presence of incompatibility and monopoly in the supply chain are observed as major barriers.

We conceptualize the new phenomenon of the Fractional Chief Information Officer (CIO) as a part-time executive who usually works for more than one primarily small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) and develop promising avenues for future research on Fractional CIOs. We conduct an empirical study by drawing on semi-structured interviews with 40 individuals from 10 different countries who occupy a Fractional CIO role. We derive a definition for the Fractional CIO, distinguish it from other forms of employment, and compare it with existing research on CIO roles. Further, we find four salient engagement types of Fractional CIOs offering value for SMEs in various situations: Strategic IT management, Restructuring, Rapid scaling, and Hands-on support. The results reveal similarities with existing CIO roles as well as novel insights concerning the different engagement types. Lastly, we propose a research agenda for the Fractional CIO field, based on four research themes derived from existing CIO research and insights from the interviews.

Electromagnetic transient and dynamic modeling and simulation studies are presented for a StatCom-SMES compensator in power systems. The transient study aims to better understand the transient process and interaction between a high power/high voltage SMES coil and its power electronics interface, dc-dc chopper. The chopper is used to attach the SMES coil to a StatCom. Following the transient study, the integration of a StatCom with SMES was explored to demonstrate the effectiveness of the combined compensator in damping power oscillations. The transient simulation package PSCAD/EMTDC has been used to perform the integrated modeling and simulation studies. A state of the art review of SMES technology was conducted. Its applications in power systems were discussed chronologically. The cost effective and feasible applications of this technology were identified. Incorporation of a SMES coil into an existing StatCom controller is one of the feasible applications, which can provide improved StatCom operation, and therefore much more flexible and controllable power system operation. The SMES coil with the following unique design characteristics of 50MW (96 MW peak), 100 MJ, 24 kV interface has been used in this study. As a consequence of the high power/ high voltage interface, special care needs to be taken with overvoltages that can stress the insulation of the coil. This requires an investigation of transient overvoltages through a detailed modeling of SMES and its power electronics interface. The electrical model for the SMES coil was developed based on geometrical dimensions of the coil. The interaction between the SMES coil and its power electronics interface (dc-dc chopper for the integration to StatCom) was modeled and simulated to identify transient overvoltages. Transient suppression schemes were developed to reduce these overvoltages. Among these are MOV implementation, surge capacitors, different configurations of the dc-dc chopper. The integration of the SMES coil to a StatCom controller was developed, and its dynamic behavior in damping oscillations following a three-phase fault was investigated through a number of simulation case studies. The results showed that the addition of energy storage to a StatCom controller can improve the StatCom-alone operation and can possibly reduce the MVA rating requirement for the StatCom operating alone. The effective location selection of a StatCom-SMES controller in a generic power system is also discussed. / Ph. D.

Background: The rare ability to manage simultaneous high growth and entrepreneurship is pivotal for a thriving business. Be leveraging intention, ability and opportunity the post growth actions of Swedish high growth SMEs facilitate effective and profitable operations. Sweden, the country with the largest share of high growth SMEs in EU, offers an ideal setting for gaining a comprehensive understanding of these operations. Purpose: The study aims to examine the impact of the pre-growth factors: intention, ability and opportunity on post high growth actions taken by Swedish high growth SMEs and identify differences and similarities regarding the use of these strategies between the firms in the sample. Method: The study is a multiple case study using semi structured interviews with six Swedish high growth SMEs. The study uses an interpretivism perspective with an abductive research approach and empirical data is analyzed through a mechanisms data analysis. Conclusion: The study concludes that firms pre-growth factors significantly impact their post high growth actions. Risk-prone firms with strong growth intentions view high growth as essential for organizational improvements, while more risk-averse firms view organizational improvements as a prerequisite for high growth. Firms with strong growth intentions employ strategic exit to align their pre-growth factors, especially when lacking investment. Firms with more passive growth intentions consider strategic exit as a last resort. Developing support functions is closely tied to firm size and ability while investments into internal competency is crucial for firms in fast-changing markets where opportunity is vital. Keywords: High growth SMEs, Pre-growth factors, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Strategic exit, Human resource management

[ES] En Ecuador la creación de empresas o el emprendimiento ha sido objetivo de políticas de desarrollo de empleo y mejora de la competitividad. Organizaciones internacionales que generan lineamientos de políticas económicas como la Comisión Europea, la OCDE, la CEPAL o el Banco Mundial muestran estudios detallados sobre impactos de acciones de emprendimiento en los programas públicos; sin embargo, para Ecuador, los análisis de esos programas no siempre están claras. Estos no consideran, o desconocen, datos existentes respecto a la rotación empresarial, su naturaleza, el gasto en comunicación y su impacto en la eficiencia. Para la creación de empresas, los emprendedores consideran entre otros desafíos, la conservación de su negocio, realizando todo lo posible para su adaptación a los entornos competitivos de la mejor forma posible. Las investigaciones sobre supervivencia empresarial indican que un poco más del 50% de estas empresas no llegará a cumplir los cinco años de vida. Antes de los tres años aparecen los riesgos más altos de cierres prematuros. El estado del arte sobre los factores que afectan a la creación de empresas y su desempeño es amplio en el campo de la economía, y también en el del emprendimiento como campo específico de la disciplina de la gestión de negocios. Distintas aportaciones se han realizado en estos campos de investigación estudiando la incidencia que tienen los elementos del capital humano del emprendedor, la empresa recién creada, y sus condiciones del entorno. Este trabajo, además de encontrar la influencia de los factores internos de la empresa, se enfoca principalmente en el análisis del gasto en la publicidad por medio de su comunicación en medios masivos y no tradicionales que garanticen la supervivencia de empresas creadas en Ecuador en los períodos del 2007 al 2017. La participación de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (pymes) en la producción y el empleo de una economía, en contraste con las altas tasas de mortalidad que estas presentan, revela la pertinencia de observar las posibles causas de cierres prematuros, relacionándola con variables internas de la empresa como su tamaño inicial, su rentabilidad y endeudamiento, además de algunas con su ambiente microeconómico, como el crecimiento promedio del sector económico donde compite. / [EN] In Ecuador the creation of companies or own businesses has been the focus of employment growth policies and improvement of competitiveness rules. International organizations that Issue economic policies recommendations such as the European Commission, the OECD, ECLAC, or the World Bank report favorably of the empowerment of entrepreneurship in public programs; however, for Ecuador, the analytical basis of these programs is not always clear. Often, the programs do not consider or are unaware of the existing information on business turnover, its nature, communication spending, and its impact on efficiency. Other challenges, the conservation of their business, doing everything possible to adapt to the competitive environment in the best possible way. Research on business survival indicates that over more than 50% of these companies did not reach the age of five. The literature on the factors that affect the creation of new companies and their performance is quite abundant in the field of industrial economics, and also in that of entrepreneurship as a specific field of the discipline of business management. Several of the contributions that have been made in these research fields have analyzed the impact of the characteristics of the entrepreneur 's human capital, of the newly created company, as well as the conditions of the environment. This work, in addition to finding the influence of the internal factors of the company, focuses mainly on the analysis of advertising spending through its communication in mass and non- traditions media that guarantee the survival of companies created in Ecuador in 2007 to 2017 periods. The significant participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the production and employment of an economy, in contrast to the high mortality, rated that these present reveals the relevance of analyzing the possible causes of premature closings. These causes can be related to the internal variables of the company, such as its initial size, profitability, and indebtedness and some of its microeconomics setting, such as the average growth of the economic sectors where it competes. / [CA] En Equador la creació d'empreses ha segut objectiu de polítiques de creixement de l'ocupació i de la millora de la competitivitat. Organitzacions internacionals que emeten recomanacions de política econòmica com la Comissió Europea, l'OCDE, la CEPAL o el Banc Mundial informen favorablement sobre la potenciació de la iniciativa emprenedora en els programes públics; no obstant, per a Equador, les bases analítiques d'eixos programes no sempre estan clares. En freqüència els programes no consideren o desconeixen, la informació existent sobre rotació empresarial, la seua naturalesa, la despesa en comunicació i el seu impacte en l'eficiència. A partir de la creació de l'empresa, els emprenedors inicien, entre altres desafius, la conservació del seu negoci, realitzant tot lo possible per a la seua adaptació a l'entorn competitiu de la millor forma possible. Les investigacions sobre supervivència empresarial indiquen que una miqueta més del 50% d'estes empreses no aplegarà a complir els cinc anys de vida. És més, abans dels tres anys apareixen els més alts riscs de tancaments prematurs. La literatura sobre els factors que afecten a la creació de noves empreses i al seu exerciti és prou abundant en el camp de l'economia industrial, i també en el del emprenedoria com a camp específic de la disciplina de la gestió de negocis. Moltes de les aportacions que s'han realitzat en estos camps d'investigació han analitzat la incidència que les característiques del capital humà del emprenedor, de l'empresa recent creada, aixina com de les condicions de l'entorn. Este treball, a més de trobar la influència dels factors interns de l'empresa, s'enfoca principalment en l'anàlisi de la despesa en la publicitat a través de la seua comunicació en mitjans massius i no tradicionals que garanteixin la supervivència d'empreses creades en Ecuador en els períodes del 2007 al 2017. L'important participació de les menudes i mitjanes empreses (pimes) en la producció i l'ocupació d'una economia, en contrast en les altes taxes de mortalitat que estes presenten, revela la pertinència d'analitzar les possibles causes dels seus tancaments prematurs. Dites causes es poden relacionar en variables internes de l'empresa, com la seua mida inicial, la seua rendibilitat i endeutament, i algunes en el seu entorn, com el creiximent mitjà del sector econòmic on competeix. / Salas Luzuriaga, EL. (2020). Análisis del gasto en comunicación publicitaria como determinante de la supervivencia de las PYMES del Ecuador [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/153076

Yes / Service small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are typically SMEs that operate in the service industry. In emerging economies, service SMEs can benefit from integrating technology and marketing activities to compete globally and drive growth. Further, service SMEs can compete with larger businesses with technology-driven marketing. Technology can differentiate an SME and create a unique value proposition, attracting customers and setting it apart. Social media advertising and email campaigns are often more cost-effective than traditional marketing channels such as print and television. The authors included a total of 32 articles published between the years 2013 and 2023 for in-depth analysis to address the issue under investigation. Findings indicated several effective digital marketing strategies to integrate technology and marketing activities among service SMEs in emerging economies, such as personalized marketing options, direct customer engagement, 24/7 availability options, and brand-building capabilities.

The success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is critical to Europe’s economic health, however, our understanding of SME strategic behaviour is predominantly based on large enterprise theory. This study uses the Miles and Snow (1978) typology to examine the strategic behaviour of 150 UK SMEs. It also investigates whether strategy type, environment adaptation and organisational performance can be predicted by several contingency factors: organisation size, age, industry type, and management style. The findings confirm that the typology is not well suited for categorising SMEs; organisations that rarely develop through all three domains of the adaptive cycle to be sufficiently eligible for categorisation by one of the four pure archetypes. However, similar patterns of strategic behaviour were observed for certain dimensions, largely independent of the industry type or size of the SME, suggesting that an optimal configuration of mixed strategies may exist. Furthermore, Reactors, or those with mixed strategies, were found to perform similarly as Analysers and better than Defenders. The study also found that by fitting nominal logistic regression models to organisation age and size data, it was possible to predict strategic behaviour and environment adaptation, and to a lesser degree, financial performance. Surprisingly, the industry type and management style data were observed to exert minimal influence on the outcome variables. Finally, this research provides important insight relating to the validity concerns of the Miles and Snow typology and categorisation method employed, and demonstrates how these can be avoided.

The purpose of this study was to generalize the findings about market orientation, learning orientation, innovation and performance to the textile and apparel context in South Korea, specifically to SMEs, and, in addition, to investigate the role of informal relationships in SMEs within the presence of these other variables. This study postulates that market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation are related to performance. This study conducted a survey in South Korea, using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, to determine the relationship of various management related variables with the SMEs' performance. Of the 200 questionnaires that were distributed, 183 were returned and178 were completed and usable for the research. Results of this study showed that components of market orientation and learning orientation were both significantly related to innovation and some components along with innovation were significantly related to South Korean apparel SMEs' performance. The proposed relationship of these factors to performance could be generalized to SMEs in the apparel industry, within the context of South Korea. / Master of Science

Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) has branched out from its application origins of load leveling, in the early 1970s, to include power quality for utility, industrial, commercial and military applications. It has also shown promise as a power supply for pulsed loads such as electric guns and electromagnetic aircraft launchers (EMAL) as well as for vital loads when power distribution systems are temporarily down. These new applications demand more efficient and compact high performance power electronics. A 250 kW Power Conditioning System (PCS), consisting of a voltage source converter (VSC) and bi-directional two-quadrant DC/DC converter (chopper), was developed at the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) under an ONR funded program. The project was to develop advanced power electronic techniques for SMES Naval applications. This thesis focuses on system analysis and development of a demonstration test plan to illustrate the SMES systems' ability to be multitasked for implementation on naval ships. The demonstration focuses on three applications; power quality, pulsed power and vital loads. An integrated system controller, based on an Altera programmable logic device, was developed to coordinate charge/discharge transitions. The system controller integrated the chopper and VSC controller, configured applicable loads, and dictated sequencing of events during mode transitions. Initial tests with a SMES coil resulted in problems during mode transitions. These problems caused uncontrollable transients and caused protection to trigger and processors to shut down. Accurate models of both the Chopper and VSC were developed and an analysis of these mode transition transients was conducted. Solutions were proposed, simulated and implemented in hardware. Successful operation of the system was achieved and verified with both a low temperature superconductor here at CPES and a high temperature superconductor at The Naval Research Lab. / Master of Science