Micro, Small and Medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) represent 99.9% of businesses in the UK and they face significant challenges with regards to start-up, survival and growth. Their ability to deal with these challenges is assisted, in some cases, by the provision of business support funded by the public sector. Unfortunately, despite the volume of such businesses, there remains a significant lack of qualitative data into the MSME sector, and their use of university led business support. This thesis examined the business support agenda, the support needs of MSMEs, the role of universities in the provision of business support, and the needs of public funding bodies, with regards to economic sustainability and growth in the West Midlands. The choice to focus on the West Midlands region was largely pragmatic; the researcher has existing relationships with the small business community and University networks within the region allowing for a comparable study of stakeholders with similar environmental, political and economical challenges. Whilst the findings are therefore in relation to the West Midlands region, they have been compared to secondary data and theoretical frameworks in order to propose a contribution, which is applicable to a wider audience. The thesis adopted an exploratory, interpretivist methodology with an emphasis on the practical importance of the research results. Through an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, surveys were used to collect data from MSME business owners, followed by in-depth interviews with university staff in order to produce institutional case studies. The surveys with MSME owners identified a need for support that was free, local, face-to-face and delivered by an organisation with a good reputation for delivering business support. The survey data also indicated confusion amongst MSME owners about the availability of support from universities, as well as questions around the quality of support provided by universities and its impact. The interviews, and case studies, revealed a significant level of interest, and a feeling of responsibility, from universities towards supporting the MSME community. However there were consistent challenges around funding, sustainability, resources, flexibility of delivery, and the longevity of any enterprise strategy. The research makes a useful contribution to knowledge through the development of multiple case studies and the development of a conceptual framework for a sustainable system of university led, MSME business support. The model, and analysis, considers the detailed experiences, challenges and opportunities from the stakeholders and proposed a sustainable support system. This contribution to literature provides a unique perspective for both practical application and for the research community to utilise further.

Cette thèse explore la dimension financière de la performance export. Notre réflexion s'articule autour de deux études. La première, à visée exploratoire, présente dans un modèle théorique syncrétique général mais également spécifique à la filière vin, l'ensemble des déterminants (financiers et non financiers) de la performance export des PME. Nous y avons également testé l'existence de ces déterminants sur la performance export (ventes export et intensité export) d'un échantillon d'entreprises exportatrices de la filière vin française. A partir de cette étude préalable, nous avons pu, dans une étude approfondie, et grâce à une transposition des théories financières au contexte de l'exportation, élaborer un modèle reliant la performance export à plusieurs déterminants financiers (besoins financiers, structure financière et contrainte financière) de manière globale, mais aussi en fonction du niveau de développement export des PME. La performance export a été évaluée non seulement à travers l'intensité export, mais également par une mesure innovante de performance financière. Ce modèle a ensuite été testé sur un échantillon de 311 PME exportatrices. Les analyses confirment l'existence de besoins financiers spécifiques. La structure financière ainsi que le niveau de contrainte financière évoluent en fonction du niveau de performance export alors qu'une situation de fragilité financière généralisée est constatée quel que soit le niveau de performance export. / This thesis explores the financial dimension of export performance, for which we noticed insufficient theoretical developments. Our research consists in two studies. The first one is exploratory and presents a syncretic theoretical model of SMEs export performance determinants (both financial and non financial) in general and in the wine industry. In this study, we also test this model on the export performance (export sales and export intensity) of a sample of French wine companies. Then, by adapting financial theories to exporting, we build a model relating export performance to several financial determinants (financial needs, financial structure and financial constraint) first globally and then according to the export development of SMEs. Export performance is assessed not only through export intensity but also through an innovative financial performance measure. This model has been tested on a sample of 311 exporting SMEs. Analyses confirm the presence of specific financial needs. The financial structure as well as financial constraints evolve according to the level of export performance while a general financial fragility is observed whatever the level of export performance is.

Furniture production in Sweden still exists on a comparably small scale. The majority, or more than 99 percent, of all furniture producers in Sweden are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with less than 250 employees. Despite their size, these firms are, to a large extent, involved in export. This is fully in line with the accelerating trend of internationalization found among firms of all sizes. However, research focused on internationalization has been primarily concentrated on larger firms, which is unfortunate considering that the vast majority of all firms within the European Union can be described as SMEs. The purpose of this research is, therefore, to extend our understanding of internationalization and performance among small and medium sized firms by explaining export involvement and performance among small and medium sized furniture producers in Sweden. This research is completed within the theoretical framework of the modified PSE model, which consists of four components: perception of export barriers, strategy competence, export involvement, and performance. A quantitative survey was conducted among 324 firms, yielding a response rate of 56 percent. The empirical data was analyzed using the methods of multiple linear regression, logistic regression, and ordinal regression. The result suggests that strategy competence, measured in terms of relatedness and market knowledge, explains the main export mode and performance among exporting SMEs. In addition, main export mode seems to explain performance. The main findings of this research are visualized through a new model, SCEMPER. Another finding is that barriers originating with the owner/key decision-maker of a firm seem to prevent firms from becoming involved in export. In addition, attitude towards export and the age of the firm appear to be important determinants of export involvement and performance among SMEs.

The field of study on coopetition has been given a growing emphasis in the recent years by researchers and business practice. Coopetition is a term integrating the notions of cooperation and competition happening as an intensive simultaneous process where actors seek to leverage the value created by other companies in their business network. These complex and paradoxical interactions are acknowledged as needing further research about the effects of coopetition and the different types of coopetitive interactions involved when firms coopete. The business network highlighted in the current study concerned the Swedish Cleantech industry. It offers an interesting ground as Sweden has been investing substantial amounts in environmental protection technologies. Moreover, SMEs in Sweden play an increasingly significant role in the national economy by their rapid technological development. Nonetheless, these SMEs battle to sustain opportunities and are facing many challenges such as lack of key resources, a limited market presence, and liabilities of newness. Thereby, collaboration is essential among Cleantech SMEs in order to overcome these challenges and sustain competitive advantages. This study sets out to fill this gap through the following objectives: by describing the cooperative and competitive activities happening of SMEs inside the Swedish Cleantech industry, by understanding how SMEs select their cooperative relationship with their competitors inside their business network, and by analyzing how coopetition can be implemented by SMEs as a strategy to develop sustainable competitive advantage. This research was conducted through a qualitative case study and semi-structured interviews of seven Swedish SMEs operating in the Cleantech industry. The findings underline that coopetition can be used as a matching strategy between the internal and the external environment of the firm. Further, before coopetition can lead to sustained competitive advantages, companies first need to develop societal advantages in the form of economic value, social value, and natural value.

AFRIKAANS: Die doel van rekeningkundige verslagdoening is om inligting te verskaf oor die finansiële stand, prestasie en veranderinge in die finansiële stand van ’n onderneming wat nuttig is vir ’n verskeidenheid van gebruikers om rasionele ekonomiese besluite te kan neem. Die probleem wat in hierdie studie aangespreek word, is die onvermoë van rekeningkundige inligting in finansiële state om aan die spesifieke behoeftes van die gebruikers van klein maatskappy finansiële state in Suid-Afrika te voldoen. Die studie behels ’n omvattende meningsopname van die behoeftes van gebruikers van klein maatskappy finansiële state in Suid-Afrika, ten einde aanbevelings vir die verbetering van die huidige rekeningkundige verslagdoeningstelsel ten opsigte van klein maatskappye te maak. Die empiriese ondersoek wat uitgevoer is, het die spesifieke inligtingsbehoeftes van die verskillende gebruikersgroepe van klein maatskappy finansiële state in Suid-Afrika bepaal deur gebruik te maak van vraelyste. Die data wat ingesamel is, vir doeleindes van die studie, het bestaan uit 434 voltooide vraelyste deur geregistreerde klein praktisyns, 212 voltooide vraelyste deur eienaars/bestuur van privaatmaatskappye, 5 voltooide vraelyste deur finansiële instellings, asook ’n onderhoud wat met die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens (SAID) gevoer is. Hierdie studie het getoon dat huidige rekeningkundige verslagdoeningsvereistes vir privaatmaatskappye nie aan die behoeftes van die gebruikers van hierdie maatskappye se finansiële state in Suid-Afrika voldoen nie. Die vereistes van die rekeningkundige standaard, IFRS for SMEs, wat gedurende 2007 in Suid-Afrika aanvaar is en op klein maatskappye van toepassing is, voldoen nie aan die inligtingsbehoeftes van Suid-Afrikaanse gebruikers nie. Gesien in die lig van die belangrike bydrae wat klein maatskappye tot die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie lewer, is die rekeningkundige verslagdoening van hierdie maatskappye noodwendig belangrik. Gebruikers van klein maatskappy finansiële state vereis dat huidige rekeningkundige verslagdoeningsvereistes verminder en vereenvoudig word, ten einde aan hulle spesifieke inligtingsbehoeftes te voldoen en om te verseker dat finansiële state betekenisvolle, relevante en betroubare inligting vir die gebruikers daarvan voorsien. ENGLISH: The objective of financial reporting is to provide information in regards with the financial position, performance and changes in the financial position of an entity that is useful for various users, enabling the users to form rational economical decisions. The problem that has been addressed in this study pertains to the inability of accounting information, produced in financial statements, to address specific needs of users of small company’s financial statements in South Africa. The study includes a comprehensive opinion survey of needs for users of small company’s financial statements in South Africa, in order to make recommendations for the improvement of the current accounting reporting standards for small companies. The empirical research performed within this study included the assessment of specific information needs for various user groups of small company’s financial statements in South Africa, by use of questionnaires. The data gathered for the purpose of this study consisted of 434 completed questionnaires by registered small practitioners, 212 completed questionnaires by owners of private companies, 5 completed questionnaires by financial institutions, as well as an interview with the South-African Revenue Services (SARS). The results of the study showed that the current reporting standards for private companies do not satisfy the needs of the users of these small company’s financial statements in South Africa. The requirements of the accounting standard, IFRS for SMEs, that was accepted in South Africa during 2007, applicable on small companies, does not satisfy the information needs of the South-African users. In the light that small companies make up an integral part of the South-African economy, the accounting reporting for these small companies is inevitably important. Users of small company’s financial statements require that the current reporting standards be reduced and simplified in order to address the users’ specific information needs and to ensure that the information in financial statements is meaningful, relevant and reliable for the users. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Accounting / unrestricted

Design-driven innovation, focused on the innovation of product meanings, provides a new perspective to better understand the contribution of design to innovation. Additionally, it enables new opportunities for value creation. At small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Swedish wood products industry there is a need for such new value creation in order to remain competitive. However, design-driven innovation is not yet common in this context. Furthermore, there is little research on the innovation of product meanings focused on value creation. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore value creation through design-driven innovation, in the context of SMEs in the Swedish wood products industry. This research addresses what value might be expected from design-driven innovation, as well as what enables and hinders this value creation.  To address the aim, three studies have been conducted which are described in four appended papers. The studies consist of one systematic literature review and two case studies. The findings demonstrate that design-driven innovation contributes to value creation by focusing on product meanings, which intentionally addresses both tangible and intangible needs and therefore increases the perceived value of products. This research identified five facets of design-driven innovation which provide a structure to discuss what enables and hinders value creation. These are: (1) understanding new product meanings, (2) knowledge generation, (3) actors and collaborations, (4) capabilities, and (5) process. The facets can be seen as the origin of both enablers and barriers to value creation through design-driven innovation, depending on how they are addressed. Moreover, this research suggests that whether or not value is created is further influenced by the SMEs, their networks and the context in which they operate.

This thesis examines asset pricing and capital structure of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three essays. Firm finance and asset pricing are areas of voluminous research in the literature. Most of this research observes firms trading on public stock exchanges. In my thesis, I examine privately-owned SMEs where relatively little research has been done. I use a proprietary database of over 16,000 SMEs that sold from 1990 to 2010, reporting market valuations and accounting information. My findings contribute to the literature on asset pricing and capital structure of private firms that benefits researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and analysts. The first essay examines whether the size effect in returns found in traded stocks is present in SMEs. The size-effect literature generally observes listed firms and finds that smaller firms tend to have higher returns. Using the SME database, I document the size effect in private firms using market valuations. I also find the size premium is concentrated in smaller SMEs. In firms smaller than $2.5 million in market value, the size effect is nearly 13 times stronger compared to larger firms. The second essay explores the effects of investor sentiment and marketwide liquidity in SME returns. Prior studies find these factors have effects in returns of listed firms. I find that SME returns are negatively related to sentiment and liquidity. As sentiment or liquidity rise, SME returns tend to fall. This study also finds that the effects of sentiment and liquidity are concentrated in smaller firms and weaken or disappear in larger SMEs. Apparently investors in smaller SMEs are more influenced by sentiment and liquidity. I also find that sentiment and liquidity have conditional effects on the magnitude of the size premium. The third and final essay examines SME capital structure. Firm capital structure has been one of the most contentious issues in finance theory for over 50 years. Relatively little research examines private firm finance and no previous studies to my knowledge have examined SME capital structure using market-based leverage ratios. I examine relations between leverage and capital structure determinants suggested by theory using market-based and book-value leverage ratios. I find support for both the trade-off and pecking-order theories. This study also finds that SMEs tend to use short-term debt much more than long-term debt and firms appear to practice maturity matching where managers tend to match borrowing terms with asset life. Evidence also suggests that capital structure determinants suggested by theory have greater explanatory power for market-based leverage ratios than for ratios based on book values.

This thesis is focused on the comparison of immovable property measurement according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) and Czech accounting legislation. In addition, the thesis also deals with the law requirements regarding income tax related to this type of assets. Introductory chapter discusses the definition and classification of immovable property according to mentioned regulations. The main part of the thesis describes, compares using tables and particularly assesses measurement of immovable property at the time of recognition and after the recognition. The last two chapters are supplemented with a number of practical examples in order to illustrate the application of the theoretical knowledge.

Background – A firm that achieves organizational ambidexterity is managing the balancing act of refining existing capabilities while also discovering new opportunities in the marketplace. It has shown that the achievement of organizational ambidexterity will lead to better perfor- mance but also long-term survival. The challenge that comes with achieving organizational ambidexterity is present within all firms regardless of size. Yet, extant literature has focused on the research of larger firms. The characteristics may differ significantly between a larger enter- prise and a small-to-medium-sized enterprise. For instance, the amount of available resources appears to differ relative to firm size. As a result, it is reasonable to assume that the way organ- izational ambidexterity is achieved may also differ depending on the size of the firm. It is argued that management control systems play an important role with respect to organiza- tional ambidexterity. Further, these control systems may be viewed as a package of controls which through occurring dynamic tensions, provide the complexity needed for a firm to be ambidextrous. Yet, the role of these interrelated control systems and how they enable ambidex- terity is understudied among SMEs. Purpose – This thesis aims to explore management control systems as a package and its ena- bling role in achieving organizational ambidexterity within SMEs. Method – The empirical data was collected by interviewing members of the top management team within three different SMEs. The empirics were gathered through semi-structured inter- views and then analyzed in relation to reviewed theory within the package approach of man- agement control systems, by conducting a thematic analysis. Findings – The findings from this thesis suggest that SMEs need to find ways to allocate their finite resources in order to meet the current strategic challenge at hand. SMEs have a firm spe- cific focus on either refinement of existing capabilities or discovery of new opportunities de- pending on the current state of the marketplace. While both focuses may be present simultane- ously, the SMEs still need to prioritize one side over the other due to resource limitations. Hence, the findings suggest a hybrid between contextual- and sequential ambidexterity as the most appropriate narrative for the studied SMEs. Management control systems as a package fits into this narrative as tensions occur between the systems which triggers ambidextrous activities. A well-integrated package approach work as a navigation system and may thus facilitate the achievement of current strategic challenges. The finalized framework in this thesis comple- ments existing theory by suggesting two different scenarios occurring within SMEs. In order for SMEs to achieve organizational ambidexterity, a shift between these two scenarios occurs in the long run.

En el Perú, el sector Textil y Confecciones genera entre 350 y 400 mil empleos directos, representa el 1.9% del PBI y poco más del 10% del de la manufactura. Las PYMES se caracterizan por ser formadas mediante negocios familiares, bajos niveles de inversión en nuevas tecnologías y recursos financieros limitados. Esta realidad ha hecho que las PYMES tengan un retraso en comparación a las grandes empresas en la implementación del Lean Manufacturing. Empresas manufactureras del sector textil que presentan problemas con baja productividad, uso en exceso del espacio físico, movimientos innecesarios y transporte, utilizan las herramientas del Lean Manufacturing y distribución de planta para la solución de esos problemas. Muchos de los problemas encontrados en las empresas están relacionadas con la desorganización de los procesos, el flujo de materiales y el layout. Por ello, las empresas se han visto en la necesidad de aplicar diversas herramientas estratégicas que les ayuden a incrementar la eficiencia de sus procesos y ser más competitivas dentro de su mercado. Entre las herramientas estratégicas se encuentra el Lean Manufacturing. Diversos autores concluyen que las distribuciones de planta que tienen las pymes no son las correctas para el incremento de productividad, sin embargo, los modelos de mejora que presentan carecen de información sobre cómo se debe crear paso a paso un nuevo layout de la empresa. Debido a ello, este proyecto detalla los pasos que las empresas pymes pueden seguir en búsqueda de un modelo de distribución de planta bajo la herramienta SLP. / In Peru, the Textile sector generates between 350 and 400 thousand direct jobs, representing 1.9% of Gross domestic product (GDP) and just over 10% of manufacturing. SMEs are characterized by being formed by family businesses, low levels of investment in new technologies and limited financial resources. This context has made SMEs are delayed compared to large companies in implementing Lean Manufacturing. Manufacturing textile companies that have problems with low productivity, excessive use of physical space, unnecessary movement and transport, use the tools of Lean Manufacturing and distribution plant for solving these problems. Many of the problems found in companies are related to the disorganization of processes, material flow and layout. Therefore, companies have seen the need to apply different strategic tools to help them increase the efficiency of their processes and become more competitive in their market. Among the strategic tools is the Lean Manufacturing. Several authors conclude that the plant distributions that SMEs have are not correct for increased productivity, however, the improvement models presenting lack information on how to create step by step a new layout of the company. Because of this, this project details the steps that SMEs can follow in search for a plant distribution model under the SLP tool. / Trabajo de Suficiencia Profesional