The generation of attractive innovations is one of the most important and complex tasks companies undertake, the process of open innovation is being used to support this endeavour. SMEs often face difficulties applying and commercialising external sources’ technologies for their own purposes due to liability of smallness and related lack of capability of co-ordination. In particular, small and medium-sized system integrators of electronic consumer products (SIs) are (1) highly dependent on close collaboration with external organisations, (2) have to cope with turbulent technology markets, and have to manage (3) the continuous shortening of innovation cycles. These factors necessitate small and mediumsized SIs of electronic consumer products to increase their dynamic capability to innovate, which subsequently forms the basis for the SIs’ sustainable competitiveness. The effective embedding of the Purchasing Organisation (PO) into the innovation outside-in process can potentially become a major driver in improving the overall innovation process and company performance. However, given academic research does not provide sufficient insight concerning relevant Enabling Factors (EFs) and related drivers. Therefore, academics allude to a demand for further research in the field of early purchasing involvement in the innovation process. In addition, purchasing practitioners point to the low maturity of Purchasing Organisations with regard to securing innovations. To explore relevant Enabling Factors for purchasing integration into the innovation process, the qualitative study design was based on an embedded case study inquiry with multiple units of analysis. Data collection and analysis was realised through a sequential qualitative  quantitative mixedmethod approach. For this reason, interviews were conducted with 7 purchasing experts from the medium-sized German television set manufacturer Loewe. To obtain insights as to the generalisability of the findings, a purposive selected sample of 11 purchasing experts from other SIs with high dependency on innovation suppliers were interviewed via webbased questionnaires. The study identified: EF1: External Interconnectedness EF2: Preferred Customer status Process EF3: Management Commitment to the PO EF4: External Interconnectedness EF5: Early Integration into Product Planning EF6: Degree of Professionalisation of the PO EF7: Innovation Management System and EF8: Open-minded Relations based on Trust as a relevant Enabling Factor. Furthermore, the study suggests direct relations between the EFs and 32 drivers that are formative to the related Enabling Factors. Based on the study findings, 14 strategic measures were defined via focus group interviews. In this way, the study contributes to given academic knowledge in the field of early purchasing involvement into new product development processes (NPD). With regard to such new product development processes, this study suggests integrating the PO, as a third element, into the R&D and marketing interface.

With the advent of the internet and the development of Information and Communication technology, new reinvented forms of Trade Promotion Organizations have emerged. The globalization of today’s trading environment has forced economies to prioritize the development of the export competitiveness of their SMEs sector, as to be able to survive amidst the fierce global competition. The digital economy has created new means and channels of overcoming barriers of trade faced by SMEs due to their size and limited resources. To this end the International trade center has launched the Global Trade Point Network in 1993. The objective of this new electronic form of TPO is to assist firms in developing countries to explore business opportunities effectively by providing them with targeted market information and facilitating exporting procedures at a relatively low cost. With the expanding number of interconnected Trade Points, The GTPNet is rising to be the main global network for trade-related information streams. This study explored the extent of usefulness of these trade points in providing SMEs with real export opportunities as well as boosting their export competitiveness in Egypt, due to it being the one country with the highest number of operating trade points. The study used a mixed sequential methodology, combining both a semi structured interview based qualitative analysis followed by a questionnaire based large scale survey. This study was built around the theory of stages of internationalization, to reflect the fact that SMEs in the new evolving digital environment, are still in need of acquiring export market knowledge throughout the different stages of the internationalization process through secondary sources. Export market-knowledge as a firm resource boosts its competitive position and in turn to increased commitment to the export operation. On a theoretical level, a perceived usefulness construct for International trade points has been developed using exploratory factor analysis that paves the way to empirical tests of the different recommendations in the export promotion literature. The domain incorporates a new factor pertinent to the unique nature of International trade points, as being dependent on an electronic matching system supported by a global network, the proposed definition and usefulness of International trade points provides a conceptual framework in an area where little prior research has been conducted. Based on the findings, Egyptian Small and Medium Enterprises did not appreciate this new developed service due to their lack of e-readiness and resilience to engage in this process. From a practical perspective, the study has supported the findings of previous empirical studies, that pointed out that Export promotion Organizations are not targeting the real potential disadvantaged firms as committed exporters with high export intensity were the main recipients of successful trading opportunities through International Trade Points, as well as the ones that perceived these governmental sponsored organizations to be more useful. Moreover, the study revealed the shortcomings in the performance of International trade points, which are to a great extent attributable to their inefficient governmental organizational and managerial structure.

The risks and opportunities that climate change presents for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been largely overlooked by previous research (Schaefer et al. 2011, Williams & Schaefer 2013). The subsequent lack of knowledge in this field makes a meaningful, profitable and sustainable engagement of SMEs with climate change challenging. Current research has difficulty explaining (1) why SMEs rarely engage with climate change (2) how climate change is currently communicated to SMEs and (3) how SMEs overcome the knowledge gap between business practice and climate change science (cf. Hoffman 2004, 2006, Hart 2007, Goodall 2008). In this thesis I critically examine 31 SMEs which engage with climate change knowledges, 5 Innovation-Support-Organizations (ISOs) which communicate climate change knowledges and 2 business-led communities of practice that discuss climate change-related business practices. Over a three-year period, I explore why and how business leaders approach the knowledge gap between climate change science and business practice, drawing on a variety of ethnographic research methods: (1) in-depth semi-structured and open interviews; (2) participant observations; (3) practitioner's workshops; and (4) an online survey. My research demonstrates that the participating ISOs communicate climate change in an overly simplistic way. The participating ISOs focus on persuading business leaders to engage with climate change. The participating business leaders who hear this persuasive message are already willing to engage with climate change. Their motivations to engage are lay-knowledge-dependent, derived from personal values, space and place identity. What the participating business leaders require is practical advice on how to mitigate the impact of, and adapt to, climate change, and they therefore try to overcome the limitations of current climate change communication through forming and joining communities of practice. By doing this, they can make sense of climate change in specialist niche communities and benefit from social belief systems. To enhance the number of SMEs engaging with climate change, I recommend that the participating ISOs target the personal values of business leaders and actively use these specialist niche communities niches within which the participating business leaders develop business practice to learn about climate change-related business practices themselves. Overall, my PhD shows that to create meaningful, profitable and sustainable engagement with climate change, business leaders and ISOs, as well as governments and society, need to address their "confusion and anxiety about the goals, ambitions and destinies [they] foresee" for themselves (Hulme 2013: 298).

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 s’intéresse aux croyances, représentations et facteurs qui façonnent l’intention de croissance du dirigeant de PME. Produire de la connaissance sur ces éléments est essentiel. A un niveau social, l’intention de croissance constitue un enjeu dans une période marquée simultanément par le chômage et le manque d’attirance des dirigeants pour la croissance. A un niveau académique, la connaissance des micro-fondations de la croissance demeure méconnue et à renforcer (Wright et Stigliani, 2012). L’enquête qualitative est constituée de 32 entretiens individuels, complétée par 2 entretiens collectifs focalisés et des données recueillies lors des salons majeurs de la PME. Les résultats mettent d’abord en évidence la construction cognitive du phénomène de croissance, puis soulignent la nature distincte des croyances qui façonnent l’intention de croissance et ses deux formes de négation identifiées : l’intention de non-croissance et la non-intention de croissance. Des propositions concrètes sont avancées pour encourager l’intention de croissance du dirigeant. / This thesis focuses on the beliefs, representations and factors shaping SMEs owners’ growth intention. Produce knowledge on these elements is crucial. At a social level, growth intention is an issue in a period marked simultaneously by unemployment and lack of attraction of entrepreneurs for growth. At an academic level, knowledge of the micro-foundations of growth remains unknown and need further strengthening (Stigliani and Wright, 2012). The qualitative survey consists of 32 individual interviews, supplemented by 2 focus group interviews and data collected during major exhibitions of SMEs. First results highlight the cognitive construction of growth phenomenon and emphasize the distinct nature of the beliefs that shape growth intention and its two forms of denial identified: intention of no-growth and no-intention of growth. Concrete proposals are put forward to encourage SMEs owners’ growth intention.