Depuis une trentaine d'années, en même temps que l'accélération de la mondialisation, on assiste au Sud comme au Nord à l'affirmation de l'espace local comme espace de référence pertinent pour l'action et la réflexion économiques. Et cette affirmation s'accompagne de l'émergence d'une autre approche du développement, approche territorialisée aux termes de laquelle le développement est le fait d'une multiplicité d'acteurs organisés en réseaux - formels et informels - et entretenant entre eux des relations intenses et économiquement fécondes. La question que nous aborderons dans ce rapport porte sur la relation entre PME et territoire - au sens .local du mot - et les implications de cette relation en matière de développement des régions. / Since around thirty years, at the same time as the acceleration of the globalization, we are witnessing in the South as in the North to the affirmation of the local space as the relevant reference space for the economic action and reflection. And this assertion is accompanied by the emergence of another approach of the development: territorialized approach under which development is the fact a multiplicity of actors organized in networks - formal and informal- and maintaining between the them intense and economically fertile relationships. The question we address in this report focuses on the relationship between SMEs and territory - at the local sense of the word - and the implications of this relationship in terms of regional development

D. Tech. (Business, Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences): Vaal University of Technology / Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the stronghold of economies and societies worldwide. In Zimbabwe, as in any other country, there is a realisation that SMEs are innovative, flexible and require low startup capital. There is an increased interest in pursuing SMEs as a poverty reduction strategy and as a roadmap to higher living standards. SMEs in Zimbabwe are divided into two sectors, namely the service and the manufacturing sector. SME manufacturers encompass almost every facet of the local economy, such as food processing, toiletry production, the garment, leather and rubber industry, metal fabrication, furniture manufacturing, construction and art. Most research that has been done on the influence of employee perception of equity (EPE), organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) on organisational commitment (OC) and turnover intention (ITS) has been on large organisations and little attention has been paid to SMEs. Studies on employee perception of equity and organisational citizenship behaviour has not filtered down to SMEs in developing countries. The primary objective of the study is to investigate the influence of OCB, EPE and OC on ITS in Zimbabwe’s SME sector. It also sought to ascertain the kind of relationships between OCB and OC, EPE with OC, OCB with ITS, EPE with ITS and finally OC with ITS. This study sought to determine whether there are any group differences with regard to SMEs employees perceptions on OCB, EPE, OC and ITS according to gender, age and industry type. A quantitative research method was used. Structured questionnaires were distributed to SMEs in five major cities. The data were collected from SME employees. The findings of this study show that there is a significantly positive influence of OCB on OC in the Zimbabwean SMEs. There is a significant strong positive influence of EPE on OC. There is also significant positive relationship between employees’ OCBs and their OC in Zimbabwe’s SME sector. There is a strong positive significant relationship of EPE with ITS and there is a strong positive relationship between employees OCBs and employees’ ITS in Zimbabwean SMEs. Finally, the results reveal that gender, marital status and industry type of the respondent influence OCBs, EPE, OC and their ITS in the Zimbabwean SMEs. Given that today’s business environments for SMEs are characterised by high levels of competition, lack of finance and uncertainty, it is recommended that SME managers should adopt good and proper management styles so that they can make good decisions. Scanning the environment is also necessary for competitive advantage not only for SMEs but also for large firms.

The aim of this study is to compare implementation, impact and sustainability of educational projects in small and medium enterprises which are funded by the European Social Fund. The results of the analysis should give us an answer to the question whether the financial support is used effectively and contributes to the fulfilment of its objectives or the potential of these funds remains untapped. The theoretical part deals with the current situation analysis of training and development of employees in SMEs, different methods of measuring the effectiveness of company training as well as the opportunities of training promotion in SMEs with support of the ESF. The practical part is focused on comparing the implementation of educational projects funded by the Operational Programme Prague -- Adaptability and Operational Programme Human Resources and Employment in chosen SMEs. These companies are compared with enterprises that fund their educational programmes with their own resources and with respect to differences resulting from their size measured by number of employees. This comparison enables us to assess the effectiveness of the use of public funds in this area.

The future survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is inextricably linked to their implementation of e-commerce systems. The lack of e-commerce strategies among SME business owners has contributed to a low level of e-commerce adoption by SMEs. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that Nigerian SME business owners used to implement e-commerce systems. The population consisted of retail SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria, that have functional e-commerce systems. The conceptual framework supporting the study was dynamic capabilities framework. Data for the study were derived from semistructured interviews of 4 SME business owners/managers and documentation from the case companies. Data analysis entailed coding of the interview transcripts and analysis of documentary data to identify themes. Member checking and triangulation ensured the credibility of the study. The main themes that emerged from data analysis include service delivery strategies, dynamic marketing strategies, and learning and adaptation. The implications for social change include the potential to contribute to increased wealth creation opportunities for the business owners, their employees, and the local communities in Nigeria.

Critical success factors that contribute to project success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received insufficient attention in research. Guided by the goal-setting conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the human resource management (HRM) strategies used by owners of SMEs to achieve project success. Five owners of SMEs in St. Lucia participated in the research by contributing their experiences in using HRM strategies to achieve project success. Data were collected from SME owners using semistructured interviews, and from observations and analysis of company records. Data were manually analyzed using Yin's 5 phases. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the data obtained from the interviews, observations, and company records: (a) financial rewards, (b) team meetings and briefings, (c) training and staff enhancement, (d) retention and loyalty, and (e) work-life balance. The HRM strategies used by the participants to achieve project success have implications for social change because project success can lead to the sustainability of SMEs, thereby creating employment and improving the quality of life for citizens who benefit from the successful infrastructural and social projects that owners of SMEs undertake.

Work-life balance is a dominant discourse in contemporary Western society. It has been built on a language of large organizations, hence has not been widely considered in relation to the small-medium enterprise sector. As a consequence, scant research has been conducted on the experiences of immigrant entrepreneurs and work-life balance within the small-medium enterprise sector in New Zealand, a country largely populated with migrants and small businesses which account for 96 per cent of the total enterprises. This study aims to fill this gap by firstly exploring the interpretations of the concept of work-life balance by Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs and, secondly, the main challenges they face in achieving work-life balance. This is done by drawing on literatures including those on work-life balance, small-medium enterprises, and immigrant entrepreneurship theories. Primary research was conducted using a critical interpretive approach where the researcher is an insider to the study. This philosophical and methodological approach makes it possible to give a minority group a voice to effect social change and gain further research attention. Fifteen Chinese business owners, chosen from a variety of industries within the Auckland region, participated in this study. A qualitative methodological technique and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data for the case study on these entrepreneurs. The results indicate that the majority do not enjoy a sense of work-life balance because they take on filial obligations important for their own culture. They need to work hard to generate financial profit for the benefit of family. About half of them work more than 60 hours per week and three works longer than 70 hours weekly. The motivation for them to work in this way is to provide their family with desirable housing and to enable their children to meet higher education goals. This study challenges the applicability of the work-life balance discourse among the immigrant entrepreneurs who perceive the concept differently based on their cultural values. The results emphasise the need for business case studies from Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs and research attention on contemporary human resource topics to be given to minority groups.

<p>This thesis applies the dynamic capabilities framework to identify and examine the dynamic capabilities creating sustainable competitive advantage in the context of a developing economy. The attempt to explain sustainable competitive advantage by reacting to environmental changes has at all times been a highly discussed topic for research. The globalized and unstable environment often found in developing areas increases the need for more dynamic models when analyzing how to gain competitive advantage. To meet this demand, the dynamic capability framework introduces a very promising effort to better understand superior enterprise performance over time.</p><p> </p><p>This thesis intends to increase the understanding of the role of dynamic capabilities and analyze the knowledge of successful entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises effectively can outperform competition in the unstable South African environment. More specific, the focus is mainly on strategic decisions and the empirical study consists of qualitative case studies of four successful entrepreneurs. This data is collected through semi-structured interviews in Cape Town. The strategic decisions are first analyzed within each case – applying selected parts of an existing framework – and thereafter a cross-sectional analysis is done in order to find both the similarities and differences between entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that all entrepreneurs in the analysis have the characteristics and skills to create dynamic capabilities within the process of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring opportunities. Furthermore, three main factors – maintaining a consistent long-term vision, placing the customer need in focus, and using the competence and resources wisely – are identified as features, which made these four entrepreneurs successful and helped them sustain the superior firm performance over time. In addition, these three factors must be adaptable to rapid and unexpected changes. Overall the findings suggest that when analyzing competitive advantage, the sensing, shaping and reconfiguration of opportunities must be seen as constant.  Lastly, the complete process containing different fundamental classes of dynamic capabilities should not be separated.</p><p> </p><p>The study demonstrates the relevance of the dynamic capabilities approach in identifying competitive advantage, which is based on the firm’s dynamic capabilities. The fact that small and medium enterprises are important for the economic growth in developing countries makes this study an important field for research.</p>

This thesis applies the dynamic capabilities framework to identify and examine the dynamic capabilities creating sustainable competitive advantage in the context of a developing economy. The attempt to explain sustainable competitive advantage by reacting to environmental changes has at all times been a highly discussed topic for research. The globalized and unstable environment often found in developing areas increases the need for more dynamic models when analyzing how to gain competitive advantage. To meet this demand, the dynamic capability framework introduces a very promising effort to better understand superior enterprise performance over time.   This thesis intends to increase the understanding of the role of dynamic capabilities and analyze the knowledge of successful entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises effectively can outperform competition in the unstable South African environment. More specific, the focus is mainly on strategic decisions and the empirical study consists of qualitative case studies of four successful entrepreneurs. This data is collected through semi-structured interviews in Cape Town. The strategic decisions are first analyzed within each case – applying selected parts of an existing framework – and thereafter a cross-sectional analysis is done in order to find both the similarities and differences between entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that all entrepreneurs in the analysis have the characteristics and skills to create dynamic capabilities within the process of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring opportunities. Furthermore, three main factors – maintaining a consistent long-term vision, placing the customer need in focus, and using the competence and resources wisely – are identified as features, which made these four entrepreneurs successful and helped them sustain the superior firm performance over time. In addition, these three factors must be adaptable to rapid and unexpected changes. Overall the findings suggest that when analyzing competitive advantage, the sensing, shaping and reconfiguration of opportunities must be seen as constant.  Lastly, the complete process containing different fundamental classes of dynamic capabilities should not be separated.   The study demonstrates the relevance of the dynamic capabilities approach in identifying competitive advantage, which is based on the firm’s dynamic capabilities. The fact that small and medium enterprises are important for the economic growth in developing countries makes this study an important field for research.

The aim of this research is two-folded. On the one hand, it attempts to assist employers of Catalan micro-retailers in designing, implementing and developing their Social Media strategy as a complementary channel of communication. On the other hand, it attempts to contribute to the research community with a better understanding on both which building block of the micro-retailer¿s Business Model is more influenced by the customer level of interaction by means of the Social Media and how a transformation can be observed in the micro-retailers¿ Business Models as a result of the Social Media implementation. The research question to be answered in this paper is how the transformation of the activity system of the micro-retailers¿ Business Model would allow the emergence of a Participatory Business Model by means of Social Media. To carry out this research the Participatory Action Research methodology was used, whose contribution has two results: the one is more practitioner oriented and the other is more academic. The incipient results of the research showed a scarce transformation of Catalan microretailer¿s business model as a consequence of the implementation of social media. However, it is significant enough to be considered as more than just a simple adoption of an alternative channel of communication. One of the main contributions is related to how customer influences the activity system of the micro-retailer¿s business model beyond four levels of customer interaction (communication, interaction, participation and collaboration) by means of social media. On the one hand, the activity system of a business model is referred to the eight building blocks of Osterwalder, Pigneur and Tucci (2005) research that includes customer segment, customer relationship, distribution channel, capabilities, partner, value configuration, value proposition, profit and cost. On the other hand, the four defined levels of customer interaction are based on the literature of group collaboration systems. The results showed that not all the building blocks forming the business model are influenced by consumer interaction. The only building blocks influenced by an initial communication level in the current social media strategy implementation stage of our sample (five micro-retailers) are the following: customer segment, customer relationship, distribution channel, value proposition and cost. This incipient stage of transformation can be justified by a lack of effort made due to the small size of the business and a lack of team working inside the companies, easily adapting to changes. It can also be justified by the fact it was carried out by the micro-retailers only during a short period of time (14 month). Another contribution of the paper shows that Social Media transformation drives a BM innovation according to the following mediator elements: (1) the dynamic capabilities, (2) the ability of learning, (3) the dedicated effort, (4) the implementation time and (5) the level of customer participation.

Due to the globalization trend, the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a common practice in the last decades. The New Product Development (NPD) is recognized as innovative value creating effort that has become important in the high-risk, globally competitive environment, and small firms seem to be more effective in utilizing product design and manufacturing involvement, while large firms standardize and formalize the product development practices. Thus, the main focus of this research study is the NPD capabilities and the internationalization process. The main research question focuses on whether and how the NPD capabilities influence the internationalization process of the companies in the health industry. A qualitative study is carried out to answer the research question by interviewing three Swedish companies in the health industry. The empirical findings and analysis conclude that the NPD capabilities and the internationalization process go along with each other and they are both dependant. There is a positive relationship between the NPD capabilities and the internationalization process, but it is not yet defined which one has a greater influence.