A l’heure de préoccupations RSE croissantes, les entreprises développent de plus en plus des pratiques socialement responsables qui renvoient aux volets économique, social, environnemental, de gouvernance et des parties prenantes externes ; elles mènent donc un changement organisationnel responsable. Le changement organisationnel responsable est l’intégration progressive de (nouvelles) pratiques RSE et la définition d’outils pour piloter la performance globale. Un enjeu important consiste à (bien) communiquer sur les axes de progrès de l’entreprise en direction de ses multiples parties prenantes.Si la RSE intéresse de nombreux chercheurs, les travaux portant sur le changement organisationnel responsable et son pilotage dans le contexte de la PME sont moins abondants.Cette thèse se propose de répondre aux questions « comment se fait le changement organisationnel responsable dans les PME ? » et « quel outil opérationnel définir pour rendre compte des pratiques socialement responsables développées au sein des PME ? ». Une recherche-intervention dans une PME pendant six mois a permis de construire un processus de changement organisationnel responsable et un outil de performance globale. / At the time of growing CSR concerns, firms develop more socially responsible practices that refer to the economic, social, environmental aspects, governance and external stakeholders; they are leading a responsible organizational change. Responsible organizational change is the gradual integration of (new) CSR practices and the definition of tools to drive global performance. An important stake is to (well) communicate on the areas of progress in the direction of multiple stakeholders.If many researchers are interested in CSR, the work on responsible organizational change and its management in the context of SME are less abundant.This thesis proposes to answer the questions "how is responsible organizational change in SMEs? and "which operational tool should be defined to account for socially responsible practices developed within SMEs ? ". Six-month SME intervention research helped to build a responsible organizational change process and a global performance tool.

The thesis deals with evaluation of czech entrepreneurial environment from the point of view of french small and middle sized companies doing business in selected sectors by author which entered or tried to enter to the market. It analyzes the development of companies on the czech market from the first contacts to the final establishment. On the basis of experience of these companies the thesis evaluates strong and weak points of the czech entrepreneurial environment. It gives recommendations to french companies which think of entering the czech market and don't know what to expect from it.

Syfte: Den svenska byggbranschen tampas med EU:s högsta byggkostnader, låg effektivitet och växande utländsk konkurrens. Anläggningsbranschen är särskilt drabbad. Små- och medelstora företag (SME-företag) har av begränsade möjligheter att implementera metoder för att effektivisera produktionen och kan därför behöva stöd med detta. 5S är en metod för att organisera en arbetsplats eller en produktionslinje. Syftet med 5S är att med små medel minimera icke värdeskapande aktiviteter. Med en välorganiserad och funktionell arbetsplats ges stora möjligheter till ökad produktivitet. Rapportens mål har varit att undersöka hur ett traditionellt styrt byggprojekt förändras då 5S implementeras i produktionen. Metod: För att uppfylla målet har 5S implementerats i ett anläggningsprojekt. För att kartlägga resultaten och samla in empiri har en strukturerad utfrågning och flera intervjuer genomförts med den berörda personalen och fältobservationer har genomförts. Dessutom har en litteraturstudie genomförts för att kartlägga forskningsfronten och vilka problem som eventuellt kan uppstå. Resultat: Resultatet visade att 5S är en enkel och kraftfull metod för att åstadkomma ökad effektivitet och ordning på en byggarbetsplats. Genom att anpassa 5S efter anläggningsbranschens förutsättningar och genom att motivera personalen bidrog 5S till att arbetsplatsens produktivitet och arbetsmiljö förbättrades. Konsekvenser: Konsekvenserna av rapporten är att entreprenadföretaget kommer att tillämpa 5S i sin produktion. Rekommendationerna är att företaget bör utse en 5S-ansvarig i varje arbetslag, kontinuerligt hålla 5S-möten i produktionen samt implementera 5S i ett projekt åt gången då alla anläggningsprojekt har mer eller mindre unika förutsättningar. Begränsningar: Arbetet avgränsades till att behandla 5S i ett relativt småskaligt projekt i ett SME-företag verksamt inom anläggningsbranschen. Resultatet är troligtvis unikt för den typ av byggprojekt som behandlats då arbetet varit beroende av ett antal individers engagemang och förståelse. Nyckelord: 5S, Lean, SME-företag, implementeringsproblematik, anläggningsbranschen. / Purpose: The Swedish construction industry faces issues such as having the highest construction costs in the EU, experiencing low efficiency and facing growing foreign competition. The civil engineering industry is particularly affected. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have limited possibilities to implement methods to improve efficiency and may therefore need support. 5S is a method of organizing a workplace or a production line. The purpose of 5S is to minimise non value creating activities by using small means of resources. With a well organised and functional workplace, possibilities are provided for increased productivity. The objective of the thesis has been to analyse how a traditionally managed civil engineering project alters when 5S is implemented in the production. Method: To fulfil the objective of the thesis, 5S has been implemented in a civil engineering project. To survey the results, a questionnaire and several interviews have been conducted with the project staff involved and field observations have been made to collect empirical data. In addition, a literature study has been conducted to map the existing research on the subject and to find which problems may arise during implementation. Findings: The result showed that 5S is a simple and powerful method for achieving increased efficiency and order at a construction site. By adapting 5S to the conditions of the civil engineering industry and by motivating staff, 5S contributed to improving the workplace's productivity and working environment. Implications: The implications of the thesis is that the civil engineering company will practice 5S in its production. The recommendations are that the company should appoint a 5S manager in each work team, continuously hold 5S meetings in production and implement 5S in one project at a time as all civil engineering projects have more or less unique conditions. Limitations: The thesis was delimited to treating 5S in a relatively small-scale project in a SME company within in the civil engineering industry. The result is probably unique to the type of construction projects that was analysed as it was dependent on the involvement and understanding of certain individuals. Keywords: 5S, Lean, SME-companies, implementation issues, civil engineering industry.

Dans un environnement économique encore fragilisé par la Grande Récession, les PME apparaissent comme un moteur essentiel de l’activité et de l’emploi. Dans cette thèse, j’examine les déterminants et les conséquences des contraintes financières des PME afin d’identifier les formes de financement bancaire les mieux adaptées à leurs situations. Le premier chapitre analyse les effets des modèles d’activité bancaire sur le financement des PME et montre que les banques de trading augmentent les contraintes de crédit de court terme ainsi que les coûts de financement. Surtout, l’externalité négative du trading sur la disponibilité du crédit de court terme est encore plus forte pour les banques fortement capitalisées et dépendantes des produits dérivés. Le deuxième chapitre porte sur l’effet bénéfique de la relation bancaire pour les PME. Nous montrons que les prêteurs relationnels pratiquent des taux plus élevés en période de croissance et des taux plus bas en période de crise. Cependant, en incluant les entreprises monobancaires dans notre analyse, nous constatons que ce mécanisme assurantiel dépend de la capacité des entreprises à diversifier leurs emprunts auprès de plusieurs banques. Enfin, le troisième chapitre se focalise sur les effets réels des contraintes financières. Mes résultats mettent en lumière l’importance capitale du financement de court terme pour l’investissement des PME à travers le canal du besoin en fonds de roulement. Les entreprises qui ont des opportunités d’investissement ne peuvent pas les saisir car les contraintes de crédit de trésorerie les obligent à allouer davantage de cash-flow au financement du besoin en fonds de roulement. / Representing a clear driver for growth and employment, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have gained considerable attention in the aftermath of the Great Recession. In this thesis, I both examine the determinants and consequences of SMEs financial constraints in order to identify the most appropriate types of bank financing for their situations. The first chapter analyzes the effects of trading bank business models on SME finance and shows that trading banks increase both short term credit constraints and funding costs. Importantly, the negative impact of trading-banks on short term credit availability is even stronger for banks with higher capital and derivatives.The second chapter deals with the beneficial effect of relationship lending for SMEs. Following the literature that has investigated the countercyclical effect of relationship lending on interest rates, we show that relationship lenders charge higher rates in good times and lower rates in bad times. However, we include single-banked firms in the scope and find that this insurance mechanism depends on the firm ability to diversify its borrowing.The third chapter focuses on the real effects of financial constraints. While the literature examining the effects of financial constraints on firms’ investment has traditionally ignored loan maturity, my results emphasize the importance of short-term finance for SMEs through the working capital channel. The real effect of short term financial constraints arises when firms with opportunities to invest may be blocked from doing so because rationing may force them to allocate additional cash-flow to finance their working capital needs.

In an increasingly transparent and rapidly changing market customer demands needs to be satisfied in a more customized approach, while the rate of change in the business sector continues to increase. The relationship between technology and competition has been strengthened where technology represents great opportunities to achieve and maintain competitive advantages. Correct investment calculations can be crucial for enterprises, where unsuccessful investments within internal elements can lead to critical consequences. Despite the large investment required to implement an ERP system and the long implementation time, few enterprises remain within the budget and time frame. SME are exposed to greater financial risks where access to knowledge and resources are limited. The study aims to investigate the hidden costs that may exist when implementing an ERP system, which has been achieved using a qualitative method. Through interviews with enterprises and system suppliers, primary data has been collected and analyzed based upon the theoretical framework. The study results in the factors of precision, education and external integration as important aspects to consider when implementing ERP system.

Small- to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in a dynamic economy through job creation, poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic development in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how SME leaders in Lagos, Nigeria, adopted information and communication technology (ICT) as a business strategy to increase profitability and compete globally. Organizational leaders have adopted ICT so that their organizations can become more efficient, effective, innovative, and globally competitive. This study involved 4 SMEs that had successfully implemented ICT. The participants included 5 SME leaders from each of the SMEs. The data collection method included in-person semistructured interviews of participants and review of existing company data. Data were analyzed using inductive data analysis, which included member checking to ensure trustworthiness of interpretations and occurred until theoretical saturation had occurred. The technology acceptance model (TAM), which specifies the relationship between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward computer use, and intention to use technology, was applied as a framework to explain the Nigerian SME's ICT adoption strategies. Four major themes emerged from the data analysis: ICT adoption factors, ICT roles and benefits, role of government, and SME success factors. The findings of this study may help SME leaders and government leaders address many of the factors inhibiting the adoption of ICT in SMEs. The findings of this study may positively affect social change by ensuring that SMEs are successful and able to create jobs, which in turn may help to alleviate poverty and promote socioeconomic development through adoption of ICT.

The inability of small and medium enterprises to access microloans from microfinance banks is a major concern in business growth and development in Nigeria. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore strategies for accessing microloans from microfinance banks by owners of small and medium enterprises for business growth and survival. Using the conceptual framework on social capital theory, I selected 20 small and medium enterprises owners who have accessed microloans from microfinance banks and have operated their businesses beyond 5 years with significant growth were interviewed using face-to-face semistructured interviews. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and reviews of company documents. The use of member checking strengthened the trustworthiness of the interpretation of the participants' responses. A phenomenological approach was used for the qualitative interview with data analysis using a descriptive method. Nine themes emerged from this study: Obtaining a saving account before accessing microloans, group members serving as collateral, business social networks, business sustainability strategies, historical financial health, maintaining loan repayment deadlines, archiving business documents, use of competent guarantors, and strength and weakness analyses. The findings of the study may contribute to positive social change to create awareness among SMEs leaders in federal and state government, and individuals on how to gain access to microloans, thereby improving profitability, generating employment, reducing poverty, and enhancing standards of living among SME owners in Nigeria.

Ce travail de recherche se situe dans le champ des facteurs explicatifs de l’engagement RSE des PME. Plus particulièrement, l’objectif principal de la recherche est de comprendre les conditions d’émergence d’un engagement sociétal global, entendu comme multi-parties prenantes, dans les PME tunisiennes. Dans le but de dépasser les limites des recherches antérieures et atteindre cet objectif, la recherche mobilise le concept de logique d’action initialement utilisé dans le domaine de la sociologie et réfutant la séparation entre l’acteur et la situation d’action. Pour répondre à la question de recherche principale posée par la thèse « Quelles logiques d’action des dirigeants peuvent mener à un engagement RSE global en PME? », une enquête quantitative a été menée pour dresser une cartographie des types d’engagements RSE des PME tunisiennes avant de procéder à une étude qualitative pour caractériser et décrire l’évolution des logiques d’actions de huit dirigeants de PME, identifiés à des degrés d’engagement RSE différents. Les conclusions de la recherche tendent à révéler que la logique d’action hédoniste peut être propice à un engagement RSE. D’autres logiques d’action peuvent, quant à elles, correspondre à une appropriation globale de la RSE dans le cas où l’acteur présente des prédispositions à l’engagement envers les PP (logique d’action entrepreneuriale). La PME, dirigée selon une logique d’action managériale, nécessite quant à elle, des efforts à fournir en termes de cadres institutionnel et réglementaire pour la mener vers un engagement significatif. / Trying to explore the factors related to CSR commitment in SME, the purpose of this research is to understand the conditions underlying the emergence of a global social commitment in Tunisian SMEs, defined as multi-stakeholder commitment. In order to overcome the limitations of previous studies and reach this purpose, the present research uses the concept of logic of action originally used in sociology and refuting the separation between the actor and the action situation. To answer the thesis main research question "Which manager’s logics of action can lead to a global CSR commitment within SMEs?”, a quantitative survey was first conducted to establish a map related to the types of CSR commitments of Tunisian SMEs. Second, a qualitative study was realized to characterize and describe the evolution of the logic of action of eight SME managers presenting different levels of CSR engagement. The research findings tend to show that the hedonistic logic of action can be conducive to a global CSR commitment. Other logic of action can correspond to a global appropriation of CSR if the manager has specific predisposition (entrepreneurial logic of action). The SME, headed by a managerial logic of action, requires meanwhile, efforts in terms of institutional and regulatory frameworks in order to reach a significant CSR engagement.

Quality Management (QM) in one of its many forms has become an integral part of contemporary business. Most research in this field was conducted within the context of large business. This study is one of the first to examine QM for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). This article used the action research methodology to explore how a SME located in the southeastern United States implemented a climate of quality. QM implementation in this company was executed in two separate interventions. In the first intervention, the factors of top management commitment, collaboration, data-centered decision making and process focus were implemented using tactics that resulted in an 80% decrease in defects and substantial cost savings. In the second intervention a training system was developed that resulted in a 60% reduction in defects over the measured time period. The study provides an illustrative example of how small businesses can implement a QM climate, and the potential benefits of such climate for the organization.

La thèse traite de l’évaluation de la capacité d’innovation des petites et moyennes entreprises, quand elles intègrent l’innovation dans leur volonté de croissance. L’objectif est de comprendre les facteurs pouvant expliquer le lien positif entre l’innovation et la performance pour les PME. Ce lien complexe repose sur une multitude de facteurs, relatifs à la production et la valorisation de l’innovation. Nous avons focalisé notre attention sur l’analyse du management de l’innovation au travers de l’évaluation de la capacité d’innovation des PME.Il s’agit de comprendre en quoi le management de l’innovation, au travers de l’évaluation, peut favoriser la performance d’innovation en PME et, par conséquent, la performance des PME. Pour traiter ces questions, nous explorons, théoriquement et empiriquement, les facteurs constitutifs de la capacité d’innovation des PME, permettant d’expliquer la performance d’innovation des PME. L’exploration tient compte du champ de la PME, conformément aux recommandations liées à la contextualisation de l’innovation. L’influence du champ PME sur l’analyse de la capacité d’innovation et son évaluation est étudiée.Les résultats de la thèse apportent plusieurs éléments nouveaux de connaissance. Nous proposons, d’abord, une définition conceptuelle et opérationnelle de la capacité d’innovation des PME. Elle est construite autour de dimension statique et dynamique de la capacité d’innovation des PME. Cette définition améliore la compréhension des mécanismes facilitant la production et la valorisation de l’innovation au sein des PME.Les résultats éclairent, ensuite, le lien direct existant entre plusieurs dimensions de la capacité d’innovation des PME et la performance d’innovation des PME. Nous participons au débat sur l’intérêt du management de l’innovation pour les PME. Nous montrons que l’évaluation de l’activité d’innovation peut être réalisée autour de plusieurs dimensions de la capacité d’innovation. Ces dimensions de la capacité d’innovation ont un impact, positif ou négatif, sur la performance d’innovation des PME. L’impact est directement lié à la capacité des PME à gérer et mobiliser efficacement ces dimensions de la capacité d’innovation en fonction de son contexte propre. Il est, aussi, lié à la capacité de la PME à assurer le dynamisme de sa capacité d’innovation. Le dynamisme est assuré face aux évolutions de la PME elle-même et de son environnement pour assurer le maintien de la capacité d’innovation de la PME. Le management de l’innovation et l’évaluation de la capacité d’innovation des PME sont, donc, bénéfiques pour les PME. Ils permettent aux PME d’optimiser leur processus d’innovation et d’assurer leur évolution. Nous prolongeons, ainsi, les travaux sur le management de l’innovation et sur le management de l’innovation en PME.La thèse propose, enfin, une analyse du champ PME, de son influence sur la capacité d’innovation et de son évaluation. Nous concluons sur l’effet des spécificités des PME sur l’activité d’innovation, sur la construction de la capacité d’innovation et son évaluation. L’effet des spécificités des PME influence les dimensions de la capacité d’innovation et la performance d’innovation. Cependant, l’analyse de l’effet positif ou négatif des spécificités des PME sur l’innovation doit être nuancée. Les spécificités des PME et leur influence sur la capacité d’innovation dépendent du contexte particulier de l’entreprise et de son activité d’innovation. Le cas Alpha mobilisé illustre ce résultat. Des facteurs déterminants sa capacité d’innovation se sont transformés en véritables freins à l’innovation. Par conséquent, l’approche par la contingence est recommandée pour l’analyse de l’innovation en PME. Nous retenons particulièrement l’effet de la croissance de la PME et, donc, de son évolution propre, pour analyser et évaluer la capacité d’innovation de la PME. / The thesis deals with the assessment of SMEs innovation capacity, when they integrate innovation in their desire for growth. The objective is to understand the factors that can explain the positive link between SMEs innovation and performance. This complex relationship is based on multiple factors relating to the production and valorization of innovation. We focused our attention on innovation management SMEs innovation capacity assessmen.The aim is to understand how innovation management, through evaluation, can foster SMEs innovation performance and, consequently, SMEs performance. To address these issues, we explore, both theoretically and empirically, the factors that make up the SMEs innovation capacity to explain SMEs innovation performance. Exploration takes into account SMEs spécificities, in line with literature. We focus ont the influence of SMEs specificities on innovation capacity and its assessment.The thesis results rovide several new elements of knowledge. First, we propose a conceptual and operational definition of SMEs innovation capacity. It is built around the static and dynamic dimension of the innovation capacity. This definition improves the understanding of mechanisms facilitating the production and valorization of innovation within SMEs.The results then higlights the link between certain SMS innovation capacity dimensions and SMEs innovation performance. We participate to the debate discussing the interest of innovation management for SMEs. We show that the innovation activity can be carried out around several dimensions of innovation capacity. These dimensions of innovation capacity have a positive or negative impact,on SMEs innovation performance. The impact is directly related to the ability of SMEs to effectively manage and mobilize these dimensions of innovation capacity according to their own context. It is also linked to the SME's capacity to ensure the dynamism of its innovation capacity. The dynamism is assured regarding the evolutions of the SME itself and its environment to ensure the maintenance of SMEs innovation capacity. The management of innovation and the evaluation of the innovation capacity of SMEs are, therefore, beneficial for SMEs. They enable SMEs to optimize their innovation process and ensure their evolution. We extend the work on innovation management and innovation management in SMEs.The thesis proposes, finally, an analysis of SMEs specificities. SMEs specificities have an influence on innovation capcity and innovation performance. However, the analysis of the positive or negative effect of SMEs specificities on innovation needs to be nuanced. SMEs specificities and their influence on innovation capacity depend on the particular context of the company. The unique case mobilized illustrates this result. Therefore, the contingency approach is recommended for the analysis of innovation in SMEs.