In the development stages of a Digital twin of production assets, especially machine tools, real time process monitoring and data gathering proves to be vital. Having a monitoring system that monitors and updates the operators or managers in real time, helps improve productivity in terms of reducing downtime through predictive/preventive analytics and by incorporating in process quality assessment capabilities. When it comes to Real time monitoring of machine tools andprocesses, sensor technologies have proven to be the most effective and widely researched. Years of research and development have paved the way for many smart sensor technologies that come both in built with the machine tools as well as external applications. However, these technologies prove to be expensive and complicated to implement especially for Small and Medium Enterprises. This thesis focuses on evaluating and testing a simple, cost-efficient monitoring system using inexpensive sensor technologies that would help optimize an existing Digital twin setup for machine tools for Small and Medium Enterprises. Experiments with a 5 axis CNC machine tool using different tools and varying operating parameters, materials were performed,and the relevant sensor data were collected, mapped, analysed for accuracy and benchmarking. The thesis also evaluates the integration of this data with the information already collected from other sources, improve existing data reliability, and provides guidelines on this could be transformed usefully to create more value to SME’s.

During the last decades, the U.S. wood products (NAICS 321) and furniture manufacturing (NAICS 337) industries have been greatly affected by economic cycles, rising production and transportation costs, changing buyer habits, and, arguably, most powerfully, increasing global competition. As a result, tens of thousands of jobs were lost and a large number of companies in the industry experienced bankruptcy, closed operations, or relocated to other countries. However, theories exist stating that the use of management systems, such as, for example, Lean management, allows companies to become more competitive and enhance the likelihood of survival. A mail survey was conducted to investigate companies in Virginia's wood products and furniture manufacturing industries as to their awareness of Lean management, the implementation of Lean practices, as well as the companies' need for support in Lean implementation efforts. Findings indicate that a majority of Virginia's wood products and furniture manufacturing industries have heard about terms like, for example, Lean management, Lean manufacturing, or Lean thinking, but are rarely aware of individual Lean elements of which Lean consists. Few businesses thus have implemented Lean. However, findings show that Lean awareness and Lean implementation status differs between individual industry sub-segments. The group of industry segments with the highest Lean awareness and Lean implementation status were "engineered wood products," "manufactured homes," and "household furniture manufacturing," as opposed to industry sub-segments such as "sawmill" and "wood container and pallets," which had lower Lean awareness and Lean implementation status. The study also revealed that smaller companies (less than 50 employees) have a lower level of Lean awareness and implementation status than do larger companies (50-499 employees). Despite the low level of Lean implementation across the wood products and furniture manufacturing industry in Virginia, less than one-fourth of all respondents indicated a need for Lean implementation support. / Master of Science

Den här studien undersöker hur den senaste finansiella krisen (Covid-19) har motiveratsvenska små och medelstora företags kapitalstruktur, genom att jämföra kapitalstrukturen förekris (2015-2018) och under kris (2019-2022). För att genomföra detta undersöktes fyrabranscher i 328 små och medelstora företag i Sverige och hur deras hävstång har förändratsunder studieperioden. Resultaten av denna studie visar att de undersökta svenska små ochmedelstora företagen sänkte sin hävstång under krisperioden, ökade kortfristiga skuldkvotenoch sänkte långfristiga skuldkvoten. / This study examines how the recent financial crisis (Covid-19) has motivated the capitalstructure of Swedish small and medium-sized enterprises, by comparing the capital structurebefore the crisis (2015-2018) and during the crisis (2019-2022). To carry this out, fourindustries in 328 small and medium-sized enterprises in Sweden were investigated and howtheir leverage has changed during the study period. The results of this study show that thesampled Swedish small and medium-sized enterprises lowered their leverage during the crisisperiod, increased the short-term debt ratio and lowered the long-term debt ratio.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute substantially in economies around the world and in South Africa in particular. This study aimed to explore and describe the financial performance measures currently used by manufacturing SMEs in Pretoria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the participant SMEs’ premises in order to gather the information. It was found that most of the respondents use financial ratios, but to a limited extent, when measuring their financial performance. The use of bankruptcy prediction models is totally absent among the participants. It has been recommended that SMEs use more ratios from the literature that have been proven to be the best financial measures, and the six ratios that have worked well for some of the participants in the study. It is also recommended that SME owners enrol their financial staff for training in bankruptcy prediction models, and use financial software packages if they can afford them. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / (M.Tech. (Business Administration))

Innovation and ‘creative destruction’ should thrive in the competitive, high risk and high cost environment of the North Sea. Paradoxically, uptake of new technology is slow. The focus of this research was to understand how new technology is developed and how end users make decisions about innovation. Innovation process in the literature can sometimes come across like a ‘black box’ without much explanation of what happens inside the box. This study seeks to explicate what transpires inside the ‘black box’ to improve our understanding of the innovation process. The linear models of technology-push and market-pull are too simplistic to account for the complexity of relationships and engagements that affect innovation at small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) level. Subsequent models of innovation are suited to how large corporations manage innovation but neglect patterns of social interactions at the micro level where SMEs operate. These innovation models are incomplete because they relegate the importance of context and how it shapes understanding, action and outcome. This study, rooted in a social constructionist paradigm, takes a process-relational stance on entrepreneurship and innovation, recognising the dynamic relationships between social actors and context. Taking Heidegger’s explication of how we relate to the world, this thesis submits that innovation occurs when actors move into the ‘occurrent’ mode. The happenings and doings in the innovation process are treated as the results of perpetual social constructions. This study is based on extended interviews with eleven individuals in relevant roles and with direct experiences of the technical innovation construction in the oil and gas industry. The purposeful sample of research encompasses a variety of roles including technology entrepreneurs, end users of technology and venture capitalists. This study makes a number of contributions. Firstly, the research improves our understanding of how different social constructions are welded together to develop shared understanding. Secondly, a conceptual framework is presented that bridges a number of theoretical concepts, which allows us to see that innovation cannot be properly understood using simplistic models that ignores the social constructions human actors instantiate. Thirdly, the research claims that problem framing is foundational to innovation construction, where social actors collaborate to develop shared understanding, and mentally represent in the present a future that is not totally knowable. Fourthly, an alternative model of innovation construction is presented that is relational and accounts for the social constructions of process participants. Finally, a number of research implications for academics and insights for practitioners engaged in the technical innovation construction are offered.

Although the development of small businesses is generally considered important for income generation and job creation, there has been relatively little research in developing countries such as Ghana on understanding why some small firms succeed and grow rapidly while others do not in. This thesis investigates the influences on small firm growth rates in Ghana using data from a random sample of 252 manufacturing and services firms from the database of the Association of Ghana Industries. The general hypothesis is that, growth is a function of the characteristics of the entrepreneur; characteristics of the firm; strategic factors; environmental factors; and cultural factors. Consequently, the research tests 36 hypotheses drawn from the five main categories of variables using the turnover and the employment growth measures. It also uses logistic regression analysis to isolate significant factors differentiating rapid-growth firms from slow-growth firms. Overall, the research finds strong evidence which suggests that, perception of a market opportunity; university education; multiple founders; entrepreneurs with marketing skills; workforce training; new product development; presence of a clear vision and mission statement; majority non-family members in management and membership of professional or business associations were associated with rapid-growth firms. iv Factors which were significant in discriminating between rapid-growth and slow-growth firms but were more likely to be associated with slow-growth firms included threat of unemployment or actual unemployment as a motivation for starting a business; production skills; legal form (limited liability companies); access to external equity (post-formation); exporting; access to public or external aid; unionization and frequent management meetings.

M. Tech. (Logistics management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology / The growth and development of SCM is attributed to number of factors such as partnership, collaboration, integration and relationship commitment. Despite increasing awareness of the importance of joint venture to organisations, research on the supply chain relationships (supply chain partnership, collaboration, integration and relationship commitment) and performance have received little attention. Therefore, using a data set of 271 individuals from the small and medium enterprise (SMEs) sector in South Africa, this study examines the influence of supply chain partnerships on collaboration, collaboration on integration, integration on relationship commitment and relationship commitment on performance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used to analyses the data collected whereby individuals agrees with that supply chain relationships increase performance in the work environment. The study has developed a supply chain management (SCM)-based performance measurement system (PMS) for the case of SMEs. Such a framework may help SMEs managers to establish their own supply chain functions and strategically plan improvements for weak areas. In addition, it may remain helpful for benchmarking current practices with industry norms requirements. Quite often, companies dealing with a large number of performance measures derived and expanded based on the suggestions from employees, consultants and past experiences (history) forget to realise that supply chain performance measurement can be better addressed when they joint venture.

當投資環境發生變化時, 某些企業便會出現移動現象, 尤其受到全球整體經濟不景氣的影響下, 企業營運的快速因應更是重要。 中國自1979年鄧小平推動改革開放，歷經將近40年的發展，中國藉由低廉的勞動人力帶動經濟高度成長，吸引了全球各國目光，紛紛到中國投資。隨著中國勞動力成本的優勢不再，整體營運成本上升，政府要求企業產業轉型升級等，對台商在經營上產生很大的影響。而許多資料也指出，在面臨中國整體運營成本上升時，不少台商選擇到具備低廉勞動力成本和人口紅利優勢的東南亞國家進行投資設廠。 本研究結合企業成長理論、資源基礎理論，並配合區位選擇理論和生產力工資理論，探討台商在大陸經營成長過程中，面對中國投資環境改變，對於區位選擇的策略影響。期望藉由本研究提供未來台商在區位選擇上的參考。透過個案公司的深入訪談，本研究發現台灣中小企業受限於企業規模及營運資金規模，加上大環境是連動、相互影響的複雜動態系統，許多決策是多面向且多變的，因此台商在思考區位選擇時，除了首重關注勞動成本，也需考量目標市場及產業特性和其他因素的影響。 / When the investment environment changes, some enterprises will experience a transformational phenomenon, especially in recent years, with the global financial crisis, and the global economic downturn. It is more important than ever that business operations rapidly change in response to such influences. After nearly 40 years of development in China, since Deng Xiaoping promoted an economic revolution in order to help the economy in 1979, now China becomes the second largest economy in the world. During this period, the high economic growth in China was driven by low labor force and attracted the attention from all of the world and started to invest. After the advantage of labor cost gradually disappear, the overall operation cost increase, and the government asked the transformation and upgrading for enterprises, these factors brought a large burden on business operation. And many information also pointed out that many Taiwanese Small and Medium Enterprises choose to invest and relocate the factory in Southeast Asian countries which have cheaper labor force and demographic dividend advantage when they face the constrains in China. This study uses business growth, resource-based, location select and productivity wage as theoretical approach to discuss Taiwanese Small and Medium Enterprises growth process in China, the impact of location select strategy when their face the investment environment changes in China. It is expected that this study will provide a reference for further Taiwanese enterprises in terms of location selection. Through in-depth interview with case companies, this study found that Taiwanese Small and Medium enterprises are limited by the size of enterprise itself and the scale of operation capital, in addition, the environment is the complex dynamic system with linkage, complex and interaction. Many decisions ought to be made by cogitating in the short term and long term, in addition, the labor cost is the priority when Taiwanese enterprises select the location, but also consider the target market, industrial characteristics and other factors.

The aim of this diploma work is to show the differences or similarities between financial reporting of small and medium enterprises based on International Financial Reporting Standard - IFRS for SMEs and British accounting standard - FRSSE. Introductory chapters are devoted to the principles of dividing enterprisies by the criteria of size on the first place, and also to the short characteristics of different kinds of regulation of accounting in the world, especially regulation based on IASB and British accounting standards. These introductory chapters serve as information basis for the main part of the diploma work. This part is represented by the analysis of financial reporting of small and medium enterprises based on IFRS for SMEs and British accounting standard FRSSE and consecutive comparison of these two ways of financial reporting of small and medium enterprises, which is also the last part of the diploma work. In the scope of this comparison there are, except for basic differencies, also analysis of differences in goodwill and leasing with occasional view on certain problems in the conditions of Czech Republic.

Diversos fatores levam ao crescimento do número de cooperações entre empresas. Dentre estes podem ser destacados: o rápido desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias de informação e a tendência das empresas concentrarem-se em suas competências essenciais, procurando tornarem-se ágeis para sobreviverem no competitivo mercado atual. Neste cenário, Empresas Virtuais (EVs) constituem uma apropriada alternativa e vantagem competitiva para Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs). EVs podem ser formadas dentro de Organizações Virtuais (OVs), que são redes de potenciais parceiros (empresas). Entretanto, através de uma utilização sistemática de modernas tecnologias de informação, as EVs se tornam mais viáveis economicamente, devido a uma significativa redução nos custos de transação. Diante desta alternativa, propõe-se um ambiente cooperativo suportado por computador que possibilite e otimize a participação de PMEs em OVs. Como ambiente entende-se aqui as soluções técnicas de suporte computacional (ou infra-estrutura de informação), que devem apoiar a participação de PMEs nos processos de trabalho cooperativo do ambiente distribuído de uma OV. As questões humanas e organizacionais que as PMEs devem atender para participarem em OVs são, também, abordadas por este trabalho, não constituindo, porém, o foco principal da pesquisa. Por fim, apresenta-se um cenário de exemplificação do ambiente proposto. / Many factors bring the increase in the number of co-operations among enterprises. Among them, it can be addressed: the quick development of new information technologies and the enterprises tendency to concentrate on their core competencies, aiming to became agile to survive in the competitive actual market. In this context, Virtual Enterprises (VE) are an appropriate alternative and competitive advantage to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). VEs can be formed inside Virtual Organisations (VOs), which are networks of potential partners (enterprises). However, VEs become more feasible by means of a systematic use of modern information technologies, due to a significant reduction on transaction costs. Considering this alternative a co-operative environment supported by computer is proposed, in order to enable and optimise the participation of SMEs in VOs. Here, environment is understood as technical solutions of computer support (or information infra-structure), which must sustain the participation of SMEs in the co-operative work processes of the distributed environment of a VO. The human and organisational aspects which the SMEs should meet to participate in VOs, are also approached by this project, nevertheless, they are not the main focus of the research. In the end, an exemplification scenario of the proposed environment is presented.