In the theoretical part, small and medium sized companies are described. In the analytical part, K+B Expert company was introduced by the author, as well as its competition. K+B Expert focuses on consumer electronics. It has 19 stores in the Czech republic -- it was a decision based on the strategic plan to expand its activities in the consumer electronics market in the horizontal network. The author chose Carlsbad region according to the situational analysis. A brand new store was to be created there, so all investment steps needed to be taken to set up a plain store, that needed to be supplied with all the necessary stock into the prepared racks and shelves. A marketing campaign followed together with the opening of the new store. K+B Expert used the marketing concept of its mother company network -- Expert CR. The marketing experts analyzed the effectiveness of several marketing tools. Leaflet was chosen as the most effective, since 55% of the survey respondents stated leaflet was the most effective in discovering that a new electronics store is to be opened. There were also advertisements on radio, on billboards and in newspapers. The cost of this marketing campaign exceeded the plan (the real cost was 836,500 CZK), it attracted more visitors than expected (a total of 8.560 visitors were attracted by the campaign). This has also impacted the sales, as the revenues were 9% higher than expected (totaled 4.36M CZK). Overall, the opening of the new store was a success and K+B Expert, s.r.o. can now look for a new region to expand with their activities.

Background: Sustainability is a growing trend which companies should acknowledge and incorporate. The role HR can be a direct contributor in the integration of sustainability. SMEs’ characteristics can facilitate the implementation of sustainability, which can be a source of competitive advantage.   Purpose: To examine the integration of sustainability through HR practices in SMEs, in the Jönköping region.   Method: An exploratory and an abductive approach were used to fulfill the purpose of the thesis. The explanation building strategy was used to analyze the data. Theories from the literature were compared with the empirical findings to identify patterns, based on the categories within the HR practices. The empirical data followed a qualitative method and was based on a multiple-case study, consisting of ten interviews with SMEs.   Main findings: SMEs in the Jönköping region had a high level of understanding in terms of sustainability. The HR practices were utilized for a better integration of sustainability. Incorporating sustainability in the firm’s values was the most effective way. This was achieved through integrating sustainability in the different HR practices; by communicating its value to employees, emphasizing it during the recruitment to assure value alignment, as well as explaining it during training activities.   Managerial implications: The findings showed that managers could benefit from considering the suggested HR practices for the integration of sustainability. As a result, other regions in Sweden can take advantage and learn from the case of the Jönköping region.

The main aim of this thesis is to create a business plan to open the e-shop with secret gifts and evaluate the viability of the plan. Thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The practical part is formed on basis of theoretical information: purpose, users, principles and main points of structure of the business plan. The practical part is formed by own business plan. This part includes description of the product and owner, market, customer analysis, suppliers, competitor analysis, human resources and marketing, risk, and financial analysis. The suitability for implementation of the business plans is evaluated in conclusion of the thesis.

This thesis deals with the use of accounting data for information support of small and medium-sized enterprises users. This thesis covers not only technical and procedural aspects of reporting. The first part of the thesis provides broader insight into SME and their limitation factors, future development of accounting and accounting profession and also insight into data presentation. In the second part there are examples of statements, which could be part of specific accounting systems for SME and could be used by internal users.

The thesis deals with the influence of internal and external factors on the innovative behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to identify key factors influencing the innovative behaviour of SMEs and to assess their relevance and impact. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on innovations, innovation process and the external and internal conditions for innovations. Corporate innovation strategy and interaction with customers were identified as the key factors. In the practical part of the thesis a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out on a purposively selected sample of innovative SMEs from the Czech Republic. The influence of barriers and external and internal factors on the innovation performance of SMEs was statistically analyzed. Testing of the influence of barriers on the innovation performance of SMEs discovered that the lack of foreign capital and insufficient readiness of employees to innovate are the most frequent factors inhibiting innovation in SMEs. Statistical sensitivity analysis of the survey results suggests that the most significant factors influencing the innovative behaviour were external, namely domestic and foreign competitors, suppliers and customers.

The doctoral thesis deals with innovations in small and medium-sized enterprises and is particularly focused on the open innovation paradigm. In the theoretical part it explains the relationship between innovations and competitive advantage and provides a broad overview of the current research in the field of open innovations. Based on the theory and supported by the secondary research, it defines research questions and hypotheses that are tested within a survey distributed among Czech small and medium-sized enterprises. Results of the survey serve as a foundation for own models allowing broader implementation of open innovation in Czech small and medium-sized enterprises.

The objective of the thesis is to analyse the German export and to analyse German indirect foreign trade promotion. The first part examines export weaknesses and risks and their impacts on German economy. The second part investigates and evaluates the institutional arrangement of the foreign trade promotion system and compares it with selected European economies.

This research aims to explore the borrower-specific financial constraints that prevent black youth entrepreneurs in Tshwane from accessing finance to for their own start-ups. To achieve its goal, the research seeks to explore whether there are significant differences between black youth entrepreneurs in Tshwane in terms of their personal demographics, business information and personal factors towards business. The empirical results and theoretical literature are examined to facilitate a better understanding of the borrower-specific financial constraints preventing access to finance for start-ups by youth entrepreneurs. These learnings contributed to the body of knowledge relating to entrepreneurship development in South Africa. The literature review revealed that although youth entrepreneurial activity is vital to sustained economic growth, access to finance is the challenge that negatively impacts youth entrepreneurial activity globally. More specifically, the literature indicates that borrower-specific factors to a large extent prevent youth entrepreneurs from accessing finance for their start-ups. The borrower-specific financial constraints are described. During this research, data was obtained by way of a judgment sample using a structured questionnaire consisting of 40 questions. A total of 110 useable questionnaires were returned. The findings of the study reveal that there are no significant differences for respondents in relation to factors for personal savings, business acumen and credibility differences. There are significant differences to certain factors for borrower-specific financial constraints, such as the intention to commence business start-up, gender and the educational level of respondents in relation to their attempt to access finance. Finally, significant learnings from the research are that the poor attitude of black youth towards saving are similar to youth reviewed in the literature, and the culture of South African black youth towards entrepreneurship has improved. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The management of work-family conflict is an important aspect within the context of family firms. Managing work and family domains successfully are often known to be an issue for members of family firms and may result in negative outcomes affecting both individuals and organisations. Organisational cultures supporting individuals in managing work and family domains is believed to reduce the level of work-family conflict and constitutes the focus of this study. Historically, most of the scholarly contributions within the field of work-family conflict and organisational culture are within a non-family firm context. This thesis contributed to current literature with in-depth insights on the family business concepts by relating it with work-family conflicts. Family firms possess unique characteristics that are different from non-family firms, making the management of work-family conflict more difficult. The study shows that the relationships between the components of supportive work-family culture and work-family conflict are factors that impede individuals’ ability to manage multiple roles satisfactorily. The findings of this study could be used to contribute understanding  in future research within the field of family firms and in connection to the management of work-family conflicts.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / The Blueberry situation in Peru is in a stage of development, in which it is necessary to incorporate good management practices as well as productive to raise the competitiveness of the enterprises. The findings were synthesized and analyzed, to propose improvements and to support the growth of the small companies in the long term. The improvement proposal is based on the best practices and supply chain models applied in the industry. Also, the research was based on sources of information from researchers with experience in evaluating and analyzing the supply chain of the perishable sector in different scenarios worldwide. / Revisión por pares