This study explores the factors that affect the corporate sustainability behaviour of UK manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). To date, SMEs have been reported as being generally reluctant to engage in corporate sustainability activities. However, due to their significant negative environmental impacts, volume, and the contributions they make to economic growth and stability, no meaningful progress can be made towards corporate sustainability without SMEs’ involvement. As extant literature has focused more on the corporate sustainability activities of large or multinational companies with limited focus on SMEs, this study contributes to addressing this gap by adopting an SME perspective to exploring the factors affecting their corporate sustainability behaviour. The study was conducted as a qualitative study and data was collected through semi-structured interviews with a total of forty SME owner-managers from manufacturing companies in the South-East region of the UK and a focus group conducted with an additional twelve SME owner-managers from the same sector and region. Based on the study’s findings and an elaboration of the Responsible Environmental Behaviour (REB) framework, a framework for exploring the factors affecting SMEs’ corporate sustainability behaviour was developed. This framework suggests that SME Capacity Building in the form of information on corporate sustainability issues as they relate to SMEs, action strategies they can employ for corporate sustainability and transparency of the corporate sustainability business case, as well as Organisational Attitude, Stakeholder Influence and Resource Constraints are the main factors affecting UK manufacturing SMEs’ corporate sustainability behaviour.

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

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze and benchmark the strategic approaches utilized by Portuguese small and medium enterprises manufacturing organizations in response to the competitive pressures in the European and global markets. Design/methodology/approach – For the purpose of this paper, factor analysis and cluster analysis are used to analyze and to compare responses obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 68 Portuguese manufacturing organizations. Findings – Based on the results of the analysis, it appears that the sampled organizations are following hybrid strategic orientations. These strategic orientations appear to be motivated by well-defined mixed strategies. The strategic elements of e-business are detected in these mixed strategies. Research limitations/implications – The sample used in this paper is specific in nature (Portuguese manufacturing organizations). Thus, the results should be interpreted accordingly. Practical implications – This paper attempts to shed some light on the effectiveness of current strategic practices of Portuguese manufacturing organizations. The findings of this paper have practical benchmarking strategic implications. Originality/value – This paper investigates the nature and scope of new strategic orientations utilized by manufacturing organizations. Evidence of the presence of innovative, mixed strategies is uncovered.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test model depicting the relationships among perceived environmental uncertainty, domestic and foreign networking, and export performance. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from Finland, Sweden and Norway serve as the study setting. Data were collected via mail surveys from random samples of SME owners/managers. Usable responses were 75 from Finland, 111 from Sweden and 71 from Norway. Findings – Of the four dimensions of uncertainty, only uncertainty about supplier markets emerged as a significant driver of domestic networking activities of SMEs. While domestic networking did not have a significant influence, foreign networking showed a significant positive impact on SMEs' export performance. Firm size was found to have positive impacts on foreign networking and export performance. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to manufacturing SMEs in a particular region. Replications in other industries and regions are needed to validate the current findings. People from Finland, Norway and Sweden share similar cultural values and they are low on uncertainty-avoidance. Hence, they are not threatened by environmental uncertainties and, consequently, may not feel compelled to engage in networking to reduce uncertainty. Practical implications – The positive linkage between foreign networking and export performance suggests that public officials in these countries should encourage SMEs to strengthen their existing foreign networks and facilitate formation of new ones via trade missions in other countries. Originality/value – Understanding the role of networking, as a potential buffer between environmental uncertainty and export performance, should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners.

No / This paper reports on empirical work recently conducted about the use and effectiveness of HRM practices in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A telephone survey was conducted with 100 senior managers of SMEs to ascertain their use of a range of human resource practices and the extent to which they had found those practices successful in aiding the achievement of company objectives. Additionally in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers from a further 22 SMEs. Findings suggest that there is considerable diversity amongst SMEs in relation to their use of HR practices. A model is provided that identifies the key criteria that underlie the adoption of HRM practices, and the implications of the model are discussed.

yes / Purpose – Cost reduction through the use of technology has become the competitive strength of companies. The benefits of technology integration are quite credible and have been effective in business competition. The purpose of this paper is to describe an integrated manufacturing strategy for the deployment of a CAD/CAM system in a small, medium manufacturing enterprise (SMME). Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a SMME is utilised in deploying an integrated CAD/CAM system for practical application of manufacturing technology for achieving sustainable growth through lean systems design (LSD). The paper presents a techno-economic and technology change management framework, with an application of a holistic set of lean deployment tools that include establishing a strategic and operational plan for implementing CAD/CAM systems as a means to achieving world-class performance. Findings – The paper shows that the CAD/CAM integration within the case company increased knowledge of CAD/CAM technology, productivity, and flexibility whilst reducing throughput times. Based on the literature review and the current case study, a framework for ideal CAD/CAM implementation has been proposed. The paper also shows that management and organisational structures are key inhibitors for successful implementation of technology integration. Research limitations/implications – The paper uses a single case study to validate deployment of the integrated manufacturing strategy in SMMEs. Hence there is a limitation to its generality. Practical implications – ThepaperprovidesanopportunitytofurtherunderstandCAD/CAMsystem implementation protocols within a well structured framework and its configuration within SMMEs. Social implications – The CAD/CAM implementation framework will allow the SMMEs to achieve Lean manufacturing (thereby minimising wastes) leading to improved growth and employment rates. Originality/value – The presentation of conceptualisation, development and implementation of an integrated CAD/CAM system in support of organisational wide Lean manufacturing initiative in SMMEs is an originality of this paper.

This research aims to understand the contributions of inter-organisational knowledge transfer to innovation in SMEs from a social network perspective. The main objective is to identify the impact of the network characteristics on company’s innovation performance. Organisations are embedded in a network of relationships with other companies. They must make the best use of all available resources in order to survive and thrive in today’s competitive environment. However, most of the previous network studies focus on large organisations and studying network effects in the context of SMEs is not well explored. This study sheds light on the relationships between different network characteristics and two different types of innovation performance in High Tech SMEs. In this study inter-organisational knowledge transfer networks were investigated from ego-network perspective. Radical and incremental innovation was identified as specific types of innovation. More specifically this research studied the impact of the structural, relational and nodal properties of inter-organisational knowledge transfer network on radical and incremental innovation performance. In addition to network characteristics, internal capabilities of companies were also identified important. Pentathlon framework was used to capture firms’ innovation management capabilities. A survey instrument was used to collect data from a sample of UK Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs). A new innovation measurement instrument was developed to measure different types of innovation from companies’ and customers’ perspectives. The SMEs were chosen randomly from IT and Chemical industry. Inter-organisational relationships were mapped using social network techniques. Path analysis techniques including PLS were used to test the hypotheses of the study. In addition to the statistical method, Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis was used to shed light on different combinations (various configurations) of factors that impact on radical and incremental innovation. This study has made theoretical contributions by identifying research gaps through review and synthesis of literature in innovation and inter-organisational relationships and social network theories. Moreover, a new framework was developed based on the concepts identified in social network and innovation literature. The integration of theories and concepts regarding inter-organisational relationships, innovation and social networks with a view of better understanding of the impact of network characteristics on specific types of innovation is another contribution of this study. This research shows how different network properties can help companies to achieve ambidextrousness, which is vital for organisations’ competitive advantages and long term survival. Moreover, this study reveals that the internal capabilities (innovation management practices) of a firm play a significant role in enabling the company to benefit from its network resources. It shows how different configuration of the internal capabilities and network resources can lead to a better radical/incremental innovation performance. Findings from this research can help managers to adapt their network resources according to their strategies and the level of the innovation that they want to achieve.

Although literature reveals that significant efforts have been made to study ICT adoption and diffusion, the diversity of research in terms of theory and methodology is very low. Most studies have relied on traditional adoption theories (e.g., TAM and DOI) and these theories are not capable of providing rich explanantion on how the adoption and post-adoption develop over time. It is argued here that ICT adoption involves multi-dimensional and complex issues. These issues range from how various roles played by actors in emerging ICT are accounted for to ensuring successful adoption. Therefore, this research aims to advance our understanding of emerging ICT adoptions in SMEs from a dynamic process perspective. The specific objectives of this research are to: establish the stages of the dynamic process, identify the key actors and their roles, explore the critical factors affecting the emerging ICT adoption process, identify the challenges and provide recommendations and implications for stakeholders in promoting future adoption and diffusion in UK SMEs. The research adopts a social-technical approach that challenges the ideas of the mainstream thinkers. More specifically, it adopts Actor Network Theory (ANT). The key ANT concepts that influenced the empirical investigation are inscription, translation, framing and stabilisation. The research adopted a qualitative method using face to face interviews. Two rounds of data collection were undertaken. The first round started with a theoretical review, the analysis of relevant literature, and unstructured interviews mainly with small business managers. Eleven interviews were carried out. The second round of interviews was semi-structured with key human actors identified in the first round of interviews. A total of fifteen interviews were conducted. They included the small business manager; SMEs service sector customers, government agencies, SMEs consultants, and IT vendors. The aim was to further explore the dynamic adoption process, the roles and challenges of actors and to validate the outcomes of the findings. The analysis was guided by a hybrid approach of thematic analysis using NVivo software. The study proposed and validated a conceptual framework that illustrates the dynamic process of emerging ICT adoption in SMEs from the Actor Network Theory perspective. This framework helps to understand the adoption process, actors involved, actors’ roles and interactions, and the critical factors. Using the key concepts of ANT as the basis of the investigation, the findings identify a number of key activities associated with the adoption process. These activities include: problem assessment and evaluation, concept generation and evaluation, concept specification, product outsourcing /role delegation, misalignment and alignment of interests, product trial, product modification, adaptation, and impact and problem redefinition. These activities reveal that adoption of emerging ICT in a small business context is not constant, straightforward and certain; instead it is unpredictable, dynamic, and an on-going and reiterative process. ANT concepts were further used to analyse and categorise 20 roles that different actors play, 15 critical factors influencing emerging ICT adoption in SMEs, and the challenges facing actors. While all of these roles, factors, and challenges are critical, in this study, the findings reveal that monitoring and legislation are the most recurring roles at each stage. Furthermore, ease of use, managerial time, shared support, customer focus and adoption costs are the factors affecting the success of multiple stages (three stages). Finally, the thesis presents the contributions and implications for both research and practice in future adoption and diffusion.

This thesis reports on the association between particular psychological attributes of owner/operators and organisational financial performance in New Zealand small to medium sized enterprises (SME's). The specific psychological attributes of interest are ambiguity tolerance, self efficacy, resilience and planning orientation. A direct response mail survey was sent to 4,500 New Zealand organisations fitting the criteria for this study. Ambiguity tolerance, self efficacy and resilience were assessed using established item scales from the literature. Planning orientation was assessed using planning scenario analysis. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. Results show that the planning orientation of owner/operators has a significant direct association with organisational financial performance. Ambiguity tolerance, self efficacy and resilience were found to have a significant indirect association with financial performance. The findings of this research have implications for both theory and practice. Theoretically there are implications for cognitive and personality psychology, organisational theory and behaviour, entrepreneurship and research related to the psychological attributes of interest in this thesis. Practically, the results provide managers with a meaningful tool to aid in the selection, training and management of individuals responsible for strategic decision making in SME and other organisational settings.

This thesis aims to develop an inter-organisational knowledge transfer (KT) framework for SMEs, to help them have better understanding of the process of the KT between a SME and its customer (or supplier). The motivation is that knowledge management issues in SMEs is very neglected, which is not in line with the importance of SMEs in the UK national economy; moreover, compared to KT within an organisation, between organisations is more complicated, harder to understand, and has received much less attention. Firstly, external knowledge is generally believed to be of prime importance for SMEs. However, there is little empirical evidence to confirm this hypothesis. In order to empirically evaluate the hypothesis, and also specifically to identify SMEs' needs for external knowledge, a mail questionnaire survey is carried out. Then, based on the key findings of the survey, some 5MB managers are interviewed. The conclusions triangulated from both the key findings and the interview results strongly support the hypothesis, and demonstrate that SMEs have very strong needs for inter-organisational KT, and thus provide very strong empirical underpinning for the necessity of the development of the framework. Secondly, drawing support from a process view, a four-stage process model was proposed for inter-organisational KT. Then a co-ordinating mechanism underpinned by social networks and organisational learning is developed. The process model, co-ordinating mechanism together with cultural difference between organisations constitute an initial framework. Through interviews with SME managers, the initial framework is revised a final framework. The framework validation exercise shows that the final framework could help SMEs have better understanding of the KT. In order to remind and help SMEs to address the 'boundary paradox' embedded in interorganisational KT, and further reflect its complexities and difficulties, the important factors related to each stage of the framework are identified from a strategic perspective, with the help of the co-ordinating mechanism and relevant literature. The factors are also verified by interviews in SMEs. As a result, the initial factors are revised by removing the factors that are perceived as unimportant. The interview results demonstrate that the important factors, as a checklist, can remind and help SMEs to address the 'paradox', and are thus very useful for them.