A inovação é um importante meio para que as empresas possam aumentar sua competitividade e assim sobreviver em um cenário de economia global e mercados cada vez mais exigentes. Partindo de uma extensa pesquisa na literatura sobre inovação, notamos uma abundancia de estudos sobre este tema. Porém, a quase totalidade deles está direcionada para grandes empresas. Para minimizar esta lacuna, este trabalho teve como foco o estudo da gestão da inovação em empresas de micro, pequeno e médio porte. Esta delimitação justifica-se por este segmento representar uma parcela significativa da economia nacional, mas, como já é sabido, seus índices de sobrevivência ainda são baixos. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o grau de maturidade no tocante à gestão da inovação das empresas pertencentes ao Arranjo Produtivo Local do Vale da Eletrônica, localizado em Santa Rita do Sapucaí. Para tanto, em cada empresa de nossa amostra (41 empresas de aproximadamente 160 localizadas na região) foram analisadas suas práticas de Gestão da Inovação. Foram analisadas cinco dimensões que a compõe, são elas: Estratégia, Processos Internos, Ambiente Externo, Estrutura Organizacional e Cultura. Outro indicador analisado foi o desempenho inovativo alcançado por essas empresas nos três anos anteriores a coleta. O resultado foi que todas as dimensões da Gestão da Inovação possuem uma associação linear positiva com o desempenho inovativo, quando analisadas separadamente. No entanto, devido a alta correlação entre as variáveis independes (cinco dimensões), quando da análise de regressão linear múltipla, apenas Cultura bastou para mostrar uma relação positiva e linear com o Desempenho Inovativo, as demais variáveis foram excluídas deste modelo. Conclui-se que empresas que adotam práticas ligadas a gestão da inovação tem um desempenho inovativo superior. / Innovation is an important way for companies to increase competitiveness and thus survive in a global economy environment with increasingly demanding markets. From extensive research on innovation literature, we noticed an abundance of studies on this topic. However, almost all are directed to large companies. To reduce the gap, this paper focuses on innovation management in micro, small and medium businesses. This limitation is justified, for this segment represents a significant portion of the national economy, but, as is well known, their survival rates are still low. The aim of this study is to assess the degree of maturity with respect to Innovation Management of enterprises belonging to the Local Productive Arrangement of the Electronics Valley, located in Santa Rita do Sapucaí. Therefore, each company in our sample (41 of approximately 160 companies in the region) had its Innovation Management. Practices analyzed. Five dimensions were considered: Strategy, Internal Processes, External Environment, Organizational Structure and Culture. Innovative performance achieved by these companies in the three years prior to collection was also analyzed. Results showed that all dimensions of Innovation Management have a positive linear association with innovative performance when analyzed separately. However, because of the high correlation between the independent variables (five dimensions), multiple linear regression analysis proved Culture alone was enough to show a positive linear relationship with Innovative Performance and other variables were excluded from this model. We conclude that companies adopting practices related to Innovation Management display higher innovative performance.

ABSTRACT Title: Working Capital Management in Telecommunication sector: A case study of VGC telecoms Author: Gbenga Segun Akinwande Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Master’s thesis in business administration, 15 credits (ECTS). Background and Problem Discussion: The efficient management of working capital is very vital for a business survival. This is premised on the fact having too much working capital signifies inefficiency, whereas too little cash at hand signifies that the survival of business is shaky. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study the working capital management in the small and medium scale businesses, using VGC Telecoms Company as a case study, so as to establish factors influencing working capital performance; examine how cash management, inventory management and trade credit management affects working capital management; company effectiveness in converting working capital to ready money; how working capital management impacts on the problem of slow development and to offer recommendations on possible ways of improving working capital management Method: Literatures bordering on different areas of working capital management were reviewed. Thus, this research employed qualitative and quantitative analysis; and semi- structured questions were drafted based on the issues raised from the review of various literatures. In addition, materials from journal articles, textbooks, working papers and industry practitioners are put into consideration. The use of internet and e-mails to send out questions were explored where appropriate. Analysis on the company’s financial statement was carried out in order to verify my findings. Theory: In this research, the theory section looks at various concepts that come up when analyzing the consequences of working capital management for company value and the factors that influence a company’s working capital management performance. I have therefore chosen the most common concept for the theory section. I have also tried to create a theoretical understanding for the company’s sensitivity to a workable WCM policy Analysis: In the analysis of the research findings, I employed qualitative approach to the data analysis whereby the impacts of the poor WCM on the company were discussed in depth. Conclusion: The findings corroborate the postulation of Weston et al that a company’s investment in working capital is a substantial percentage of its total investment. In case of VGC Telecoms, it is as high as 65 percent. An inefficient and ineffective management of this investment will result in slow pace of development and ultimately to the business failure. The performances of the company in the different spheres of working capital management were scored as follows:- • Cash management – 65.4 percent • Inventory management - 78.6 percent • Trade credit management and financing decisions - 60.0 percent This is an average performance of 68 percent. That is, the company’s performance is above average. This is a good performance. The financial statements as interpreted reinforce the validity of this result. The liquidity ratios are high; the collection period is short; and the cash cycle is not quite expansive. This makes it possible to sustain sufficient cash flow for the smooth running of the business. The management of working capital impacts on liquidity, investment portfolio and profitability. All these three factors are decisive in the growth or failure of a business. Hence, good performances in working capital management affects these decisive factors favourably and thus, contribute to growth and success of the business.

South Africa the development of small tourism businesses are extremely vital for job creation and a development of a new economy. The South African tourism industry has to look at more innovative ways for marketing their products and services to develop the small tourism businesses. The arrival of web 2.0 led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services and web applications such as social networking sites. Social networking sites have encouraged new ways to communicate and share information on the web. When it comes to online networking, websites are commonly used. These websites are known as social networking sites and function as online communities on the internet. Social networking sites are currently one of the applications of Web 4.0 developments. This means creation by the majority and web participation a necessity. The importance of customer engagement enablement is recognised. Operating systems are in cloud-computing. The communication medium became social media systems and people sell everything via desktop, mobile, tablets and iTV. This study focuses on the Eastern Free State tourism destination and its development through social networks. The main aim of the study is to critically analyse the application and effective utilisation of social network site technologies within the Eastern Free State tourism industry and to explore this objective of social network applications used within the small businesses in Eastern Free State tourism industry. The empirical study was conducted by means of a field study using a structured questionnaire and interviews with key stakeholders. Data from 60 small tourism businesses were collected and a total of 55 businesses restricted to Eastern Free State Drakensberg were analysed in the process of collecting the peer-aided questionnaires. The biggest problems in the use of digital media are knowledge to develop a proper product that has measured marketing outcomes for the small business. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

South Africa the development of small tourism businesses are extremely vital for job creation and a development of a new economy. The South African tourism industry has to look at more innovative ways for marketing their products and services to develop the small tourism businesses. The arrival of web 2.0 led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services and web applications such as social networking sites. Social networking sites have encouraged new ways to communicate and share information on the web. When it comes to online networking, websites are commonly used. These websites are known as social networking sites and function as online communities on the internet. Social networking sites are currently one of the applications of Web 4.0 developments. This means creation by the majority and web participation a necessity. The importance of customer engagement enablement is recognised. Operating systems are in cloud-computing. The communication medium became social media systems and people sell everything via desktop, mobile, tablets and iTV. This study focuses on the Eastern Free State tourism destination and its development through social networks. The main aim of the study is to critically analyse the application and effective utilisation of social network site technologies within the Eastern Free State tourism industry and to explore this objective of social network applications used within the small businesses in Eastern Free State tourism industry. The empirical study was conducted by means of a field study using a structured questionnaire and interviews with key stakeholders. Data from 60 small tourism businesses were collected and a total of 55 businesses restricted to Eastern Free State Drakensberg were analysed in the process of collecting the peer-aided questionnaires. The biggest problems in the use of digital media are knowledge to develop a proper product that has measured marketing outcomes for the small business. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

A inovação é um importante meio para que as empresas possam aumentar sua competitividade e assim sobreviver em um cenário de economia global e mercados cada vez mais exigentes. Partindo de uma extensa pesquisa na literatura sobre inovação, notamos uma abundancia de estudos sobre este tema. Porém, a quase totalidade deles está direcionada para grandes empresas. Para minimizar esta lacuna, este trabalho teve como foco o estudo da gestão da inovação em empresas de micro, pequeno e médio porte. Esta delimitação justifica-se por este segmento representar uma parcela significativa da economia nacional, mas, como já é sabido, seus índices de sobrevivência ainda são baixos. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o grau de maturidade no tocante à gestão da inovação das empresas pertencentes ao Arranjo Produtivo Local do Vale da Eletrônica, localizado em Santa Rita do Sapucaí. Para tanto, em cada empresa de nossa amostra (41 empresas de aproximadamente 160 localizadas na região) foram analisadas suas práticas de Gestão da Inovação. Foram analisadas cinco dimensões que a compõe, são elas: Estratégia, Processos Internos, Ambiente Externo, Estrutura Organizacional e Cultura. Outro indicador analisado foi o desempenho inovativo alcançado por essas empresas nos três anos anteriores a coleta. O resultado foi que todas as dimensões da Gestão da Inovação possuem uma associação linear positiva com o desempenho inovativo, quando analisadas separadamente. No entanto, devido a alta correlação entre as variáveis independes (cinco dimensões), quando da análise de regressão linear múltipla, apenas Cultura bastou para mostrar uma relação positiva e linear com o Desempenho Inovativo, as demais variáveis foram excluídas deste modelo. Conclui-se que empresas que adotam práticas ligadas a gestão da inovação tem um desempenho inovativo superior. / Innovation is an important way for companies to increase competitiveness and thus survive in a global economy environment with increasingly demanding markets. From extensive research on innovation literature, we noticed an abundance of studies on this topic. However, almost all are directed to large companies. To reduce the gap, this paper focuses on innovation management in micro, small and medium businesses. This limitation is justified, for this segment represents a significant portion of the national economy, but, as is well known, their survival rates are still low. The aim of this study is to assess the degree of maturity with respect to Innovation Management of enterprises belonging to the Local Productive Arrangement of the Electronics Valley, located in Santa Rita do Sapucaí. Therefore, each company in our sample (41 of approximately 160 companies in the region) had its Innovation Management. Practices analyzed. Five dimensions were considered: Strategy, Internal Processes, External Environment, Organizational Structure and Culture. Innovative performance achieved by these companies in the three years prior to collection was also analyzed. Results showed that all dimensions of Innovation Management have a positive linear association with innovative performance when analyzed separately. However, because of the high correlation between the independent variables (five dimensions), multiple linear regression analysis proved Culture alone was enough to show a positive linear relationship with Innovative Performance and other variables were excluded from this model. We conclude that companies adopting practices related to Innovation Management display higher innovative performance.

Strategic Marketing is very essential to realize firm’s objectives and thereby take the advantage against the competitors. Innovation becomes the means of taking the firm to the higher level among the existing local and global competitors. Strategic Marketing (SM) is making the firm do well where as Innovation is still enhancing the firms capability of doing things better and it happens to be the need of the hour. Thus Strategic Marketing and Innovation becomes the important components that need to be adopted by any organizations. It becomes essential to analyze the importance of Strategic Marketing for realizing the firm’s innovativeness and there by achieve the higher growth. This research is an attempt to find how Strategic Marketing is affecting the organizations performance by adopting innovation. The literature review gives a clear indication to do the research with reference to our Indian MSME’s. Considering this, the following specific objectives were formulated for the research. • Building the measures of Strategic Marketing and Innovation and develop a conceptual research framework for examining the relationship between them. • Designing a measuring instrument using Strategic Marketing and Innovation measures and test the instrument. • Examine the relationship between Strategic Marketing and Innovation and also its impact on each. • Examine the effect of different dimensions of Innovation on Strategic Marketing dimensions and find which of these needs more thrust in an organization. • Make appropriate suggestions on the need for adoption of SM as a means for any Indian manufacturing organizations to achieve a higher growth rate. The constructs of Strategic Marketing and Innovation are identified for further study. A conceptual framework was formulated with the set of hypothesis which needs to be tested. A structured questionnaire based on likert scale is used for collecting the primary data. The manufacturing organizations falling under Micro, Small and Medium scale are taken for the study through the directory provided by MSME Development Institute of India, Bangalore. The data was collected by approaching the managers of the manufacturing firms who have responsibilities to exhibit different management roles. The purpose of collecting the primary data is to know the management’s view regarding Strategic marketing and Innovation related to their firm. Our work includes both pilot and main study, where in validity and reliability of the measuring instrument is tested during pilot study. In our main study, 150 manufacturing organizations were approached situated in Peenya and Rajajinagar, Bangalore urban region. We got around 91 responses yielding about 60.6 % response rate. The data was obtained from 91 organizations, consisting of 04 Micro, 38 small and 49 medium scale organizations. A detailed statistical analysis is done for the collected data. Highly loading factors for the collected data was found out using confirmatory factor analysis and followed by finding the summated score of the data for the further analysis. The main study data was analyzed using multiple regression method by considering Strategic Marketing(SM) constructs as independent variables and Innovation performance constructs as dependent variables. The different assumptions underlying multiple regression were verified and five regression models estimated. The overall model fit was assessed and hypothesis was tested. The relationship established between SM and Innovation performance clearly indicates that SM has a great impact on the innovation performance of an organization irrespective of whatever may be the type of innovation. Hence achieving of SM performance can lead to the achievement of innovation performance also within organizations. Further the significant variables were identified from the individual regression models, interpreted and the models validated. It was found that out of the four variables of SM considered, as many as three variables viz. Marketing mix, Brand positioning and Entrepreneurial management are having a significant impact in one way or other way on the overall innovation performance of the organization. The strategy of focusing on the identified significant variables of SM was suggested for improving the innovation performance within organizations.

Thesis (M. A. Commerce (Human Resource Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and organisational commitment of employees in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Capricorn District in Limpopo Province. A quantitative research design was used in which self-administered questionnaires were utilised to collect data from a convenience sample of 149 participants. The sample size constituted of 149 employees from 18 SMEs. The data was collected using three structured questionnaires (Demographic section), Human Resource Management Practices Questionnaire and Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, with closed questions. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlation and regression analyses, were used to conduct analysis. The findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between HRM practices and Organisational Commitment. The results revealed that employees were not satisfied with the HRM practices in the workplace and had low organisational commitment. It was recommended that SMEs managers implement proper HRM practices for their employees to be committed to the organisation. The study recommends further research on other HRM practices that may have influence on employees’ organisational commitment.

Introduktion: Små till medelstora företag (SME) innefattar 99.9% av alla aktiva verksamheter i Sverige. SME:s är företag som har begränsade ekonomiska resurser. Begränsade resurser kan leda till att verksamheter producerar produkter till lager i rädslan om att gå miste om leveranser, vilket skapar ett uppbundet kapital i färdigvarulagret. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om make to order (MTO) kan användas av SME:s för att reducera kapitalbindning i färdigvarulagret och undersöka vilka utmaningar det finns med att implementera MTO.  FF1: Hur kan MTO användas som ett verktyg för att reducera kapitalbindningen hos SME:s? FF2: Vilka utmaningar finns det med att implementera MTO för SME:s?  Metod: En fallstudie har genomförts hos ett producerande mikroföretag. Data har samlats in genom observationer, intervjuer och dokument. För grund till den teoretiska referensramen har en litteraturstudie genomförts. Litteraturstudien samlade in data genom vetenskapliga artiklar och böcker som har använts för att analyser den insamlade empirin från fallstudien.   Resultat: Studiens resultat har kommit fram till att MTO kan användas som ett verktyg hos SME:s som har en hög kapitalbindning och inte kan utesluta ett färdigvarulager. För att reducera kapitalbindningen kan därmed en hybrid mellan MTO och MTS (make to stock) användas. Studien har ytterligare kommit fram till att det finns tre huvud utmaningar med att implementera MTO. De tre utmaningarna är ställtider, oförutsägbara händelser och förändringar.

Questo lavoro intende analizzare la correlazione tra innovazione delle imprese e capital sociale, misurato da indicatori classici (come la partecipazione politica e le attività nel tempo libero) e da indicatori maggiormente legati alla dimensione aziendale (come accordi e cooperazioni). L’analisi viene fatta sia per l’Italia che per il Regno Unito attraverso l’uso della Community Innovation Survey 4, la survey europea sull’innovazione e la R&S nelle imprese per i dati su innovazione e capital sociale aziendale. Inoltre vengono utilizzate l’Indagine Multiscopo 2000 per l’Italia e l’Indice di Deprivazione per l’Inghilterra come misure di capitale sociale classico. Infine viene proposta una comparazione dei risultati per i due paesi per l’analisi sul capitale sociale aziendale. Questa comparazione è riletta alla luce di più generali considerazioni sui due differenti sistemi produttivi ed economici. / This work would try to test the correlation between innovation in firms and social capital, measured by classic indicators (like political participation, leisure and activities) and more corporate indicators (like agreements and collaborations). The analysis is carried out for Italy and UK and we use the Community Innovation Survey 4, the European survey on innovation and R&D in the firms, for the data on innovation and corporate social capital. We use the Multipurpose Survey 2000 for Italy and the Index of Deprivation for England like measures of classic social capital. We further try a comparison of the results between the two countries for the analysis on corporate social capital. This comparison is finally referred to more general issues like the two different productive and economic systems.