Background: Covid-19 has accelerated digitalization and pressured companies across multiple sectors to digitally transform their operations. Such adaptation requires businesses to rethink and change their existing business models, thus, business model innovation (BMI). Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), whose success is highly dependent on their experimentation and development of new technologies, are struggling with this adaptation.   Problem: SMEs, the heart and backbone of economic growth, struggle with implementing digitalization due to their lack of awareness, evaluation, knowledge, and resources. Regardless of their struggle, they are now forced to change their structures and business models. While there is an abundance of research on the impact of digitalization on BMI those studies rarely focus on how the acceleration of digitalization has influenced SMEs BMI.  Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore how the acceleration of digitalization has impacted BMI of Swedish SMEs. The findings from this research are expected to contribute with academic value to the theoretical fields under investigation, Swedish policymakers, and business authorities, along with providing guidance for individual SMEs.  Method: This study has an exploratory approach, an inductive design within the interpretive philosophy. To collect the primary data, ten qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with business developers who possessed strong expertise and knowledge within the investigated fields. The data analysis followed Charmaz’s (2006) constructivist grounded theory, which emphasized a coding process including initial and focused coding.   Conclusion: The empirical findings shed light on important attributes and actions for a successful BMI which set the basis for the proposed model. The 6-step model explains the process of how an SME can successfully adapt and change under external pressure, such as the acceleration of digitalization and a crisis like Covid-19. The 6 steps include Create Awareness, Develop a Clear Strategy, Acquire Knowledge, Develop an Organizational Culture, Pursue Experimentation, and Implement the New Business Model. This process is not only crucial for a business’ competitive advantage but rather for its survival.

Breaking the glass ceiling of boards of directors has been a hot topic globally for over a decade without any significant results. With an increase in demand for sustainable companies, the current composition of most of the boards of directors is contradictory, where homogeneous boards of directors are more a rule than an exception. Contradicting the fact that diverse teams are proven to make better, long-termed, and more sustainable decisions. Small and medium-sized enterprises are often neglected in the debate to increase diversity in boards of directors, even though they hold most of all boards of directors’ positions. Investigating the small and medium-sized enterprises this paper aims to explore how to break the glass ceiling of the boards of directors in Denmark. Similar to Norway where quotas with boardrooms have been introduced in 2008, this study also wants to reexamine the general attitude towards hard legislation or find alternatives in form of other legislation in Denmark. Therefore, it is essential to understand the dynamics and habits of the boards of directors. This study has through semi-structured interviews investigated the culture of boards of directors to find the barriers of the boardrooms and how to break them down. A recruitment company has tried to offer a new way of recruiting for boards of directors through open positions. Here has the researchers conducted qualitative research to investigate their impact on gender and age in boards of directors, to see if the open positions can exhilarate the implementation of diversity in the board rooms. The results of the study show that there is a need to educate small and medium-sized enterprises on the benefits of diverse boards of directors. The boards of directors are primarily recruited through networks of its members, making it difficult to increase diversity. The reason for recruiting through networks is primarily due to a lack of understanding of both the function of boards of directors and a wish to keep the information of the company close to themselves. The overall attitude towards legislation is mixed with a small overweight against quotas. Mainly from an individual point of view is quotas are seen as an undesirable means for increasing diversity in boards of directors. The recruitment company has been proven cable of recruiting younger candidates. However, not significantly change the percentages of female representations where only a slight increase of women in some positions is seen.

Purpose: This purpose of this study is to deconstruct market orientation to explore how culture interrelates with conduct and value-creating innovation and its effect on performance. The authors suggest that market orientation is an organizational identity that can be built and managed for sustained competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a split sample of 553 Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in both the manufacturing and technical service sectors. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis is used to test the main hypothesis that culture moderates the relationship between conduct and innovation. Support for the respective hypotheses is determined by the statistical significance of each focal variable.Findings: The study finds that culture does in fact moderate the relationship between conduct and innovation but only in service firms, not in manufacturing firms.Research limitations/implications: Theoretical implications include establishing support for the main premise of the paper, namely, that market-oriented culture interacts with the behavioral component of market orientation influencing the firm’s ability to create value through innovation.Practical implications: Managerial implications include the refinement of the many conceptualizations of the innovation construct by establishing innovation as value-creating. It also provides insight on how firm culture relates to the systems and processes used to operationalize both a market and innovation conduct within the firm.Originality/value: This paper provides a unique insight into the marketing/innovation interface, specifically in the context of SMEs.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer small to medium-sized organizations (SMOs) with global business aspirations an innovative approach to performance measurement and management. Design/methodology/approach: The first phase of this research is based on a literature review. The second phase capitalizes on the literature review to offer a conceptual framework aimed at improving the performance measurement approach utilized by SMOs. The advocated approach stresses performance measurement, benchmarking, and effective implementation. Findings: The conceptual approach offered in this study represents the main outcome of this applied research. The advocated approach integrates several frameworks in an effort to address practical concerns related to performance measurement, management, and improvement. Research limitations/implications: The research offered in this study has practical and theoretical implications. The proposed approach offered by this study should be refined and validated through future research. Practical implications: The approach presented in this study offers practicing managers a systematic and practical approach to performance measurement, management, and improvement. Originality/value: The approach offered in this study capitalizes on several methodologies and tools to offer managers a benchmarking-based performance management approach suitable for SMOs with global operational aspirations.

Buerger disease is characterized by progressive distal extremity ischemia in persons with recent tobacco consumption. Typically, affected persons are young men. There have been case reports of Buerger disease in older men. Almost all of the reported cases were characterized with progressive, severe disease requiring amputation. We report a case of an older man with features of Buerger disease without significant proximal progression despite active smoking. Arteriographic and pathologic studies confirmed the diagnosis.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute to China's economic growth and help maintain social stability. However, SME business leaders have cited access to finance as an obstacle of SMEs' survival and success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify main strategies SME entrepreneurs and business leaders used to attract venture capital (VC) investments to achieve financial sustainability and business expansion. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 23 entrepreneurs and leaders from 4 SMEs in China and an analysis of organizational artifacts. The resource-based view theory served as the primary conceptual framework. The data analysis process entailed using coding techniques to identify keywords, narrative segments, and concepts. Member checking ensured the credibility and trustworthiness of the data interpretation and analysis. The process led to 4 themes including developing a unique and pioneering business model, assembling a management team with industry experience, indicating use of raised capital in investing in technology, and engaging with superior principal endorsements during the fund-raising efforts. The implication for positive social change included the potential to enhance the capability of SME entrepreneurs and business leaders to obtain VC funding to support their businesses, which can increase economic development and improve the social stability of local communities in China. The findings from the study may contribute to the development of the SME sector in China and benefit their owners, business leaders, employees, future entrepreneurs, the local community, as well as economy of China.

Crowdfunding is becoming a new form of funding used by entrepreneurs in Sweden who seek financing for their ventures or projects. This form of funding of which the crowdfunders invest in a nontraditional alternative requires a relationship between the crowdfunders and the entrepreneurs. This thesis aims to provide extensive information into how entrepreneurs and crowdfunders interact with each other. While considering research that has been carried out so far on the growth of crowdfunding, the author wishes to provide more detailed findings and an understanding of how crowdfunders and founders operate after equity crowdfunding.The empirical findings were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from 20 Swedish entrepreneurs that are currently engaged with equity Crowdfunding and have received funding for their ventures. The basis for the design of the questionnaire was built upon a literature review and previous researches. The research was carried out as an exploratory study using a qualitative approach known as thematic method of data analysis to investigate entrepreneur and crowdfunders relationships and what successes can be recorded based on the relationship.This thesis indicates that the entrepreneurs were largely satisfied with the relationship and benefits they derived from equity crowdfunding. However, this research also presented challenges and benefits of crowdfunding as experienced by the respondents. The benefits of the crowdfunders-entrepreneurs relationship as a factor have contributed to entrepreneurs' wellbeing as described by the participants.

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Modern supply chains are often characterized by carefully planned and interconnected processes that seamlessly integrate with each other. Supply chains are often efficientduring a stable business environment but are highly vulnerable to risks and disruptions.When any link in the supply chain is negatively impacted, challenges can arise for all the companies in the supply chain. This has expanded the goal of supply chain management tocreate resilient supply chains that incorporate event readiness, provide efficient and effective responses, and can return to their original state after a disruption. During Covid19 businesses all over the world were affected and the pandemic led to disruptions in supply chains. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) were especially affected because of lack in financial resources, technical capabilities, and low resilience. SMEs play a crucial role in the global economy but there is still a limited amount of research onhow SME can achieve resilience in their supply chains. Furthermore, there is a lack ofresearch comparing changes in supply chain resilience before and after Covid-19. To address this research gap, the purpose of the study is to explore how Covid-19 affected the supply chain resilience in Swedish SMEs. To understand the effects of Covid-19 we will examine supply chain resilience in SMEs before, during and after the pandemic. To address our purpose, we have conducted a qualitative study using an inductive approach and exploratory research design. We collected primary data from semi-structuredinterviews with nine managers from manufacturing Swedish SMEs. The data gathered through the interviews was analysed by using a thematic analysis that led us to our findings. Our findings revealed that prior to the pandemic, risk awareness was not a top priority for the respondent companies. However, Covid-19 exposed vulnerabilities in their supply chains highlighting the importance of both proactive and reactive strategies. Swedish SMEs experienced various challenges including transportation problems, component shortages and fluctuations in customer demand. Tomeet these challenges, the companies showed flexibility by changes in product assemblingand increased inventory levels during Covid-19. Furthermore, strengthened communication with suppliers and customers played a significant role in increasing supply chain visibility and collaboration. As a result of the Covid-19 disruption, our study show that the responding companies have become more aware of risks and incorporated practices into in their operations as adoption of alternative suppliers, optimization of safety stocks and improved communication. Overall, the findings suggested that the pandemic prompted the respondent SMEs to strengthen their supply chain resilience. By learning from the impact of the crisis, these companies have become more resilient and created supply chains that can better withstand future disruptions. This study contributes to understanding how supply chain resilience in Swedish SMEs was affected by Covid-19 and how SMEs can enhance their supply chain resilience

The current patterns of consumption are threatening the availability of natural resources. These natural resources, such as raw materials and biomass, are critical for different economic activities. ProductService System (PSS) has received attention as a solution to drive resource efficiency by extending the life cycle of products. Given the many barriers to shifting from product to PSS-based offering, the literature has acknowledged the importance of partnerships to support Small and Medium-SizedManufacturers (SMMs) during the life cycle of PSS. However, the role played by the partner in supporting the SMM, as well as how are they supporting to overcome existing barriers, remains unclear. To address this gap, the present thesis to aims comprehensively identify the multifaceted role of external partners throughout the life cycle of PSS developed by SMM. The research follows a cross-sectional design to investigate three industry sectors located in Finland, Norway, and Sweden: forestry, farming, and mining machinery manufacturers. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with CEOs and directors, data was collected and analyzed by thematic analysis. The results show the existence of eight key partners along the life cycle of PSS: Dealers, Suppliers, End Customers, Service Providers, Industry Hubs, Parent Company, New Partners (such as KIBS firms),and Other, such as the ones associated with delivery. These partners were found to support SMMs by co-creation (joint activities involving the exchange of resources between the partner and SMM), education (knowledge sharing from the partner to the SMM), market-related roles (activities associated with the end user, such as sales, marketing, and service provision), and supply chain (roles liked to supply of components and logistics). Partners can drive the shift from current product-oriented PSStowards use- and result-oriented ones, which have a higher potential of creating environmental benefits. The findings of this thesis contribute to the existing literature in many ways. First, it clarifies how partners are supporting SMMs along the life cycle of PSS. Second, it shows that some partners, such as dealers, are more important through the life cycle than other partners. Third, it shows that SMMs opt for different partners to perform the same role. Therefore, it opens the opportunity for future research questions to investigate the causes behind such choices. In terms of practical implications, the thesis support SMMs to optimize and diversify their network of partners by considering partnership alternatives. From the partner’s point of view, it shows the expectations of the SMMs for their partners. Therefore, it can be used to improve the existing solutions aiming to better address the SMMs’ needs.