The article aims to compare important management factors between SMEs in the service sector and SMEs in other entrepreneurship sectors. The study was realized in the Czech Republic and the Slovak republic over SMEs in the service sector and other sectors in 2019-2020. The data were collected from the owners or top-level managers; the total sample used in the study was 822 SMEs. The questionnaire was constructed in an online version and was fulfilled by 240 SMEs in the service sector and 582 other companies in the Czech or Slovak republic. The research hypotheses were evaluated by basic statistics tools: contingency tables, Z-score, and Chi-square test. The results showed that there are significant differences in the agreed attitudes to the statement: "I manage the company for more than 8 hours a day" between the Czech (62%) and Slovak (71%) respondents in the service business sector. Neither nationality nor the business sector is essential determinants in the perception of human capital as the most critical element in the company (8 out of 10 respondents) and the fact that the owner (manager) of the company should regularly evaluate the performance of its subordinates and motivate them to innovate in work processes. The results are interesting for the entrepreneurs themselves and for entities and organizations that help SMEs' business activities in selected countries, respectively, for economic policymakers.
One of the prerequisites for a favourable business environment is a stable legislative context and law enforcement. In particular, for SMEs, that do not have the financial resources for stable legal assistance, legal risk is becoming one of the most important business risks. The aim of this paper is to enrich the current scientific knowledge with a comparison of the impact of legal risk on SMEs in selected countries. The empirical research was conducted by Tomas Bata University in Zlín during 2019-2020. In total, 1935 SMEs completed the questionnaire and their responses were examined to fulfil the purpose of the paper. The four statistical hypotheses were analysed through statistical methods such as Z-score and Chi-square tests, with IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 used for data evaluation. Findings highlight that more than 50% of SMEs consider the management of legal risk as appropriate. Only 39% of SMEs consider the business environment as over-regulated. Almost 50% of entrepreneurs agree that their business is affected by frequent legislative changes but with no negative impact. There are statistically significant differences in consideration of legal risk between SMEs from the Czech Republic and the rest of the selected countries (Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine).
Social media has become explosive, permeating every sphere of the socio-cultural lives of individuals and businesses, and causing nations to technologically evolve. The dramatic growth in the adoption and use of social media has become beneficial to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), significantly contributing to resolving a nagging challenge of effectively advertising their goods and services. Consequently, SMEs can achieve business growth and sustainability through increased adoption and harnessing the opportunities provided through the use of social media. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an impetus for both consumers and SME businesses to leverage interaction through social media, which may lead to business growth. This research thus sets out to identify how social media contributes to the growth of SMEs within a developing country context. To accomplish this objective, primary data was collected from SMEs in the hospitality industry across the sixteen administrative regions of Ghana using survey and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaires were distributed to the managerial staff of each randomly selected survey participant. Out of the 900 questionnaires distributed, 718 were filled correctly for the data analysis. The researchers quantitatively analyzed the responses using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling(PLSSEM) statistical software ADANCO 2.0 version. The results indicated that Small and Medium Enterprises are capable of using social media for customer attraction, business marketing strategy, communication channel and increased financial performance.
The paper examines entrepreneurs’ attitudes towards chosen problems of managing financial risk in the V4 countries’ small and medium-sized enterprises. Financial risk has a significant effect on SMEs’ operations and their sustainability in the market. Entrepreneurs’ attitudes were quantified in terms of the defined aim, and a comparison of the differences in the intensity of these perceptions was made. An empirical investigation was accomplished in the V4 countries via an online questionnaire in 2020 (before the onset of the corona-crisis). A total of 1,585 valid questionnaires were obtained. The results were compared using Chi-squared and Z-score. Entrepreneurs in all V4 countries perceive financial risk correctly as an everyday part of their business activities. Their perceptions are very similar in all V4 countries. SMEs in the V4 countries evaluated the financial performance of their companies quite positively. Entrepreneurs in this research have a relatively high opinion of their financial risk management knowledge, which they presented accordingly. The research also revealed that Hungarian entrepreneurs, instead of those from the other three V4 countries, have a higher opinion of their financial risk capabilities. They highly evaluated their financial risk management knowledge and showed a higher self-confidence in managing financial risk.
The notable contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the development of socio-economics has been very encouraging in terms of its GDP contribution and employment creation. Both developed and developing countries are living testimonies of the contributions by SMEs. The primary aim of this paper is to assess the use of social media as a promotional tool for SME development. To achieve this objective, a total of 800 structured questionnaires were developed through an intercept and online survey to obtain data for the exercise. A nonprobability sampling technique was employed for the collection of the data of which 648 respondents were dully accurate for the data processing/analysis. Using PLS-SEM with the help of ADANCO software v 2.2.1, findings revealed that the use of social media as an advertising tool has a significant effect on a firm's financial performance, business motivation, customers' perspective/attraction, and an
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