Cultural determinants of competitiveness within SMEs

Abstract

Purpose To develop a contingency framework that will assist in overcoming the concerns expressed about the ability to integrate and generalise findings from research studies into entrepreneurship and small? to medium?sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach A preliminary framework is developed as a contribution towards fulfilling the need for a means of connecting often, diverse studies into SMEs and entrepreneurship. The framework is evaluated initially in terms of previous studies in the field and subsequently employing results from the authors' own cross?national empirical studies involving ethnic, gender and cultural barriers to engaging in entrepreneurship. Findings The results from a series of empirical studies of experienced managers and aspiring managers are presented. The nature of the cultural differences and the implications for future research and policy making are evaluated. Issues such as the motivating and de?motivating factors associated with establishing and managing an SME are highlighted. Research limitations/implications The findings are used to initiate the development and formulation of a contingency framework of entrepreneurship, which identifies cultural factors and differences as significant contingency variables. Practical implications The importance of recognising the impact of cultural and gender differences on the development and application of policies and practices designed to stimulate and sustain entrepreneurship and enterprise is highlighted. This theoretical contribution should lead to more robust policy development. Originality/value The development of a contingency framework which addresses differences in the contextual circumstances in differing countries or regions in terms of culture, gender and ethnicity. Providing support for this framework based on the review of relevant literature and empirical evidence

Human Capital as Source of Innovativeness in Subsistence Small Businesses

“…The corporate culture depends on a particular territory and the specific characteristics of the owner. This culture conditions the attitudes of workers (Ritchie & Brindley, 2005); therefore, in SSBs, a way of management integrated with local culture is essential to HCM. Similarly, the ability to transmit experiences facilitates the management of HC, because the learning in SSBs is basically acquired through experience (Hatch & Dyer, 2004).…”

“…The training of managers and workers (Camisón-Zornoza, 2004) Internal communication (Camisón-Zornoza, 2004) The Corporate Culture (Ritchie & Brindley, 2005) Team working (Jardon & Martos, 2012) The professionalism and attitude of managers and workers (Camisón-Zornoza, 2004) Human resources (Hatch & Dyer, 2004) The Ability to transmit experiences (Jardon & Martos, 2012) Management system (Marrewijk & Timmers, 2003) The ability to evaluate investment risks (Jardon & Martos, 2012) The attitude of cooperation and partnerships by the company (Jardon & Martos, 2012) The research used the partial least squares technique (PLS) (Vinzi, Wynne, Chin, & Henseler, 2010) to test the relationships between HCM and innovativeness. The aim of PLS-based solutions is to minimize the variance of all dependent variables regarding causal variables.…”

Capital intelectual y competencias distintivas en pymes madereras de Argentina

“…El número de componentes utilizadas para medir cada constructo se decide mediante el grafico de sedimentación, asegurando que la varianza explicada sea alrededor del 50% (Costello & Osborne, 2005 (Hornsby & Kuratko, 2003) La capacidad de evaluación de riesgos de las inversiones (Balakrishnan & Fox, 1993) La capacidad de innovación de procesos, productos o mercados (Klofsten & Scheele, 2003) La capacidad de transmitir experiencias (Jardon et al, 2007) La formación de los directivos y trabajadores (Pfeffer, 2005) Los recursos humanos (Hatch & Dyer, 2004) Capital estructural El conocimiento del mercado (Carson & Gilmore, 2000) El trabajo en equipo (Coff, 2008) La comunicación interna (Barney, 1996) La cultura de la empresa (Barney, 1996;Ritchie & Brindley, 2005) Las tecnologías de procesos y productos utilizadas (Helfat, 1994;Kim & Kogut, 1996) Capital relacional La actitud de cooperación y alianzas por parte de la empresa (Cal bouzada, Verdugo Matés, & Fernández-Jardón, 2007)…”

Development Perspectives of Relational Capital in Women-Led Firms

“…In particular, they have given little consideration to the role played by women in the network of enterprises, although female businesses currently cover a third of enterprises in Australia and France and nearly half of them in Italy, New Zealand and Spain (Reynolds et al 2002). The creation of a network in support of the maximization of production, creativity, talent and personal skills is essential for the outliving and development of micro-enterprises (Klofsten & Scheele, 2003;Ritchie & Brindley, 2005;Ireland & Webb, 2007). Former scientific researches suggest that female entrepreneurship is characterized by a network approach, with particular emphasis on the relational aspects (Hoang & Antoncic, 2003;Farr-Wharton & Brunetto, 2007;Ozgen & Baron, 2007).…”

“…Having established that micro and small enterprises are key to the development of economic growth and that female micro entrepreneurship is key to these particular types of businesses (David, 2006;Paoloni, 2011), it is interesting to verify how the promotion of relational capital contributes to the success of such economic organizations in terms of support to creativity, talent, production personalisation and personal skills (Hitt, et al, 2002;Klofsten & Scheele, 2003;Ritchie & Brindley, 2005;Ireland & Webb, 2007).…”