Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „SMSes”

Small and medium-sized enterprises play much more important roles in both domestic and international markets nowadays. The issue that factors influence their export performance (mainly the export sales and profits) also becomes much more attractive these years. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the factors which influence the SMEs’ export performance and how each factor influences the SMEs’ export performance. This study is built on a modified model of the factors influencing the SMEs’ export performance. The authors use case study to conduct this research, and one company’s (Company B’s) data is collected through the semi-structured interview. Some findings are obtained: the important factors which influence Company B’s export performance contain the trade shows, the expenses on getting the authentication, capital sources, export rebate, firm network, firm previous experience, firm competencies, personal network, international orientation and personal previous experience. In addition, the authors also find the effect of firm size is indirect. However, customs duty, transportation, as well as building up the brand do not play important impacts on export performance. Take the trade shows as an example, personal cards and product samples are sent to the customers, then the customers who are interested in the products will contact Company B. In this way, the customers are accumulated and the export sales increase. Thus, the export performance is enhanced.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how SMEs in the Småland region define and communicate their CSR activities towards their stakeholders.

Background: Corporate social responsbility is a topic that is widely discussed today. In many cases the CSR agenda has been adopted by many large corporations. However there is a demand from governmental bodies to spread this agenda further to include and engage small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). The main reason for this approach is due to SMEs being the most frequent type of business in Europe and is often influential in the local communities (Castka, Balzarova, Bamber, Sharp, 2004).

There is also a demand from stakeholders to receive information about CSR. Research within the field of CSR Communication has mostly been focused on large corporations. Recently, the focus has shifted towards SMEs and  it is still an emerging field.  The research  concerning CSR and CSR communication within the SME context is limited and therefore it is an important area that needs to be addressed.

Method: The purpose of this thesis was achieved by using the case study approach. Two companies; Smålandsbygg and Sköna Hem AB were investigated. Four respondents from each company were interviewed and the outcome of the interviews was analyzed together with the frame of reference.

Conclusions: According to the findings it is difficult to provide one common definition of CSR that can be applied for the two companies in the study. In general it might be difficult to provide a common definition of CSR in SMEs. According to previous research the way SMEs conduct their business is dependent on the owner and the personalities of the management. Consequently, there can be a variety of ways that SMEs are engaging in CSR or percieve CSR to be.

There are three different communication strategies when communicating CSR towards the stakeholders. It could be interpreted that both companies applied different communication strategies depending on which stakeholder they were communicating with.

Syfte: Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka hur små och medelstora företag definierar och kommunicerar deras CSR aktiviteter gentemot sina intressenter.

Bakgrund: Företagets sociala ansvarstagande, även kallat CSR, är ett omdiskuterat ämne idag. I många fall har CSR agendan integrerats i de flesta stora företag. Emellertid finns det ett krav från statliga organ att sprida denna agenda vidare och engagera små och medelstora företag. Den främsta anledningen för denna ansats beror på att små och medelstora företag är den mest vanligt förekommande verksamheten i Europa och tenderar att vara inflytelserika i lokalsamhället. (Castka, Balzarova, Bamber, Sharp, 2004).

Det finns också efterfrågan från olika intressenter att få information om CSR. Forskning inom området CSR kommunikation har mest varit riktad mot större företag. Nyligen, har fokus skiftat till små och medelstora företag och är fortfarande ett område på frammarsch. Forskning inom CSR och CSR kommunikation i små och medelstora företag är begränsat och är ett viktigt område som måste uppmärksammas.

Metod: Syftet med den här uppsatsen uppnåddes genom att använda en fallstudie. Två företag; Smålandsbygg och Sköna Hem AB undersöktes. Fyra personer från varje företag blev intervjuade och resultatet från dessa intervjuer analyserades tillsammans med referensramen.

Slutsats: Enligt resultaten från studien är det svårt att tillhandahålla en allmän definition när det gäller CSR som kan appliceras i de två företag som var med i studien. Generellt sett kan det vara svårt att ge en allmän definition om CSR i små och medelstora företag överhuvudtaget. Tidigare forskning visar att sättet som små och medelstora företag drivs på, påverkas av ägarna och ledningens personlighet. Följaktligen kan det finnas flera olika variationer om hur små och medelstora företag är engagerade i CSR eller hur de uppfattar CSR konceptet.

Det finns tre olika kommunikationsstrategier när man vill kommunicera CSR till olika intressenter. De två företagen i studien applicerade olika kommunikationsstrategier beroende på vilken intressent de kommunicerade med.

Nowadays, corporate responsibility is not only an issue for large international corporations but also for small- medium sized enterprise (SMEs) with limited resources and less market power. However sustainable development is not a compulsory lesson for SMEs to take, but it is one of the market approaches for a company to thrive and survive. As Donckels represented (1997) that entrepreneurship of SMEs do all their strength to be on its way to the next millennium. The purpose of this thesis is to describe and understand how sustainable business approaches can influence and enhance SMEs development despite of their barriers and limitations which are associated with their day to day management. For that reason, researchers are aiming to analyze closely and get pragmatic insight into the three dimensions of sustainable development (social, environmental, economic) and how the interaction among these three dimensions will benefit SMEs as a whole.

QC 20180110

Problem: Researchers argue that strategic management and its implementation has be-come the main focus in SMEs because of its role in generating economic wealth. Although, there are many advantages to use strategic management, there are still many SME organizations that resist using it, since some of them may think this process is only useful for larger organizations and they did not recognize that it‟s also very helpful for SMEs as a whole. Therefore, the organization face challenges such as how to use this strategic management, and how to recognize the importance of strategic management and so on.

Purpose: Our purpose is to find out how strategic management determines / affects / in-fluence SMEs performance in South East Asia and specifically in China and In-donesia. Moreover, its purpose is to identify the crucial factors that determine survival and growth in the two countries.

Theory: The theoretical framework is divided into several major parts. We start with looking at definition of strategy and different types of strategy in organization. The chapter continues with looking at SMEs strategic Management Model (Analoui & Karami, 2003), strategic choice, strategic fit and theory of firm per-formance i.e. dynamic capabilities (core capabilities). The last part of the chap-ter combine the previous theory, i.e. strategy and firm performance. More spe-cific, we use our theoretical framework of the process, regarding the effect of strategic management on SMEs performance.

Method: We chose qualitative method as our research method. We use case study to do this research and conduct interview to collect data. Qualitative is the appropriate method for this thesis since we aim to understand the phenomenon of SMEs strategic management on different levels. In order to gain more information, we conducted interview with middle management and top management of the com-pany. This method help us to explore into deeper stages of analyzing our subject and support our research.

Conclusion: We found there is no general answer on how strategic management determine / affects / influence SMEs performance in East Asia SMEs specifically in China and Indonesia. Further, the studied companies have more common characteris-tics than different characteristics. All of them are aware of the importance of us-ing strategic management. Moreover, our research indicate that understanding the role of internal & external factors, and constantly combining the two factors into daily operation are the crucial factors for these companies survival and growth in the two countries

Background: The modern world is frequently referred to as a world of knowledge. In today’s business the role of knowledge is gradually increasing. The problem of how to manage knowledge to gain efficiency and competitive advantage forced modern companies to think about Knowledge Management and its applications. However, many companies, and SMEs in particular, seem to be not so common to this process.

Purpose: Since SMEs experience various problems in their daily activities this research aims to make them aware about the potential obstacles in Knowledge Management process. Therefore, this study tries to identify the cultural patterns in Knowledge Management, by considering it as a process.

Delimitations: Considering the triangle in which corner stones are SMEs, national culture and Knowledge Management this research provides a limited scope on studied area.

Realization: This study reviews its theoretical assumptions and tests them on the example of two case companies. The empirical findings gathered in those companies enlighten the assumptions of the authors and provide a ground for the analysis.

Results: Focusing on the case of Turkish SMEs in Sweden the authors of this research were capable to confirm the theoretically driven assumption and to show the relation between the concepts of national culture, SMEs and Knowledge Management.

SMEs serve as a backbone to keep an economy going and to boost it up in times of difficult hours like recession, for example. They are considered as the main source of modernization, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. Like rest of Europe, 99% of enterprises are SMEs in Sweden which form a ratio of approximately 58 SMEs per 1000 inhabitants. Moreover SMEs employ around 60% of Sweden‟s manpower which shows their concern toward social responsibility.

Several companies irrespective of their size are bound by the statutory rules of a particular country in which they operate to prepare financial reports that conform to specified set of accounting principles. There has been much ongoing debate regarding the suitability of one set of accounting standards in a country for all its operating enterprises, regardless of their size. In July 2009 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs). The IFRS for SMEs is intended to be applied to the general purpose financial statements of entities that do not have public accountability. The main theme of our thesis is to examine the suitability and difficulties faced by SMEs in Sweden towards IFRS for SMEs. Furthermore, this thesis will identify the problems that will be faced by SMEs in Sweden, in the process of adopting IFRS for SMEs. Lastly, this study will be conducted to check whether SMEs in Sweden prefer to choose and use IFRS for SMEs or Swedish GAAP.

In order to achieve the determined objectives, the study "Assessing the preparedness of small and medium-sized entities in Sweden to adopt International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs)" was conducted. A qualitative research employing semi-structured interviews was carried out with eleven interviews in order to solidify the quality criteria of our research work. Sample was selected based on convenient sampling from Umeå due to the limitations of resources in terms of cost and time; opinions from three different categories of respondents (audit firms, SMEs and experts‟ opinion from the academic perspective) would be gathered. All collected data would be analyzed against the theoretical framework, and with the help of analysis conclusion regarding this study would be drawn.

Based on the qualitative results, the findings exhibits that SMEs in Sweden are not inclined towards IFRs for SMEs and are not ready in any way to adopt these standards. The Swedish GAAP has been designed over years and all SMEs are very much familiar with the rules and principles applicable in Swedish GAAP. Therefore, according to our research inclination of SMEs in Sweden is towards Swedish GAAP rather than IFRS for SMEs.

The purpose of this study is to investigate and describe the internationalization process of SMEs which choose strategic alliances as entry mode. Understanding the internationalization of small firms is important to enhance knowledge of how they develop their business activities in international markets. Moreover, a strategic alliance perspective gives a critical insight of firms’ strategy to challenge in global competition.

The qualitative approach is chosen to carry out the research question and achieve the purpose of this study. A case study is therefore used to generate advanced knowledge and understanding. Anoto group AB, a small Swedish company is picked as a sample due to the criteria fitting. I collected both secondary and primary data through various sources.

The findings reveal that internal factors and external factors strongly influence the small company’s strategy. The advantage and core values of using strategic alliances motivate the small firm to go abroad. Due to the limited resources and knowledge, the small firm could not go globally alone. Using a strategic alliance can enable the firm to gain resources, gain market power and leverage competencies. Therefore, the small company can accomplish the goal in short time and be successful in international markets through managing alliances.

Abstract

Date: 2007-05-16

Authors: Lyna Alami Barumwete

Michel Karimunda

Course: Bachelor thesis in business administration,10 Swedish Credits (15 ECTS)

Tutor: Margareta Paulsson

Title: Financial statements and SMEs’ loan granting.

Problem: How do banks use financial reports and accounts during

SMEs’ loan granting?

Purpose: The main goal of the thesis is to analyse how banks use financial reports and accounts during SMEs’ loan granting. Additionally, we will analyse what kind of information in the financial statements lenders prioritise when deciding to grant a loan to SMEs.

Methodology: We used a qualitative and deductive scientific method. The empirical material and data has been collected through four face-to-face interviews with three major banks operating in Umeå.

Conclusions: We found that financial and accounting information is significant during credit assessment for SMEs, especially when it comes to evaluate their repayment ability and control of their financial stability. Still, there are other factors that play a major roll and have therefore to be taken into consideration such as acquaintance and what the loan is going to be used for.

Key words: Financial information, auditing information, accounting

information, bank lending, credit assessment, credit-risk, loan and

credit granting, SME.

Number of pages: 55

Number of references/sources: 24