Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Agri-Food SME"

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors influencing agri-food small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participation in business networks and to evaluate the impacts of these factors on network structure and the ensuing competitive strategy. Design/methodology/approach The study is articulated in four main steps. First, a critical literature review is conducted concerning the main approaches to firm competitive advantage and the role of stakeholder relationships. Then, three research questions are formulated and discussed in the light of two case studies describing the implementation of an innovative contractual solution in Italy (i.e. business network contracts). Finally, based on these findings, a set of more general “propositions” are stated and included in a provisional conceptual model that schematically depicts an integrated vision of the antecedents and mechanisms influencing SMEs business network structure and competitive strategy. Findings The study results pointed out the opportunity to adopt an integrated approach, combining resource-based view and stakeholder causal scope approaches. The provisional conceptual model proposed illustrates the role of both external and internal resources and relational constructs to shaping network structure and competitive strategy. Originality/value The study’s contribution is twofold. First, the empirical study shed light on opportunities and limits of two business networks with different backgrounds, approaches and outcomes towards value creation. Second, the conceptual framework proposed advances our understanding and knowledge of the factors and mechanisms influencing SMEs business network structure and competitive strategy.

Purpose This paper aims to critique a facilitated knowledge management (KM) process that utilises filtered big data and, specifically, the process effectiveness in overcoming barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) use of big data, the processes enablement of SME engagement with and use of big data and the process effect on SME competitiveness within an agri-food sector. Design/methodology/approach From 300 participant firms, SME owner-managers representing seven longitudinal case studies were contacted by the facilitator at least once-monthly over six months. Findings Results indicate that explicit and tacit knowledge can be enhanced when SMEs have access to a facilitated programme that analyses, packages and explains big data consumer analytics captured by a large pillar firm in a food network. Additionally, big data and knowledge are mutually exclusive unless effective KM processes are implemented. Several barriers to knowledge acquisition and application stem from SME resource limitations, strategic orientation and asymmetrical power relationships within a network. Research limitations/implications By using Dunnhumby data, this study captured the impact of only one form of big data, consumer analytics. However, this is a significant data set for SME agri-food businesses. Additionally, although the SMEs were based in only one UK region, Northern Ireland, there is wide scope for future research across multiple UK regions with the same Dunnhumby data set. Originality/value The study demonstrates the potential relevance of big data to SMEs’ activities and developments, explicitly identifying that realising this potential requires the data to be filtered and presented as market-relevant information that engages SMEs, recognises relationship dynamics and supports learning through feedback and two-way dialogue. This is the first study that empirically analyses filtered big data and SME competitiveness. The examination of relationship dynamics also overcomes existing literature limitations where SMEs’ constraints are seen as the prime factor restricting knowledge transfer.

Given the critical role of information and marketing in SME management it is surprising that little attention has been paid to the salient factors that motivate or inhibits consumer information used by agrifood SMEs. A model of organisational and informational factors affecting knowledge utilisation in Agri-food SMEs is presented and empirically tested through partial least squares analysis via SmartPLS. The results of the empirical testing of the conceptual model provide evidence to indicate that functional and technical qualities, provider-user interaction and usefulness in the market environment are determinants of knowledge utilisation. The findings of this study have implications for agri-food SME management in the UK regarding their growth and competitiveness in the medium and long term.

Improving the safety of food products manufactured and marketed by agri-food businesses, and in particular by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of this industry, was the aim of this study focusing on optimizing the effectiveness of the HACCP system. The main objective was to determine which of the parameters involved in the operation of the HACCP system significantly influenced its effectiveness in order to make suggestions to SME managers on how to improve the safety of their food products.

Moroccan SME's are involved in local development and are currently the subject of several studies. Furthermore, Moroccan SMEs are crucial to the country's economic growth since they produce value, create employment, and play an important role in local development. The goal is to identify the factors that influence its export performance. This performance can be influenced by the governance system, which is defined as a set of mechanisms that have the effect of limiting managers' powers and influencing their decisions. In this light, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, using a sample of food SME's in Agadir city, that a good governance system improves export performance and accelerates the process of SME internationalization. Based on the findings of this study, we can infer that SMEs with effective internal governance mechanisms, such as an internal control and consultation body and strong hierarchical control, may improve their export performance and, as a result, their internationalization potential.

The article is devoted to studying the critical role played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in forming the system of inclusive development of the agro-food industry in Ukraine. The urgency of this issue becomes evident in the conditions of a full-scale war and the need for post-war reconstruction. To achieve this goal, the work uses various research methods, including survey-analytical, abstract-logical generalization, graphic method, system analysis, and synthesis. In this work, the institutional prerequisites of the concept of inclusive development were determined, strategies in this direction were outlined, and scientific approaches to interpreting the term "inclusive development" were generalized. We offer a conceptual model of the inclusive development of SMEs in Ukraine and have identified the role of SMEs in forming an inclusive environment of the agro-food sector. The development of SMEs in the agri-food industry should be based on inclusiveness, which involves including different groups of society, ensuring equal opportunities, and supporting participation in entrepreneurship. The agri-food sector requires the ability of SMEs to develop sustainably and innovate. Inclusive development should focus on creating conditions for innovative growth, which will contribute to the competitiveness of enterprises. It is essential to emphasize the role of SMEs in fulfilling the social mission, mainly promoting the preservation and development of regional communities, and ensuring quality products and employment. Effective inclusive development involves establishing partnerships between SMEs, the public sector, and government institutions and ensuring access to financial, technological, and educational resources. The inclusive development of SMEs in the agri-food sector must consider gender aspects, promoting equal access of women and men to entrepreneurial activities. The article also analyzes the existing and prospective state support mechanisms for SMEs in wartime. We consider how SMEs can influence the country's post-war reconstruction in the context of the agri-food industry. Our further research will be aimed at substantiating the main directions of SME development in the conditions of an inclusive economy, improving the toolkit for assessing the inclusive development of SMEs and substantiating the model of inclusive development of SMEs in the agri-food industry. Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises, inclusive development, inclusion, concept of inclusive development, model of inclusive development, agri-food industry, agri-food enterprises

In recent decades, European policy has targeted specific measures towards SMEs. The recently concluded Horizon 2020 Programme, under the Europe 2020 Strategy, has provided economic support to stimulate competitiveness and boost the economy of member states by focusing on innovation. The SME Instrument, through a structure of multiple calls, constituted the vehicle for SMEs to access the funds made available by the European Union with disruptive innovation proposals. The initial structure of the SME Instrument, developed in phases and along the lines of the US Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Programme, was afterwards simplified in the design of its successor, the EIC Accelerator Pilot. The success of the above mentioned economic instruments led the European institutions to develop a new instrument, the EIC Accelerator, supported by the current Horizon Europe programme. After outlining the main features of this transition and the novelties introduced, this paper aims to ascertain the extent to which SMEs in the agri-food sector in Italy have had the ability and opportunity to intercept funds by measuring participation in the SME Instrument. Furthermore, it intends to verify which type of firms in the agri-food sector, divided into agricultural and industrial enterprises, intercepted more of the examined funds, and which organisational phase, productive or commercial, the enterprises have been oriented towards, also giving relevancy to the specific objects of the winning projects.