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Full-Text Articles in Business
Smes “Growing Smart”: The Complementarity Of Intangible And Digital Investment In Small Firms And Their Contribution To Firm Performance, Eva Erjavec, Tjaša Redek, Črt Kostevc
Smes “Growing Smart”: The Complementarity Of Intangible And Digital Investment In Small Firms And Their Contribution To Firm Performance, Eva Erjavec, Tjaša Redek, Črt Kostevc
Economic and Business Review
Like large companies, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) are turning to new digital technologies and knowledge-based capital to bolster their productivity and growth. However, data show that smaller companies lag significantly in implementing new Industry 4.0 technologies and in the intensity of their use. Lack of skills and human capital is often cited as one of the biggest barriers. This paper examines the benefits of digital technologies, intangible capital, and in particular the role of complementary investments in new technologies and intangible capital to maximize the impact on productivity growth. The analysis draws on extensive firm-level datasets combining business and …
The Role Of Enterprise Europe Network In Export Activities Of The Western Balkan Smes, Bojan Ćudić, Matjaž Klemenčič
The Role Of Enterprise Europe Network In Export Activities Of The Western Balkan Smes, Bojan Ćudić, Matjaž Klemenčič
Economic and Business Review
The Western Balkan region (WB) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lag behind the EU-28 counterparts in their export activities. The positive influence of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) on local business support organisations and the local businesses is identified as a contributing factor to that improvement. To investigate the EEN's role in the export of the WB SMEs in the period 2014–2017, the authors used available statistical data on export from the WB countries. The survey was conducted in three phases, with the samples of 1,463, 222, and 12 companies. Analysed results of the EEN activities in the WB show …
Young People’S Self-Meaning Making Through Entrepreneurship In Poland, Slovenia And The Uk: Implications For Human Resource Management In Smes, Melita Balas Rant, Katarzyna Dziewanowska, Edita Petrylaite, Alison Pearce
Young People’S Self-Meaning Making Through Entrepreneurship In Poland, Slovenia And The Uk: Implications For Human Resource Management In Smes, Melita Balas Rant, Katarzyna Dziewanowska, Edita Petrylaite, Alison Pearce
Economic and Business Review
The objective of the paper is to explore young people’s motives for pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities instead of a professional career in the public sector or a corporation. As young people increasingly consider alternatives to a traditional career, it is useful to understand what lies behind their entrepreneurial career choice in order to advise small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) how to attract a young workforce. A qualitative study consisting of 16 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with young entrepreneurs in Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom (UK) identifies a variety of internal and external factors influencing the entrepreneurs’ career decisions that were found …
Get What You Give? Investigating Employer And Young Professionals’ Psychological Contracts In European Smes, Katarina Katja Mihelič, Mark Bailey, Julie Brueckner, Agnieszka Postuła, Nada Zupan
Get What You Give? Investigating Employer And Young Professionals’ Psychological Contracts In European Smes, Katarina Katja Mihelič, Mark Bailey, Julie Brueckner, Agnieszka Postuła, Nada Zupan
Economic and Business Review
This paper looks at psychological contracts in small and medium-sized enterprises, an underrepresented topic in the psychological contract literature. Adopting a multi-perspective approach, we explore what employers and young professionals expect regarding their employment obligations. The results of a qualitative research design and interviews conducted in four European countries reveal the importance of competence and performance-enhancing behaviours on one side and support for performance and development, good working conditions, autonomy, flexibility, work–life balance, and relationships on the other. Moreover, we identify what is offered and expected by both members of the dyad and shed light on the changing dynamics of …
Accommodating Hrm In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises (Smes): A Critical Review, Brian Harney
Accommodating Hrm In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises (Smes): A Critical Review, Brian Harney
Economic and Business Review
The significance and imprint of SMEs as dominant employers is not proportionally reflected in people management scholarship. In an effort to map out the prospects for greater understanding, this paper critically evaluates the prevailing understanding in HRM. First, a case is made for definitional clarity to avoid aggregate interpretations of SMEs and ill-defined applications of HRM. The paper then explores four key theoretical frames of reference, namely universalism, best fit, cultural and ecological theories, highlighting their merits and limitations as applied in the SME context. This assessment results in a call for more holistic, integrative and context sensitive theory and …