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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Global Pipelines: Profiling Successful Sme Exporters Within The Australian Wine Industry, D. K. Aylward May 2008

Global Pipelines: Profiling Successful Sme Exporters Within The Australian Wine Industry, D. K. Aylward

David K. Aylward

Increasingly, entire industry sectors and individual firms are re-orienting their business strategies to align with the demands of rapid globalization. Sustainable export mechanisms are becoming an integral component of these strategies. Small, medium and large firms are focusing more than ever on marketing goals, branding, distribution channels and production quality in order to address the growing opportunities and challenges of this globalization. An industry in which firms are responding effectively to these opportunities and challenges is the Australian wine industry. In terms of export growth, intensity, diversity and sustainability, this industry is increasingly seen as a template for others. Using …


Sme Innovation Within The Australian Wine Industry: A Cluster Analysis, David Aylward, John Glynn May 2008

Sme Innovation Within The Australian Wine Industry: A Cluster Analysis, David Aylward, John Glynn

David K. Aylward

This paper assesses core innovation activity among SMEs within different levels of cluster development. The aim of the paper, using empirical data from the Australian wine industry, is to demonstrate that innovation levels and activity intensify as an industry cluster develops. By dividing wine clusters into ‘innovative’ (highly developed) and ‘organised’ (less developed) models, the paper uses selected core indicators of innovation activity to explore levels of integration within each model. This integration is examined in the context of Porter’s theory of ‘competitive advantage’, with implications for SMEs in particular, and lessons for industry clusters in general.


Regional Integration In Asia And The Contribution Of Smes: A Review Of The Key Issues And Policy Imperatives, Charles Harvie Jan 2008

Regional Integration In Asia And The Contribution Of Smes: A Review Of The Key Issues And Policy Imperatives, Charles Harvie

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Over the past decade the economies of East Asia and APEC more generally have beenincreasingly opening up their markets, and in the process have achieved significantgains in exports and economic growth. In conjunction with this increased economicintegration, there has been increased recognition by regional governments of thepotential for a substantial increase in the participation by small businesses in thegeneration of regional income, employment, exports, investment and expandedeconomic growth. Advances in information and communications technology addcredence to this potential. In addition, developing economies are especially seeingsmall businesses as potential instruments for the alleviation of poverty and regionaldevelopment. While in developed economies …


Perceptions Of Business Challenges Facing Malaysian Smes: Some Preliminary Results, Ali S. Saleh, Peter Caputi, Charles Harvie Jan 2008

Perceptions Of Business Challenges Facing Malaysian Smes: Some Preliminary Results, Ali S. Saleh, Peter Caputi, Charles Harvie

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper develops an instrument to measure perceptions of business barriers facing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) based upon a sample of 138 Malaysian businesses. An exploratory factor analysis yields five key factors covering: perception of government policies; perception of human capital; perception of availability of infrastructure; perception of business competition; and perception of financial issues. Reliability and item analyses provide support for the internal consistency of the factors and the discriminatory power of items that constitute the factors. In particular, this study finds that perceptions of government policies and infrastructure availability have the highest mean scores, suggesting that …