Information management for the internationalization of SMEs: An exploratory study based on a strategic alignment perspective

A novel value-based multi-criteria decision making approach to evaluate new technology adoption in SMEs

The modern competition is moving quickly toward incorporating cutting-edge technological improvements to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing their business models. Making decisions regarding implementing new technologies in SMEs is a challenging process driven by the continuous new advances in the technology industry. Important operational process decisions, such as organizational investment costs, technology acquisition, maintenance, customer experience, employee training for the proper use of each technology, reliability requirements, and security needs, must be made very carefully for such adoptions. In this research, a novel multi-criteria decision-making process model is presented to help SME decision-makers choose the optimal technology from a list of desirable choices. The proposed approach makes use of a weighted multi-criteria decision model to rank parameters by combining many criteria that are crucial in choosing the best-suited technology. A literature review and expert opinion are utilized to pinpoint key decision-makers for the adoption of technological innovation. Specialists had reviewed the proposal in the field, and early findings suggest that it might be helpful to SME decision-makers in promoting customer value and firm performance.

Does small and medium enterprise differential leadership increase subordinate knowledge hiding? Evidences from job insecurity, territorial consciousness and leadership performance expectation

Leadership is considered as a significant antecedent of knowledge hiding in SMEs (small and medium enterprises), but the differential dimension of leadership has been evidently neglected in both theoretical and empirical areas. Drawing on conservation of resource theory and social cognitive theory, this research investigates whether and how SME differential leadership influences subordinate knowledge hiding. Specifically, we analyze the underlying mechanisms of a chain-mediator—job insecurity and territorial consciousness and a boundary condition—leadership performance expectation. Multi-wave and multi-source data were collected from a sample of 704 Chinese SME employees and 140 relevant leaders and applied HLM meso-mediational frameworks, and Bootstrap technique with non-parametric percentile residuals for deviation correction. The results show that differential leadership plays a potential role in promoting subordinate knowledge hiding through the serial intervening mechanism of job Insecurity and territorial consciousness in SMEs. Furthermore, the positive relationship between SME differential leadership and job insecurity becomes stronger among subordinates under higher leadership performance expectation; the positive indirect relationship between SME differential leadership and subordinate knowledge hiding is stronger with higher levels of leadership performance expectation. This study contributes to the existing academic literature by empirically analyzing the under-investigated correlation between differential leadership and subordinate knowledge hiding in SMEs, and by exploring the underlying mechanisms and a boundary condition.

The impact of family harmony on family SMEs' performance: the mediating role of information technologies

Purpose

With the increasing digitalization processes taking place in different industries, the success of family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) appears to be more under threat than for any other types of organizations, especially when information technologies (ITs) are not adequately used and managed. To grow and increase the chances of survival, family SMEs need more than ever IT. Stemming from agency theory, the aim of this article is to understand whether family harmony impacts the performance of family SMEs and to what extent IT mediates this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The research follows a quantitative approach, based on a sample of 182 family SMEs. Structured equation modeling, through SmartPLS, was employed to validate the research model.

Findings

This study’s main findings suggest that family harmony positively impacts firm performance and that IT governance and strategy mediate positively this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

First, the relatively limited number of respondents limits the degree of representativeness of all family SMEs. Replicating the research with a larger number of respondents could strengthen the findings. Second, this study is limited to French firms and future research could extend the findings by looking at cross-country comparisons.

Practical implications

Family SMEs are encouraged to link their IT governance with their IT strategy in order to increase their organizational performance. A favorable family harmony will make it easier to choose and implement a richer IT strategy and put in place an adequate IT governance function.

Originality/value

This research offers an enriched knowledge of the roles of family harmony and technological innovation in family SMEs and IT contexts as significant predictors of organizational performance. It contributes to family firm theory through the identification of three determinants of family SMEs' performance.

Examining the Factors Affecting SME Performance: The Mediating Role of Social Media Adoption

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have become a vibrant and dynamic sector of the world economy. Information technology plays a vital role in improving the productivity and competitiveness of SMEs. The dynamic business environment has brought fierce competition among SMEs and, therefore, requires the owners to interact with internal and external members actively. Hence, this study aims to investigate the impact of technology, organization, and environment as important factors in the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. It also examines the mediating role of social media adoption. Items were developed to measure the various purposes of social media use in organizations, which contribute to increasing the measurement of social media usage. For the empirical investigation, this paper used a closed-ended questionnaire. Using a quantitative method, we observed 423 responses through structural equation modeling. The findings of the study indicate that technology, organization, and the environment play effective roles for SME performance. More importantly, social media adoption positively mediates the relationship between technology, organization, environment, and SME performance. The study also helps organizations realize the advantages of using social media and specifies the rationale behind an organization’s investment in social media.

International Performance of SMEs’ International Strategic Groups

The present research focuses on whether the different combinations of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) international scale and scope affect their international performance differently. The major purpose of this research is to study the paramount relationship between the SMEs’ international strategies and international performance. With a sample composed of 307 international SMEs, our empirical analysis defines three different strategic groups regarding the scale and scope of internationalization, that is, a high, medium and low international exposure of the firms. The scope, as an important international strategic dimension, is taken from two angles, the number of countries and the number of regional blocs where the firms operate. We assessed the strategic groups’ implications on the firms’ international performance. The latter was taken as a multidimensional construct composed of the financial, strategic and overall international performance respectively. We used the hierarchical regression analysis to test our hypotheses, and major results emerged. Higher levels of commitment with the international markets lead to better financial, strategic and overall international performances. These results are of utmost importance from the theoretical point of view and for the strategic decision-making of SMEs, opening new avenues for future studies.

Assessing SMEs’ Internationalisation Strategies in Action

In this paper, a structured review was conducted to investigate the internationalisation process of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to define barriers and enablers and identify research gaps in this relevant field. Data were collected from two databases of scientific peer-reviewed articles (i.e., Scopus and Web of Science). After the selection process, 161 papers focusing on SMEs’ internalisation were analysed using both descriptive and content analysis. The analysis of the results highlights that SMEs’ internalisation is a growing research field, but different research gaps remain to be filled. These gaps concern barriers, impact on performance, models, and theories related to the different phases of the internationalisation process (e.g., start-up, early entrance, international growth). The future research directions identified interesting suggestions and guidelines for future researchers in the field of SMEs internationalisation.

Organizational practices as antecedents of the information security management performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to expand current knowledge about the security organizational practices and analyze its effects on the information security management performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the literature review, the authors propose a research model together with hypotheses. The survey questionnaires were developed to collect data, which then validated the measurement model. The authors collected 111 responses from CEOs at manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that had already implemented security policies. The hypothesized relationships were tested using the structural equation model approach with EQS 6.1 software.

Findings

Results validate that information security knowledge sharing, information security education and information security visibility, as well as security organizational practices, have a positive effect on the information security management performance.

Research limitations/implications

The consideration of organizational aspects of information security should be taken into account by academics, practitioners and policymakers in SMEs. Besides, the work helps validate novel constructs used in recent research (information security knowledge sharing and information security visibility).

Practical implications

The authors extend previous works by analyzing how security organizational practices affect the performance of information security. The results suggest that an improved performance of information security in the industrial SMEs requires innovative practices to foster knowledge sharing among employees.

Originality/value

The literature recognizes the need to develop empirical research on information security focused on SMEs. Besides the need to identify organizational practices that improve information security, this paper empirically investigates SMEs’ organizational practices in the security of information and analyzes its effects on the performance of information security.

Understanding the Antecedents of Organic Food Purchases: The Important Roles of Beliefs, Subjective Norms, and Identity Expressiveness

China is expected to become an increasingly important market for global organic food producers. This study aims to obtain a new and deeper understanding of how various antecedents affect organic food purchase behavior. Here, a survey based on validated measures is designed, and a total of 1750 consumers are interviewed. In addition to traditionally held beliefs concerning organic food, three unique perspectives, i.e., that organic foods are “luxuries for the rich”, “upscale”, and the objects of “marketing hype”, are confirmed for the first time. Furthermore, the influence of subjective norms on purchase intention is verified to be completely mediated by purchase attitude, suggesting that up to now, the role of social norms may have been simplified, and even underestimated by marketing researchers. Additionally, for the first time, identity expressiveness is confirmed to play a minor but significant role in purchase intention. Perceived trustworthiness is also confirmed to be the important predictor of purchase intention. Finally, household income is not only the second most important predicator of purchase intention, but it is also the most important predictor of actual purchase. These findings will be valuable for marketing scholars and all stakeholders in the organic food industry, particularly international agribusinesses that are wishing to enter the Chinese market.