Dynamic capabilities, value creation and value capture: Evidence from SMEs under Covid-19 lockdown in Poland

Dynamic capabilities, resulting from activities that allow conscious and skillful modification of a firm's strategic potential, are seen as one of the key drivers of a firm's value creation, competitive advantage and above-average performance in changing environments. However, little is known about how dynamic capabilities can shape business survival and performance during crises. The research objective of this paper is twofold. First, through a literature review, we seek to identify which first-order dynamic capabilities-managerial decisions under uncertainty-are vital for rapid response to a crisis. Second, we present the results of research carried out among 151 small and medium-sized companies in Poland immediately after the beginning of the economic lockdown (April 2020). The survey that we developed identifies which dynamic capabilities were essential for businesses to survive during this unexpected black swan event. We also present dependence and regression analyses showing the links between the identified dynamic capabilities and value creation, understood as retaining employees and production levels, as well as value capture, understood as maintaining cash flow and current revenues.

The determinant factors for the adoption of CRM in the Palestinian SMEs: The moderating effect of firm size

CRM adoption can provide innumerable benefits to the SMEs performance, including solving customer problems in a timely manner, enhancing customer satisfaction by appointing an expert to solve issues and queries, and the like. This study aims to examine the moderating effects of the firm size in the adoption of CRM in the Palestinian SMEs. A quantitative approach was used to investigate the relationships between the variables, which are compatibility, IT infrastructure, complexity, relative advantage, security, top management support, customer pressure, and competitive pressure. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from 420 SMEs in Palestine. A total of 331 respondents completed and returned the survey. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) approach was used to assess both the measurement and structural models. The Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI) and Technology, Organization, and Environment Framework (TOE) framework were employed to identify the determinant factors from the technological, organizational, and environmental perspectives. The findings and conclusions of this study provide show that the moderating effect of firm size has significant effect compatibility, top management support, customer pressure, and IT infrastructure factors.

Geographically-related outcomes of U.S. funding for small business research and development: Results of the research grant programs of a component of the National Institutes of Health

This article examines the geographic distribution of funding for the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Despite a significant investment in SBIR/STTR and an interest in increasing geographic diversity in the institute's research portfolio, there has not been an assessment of the distribution of NIGMS's SBIR/STTR funding, outcomes associated with that investment, and relationships between the two. The geographic distribution of NIGMS' SBIR/STTR funding was highly concentrated in a small number of states, with a high correlation between each state's funding and its number of small scientific research and development businesses. Affiliation with a major research university was correlated with several measures of innovation and firm success. Our findings are consistent with earlier research showing that economic activity in research and development and research output tend to cluster in geographic regions where knowledge can be generated and shared more efficiently. These findings lend support to an investment strategy for small business research and development that creates networks between major research universities and small businesses.

Using database linkages to measure innovation, commercialization, and survival of small businesses

Here, we report the results of an outcomes evaluation of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Since the programs' inception, assessments of the SBIR/STTR programs at several federal agencies have utilized surveys of former grantees as the primary source of data. Response rates have typically been low, making non-response bias a potential threat to the validity of some of these studies' results. Meanwhile, the availability of large publicly-available datasets continues to grow and methods of text mining and linking databases continue to improve. By linking NIGMS grant funding records, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data, and business intelligence databases, we explored innovation, commercialization and survival for recipients of NIGMS SBIR/STTR funding. In doing so, we were able to more completely assess several key outcomes of the NIGMS SBIR/STTR program. Our evaluation demonstrated that the NIGMS program performed above baseline expectations along all dimensions, and comparably to other federal agency SBIR/STTR grant programs. In addition, we show that the use of extant data increasingly is a viable, less expensive, and more reliable approach to gathering data for evaluation studies.

Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies

The Circular Economy is a paradigm shift attempting to replace the end-of-life concept with reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering materials and to slow down, close and narrow material and power loops. This concept is much discussed in the academic literature, but limited progress has been accomplished so far regarding its empirical analysis. The objective of this work is to study circular economy practices and analyze in depth the circular economy behavior in European firms. We find that firms’ circular economy behavior is a gradual process where measures are implemented gradually, starting with activities involving control measures and ending with putting preventive practices in place. We discovered also that the most proactive companies in implementing circular economy measures generally come across certain common barriers such as administrative processes, regulations and a lack of human resources to perform these practices, while firms that have not implemented circular economy measures view financing, investment and cost–benefit barriers as the most significant. Significant efforts need to be undertaken by firms to accomplished circular economy. Also circular economy regulation should be improved to make it easier for companies to implement strategies that will make them more sustainable.

Increasing egg availability through smallholder business models in East Africa and India

Availability and consumption of eggs, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, is low despite their apparent benefits. We investigated constraints in egg production in four countries; Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, and India and identified five business models that are viable and sustainable. They are (a) micro-franchising, (b) microfinancing, (c) co-operative farming, (d) enterprise development, and (e) out-grower model. All of them involve smallholder farmers to increase egg production. These farmers have access to soft loans and use improved inputs and extension services to varying degrees. Inputs include resilient breeds of day-old chicks or point-of-lay hens, feed, vaccines, medicines, and housing. Outgrower and enterprise development models have a significant potential of rapidly increasing egg yields, achieve self-sufficiency, operate at or near scale, and provide a high income for the farmers. This study shows how a range of actors in commercial, not-for-profit and microfinance sectors with specialized skills, can facilitate the transformation of the egg production sector. Specific skills include brooding (hatchery operations), feed milling, aggregation, and training of smallholder farmers or large-scale rearing. The five archetypes we describe here are promising ways to increase egg availability in rural areas.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2019. Final rule

This final rule sets forth payment parameters and provisions related to the risk adjustment and risk adjustment data validation programs; cost-sharing parameters; and user fees for Federally-facilitated Exchanges and State Exchanges on the Federal platform. It finalizes changes that provide additional flexibility to States to apply the definition of essential health benefits (EHB) to their markets, enhance the role of States regarding the certification of qualified health plans (QHPs); and provide States with additional flexibility in the operation and establishment of Exchanges, including the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges. It includes changes to standards related to Exchanges; the required functions of the SHOPs; actuarial value for stand-alone dental plans; the rate review program; the medical loss ratio program; eligibility and enrollment; exemptions; and other related topics.

Store owners as potential agents of change: energy drinks in the interior of Alaska

Childhood obesity disproportionately impacts disadvantaged communities, including Alaska Native children. In part, lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables and over consumption of sugar sweetened beverages including energy drinks contribute to excessive weight gain in Alaska Native youth. This commentary reports the possibility of storeowners and workers partnering with community members to limit sales of nutrient-poor energy drinks through point-of-sale counselling in rural communities in the interior of Alaska. This model of intervention may be useful to implement in areas where there are limited health workers or others that can serve as health educators. This study reports preliminary evidence from rural Alaska and from other Arctic communities that store workers may effectively improve community health status by limiting or promoting specific products. Storeowners or workers may be helpful partners in the fight against childhood obesity as they are present at the point of sale of high-risk beverages to Alaska Native youth.

A model for effective planning of SME support services

This paper presents a model for effective planning of support services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The idea is to scrutinize and measure the suitability of support services in order to give recommendations for the improvement of a support planning process. We examined the applied support services and matched them with the problems and needs of SMEs, based on the survey conducted in 2013 on a sample of 336 SMEs in Serbia. We defined and analysed the five research questions that refer to support services, their consistency with the SMEs' problems and needs, and the relation between the given support and SMEs' success. The survey results have shown a statistically significant connection between them. Based on this result, we proposed an eight-phase model as a method for the improvement of support service planning for SMEs. This model helps SMEs to plan better their requirements in terms of support; government and administration bodies at all levels and organizations that provide support services to understand better SMEs' problems and needs for support.

What will be the impact of the employer mandate on the U.S. workforce?

The Affordable Care Act's employer mandate requires large firms to pay penalties unless they offer affordable health insurance coverage to full-time employees, raising concerns that employers might lay off workers or reduce hours. In this brief, we estimate the number of workers potentially at risk of losing their jobs or having hours reduced. Most workers near the thresholds--those in firms with around 50 full-time-equivalent employees or those working near 30 hours per week--are already insured or have been offered coverage. There are 100,000 full-time workers at the firm-size threshold and 296,000 at the hourly threshold who are unin­sured. Fewer than 10 percent, less than 0.03 percent of the U.S. labor force, might see reduc­tions in employment or hours in the short run. Over time, employment patterns might change, leading to fewer firm sizes and work schedules near the thresholds, potentially affecting up to 0.5 percent of the workforce.

Early evidence about the predicted unintended consequences of standardised packaging of tobacco products in Australia: a cross-sectional study of the place of purchase, regular brands and use of illicit tobacco

OBJECTIVES

To test for early evidence whether, following the standardisation of tobacco packaging, smokers in Australia were--as predicted by the tobacco industry--less likely to purchase from small mixed business retailers, more likely to purchase cheap brands imported from Asia and more likely to use illicit tobacco.

DESIGN

Serial cross-sectional population telephone surveys in November 2011 (a year prior to implementation), 2012 (during roll-out) and 2013 (a year after implementation).

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

Smokers aged 18 years and over identified in an annual population survey in the Australian state of Victoria (2011: n=754; 2012: n=590; 2013: n=601).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Changes between 2011 and 2013 in: proportions of current smokers who purchased their last cigarette from discount outlets such as supermarkets compared with small mixed business retail outlets; prevalence of regular use of low-cost brands imported from Asia and use of unbranded tobacco.

RESULTS

The proportion of smokers purchasing from supermarkets did not increase between 2011 (65.4%) and 2013 (65.7%; p=0.98), and the percentage purchasing from small mixed business outlets did not decline (2011: 9.2%; 2012: 11.2%; p=0.32). The prevalence of low-cost Asian brands was low and did not increase between 2011 (1.1%) and 2013 (0.9%; p=0.98). The proportion reporting current use of unbranded illicit tobacco was 2.3% in 2011 and 1.9% in 2013 (p=0.46). In 2013, 2.6% of cigarette smokers reported having purchased one or more packets of cigarettes in non-compliant packaging in the past 3 months; 1.7% had purchased one or more packets from an informal seller in the past year.

CONCLUSIONS

One year after implementation, this study found no evidence of the major unintended consequences concerning loss of smoker patrons from small retail outlets, flooding of the market by cheap Asian brands and use of illicit tobacco predicted by opponents of plain packaging in Australia.

[Development of Human Health Discoveries. 10 years results of Young Innovative Company incubation]

Medicine is evolving every day in its operating procedures and the services offered to patients, emphasizing personalized medicine, safety and medical benefits. The individual patient is more than ever the hub of healthcare organization. Medical innovation is thus a public health priority. However it requires an accurate assessment of medical utility and risk-benefit ratios, and in-depth analysis of economic and organizational impacts. Ten years of experience in the Paris Biotech Santé company incubator has identified key actions for effective support of research projects and the success of innovative companies. Strong expertise is needed to prepare development plans, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and obtain research funding. During its first decade, this incubator has created 87 innovative companies employing 1500 people, raised more than 90 million euros of funding, and reached a cumulative company value of 1200 million euros. Key factors of success have been identified, but an analysis of the causes of failure shows that operational adjustments are mandatory, particularly a strong commitment from medical experts, in order to promote access to new and useful products for patients while at the same time assessing their social impact.

Small firm self-insurance under the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act changes the small-group insurance market substan­tially beginning in 2014, but most changes do not apply to self-insured plans. This exemp­tion provides an opening for small employers with healthier workers to avoid broader sharing of health care risk, isolating higher-cost groups in the fully insured market. Private stop-loss or reinsurance plans can mediate the risk of self-insurance for small employ­ers, facilitating the decision to self-insure. We simulate small-employer coverage decisions under the law and find that low-risk stop-loss policies lead to higher premiums in the fully insured small-group market. Average single premiums would be up to 25 percent higher, if stop-loss insurance with no additional risk to employers than fully insuring is allowed--an option available in most states absent further government action. Regulation of stop-loss at the federal or state level can, however, prevent such adverse selection and increase stabil­ity in small-group insurance coverage.

Small employers and self-insured health benefits: too small to succeed?

Over the past decade, large employers increasingly have bypassed traditional health insurance for their workers, opting instead to assume the financial risk of enrollees' medical care through self-insurance. Because self-insurance arrangements may offer advantages--such as lower costs, exemption from most state insurance regulation and greater flexibility in benefit design--they are especially attractive to large firms with enough employees to spread risk adequately to avoid the financial fallout from potentially catastrophic medical costs of some employees. Recently, with rising health care costs and changing market dynamics, more small firms--100 or fewer workers--are interested in self-insuring health benefits, according to a new qualitative study from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Self-insured firms typically use a third-party administrator (TPA) to process medical claims and provide access to provider networks. Firms also often purchase stop-loss insurance to cover medical costs exceeding a predefined amount. Increasingly competitive markets for TPA services and stop-loss insurance are making self-insurance attractive to more employers. The 2010 national health reform law imposes new requirements and taxes on health insurance that may spur more small firms to consider self-insurance. In turn, if more small firms opt to self-insure, certain health reform goals, such as strengthening consumer protections and making the small-group health insurance market more viable, may be undermined. Specifically, adverse selection--attracting sicker-than-average people--is a potential issue for the insurance exchanges created by reform.

[Occupational risk according to occupational traumatism parameters in Russia]

The article covers analysis of occupational traumatism in Russia over 2009 in concern with economic activity types, with small enterprises accent. Based on method adapted to national information sources and assessing statistics reliability in countries with imperfect accounting, the authors demonstrated that with various hypotheses occupational accidents risk in Russian Federation is considerably higher than the registered one.

Encouraging resilience within SMEs: the Cabinet Office's proposed approach

This paper introduces the Cabinet Office's Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS). It explains how the National Risk Assessment, produced within the CCS, is created and used. As part of the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Government made a commitment to improve the business continuity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).This paper describes the CCS's approach to achieving this, and explains why the resilience of SMEs is important to both local communities, at a time of disruption or crisis, and the essential services sectors, such as energy, food and transport. It provides an outline of a strategic approach that will seek to simplify business continuity by making it accessible, achievable and affordable, and, in partnership with the organisations that SMEs turn to for advice, promotes the benefits of business continuity and encourages its use.

A comparison of workplace safety perceptions among financial decision-makers of medium- vs. large-size companies

This study, through a random national survey in the U.S., explored how corporate financial decision-makers perceive important workplace safety issues as a function of the size of the company for which they worked (medium- vs. large-size companies). Telephone surveys were conducted with 404 U.S. corporate financial decision-makers: 203 from medium-size companies and 201 from large companies. Results showed that the patterns of responding for participants from medium- and large-size companies were somewhat similar. The top-rated safety priorities in resource allocation reported by participants from both groups were overexertion, repetitive motion, and bodily reaction. They believed that there were direct and indirect costs associated with workplace injuries and for every dollar spent improving workplace safety, more than four dollars would be returned. They perceived the top benefits of an effective safety program to be predominately financial in nature - increased productivity and reduced costs - and the safety modification participants mentioned most often was to have more/better safety-focused training. However, more participants from large- than medium-size companies reported that "falling on the same level" was the major cause of workers' compensation loss, which is in line with industry loss data. Participants from large companies were more likely to see their safety programs as better than those of other companies in their industries, and those of medium-size companies were more likely to mention that there were no improvements needed for their companies.