Enhancing the Productivity and Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Through Clusters and Networks PDF Download

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business networks
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Author: Patrizio Bianchi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230583725
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Progress in telecommunications and infrastructure, coupled with liberalization in international organizations, has introduced a number of new competitors to existing SMEs. This book analyzes strategic aspects of SME development that may help to promote growth: high-tech development, productivity increase, and strengthening of linkages.

Author: Raj Nallari
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464800499
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
Competition, competitiveness, innovation and growth are inherently linked. This book covers the main ideas underlying competitiveness and its applications, drawing lessons for developing economies and relevant policy recommendations.

Author: Prashant Gupta
Publisher: Allied Publishers
ISBN: 9788184241570
Category : Competition
Languages : en
Pages : 672

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Papers presented at the Nirma International Conference on Management, held at Ahmedabad during 5-7January 2007.

Author: Susana Rodrigues
Publisher: Academic Conferences Limited
ISBN: 1906638594
Category : Intellectual capital
Languages : en
Pages : 781

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Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821386286
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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The World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute, and the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID), in collaboration with researchers affiliated with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), recently conducted a study on Africa s domestic enterprises to improve the understanding of the constraints micro and small enterprises in Africa face in improving productivity and expanding their markets. In Africa, there are stark performance gaps between domestically owned enterprises and foreign-owned enterprises in terms of sales performance, productivity, and ability to reach distant markets. Among others, size appears to be a dominant factor in explaining the gap. Against this background, the study analyzes how naturally formed industrial clusters concentrations of enterprises engaged in same or closely related industrial activities in specific locations could potentially mitigate constraints Africa s micro and small enterprises face and enhance their business performance. The study is one of the first comprehensive quantitative inquiries on industrial clusters in Africa. The analysis specifically focuses on the role of spontaneously grown clusters of light manufacturing industries based on a set of original case studies of industrial clusters conducted for this research project. One of the key findings from the case studies was that cluster-based micro and small enterprises are performing better than similar micro and small enterprises outside of the clusters in terms of sales performance and ability to reach distant markets. Market access is a leading reason for cluster-based enterprises to choose their current locations. However, cluster-based enterprises face another set of unique growth constraints. By the very nature of spontaneous agglomera tion, new enterprises continue to flow to the clusters seeking the profit opportunities and better access to markets at such locations. The result can be intense competition in addition to increased congestion. Space constraints often impede growth within clusters. The lack of alternative locations available for industrial activities in the same cities, generic infrastructure bottlenecks, and unclear zoning policies and their unpredictable changes limit firms location choices and constrain their mobility. While competition should improve efficiency, lack of capacity among those competing cluster-based enterprises to invest and innovate does not generate growth out of the competition. The vast majority of naturally formed clusters of light manufacturing industries in Africa are still at a survival level, where agglomeration externalities are only limited to expand quantity but not quality as we observe in more advanced innovation-oriented clusters in elsewhere in the world. Existing studies on such natural industrial clusters in Africa have found that the lack of managerial skills among entrepreneurs running micro and small enterprises is a major constraint for innovation and growth in the clusters. As a part of this study, pilot managerial skills training programs were conducted in two industrial clusters on an experimental basis, where a group of randomly selected entrepreneurs within the clusters were given three-week long crush course of based management such as bookkeeping, marketing, business planning, and production management. The impact evaluation of the experiments showed significant positive impacts of the training programs on value added and gross profits of enterprises. Raising the current survival-type industrial clusters, which have been formed as a coping mechanism to weak investment climate, into more dynamic innovating clusters will be an important avenue for fostering growth of micro and small enterprises in Africa. While national efforts to improve investment climate and investments in human capital are undoubtedly important, there could be more targeted policies to be formulated, in complementing general policies, to support growth of micro and small domestic enterprises using existing industrial clusters as a natural springboard for their growth. In that context, the study discusses the merit of cluster-based managerial human capital development to build steps toward more innovation-oriented clusters, the importance of sound spatial planning policy, particularly at the local level in the context of urban planning, the need to expand market access and economic linkages for industrial clusters including regional integration and linkages with large enterprises.

Author: Charles Harvie
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781845425630
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
This third book in the series focuses on how small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute to achieving and sustaining growth and performance in their economies, as well as the ways in which governments can assist and enhance that contribution. This is of particular concern given the trauma suffered by East Asian economies in the wake of the financial and economic crisis of 1997-98. Faced with the need to restructure and reform their economies and thereby achieve a firm foundation for future sustainable growth, many East Asian countries actively pursued SME growth, focusing on the encouragement of entrepreneurialism in the private sector. Drawing on the insights of a wide range of SME experts, the book provides a broad coverage of important aspects of SMEs, including: the contribution of micro-enterprises to economic recovery and poverty alleviation measurement and evaluation issues managing knowledge development ethical values in SMEs the internationalisation process entry mode decisions in export markets technological sourcing and use of the Internet. Presenting a contemporary analysis of SME developments in East Asia, both academics and policymakers will find Sustaining Growth and Performance in East Asia of great interest.

Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
ISBN: 9292698737
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 559

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Book Description
This volume provides data and analysis on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Central and West Asia to help policymakers support the development of these businesses. The development of MSMEs remains key to promoting inclusive growth in developing economies in Asia and the Pacific. The Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor (ASM) serves as a resource for evidence-based policy design on MSME development. The ASM 2022 focuses on Central and West Asia. This volume reviews the financial and nonfinancial conditions of MSMEs at country and regional level. It highlights the need for increased lending to MSMEs with better loan assets, enhanced job creation, expanded foreign trade of MSMEs, strengthened digital infrastructure, and greater MSME productivity.

Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264305327
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool for emerging economies to monitor and evaluate progress in policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises.

Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264174397
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
This book shows how technology policy makers in OECD countries are making practical use of the concept of clusters and suggests how government policies to foster innovation might best be refocused.