Learning technology is seen as one solution to the problem of delivering management training in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This paper investigates how the Higher Education (HE) sector can use its growing expertise in learning technology implementation to develop effective SME management development solutions. It is found that there is potential for the development of new learnin...

This paper reports the outcomes of a two-phase investigation into leadership development in SMEs in the South West of England that aimed to devise an educational programme matched specifically to their needs. Phase One aimed to determine the demand for leadership development in SMEs in the Region by means of face-to-face interviews with 20 SME directors and was supported by interviews with lead...

This paper examines the association between bank debt maturity and relationship lending using a unique survey sample of 3,366 SMEs from 19 European countries. The knowledge of how the institutional environment shapes relationship lending helps us to understand how current institutional changes, such as Basel II, might affect the SME-bank relationship and hence, SME access to financing. Our resu...

Cloud computing (CC) and open source software (OSS) both stand out to be valuable means to address prevailing requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). For instance, such requirements include their demand for flexibility, scarcity of skills and money, and their operative focus. This paper investigates the case of e-commerce adoption by means of CC and OSS in a venture capital dr...

Collaboration and eCollaboration are arguable necessities for firms in today’s economic age. Gone are the times when a firm could stand alone in the market warding off the competitive pressures of rival firms. Today, just the competitive forces of globalization alone are significant drivers to enable collaboration amongst rivals. The advantages of collaboration and eCollaboration for SMEs are p...

This study develops propositions for a benchmarking exercise involving SME and tourism destination brands. In order to reveal the role of SMEs at destinations and their role in the destination brand, the tourism production process is analysed. It is suggested to view destinations as virtual service firms (VSF) as this highlights the interdependencies between SMEs, but also allows the descriptio...

We studied the effect of proton-coupled electron transfer on lifetimes of the charge-separated radicals produced upon light irradiation of the thiomethyl-naphthalimide donor SMe-NI-H in the presence of nitro-cyano-pyridine acceptor (NO(2)-CN-PYR). The dynamics of electron and proton transfer were studied using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy in the UV/vis range. We find that the photoinduce...

Two of the most well studied and ecologically relevant memory paradigms are memory for pairs ("associations") and ordered sequences ("serial lists"). Behavioral theories comprise two classes: those that use common mechanisms and those that use distinct mechanisms for study and retrieval of associations versus serial lists. We tested the common-mechanisms hypothesis by recording electroencephalo...